Broken Frontier

The squeaky wheel gets the grease, sure. But when all the wheels squeak, wouldn’t you worry about the car entirely?

I was recently contacted by Mike Bullock, mastermind of Lions, Tigers & Bears from Runemaster Studios as well as fellow Broken Frontiersman, about a troubling topic for which he sought potential academic support. To whit:

I've had this draft/idea for a column for BF percolating for some time and never have found the time to properly research the subject at hand. [...] It's called "Negative Attraction" and it focuses on how so many people in comics want to focus solely on negative things. Notice, for instance, that someone can begin a thread or news item about a positive action, and the thread won't get much response. Now post a thread on the same day & time about something negative and watch the thread thrive for page after page.

A good book breaks new ground, brings in new readers and overall makes the industry look good to outsiders: 5 responses, maybe.

A book's writer makes a moronic comment about race or gender or any other social taboo and watch the fanboys come out of the woodwork to post their shock, disgust and sometimes outright hatred for all to see.

Also of note is how some creators have managed to make a career out of riding this wave of negative energy.

I was forced to agree with Mike and his theory of Negative Attraction in the comic book field. While there might be exceptions, of course, the rule of Negative Attraction was too well-documented to need any further proving. I had seen it on message boards, I had seen it at shows, and I had read it on letter pages. In fact, I was guilty of it as well, best exemplified by my recent blog-rant about what was wrong with today’s massive convention events; it was much easier to write that blog loaded with venom than it was to sing the praises in my review of Batman Begins. For that matter, the movie review was largely such a positive piece because it was compared to its cinematic predecessors for which I had little but contempt. In both cases, negativism both carried the day and fueled the way.

That said, I responded to Mike:

[...] I think you have a very valid point here -- Negativism has a lot more steam than praise or positivism, whether it be in comics or almost in any other entertainment/political enterprise. It's unfortunate, it's widespread, and it's sadly American. (This isn't to say it *doesn't* happen elsewhere, of course; only that it is a solid part of our own Western culture.)

I wish I had a lot of material to give you here, but I think this really falls more in the fields of Cultural Studies, Psychology, Mass Psychology, Linguistics, and Psycholinguistics. While I have little to back this up with in terms of quotable data, I think it has a lot to do with ego and security -- Combative comments and negativism not only requires very little support outside of personal opinion (though someone with a good deal of venom thrills in having true "ammunition"), but it also requires very little personal security. Even the most pathetic, insecure soul can complain... and perhaps feel better about their station in life by bringing another low; it takes someone happy enough to help raise another to be positive and complimentary.

At this point in the message, though, I do want to point out that the irony of all this is not lost on me: Both Mike and I were taking a negative stance against Negativism. Tough cycle to break. And, as Mike also notes, it extends far beyond just comics:

Obviously, this sort of thing isn't just in comics either. Watch the local news broadcasts. A man wins the Nobel Peace Prize, no one cares. Another man takes the police on a high-speed pursuit and people are riveted to the TV for hours.

What is it about us humans, and comic fans especially, that creates this negative attraction?

“If it bleeds, it leads,” is the popular TV news adage, and while literal blood is not necessary, the principle holds true: Conflict and misery hold our attention far better than success and praise.

Of course, conflict is a major component of storytelling, so focusing on the negativism of creators and companies rather than of characters and titles seems more appropriate; I don’t think anyone should be expected to read a book where no one, even on the metaphorical or metaphysical level, clashes with anyone else. Even a pacifist indie hit like Craig Thompson’s Blankets involves a psychic tug-of-war...not to mention a pissfight. (And, for that matter, even with a large amount of press nicely hailing the book’s achievements, the news is both relatively short-lived as well as tainted by a dribbling of negative critics -- in this case, like me.)

No, we’re talking about Negativism as a style, as a theme, and even as a business approach. Back to my e-mail:

Yeah, people (especially but not exclusively sad souls) are drawn to criticism rather than praise or delight. It's the opposite, really, of "getting more flies with honey than vinegar." Just look at John Byrne -- Still plenty of flies.

Truly, some websites and news sources draw their power from taking down others (including fellow sites/sources) than building a positive base -- one which isn’t trying to do something better or fix something or rail against something. It’s trying to do something new and do it well.

Forgive me for saying so, but it’s fitting that this concern should originate with the writer of LTB; his book and the Runemaster Studios system is one of those few places largely fortified against Negative Attraction. They decry virtually no one, they prey on virtually nothing.

Further, while I welcome additional examples of “clean-dealing” and positive comic book organizations, I’ll add one more personal note about Broken Frontier itself. Back in February, critic and blogger Ed Cunard posted a piece aimed to make comic book news sites more accountable as to how they review books in light of sponsorships. It was a well-intentioned and well-written complaint, frankly. To the credit of Broken Frontier’s message board community, it did not, as one might expect, catalyze a posting rampage against other, guilty news sites nor against Ed himself. Instead, in a wonderfully atypical response, the posters and the management of Broken Frontier publicly assessed and discussed the matter. An excellent but unfortunately rare response, I feel.

Even my own Mortal Coils title was written as a response to both the lackluster anthologies and poor suspense comics I had been reading; likewise, The Lone and Level Sands was a positive-though-critical reaction to mangled and manipulated Exodus stories either wholly inaccessible to nonbelievers and skeptics or, on the other hand, so subsumed by popular culture that the core story was lost. So, if I’m not just as guilty as the next guy, I should still be brought up on misdemeanor charges.

Still, I’ve seen message board threads thirty-five pages long, filled with the most vicious, nastiest personal insults about one, lone small press writer. I’ve read evil (and yet, at the same time, delicious) diatribes written by comic book creators against their would-be colleagues -- which readers then devour with delight. Our industry has feuds -- actual feuds! -- between any number of camps: From Gaiman to McFarlane to Liefeld to the Ultimate line to Pre-Crisis to Cerebus.

The comic book industry has a lot to complain about, apparently. Namely, each other.

And worse, we seem to like it.