Comicsgate remains an interesting lens to examine community dynamics and narrative propagation in the broader context of "culture war". Comicsgate was originally a decentralized movement of comic book readers who were reacting changes in the content, stories, and characters from publishers like Marvel and DC Comics. Comicsgate was and has been criticized some for being a right wing movement with some negative characteristics. The Wikipedia entry for Comicsgate presents a substantially negative critical view, but is useful for understanding how Comicsgate was perceived externally. Comicsgate somewhat mirrored the Gamer Gate movement, but added a merchandise component.
I was an active participant in the decentralized phase of Comicsgate, and lingered on for a time when it transformed into a loosely federated group of YouTuber promoting crowdfunding comic books. The content of the YouTube programs became less interesting to me - and I was disturbed by the treatment of creative professionals like Tim Lim, Doug Ernst, Mike S. Miller, and Doug TenNapel. Many of us separated ourselves from the group and went on to pursue other endeavors between 2018 and 2019.
ETHAN VAN SCIVER'S COMICSGATE
By the end of 2019 Comicsgate, could be properly labeled Ethan Van Sciver's Comicsgate. Van Sciver a former comic book artist at Marvel and DC Comics, claimed to have been fired from DC Comics because of his political views. Van Sciver's YouTube channel became the central hub for Comicsgate, and Van Sciver asserted a legal claim to the Comicsgate brand. Van Sciver used conflict laden content to entertain his viewers, and grew his YouTube channel "ComicArtistPro Secrets" focusing on performative angry criticism of the then new Star Wars sequels and Marvel movies. The attention of the audience was then directed at crowdfunding projects for comics or other merchandise from Van Sciver and his associates.
A REOCCURING PATTERN
In 2020 I began to notice a reoccurring pattern. Van Sciver or one of his surrogates, would attempt to antagonize a figure like Doug Ernst, or Mike S. Miller - if and when they would respond to Van Sciver, he and his fans would take to social media to proclaim that they were "obsessed" with Comicsgate. While Van Sciver had clear monetary incentive to stir up fights for YouTube, for the targets this was perceived as an annoyance or inconvenience, having to take the time to clarify the record or defend their professional records.
OUTSIDE OF A LIMITED CONTEXT COMICSGATE IS INVISIBLE
I received some of this same attention, but noticed over time that none of noise mapped back to real life. None of the memes or taunts produced by Van Sciver and Comicsgate had an iota of impact on my personal or professional life. Since 2020 even though I have been active in national and local politics, less than ten people outside of Comicsgate have ever asked a question about it, in any setting. For creative professionals like Ernst, Lim, Mike S. Miller, and Eric July who are comic book publishers - there can certainly be some impact and they are somewhat compelled to actively engage in reputation management.
INSPIRATION STRIKES
In early October of year a Van Sciver fan on Twitter,** "Zach Morris Supremacy"** reacted to some causal criticism I had posted about Comicsgate. His angry rant inadvertently persuaded me to consider examining and documenting the Comicsgate phenomena, particularly when he fervently insisted that I was obligated to participate in Ethan Van Sciver's "TrashCast" YouTube program. His argument was compelling, but perhaps not in the way he envisioned. This type of commentary is fairly typical for fans of Van Sciver's Comicsgate - where targets are depicted as cartoonish villains "attacking" or "stabbing" the heroes of Comicsgate in the back.
CULTURE WAR CHRONICLES
As I began to examine and criticize Comicsgate, and attempt to make some sense of the group dynamics - it began to feel that Twitter was not the best site for a long form examination of a topic. I also realized at some point I would want to explore other topics and to see if the concepts could be generalized across other groups in the "culture war" space. I began writing the "Culture War Chronicles" here on Hive and Inleo.io. Thus far the series has been well received by a temperate audience, and I've enjoyed the process of examining and reasoning through the mechanics of online groups. The objects of this analysis have been perhaps less enthusiastic in their reaction. In a recent Twitter exchange I reminded that "Zach Morris Supremacy" (ZMS) that he and other superfans had been clamoring for my attention, and that it was a bit of cognitive distortion to feign shock when they finally received it. "Zack" here rapidly cycled from outrage to pretending indifference in an audacious display of selective memory.
YOUTUBE AND PARASOCIAL ATTACHMENT
For an overview of parasocial relationships reference the Wikipedia entry. Briefly this a type of, generally one-side relationship between a mass media entertainer and their audience members where interactions are typically mediated or somewhat limited. The boundaries and intensity of these relationships are perhaps distorted and aggravated, when the forum for the interaction is driven by Youtube.
Comicsgate relies heavily upon livestreams, that is the performers are interacting with the audience through a live text chat feed, and through messages conveyed by superchats. A superchat is a message purchased by the audience member. The message is briefly featured at the prominently at the top of the chat box with a duration corresponding to the cost of the chat. A message that cost $20 will persist for a long duration than a $5 superchat. There is nothing inherently negative about the superchat process - as viewers can essentially subsidize the entertainer to produce more of the same content.
Youtuber's can and do begin to focus on the chat, and particularly the superchats to produce more revenue. Because Comicsgate blends the concepts of performance, fandom, and social movement it may have a significant segment of audience members who are susceptible to forming a disproportionately intense attachment to Ethan Van Sciver and his fellow YouTube performers. Van Sciver has certainly advanced and sustained a narrative that things that criticism or "attacks" on him are attacks on the audience. Loyalty to Van Sciver and Comicsgate has been a continual theme. While this is presented in a comedic context by Van Sciver - and an emotional and mentally resilient viewer may process it accordingly- social media is littered with belligerent and often incoherent rants from zealous Comicsgate fans.
Van Sciver seems to directly encourage this process by designating an "enemy" of Comicsgate, and then praising his fans for their accosting the targets on social media. Comicsgate then a mechanism by which affirmation and validation can be awarded to it participants. Fans who do not receive validation or a sense of community in other contexts can obtain recognition by their participation in online movements. Participation in online communities can be entirely healthy. The context and activities of the online community determine the quality of the experience. With respect to Comicsgate observation suggests that Van Sciver abuses parasocial attachment to exploit his own audience. Ironically because of this exploitation and sunken cost dynamics, Van Sciver's fans will often react angrily when their own abuse is accurately described. When fandom becomes a primary component of a fans personal identity - criticism of the object of their enthusiasm is a direct criticism of their own identity.
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