Black Superheroes, Milestone Comics, and Their Fans

Appendix

Appendix Over the course of this study I conducted formal and semi-formal interviews with 128 male comic book fans. The majority of the research was conducted in the greater Toronto area with supplemental research in New York City and Chicago. The respondents ranged in age from five to thirty- three years of age, with a median age of thirteen years. Of the 128 fans 64 (50%) were White, 41 (32%) were Black, 18 (14%) were West Asian, and 5 (4%) were Hispanic or East Asian. The age and ethnicity range of the respondents used in this study closely parallels the general distribution found in comics fandom at large (see Parsons, 1991). Of the 128 fans that constituted the overall sample there were 25 young fans that were particularly helpful. This core group of twenty-five local fans introduced me to other enthusiasts, provided a wealth of technical information about the comics subculture, and provided useful feedback on my research. In this sub-group 14 (56%) were White, 8 (32%) were Black, and 3 (12%) were East Asian. All of these particularly helpful informants were between twelve and eighteen years old. The bulk of people I spoke with over the course of this study counted themselves as serious comic books fans (purchasing at least two comic books per week). In fact, many of the fans considered the quantity of comics an individual buys each week to be as strong an indication of their commitment to the medium as was frequent participation in fandom activities such as attending comicons. Most regular comic book series are published on a monthly basis but publishers stagger their release so they can offer a variety of titles each week. An average comic book specialty store will stock twenty to forty new issues each week. Excluding special promotions, informants’ estimates of their own purchasing practices ranged from six to thirty-five new comics a month. Due to fluctuations in the fans’ disposable income, availability of comics and delays in printing the amount of comics purchased by an individual fan may vary considerably week to week. The consensus of the retailers in the Toronto area is that a serious fan will purchase between three and six comic books each week, on average. This page intentionally left blank ...