Fans seeking to introduce others to the pop culture of their most heartfelt enthusiasm have a bad habit of mistaking the moments of most extravagant fan service for the most accessible entry points. Examples: Marvel fans telling non-comics folk that the best place to enter the Marvel universe is through the CIVIL WAR crossover or fans of DOCTOR WHO proudly bringing their baffled friends into the multi-parter where the Doctor, the Doctors clone, Rose, Martha, Donna, Captain Jack, Mickey, Sarah Jane, Torchwood, and K-9 all team up to take on Davros and the largest Dalek army ever. Hell, zombie fans starting off their skeptical friends with some episode of THE WALKING DEAD late in the run, where zombies are already a thing and everybodys already inured to killing them, instead of some story like NIGHT OF which sets the template and introduces the characters to the new status quo even as it does the same for the viewers. This goes for entire genres, people. You dont introduce a fearful newcomer to fantasy to China Mieville, or a fearful newcomer to space-faring science fiction to Iaian Banks, or a newcomer to mystery fiction to James Ellroy. You go simple. You recognize that the newcomer has an entirely new vocabulary to learn. You start with Tolkien or you start with Heinlein. (Nor do you always have to go back in time; a lot of new writers, even more sophisticated writers, exercise their sophistication in human and thus entirely relatable ways that do not require the newbie to juggle a million new concepts in the air, all at once. To newbies, John Scalzis OLD MANS WAR is a great first space opera; Mira Grants FEED is a great first zombie novel, any of Dennis Lehanes Kienze/Gennaro books a great first private eye novel. But THEY ARE ACCESSIBLE TO SOMEONE WHO HASNT COMPLETELY INTERNALIZED THEIR RESPECTIVE GENRES. In all of those cases, they can draw newcomers into further investigation, in a manner that denser thickets, perhaps even richer thickets, can repel.) Fans of anything want to share the most extreme object of their enthusiasm -- as in telling a newcomer to superhero comics, You GOTTA read CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS! Its awesome! -- but entry points are entry points for a reason. Climaxes are the places where all the stuff you have to absorb has already accrued, and indeed, might already be top-heavy. Go simple. If the charm can be communicated, the entry points are the place to do it; the moments of fan service are no more certain place to turn somebody off for good.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 13:45:58 +0000
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