DC Brings the Letter Column Back to its Titles - Opinion

A couple of years ago, when I was first getting into comics, I entertained dreams of owning, in some form, every Batman-family issue printed since the time I should have started reading comics (roughly 1992, when I was 12 years old and missing out on the Knightfall saga). As a result, I ended up with a huge pile of single issues from a bygone age, filled with curiosities. The advertisements for barely-remembered video games and trendy snackfoods from my childhood were weird enough, but the real oddity was the letters column. More than any of the other weirdness, these almost 20-year-old letters from fans struck an odd chord with me. They were like time capsules, carefully preserving the attitudes of a generation before mine, and they made for fascinating reading.

DC Comics recently brought letters columns back to most of their regular publications - after an almost ten-year absence - and I don't think I'm in the minority when I say I'm really enjoying it. I will say, however, that what I find interesting are still the letters themselves and the opinions expressed in them, rather than the feedback they receive. I can only imagine what a hellishly high-pressure job being a comics editor for a major publisher like DC is, and so most of the editors' responses are understandably uninspiring, often reading like one of the following:

1. A thinly-veiled sales pitch ("Wow! Since you like this comic so much, you should go buy this other comic that's a lot like it, too!")

2. A tongue-in-cheek dismissal of an insane request ("It's great that you want to see more of Ace the Bat-Hound, because it means I've won the office pool - we really thought everybody hated him! Luckily for you, this is why God invented trade paperbacks. Go buy some.")

3. A generic form answer from someone who would rather be tackling the mountain of actual work piling up on their desk instead of easing the concerns of the raving fanboys we all know ourselves to be ("You raise some very interesting points in your letter, [insert name here]! What do the rest of you guys think about [insert vague - and possibly misrepresented - main idea of fan's letter]?

There are, of course, exceptions to this, and there have been some really great, in-depth responses to letters. But what I personally get from the letters is a sense of community that I otherwise find a bit lacking. Very few of my close friends are really "in" to comics, and those that are have a preference for Marvel that this born and bred DC Head finds both disturbing and difficult to relate to. The letters pages give me a chance to see what other DC fans think about the titles I enjoy. It's both fun and infuriating to see where my tastes differ from others, and seeing where others place their priorities in relation to mine is a good way of reminding myself to notice things that I often take for granted; I really need to slow down and appreciate the art on its own merits, for example.

Some have argued that letter columns are an out-dated concept in these days of Twitter, Facebook, online forums, etc., and they have a good point: as far as being a means to communicate with other fans and comic creators, the letter column is pitifully underpowered. But maybe that isn't the standard we should judge them by today. Maybe we need to look at them less as vehicles of influence or bragging rights and more as messages to the comic fans of the future. Maybe the thing that's really cool about them is that someday, ten or twenty or fifty years from now, some kid like me could go hunting through his comic shop's back issue bins and end up seeing, in black and white type in the back of just the issue he was looking for, proof of the great tradition he's carrying on.

Next Time: A review of Warner Brothers' Green Lantern. I really hope it doesn't suck.