The so called “hardcore” comic fans are a tough crowd. And by tough crowd I really mean that they are a bunch of bastards hell-bent on keeping everything the same. They aren’t kids, they are an older crowd who wants the characters of their youth to remain unchanged. When things don’t go their way, they get nasty.
This becomes clear under three sets of circumstances:
- Q&A panels at comic conventions. You’d be amazed at the questions asked by grown men.
- Web forums (the favorite trolling spot for assholes).
- When a woman or black man take over a mainstream book.
Here’s the late Dwayne McDuffie on being a black writer in comics:
He isn’t exaggerating one bit. Sadly, this really is how so called hardcore fans tend to react.
(Via BoingBoing)
The Geek Whisperer 
Hmmm – link to youtube didn’t work
It should be working now.
I avoid most comic book forums for some of the reasons outlined in your post. No one seems to mention the ‘white, male’ agenda that’s shoved down every comic readers throat. Minority and women fans of comic books (like me) are just supposed to swallow it with a smile, I guess.
Wonder who, if anyone, will write minority characters for the Big Two now. *sighs*
He will be missed. R.I.P.
I’m not sure it’s not even a real “white male” agenda… It’s more of an excessively nerdy agenda that happens to be laced with insecurities about race and sex… Not that it makes it any better.
I would suggest looking into indie comics and more creator-owned material. The mainstream superhero genre has pretty much been creatively strip-mined for all it’s worth anyway.