Have you heard of  ? Most people I'm sure have if they know much about internet fandom and it's presence online. Now the site is very interesting to me on several levels and I've never been to it until I wrote this article. Why? Well I'd heard of it but I don't spend a lot of time online if I can help it and I get my comic book "online news" from others sources (ComicBookResources.com primarily). However, my friends (who I spoke of last column) listen to the iFanboy podcast and watch the video casts regularly. They do this to the point that they quote it when discussing new comics and it greatly effects what they buy. They listen to the guys who do the talking, pay attention to recommendations, and if a book gets bad enough reviews they won't pick it up.
Two recent examples of this were the Sentry: Fallen Sun and the Rescue 1-shots. Now both are regular readers of Invincible Iron Man, and the Rescue 1-shot was on their list but they decided not to get it after seeing it was so badly reviewed. The Sentry: Fallen Sun 1-shot was horribly reviewed and the jokes told about it were very funny. (Something along the lines of "Imagine you find your wife, or significant other, crying hysterically over loosing a friend. Now she tells you this friend has been a part of her life for almost forty years, did some amazing things, made everyone feel great, and was a truly inspirational person who everyone looked up to. And having been with your wife for a few years, maybe ten, you respond: 'I've never heard of this guy . . . and I've known you for a long time.' And she tries to tell you again why this has her so broken up, but you just don't get it, and that will give you some idea of how epically Sentry: Fallen Sun fails as a story.")
Now I have to agree neither of these issues were great. Sentry: Fallen Sun made a nice epilogue for the original mini-series, but almost went to far in terms of trying to make people care. It really wasn't much of a Siege tie-in and that was what it was supposed to be aimed toward so in that sense it failed miserably. The Rescue 1-shot was a "this character is kind of going to be in a movie, not as this version though, so let's give her a quick story to sell a few copies, but nothing is really going to happen". That was the issue. Nothing fundamental that would make you stand up and go "great comic!" happened. However, neither of my friends looked at said issues, they just read the reviews on iFanboy and said "not going to buy them" and they proceeded to insult these two issues over and over again.
Now this made me pause. I have a policy of not tearing things apart till I've seen them or read them myself. The example I can think of the easiest (and this may loose me the few readers I have) is Doctor Who. I don't like Doctor Who. It is not for me and I'm okay with that. I've seen about three full episodes and the acting annoyed me, I didn't find the plot believable, and nothing made me want to watch more. And yes this was the new version with David Tenant in it. Just didn't like it, don't want to watch anymore. I have several friends who love it and get very mad I won't watch more. I have had people start telling me about their Doctor Who story and ideas for gaming, and I tell them very nicely "I don't like Doctor Who and I don't care". Nevertheless I tried a few episodes and didn't like them. I liked watching Torchwood though, and love a lot of other British TV shows, but just don't like Doctor Who.
However, until I see it for myself or read it for myself, I try not to judge. (I am human so it does happen based on past experiences, but I TRY not to judge.) However, I don't want to just "judge" this standard as more look at it causes and how it influences buying and reading habits. I personally can't be swayed by one website saying a book is crap, though it could influence me to go by the book to "prove them wrong". Most people's reading habits though I think stem from four different standards.
First standard is what they like. Doesn't matter how anyone else feels about it, if you like Green Lantern and it hasn't been pissing you off then you will buy Green Lantern. You might even continue to buy it after a few bad issues, but what matters is that you like the character, you like the book, and therefore that is the number one standard.
The second standard I think is what you is related to what you like. If you are reading Avengers or Justice League and Iron Man or Green Lantern does something major you might be more inclined to check out their solo stories. Also a major guest appearance by another character may incline you to check out their book, or finding you really like another writer may make you want to read the other books they like. Same goes for an artist. This tier is really what I think makes readers branch out and try new things and often this is what comic book companies really try and do to get more sales on other titles.
The third standard seems to be what looks cool or good to you. Books can just catch your attention, and sometimes you see something you just "have to have", or you just "have a feeling". These sort of impulse buys or reads really compel a lot of people to give something a shot, and often it is very random, though cover art or striking logos and artwork do help attract this type of response.
The fourth standard seems to be the recommendation, be it from a friend, a website, or someone who works in a store. This standard is the most suggestive since it depends on how well the person making the recommendation can read your interests, how much you respond to their recommendation, or just what mood you are in. All these factors really are so subjective and lead to the most unreliable standard. If a person recommending something recommends something you really like, you probably are more likely to go with their recommendation again. However, this category really goes under "irregular reinforcement" since it is random and doesn't always work.
Another factor I've found is that the things that people loan are not as high a priority as things you buy. If you own it you are often much more inclined to read it first. There are probably several psychological factors to this, but I've noticed this when other people borrow things from me and actually vice versa.
There are other standards I'm sure but in breaking down and trying to analyze buying and reading habits these ones stuck out the most. For a store owner these factors are pretty important, but for the average reader to analyze them almost removes the "fun" from reading and purchasing what you like. However, doing this has really helped me figure out why friends of mine read some things over others, and perhaps why my recommendations that I loaned them are still on the bottom of their reading pile.
Ian Melton
And if you have any comments of questions e-mail me at vdf1@hotmail.com
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