Stumbled on a stat that shocked me about comic book fans at SDCC

I was scrolling through some convention data from last year's San Diego Comic-Con and found out that almost 40% of attendees have never actually read a single comic book. They just go for the movies, TV shows, or cosplay. That blew my mind because I grew up reading back issues and digging through dollar bins at my local shop. It made me wonder if the whole definition of a comic book fan has shifted to include people who only consume the adaptations. I get that gatekeeping is dumb, but it feels weird when someone calls themselves a huge fan and can't name a single story arc from the original books. Has anyone else run into this disconnect at cons or online chat rooms?

3 comments

3 Comments

piper_kim28d ago

Man, I read a piece recently that said something like half of people who call themselves comic fans have never even touched a floppy. It tracks with what you saw at SDCC and honestly explains why some online arguments about characters feel so shallow. The bar for being a fan just ain't what it used to be, that's for sure.

michaeld4828d ago

Gatekeeping's bad but this just feels different.

mary_west27d ago

Is it really that deep though @michaeld48, people enjoy things in different ways and that's fine.

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