Great article on Newsarama about fans sense of ownership

[Lantern A-train Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Lantern A-train]

I agree they didnt have to listen but it's still works as an example.

[IonFan Forum Member Find all posts View Profile Close IonFan]

Because you don't own them. It's that simple.

with as much money as i and others have giving them yeah i do own them

Do you help your favorite bands write their songs?

no but i do give them the money they need (ie i don't steal their works by downloading it)

Cause when fans have a say in what happens you get things like Spidey 3

oh no you don't, we did not have a say it that peace of sh!t (ie )

You do have a say. If you stop liking what's happening, you can stop buying. Marvel and DC don't owe you anything, no matter how long you've been reading. All they owe you is an entertaining read in exchange for the $3-$4 dollars you pay for each comic. And if they don't live up to their end of the bargain, then the simple response is to no longer follow up on your end.

and i do that from time to time but the way things are now if alot of people do that someone could go bully up and i don't want to see that happen

[Keyser Soze Alpha-Lantern Find all posts View Profile Close Keyser Soze]

and i do that from time to time but the way things are now if alot of people do that someone could go bully up and i don't want to see that happen

Not really, because there are plenty of people who DO like what's going on who will keep reading. Every comic is loved and loathed by someone. I'd rather people just read what they liked and ignored what they didn't.

[JohnnyV Pictionary Master Find all posts View Profile Close JohnnyV]

Absolutely love that the writer attributes passion, and criticism to a sense of ownership. Those things don't equate to one another. If there was no passion or criticism, we wouldn't have forums like this. Just because someone has a sense of passion for a book, and gets upset when something is changed that they don't like, doesn't mean there's a sense of ownership about it.

I'll come right out and state what I don't like about books, mostly because it makes me feel better. And that's what I mostly care about.

[Mister Ed Horse of a Different Color Find all posts View Profile Close Mister Ed]

Absolutely love that the writer attributes passion, and criticism to a sense of ownership. Those things don't equate to one another. If there was no passion or criticism, we wouldn't have forums like this. Just because someone has a sense of passion for a book, and gets upset when something is changed that they don't like, doesn't mean there's a sense of ownership about it.

I'll come right out and state what I don't like about books, mostly because it makes me feel better. And that's what I mostly care about.

Yeah, I got that sense, too. It seems a veiled way of criticizing people for caring about something, because the notion that you own it is absurd, so if the writer can equate caring about something enough to criticize things you don't like with thinking you own it, it makes the one seem just as silly as the other.

[JohnnyV Pictionary Master Find all posts View Profile Close JohnnyV]

Yeah, I got that sense, too. It seems a veiled way of criticizing people for caring about something, because the notion that you own it is absurd, so if the writer can equate caring about something enough to criticize things you don't like with thinking you own it, it makes the one seem just as silly as the other.

The only mention in the article where you could make a case for readers feeling ownership, is the Jason Todd live/die poll. But that ownership was sponsored by DC, who simply heard the criticisms of Todd and decided to do something drastic based on those criticisms.

I imagine the whole aspect of listening to readers is a tricky balance, which you really have to take with a grain of salt, but at the same time not completely ignore. So, how about saying that instead of "Readers just feel like they own these characters".

[myuserid Lantern Hex Find all posts View Profile Close myuserid]

Do you help your favorite bands write their songs?

no but i do give them the money they need (ie i don't steal their works by downloading it)

Exactly. You don't help bands write their songs. Reading comics is no different.

Just because you are paying fan doesn't give you any type of ownership over a comic character, band, television show, movie - the list goes on.

You're paying for a service. If you don't like that service, don't buy it. It's the reason that since Boringest Night I won't read another Green Lantern comic as long as Geoff Johns is writing it. If he writes it forever and I never read another GL comic, so be it.

[Mister Ed Horse of a Different Color Find all posts View Profile Close Mister Ed]

If I didn't like a band's latest album, but liked all their previous ones, I imagine I would complain. That's not the same as saying I OWN them, and it isn't the same as writing their songs for them. It is simply me saying, "Yo, your new album kinda sucks. I wish you'd go back to whatever you were doing when you made all the OTHER albums I loved." They aren't obligated to do so, obviously. And it is the same with comics. Me saying, "I think this new direction stinks. I wish you'd go back to the old one, or try something else" is not trying to write the comics for them, and it isn't saying I OWN the characters, either. For it to reach THAT level, I have to somehow believe that they MUST do as I say. Sure, some people DO reach that level, but I'd wager it is the minority.

[SD80MAC Not a True Fan Find all posts View Profile Close SD80MAC]

For it to reach THAT level, I have to somehow believe that they MUST do as I say. Sure, some people DO reach that level, but I'd wager it is the minority.

Agreed. I can think of only one case in which it was actually effective, and that was H.E.A.T.! Otherwise, comics wisely soldier on. Nothing is permanent, especially in a storytelling medium.

[myuserid Lantern Hex Find all posts View Profile Close myuserid]

If I didn't like a band's latest album, but liked all their previous ones, I imagine I would complain. That's not the same as saying I OWN them, and it isn't the same as writing their songs for them. It is simply me saying, "Yo, your new album kinda sucks. I wish you'd go back to whatever you were doing when you made all the OTHER albums I loved." They aren't obligated to do so, obviously. And it is the same with comics. Me saying, "I think this new direction stinks. I wish you'd go back to the old one, or try something else" is not trying to write the comics for them, and it isn't saying I OWN the characters, either. For it to reach THAT level, I have to somehow believe that they MUST do as I say. Sure, some people DO reach that level, but I'd wager it is the minority.

I'm not talking about complaining.

I'm responding to IonFan saying he feels he should have a say in a comic because he pays for it.

Which is why I quoted his post.

[Mister.Weirdo Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Mister.Weirdo]

He has to got to be joking?

[Mister Ed Horse of a Different Color Find all posts View Profile Close Mister Ed]

I'm not talking about complaining.

I'm responding to IonFan saying he feels he should have a say in a comic because he pays for it.

Which is why I quoted his post.

Fair enough. I'm mostly responding to the tone of the article (as I percieve it) which seems to equate people complaining or unhappy about stuff with feeling like they own it. Maybe IonFan is part of the minority that actually DOES feel like they own stuff, I dunno.

[IonFan Forum Member Find all posts View Profile Close IonFan]

I'm responding to IonFan saying he feels he should have a say in a comic because he pays for it.

i'm not saying that i own anything, i'm saying that *WE* all own a part of it

Maybe IonFan is part of the minority that actually DOES feel like they own stuff, I dunno.

with all the money we've given to these people week after week, year after year, we should all feel this way

[Mister Ed Horse of a Different Color Find all posts View Profile Close Mister Ed]

i'm not saying that i own anything, i'm saying that *WE* all own a part of it

with all the money we've given to these people week after week, year after year, we should all feel this way

We DO own something. The actual issues we bought. We don't own the characters. The money we spent only entitles us to the issues we spent it on, it wasn't some kind of payment plan for the future of the characters. On the other hand, we are entitled to have, and express, strong opinions about what we would like to see done with those characters, even if we never spent a cent on them. We just aren't entitled to expect the creators to do what we want.

[IonFan Forum Member Find all posts View Profile Close IonFan]

says you, i say we all should have a vote in what happens or were the story goes from time to time, even if it's just with our money we have all the power