Comic Book Survey: Please help a college student!

[analogboy]

Hi everyone, I'm a senior in college (graduating at the end of the month) and I need to compile some info for my survey course. I hit up some shops in NYC but 2 of the 3 turned me away (said they have rules about people conducting interviews in their store), which I understand. I was really counting on getting most of my info from them but since that won't be happening, I'm turning to the iFanboy community for help. If any of you could take a few minutes to just fill out the survey for me I'd be incredibly thankful. You can email your response to analogboy86@gmail.com. thanks again!

Name:
Gender:
Age:
Race/Ethnicity:
Relationship Status:

1. When did you get into comics?


2. What got you into comics?


3. What got you hooked to comics? Art? Story? Writing technique?


4. What sets comics apart from novels or magazines, aside from the art?


5. What do you feel about comic prices? Expensive? Just right?


6. Do you think more people would get into comics if they were priced the way they were, say, 10-15 years ago?


7. With more and more things going digital, do you think a jump to digital comics would help the industry expand? Would it alienate long time readers?


8. What do you think are some stereotypes about comic book readers?


9. Which ones do you feel to be true and which ones are not?


10. What are some hobbies you have outside of comics?


11. What do you think about non-comic book readers? (are they missing out, entitled to their own opinion, etc)

[conorkilpatrick]

Surveys are usually anonymous - or at least known only to the survey takers - you need a place where people can e-mail them.

[analogboy]

thanks for the correction conor

[neb]

I sent you an e-mail. Hope that helps.

[analogboy]

Thanks a lot Neb! Your answers are perfect for my paper, I really appreciate you taking the time out for it.

BTW I followed the link in your sig. and saw that you're a teacher, oddly enough the same profession I'm trying to get into. Small world huh?

[crucio]

I'd rather not email, so here's my replies.

Name: Brad
Gender: Male
Age: 30
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian Irish, Scot, French, Mohawk quarter each
Relationship Status: Married

1. When did you get into comics?
8 Years old

2. What got you into comics?
Finding a comic shop a bike ride from my home

3. What got you hooked to comics? Art? Story? Writing technique?
Superheroes, I was 8.

4. What sets comics apart from novels or magazines, aside from the art?
Serialized content with a long legacy

5. What do you feel about comic prices? Expensive? Just right?
inching towards expensive

6. Do you think more people would get into comics if they were priced the way they were, say, 10-15 years ago?
No. The people who are into comics I believe would just buy more.

7. With more and more things going digital, do you think a jump to digital comics would help the industry expand? Would it alienate long time readers?
Yes and yes(if it's a total jump) If they straddle no.

8. What do you think are some stereotypes about comic book readers?
Geeks and Nerds

9. Which ones do you feel to be true and which ones are not?
Geeks are true, nerds not so much.

10. What are some hobbies you have outside of comics?
TV, Books, Movies, Videogames, Table top games and technology

11. What do you think about non-comic book readers? (are they missing out, entitled to their own opinion, etc)
Anyone who dismisses any art form (rap/rock/modern art/TV/movies etc et al) is inherently missing out.

[comicbookchris]

Just finished and sent you my survey. Very good questions that made me think a bit, good way to spend a couple of minutes. Good luck with your project!

[johnferrigno]

Heck, I'll bite. e-mail coming in a few minutes!

[johnferrigno]

Sent an e-mail, but for those of you who are interested:

Name: John Ferrigno
Gender: Male
Age: 30
Race/Ethnicity: American (That's my answer and I'm sticking with it!)
Relationship Status: Married

1. When did you get into comics?

About 27 years ago? I was about 3 years old when i started getting my first comics.

2. What got you into comics?

My parents started buying them for me at a young age. As I got older, i spent first my allowance, then my paychecks, on new comics.

3. What got you hooked to comics? Art? Story? Writing technique?

I'm mostly a story guy. As a young child, I just liked the wild super hero epic type stuff. As I got older, I branched out into more genres and more adult, sophisticated work. I still love me some super hero stuff, but I also appreciate the more personal, autobiographical works as well as crime, fantasy, horror, etc.

4. What sets comics apart from novels or magazines, aside from the art?

There are just things that work in comics that don't work in other medium, or don't work as well as in comics. Comics handle jumping around in time better than any medium, characters talking over each other, narration, etc. Panel placement and things like that are also big factors.


5. What do you feel about comic prices? Expensive? Just right?

Getting near expensive, but I'm still OK with it.


6. Do you think more people would get into comics if they were priced the way they were, say, 10-15 years ago?

I don't think that's really a factor. I think there is still the misconception that comics are either for "kids" or for "geeks." Really, there isn't any type of person out there who there isn't at least one comic for, in my opinion.

7. With more and more things going digital, do you think a jump to digital comics would help the industry expand? Would it alienate long time readers?

I think it's important to keep with the times and not seem like an archaic art form, but I also think there will always be a place for actual paper comics. I'd like to see comics available both in print form for people who like to hold a book in their hand, and a digital form for people who want to see it on their screen. Really, anything that has people reading comics is OK with me.

8. What do you think are some stereotypes about comic book readers?

That we are all losers who can't get dates and hang around dusty stores arguing about who would win in a fight, Superman or The Hulk.

9. Which ones do you feel to be true and which ones are not?

Well, stereotypes exist for a reason. That kind of thing certainly does exist, but i hardly feel it's 'the norm" in this day and age.

10. What are some hobbies you have outside of comics?

I like reading in other medium, writing, playing video games, big into music of all genres, playing guitar (or trying to at least), playing chess, RPGs, movies, TV, working out, sex with my wife (not in that order).

11. What do you think about non-comic book readers? (are they missing out, entitled to their own opinion, etc)

Well, naturally I think they are missing, out, but i'm not going to be offended if people don't want to give comics a chance. it's their loss, but it as long as my books are being published, it doesn't really effect me.

[analogboy]

Hey everyone .. I just wanna say thanks again for all the responses. I've gotten some funny and really interesting responses and it's been awesome going through them all. I'm just a few shy of where I want to be for my paper but the stuff I've gotten so far has just been spot on with where I want my paper to go.


Just to let everyone who responded to me, I'm most likely going to be quoting you so I'll be referring to you by your first names. If that bothers you for any reason at all, just let me know I'll gladly keep you anonymous.

[siraim]

Hey everyone .. I just wanna say thanks again for all the responses. I've gotten some funny and really interesting responses and it's been awesome going through them all. I'm just a few shy of where I want to be for my paper but the stuff I've gotten so far has just been spot on with where I want my paper to go.


Just to let everyone who responded to me, I'm most likely going to be quoting you so I'll be referring to you by your first names. If that bothers you for any reason at all, just let me know I'll gladly keep you anonymous.

You should make your final paper available to us too. Would love to read the final product and see where this is headed.

[analogboy]

this thing is due 5/21 so i'm aiming to have it done before then so i could study for other exams. i'm most likely gonna put it up around that time so i'm hoping the ifanbase ends up approving of something they helped put together (no really, i couldn't think of any other places to go after my first three choices ended going bust).

[johnferrigno]

I'm sure we are all thrilled to be your FOURTH choice!

Geez, way to make a guy feel appreciated.......

;)

[dierect-current]

I'm probably too late for the paper but here are my answers any way.

Name: mick
Gender:male
Age:44
Race/Ethnicity:British white
Relationship Status:married

1. When did you get into comics?

A) Can't ever remember 'getting into' comics really, they have always just been there ever since I can remember.

2. What got you into comics?

A) see above

3. What got you hooked to comics? Art? Story? Writing technique?

A) Definitely the art. reading comics is how I learned to draw as a kid. I'd spend hours copying whole pages, panel for panel. I was an odd child.

4. What sets comics apart from novels or magazines, aside from the art?

A)It's the type of story telling that you can achieve only in a comic. They nave that extra dimension that novels don't have.

5. What do you feel about comic prices? Expensive? Just right?

A) the cost of comics has never really been of concern to me. If I like it I'll buy it.

6. Do you think more people would get into comics if they were priced the way they were, say, 10-15 years ago?

A) No. I think that the perception of the product has to change. Also there has to be a wider variety to the output, something for everybody.

7. With more and more things going digital, do you think a jump to digital comics would help the industry expand? Would it alienate long time readers?

A) I like digital comics just as much as hard copies. It's another way top get the product out there. Perhaps this method of delivery would entice no readers to give them a go. Access has to be easy.

8. What do you think are some stereotypes about comic book readers?

A) We're geeks and nerds. Kids read them. Comic book readers are sad and lonely. These perceptions all have to change. Look at Europe and Asia, everyone reads comics. They are an accepted form of entertainment.

9. Which ones do you feel to be true and which ones are not?

A) All of 'em.

10. What are some hobbies you have outside of comics?

A) As I said earlier, comics taught me how to draw and now I'm an artist. I'm into tech and sci-fi. I write a little too.

11. What do you think about non-comic book readers? (are they missing out, entitled to their own opinion, etc)

A) Definitely missing out but you can't force someone to try something new, they have to be persuaded.

[analogboy]

It's awesome to still be getting answers for this paper of mine. I'm actually gonna write the thing this weekend (it'll be kind of a rush job since it's been finals week but hey, doesn't hurt to hope it turns out bad). I've gotten absolutely fantastic answers so anyone who'd like to throw in their two cents, feel free but after Sunday afternoon, this bad boy's getting written up as my final (!) paper of my undegraduate career. woohoo!

[analogboy]

Well iFanboy, here it is, my Final paper. Personally, I'm feeling like it's garbage but my professor gave us just over a week to do about 20ish pages which, on its own, isn't bad but coupled with the rest of the papers we had and finals week, well, quality kind of takes a backseat. I wish I'd've had more time to work on it and expand, I feel like there was just an infinite amount of stuff I could have added/done.


PS - everyone who filled out my survey .. Thank you! You guys really helped me out with this whole thing and I couldn't appreciate it more. By the way, while the surveys weren't an entirely large part of the paper, they were a huge part of my presentation and class blog about the project which went over fantastically with my class. So one more time, just to recap: thanks ifanboy community for helping a guy get the hell out of college already!

[analogboy]

Turns out my paper's too big to upload onto this .. suggestions on how to upload it?

[rustyautoparts]

Turns out my paper's too big to upload onto this .. suggestions on how to upload it?

Maybe break it into pieces and post each piece individually, like 5 pages at a time or something?

Glad to hear that we helped. I'm sure everything turned out fantastically. Woo college.

[holden]

Gender: Male
Age: 31
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Relationship Status: Soon to be married

1. When did you get into comics?
When I was about 14, early 90's

2. What got you into comics?
Jim Lee, believe it or not. Art was big for me then because it helped with my ADD to see the pictures with the text. We are visual learners

3. What got you hooked to comics? Art? Story? Writing technique?
Art and story, X-Men baby!!!

4. What sets comics apart from novels or magazines, aside from the art?

They're seperate mediums. It's difficult to guide the reader along in a solid text like a novel and keep the flow of the story going. Comics are a lot easier on the imagination, at times, because it shows faces, motions/expressions and action sequences. I love any type of reading and am often more partial to novels more than comics...but comics. God I love comics!

5. What do you feel about comic prices? Expensive? Just right?

The prices are getting steep, but they're matching the economy. Without money, we don't get comics. So we'll 'deal with it' and keep buying. At my current pay grade, I'm not hurting too much.

6. Do you think more people would get into comics if they were priced the way they were, say, 10-15 years ago?

I'm not sure. The economy was doing well for a lot of people during the 90's. I myself was a teenager, so I'm not sure if things seemed well and they really weren't.

7. With more and more things going digital, do you think a jump to digital comics would help the industry expand? Would it alienate long time readers?

As long as both are available, I don't see anything wrong with it. I like having the book in my hands and smelling that new comic smell. Mmmm. Heavenly

8. What do you think are some stereotypes about comic book readers?

That we're all infantile and need to grow up and read real books without pictures.

9. Which ones do you feel to be true and which ones are not?

I'm sure there are some of us that like to maintain our youth by reading books from the good old days, but for the most part I enjoy reading the indy and adult titles more.

10. What are some hobbies you have outside of comics?

Reading books, playing video games, exercise, and cooking.

11. What do you think about non-comic book readers? (are they missing out, entitled to their own opinion, etc)

They're definitely missing out. If they don't like them whatever, but comics have changed dramatically since I was growing up and I think a lot of adult readers would enjoy several titles today. But most people just won't give it a chance. So I think the point of the question is moot.