Who Reads Letters Columns?
Chris Juricich
repute at DC, I always read the letters columns to check for my letters
being published. Now, twenty years later, with the newsgroups, I'm much
less inclined to write LOCs.
Actually, I tend to read only the editorial responses in most letters
columns, and if the response merits my interest, I'll read the missive
that prompted it. About the only letter cols I remember from recently
which I felt inclined to read were John Byrne's Next Men column, or at
times the letters in Miller's books.
How about y'all?
--
Chris Juricich
Berkeley, CA
Elayne Wechsler-Chaput
: I'll admit, back in the mid 70s when I was a minor letterhack of some
: How about y'all?
I've started skimming them for familiar names, and if I know the people
actually putting the columns together (nice to see Ali Morales do one in
the most recent RAY, for instance). I try to remember to do the usual
Augustyn and Roo and Kupps check to see if they've said anything
controversial that's going to lead to bitching 'round the DC newsgroup.
Other than that, I read the more unusual stuff - the discussions in the
back of CONCRETE, the Shade journal entries in STARMAN, that sort of
thing. Every now and then I egoscan, as more and more people have been
asking my permission to use excerpts from my reviews in their letters
column (blanket permission hereby granted, just attribute it to me and
add either my E-mail address or "Brooklyn NY" after my name).
But all in all, especially with the Big Two, I'm not a major reader of
letter columns, no.
- Elayne (but I miss GROO GRAMS, which will always be my favorite)
--
E-Mail me, the "Firehead Head," for more info about the official ()~~
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Sean Med
writer, such as Preacher, The Invisibles, Astro City, and Sin City. It's
nice getting feedback from the horse's mouth (as icky as that image may
be), rather than some editor saying, "Yes, I'm sure [Writer X] would agree
with you, and be sure to look for [Character Y] in the upcoming [Massive
intercompany crossover Z]!"
And I always make a point of finding out what Charles Sperling has to say,
of course.
Sean
Jack Grimes
>
>I'll admit, back in the mid 70s when I was a minor letterhack of some
>repute at DC, I always read the letters columns to check for my letters
>being published. Now, twenty years later, with the newsgroups, I'm much
>less inclined to write LOCs.
I've found the rac groups to slowly replace my letter writing as
well... :)
>Actually, I tend to read only the editorial responses in most letters
>columns, and if the response merits my interest, I'll read the missive
>that prompted it. About the only letter cols I remember from recently
>which I felt inclined to read were John Byrne's Next Men column, or at
>times the letters in Miller's books.
The only lettercolumns I look at now are the Super-titles. Even those I
only scan. Partly because of your reason, but mainly because they *all*
say the same thing! Either "Congratulation on <issue>", "This is the best
issue ever!", or "Can I have a Baldy?"! And then the *worst* part is that,
even if the issue stank like week old fish (like ACTION #718), there is
*no* negative letters!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Mark Stephenson
>
> I'll admit, back in the mid 70s when I was a minor letterhack of some
> repute at DC, I always read the letters columns to check for my letters
> being published. Now, twenty years later, with the newsgroups, I'm much
> less inclined to write LOCs.
>
> columns, and if the response merits my interest, I'll read the missive
> that prompted it. About the only letter cols I remember from recently
> which I felt inclined to read were John Byrne's Next Men column, or at
> times the letters in Miller's books.
>
I'm pretty much the same as you.
Gushing fanboy/girl letters make me cringe.
And if editors run letters that contain critiscism as well as praise it
makes that editor's views a little bit more valid
IMO
--
..................................................
Mark Stephenson on his Win 95 machine
Sanity is overrated - Insanity is underated
..................................................
Steven Chaput
: I'll admit, back in the mid 70s when I was a minor letterhack of some
: repute at DC, I always read the letters columns to check for my letters
: being published. Now, twenty years later, with the newsgroups, I'm much
: less inclined to write LOCs.
Frankly, I was never much of a letter writer. I probably sent out less
then a dozen LoCs and probably had about half of them see print. (I did
learn that Marvel would edit critical letters to make them positive, so
after two tries never wrote them again.)
: Actually, I tend to read only the editorial responses in most letters
: columns, and if the response merits my interest, I'll read the missive
: that prompted it...
This is how I've been doing it for years. Only a few letter columns seem
fun or interesting enough to warrant the time it takes to wade through
them.
Naturally, GrooGrams were always fun, and most books that Mark
Evanier wrote usually had some great pages (especially if he'd dump the
LoCs and turn out an essay on Hollywood). I find STARMAN's page will
often have something interesting, but have found that several of DC's
editors swarmy attitudes make their pages insulting and a platform for
their own pettiness. IMHO, of course.
Steve
--
sh...@panix.com "There is only one good, knowledge,
and one evil, ignorance."
Socrates
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
seh...@outer-net.com
>Chris Juricich wrote:
>>
>> I'll admit, back in the mid 70s when I was a minor letterhack of some
>> repute at DC, I always read the letters columns to check for my letters
>> being published. Now, twenty years later, with the newsgroups, I'm much
>> less inclined to write LOCs.
>>
>> columns, and if the response merits my interest, I'll read the missive
>> which I felt inclined to read were John Byrne's Next Men column, or at
>> times the letters in Miller's books.
>>
>> How about y'all?
>
>I'm pretty much the same as you.
>
>Gushing fanboy/girl letters make me cringe.
>
>And if editors run letters that contain critiscism as well as praise it
>makes that editor's views a little bit more valid
>
>IMO
This is a large trend in Mrvel (especially the X-Books). I have never seen a bad letter
printed, but I would never print a bad letter in my own comic book, if I had one.
I now only read the responses, because they always seem to give hints about future
plots in their respnses.
-MKS
Kevin J. Maroney
>(I did
>learn that Marvel would edit critical letters to make them positive, so
>after two tries never wrote them again.)
Marvel would also edit postitive letters to make them more positive,
or to give them something to react against, or for no good reason at
all. A friend of mine in the 1980's had two letters published in two
months or so; one was edited to say that Ron Frenz was better than
Ditko, and the other was changed to imply that a story was "too good
for comics" so that the editor could say "We believe that _no_ story
is too good for Marvel Comics."
Byrne, when he was handling the letter column on FF anonymously, would
make sure to run the negative letters, but I believe TPTB made him
stop.
--
Kevin J. Maroney | Crossover Technologies | ke...@crossover.com
Games are my entire waking life.