Fan Fic is Sick

I have been a member of this site for quite a few years now. Time has passed with such alarming regularity that I cannot remember where, when or why I joined CBM. One thing is for sure though, I love this site! This is, in my opinion, the most accessible site on the web for comic book related news. If that wasn’t enough, Galactus and his minions have crafted a world where the most serious comic collector and the regular movie fan can converse as equals. The community has grown and has gone from strength to strength over the years. But it is not all good news, this growth has taken it‘s toll on what was once one of my favourite sections, “Fan Fic”.

The problem is simple, overcrowding is pushing many peoples hard work down and out of view. This is a frustrating occurrence and one I have been on the sharp end of several times with casts, art and even an original hero bio being lost to the archives. The hours I, like many others, spend on these articles is nothing short of wasted. I can only imagine the messages of anger our lord Galactus receives on this subject, but is it really fair to burden the great one with these ramblings? I think not. Yes, there are one or two things big G could do to ease the issue but the true solution requires something even the almighty has no control over.

Firstly, the “Fan Fic” tab is a large umbrella sheltering a vast and diverse community of articles. Surely we can trim this with “Fan Cast”, “Fan Art” and “Fan Story” sections? I am sure this is within the big mans powers but he hasn’t done it. Why? Maybe he has seen what I have seen…

Dividing this section will only be a band-aid covering the wound. The real problem is us. YES US! Unless we change the way we use the Fan Fic section we will always have these problems. There are too many rehashed articles cluttering this site. So we need to address this issue and raise the question, why?

What is the point in posting up castings we’ve seen time and time again? It seems to me the brutal truth is peoples sorry quest for acceptance. I really don’t mean any offence by saying that but what other excuse is there? Many fan casts posted these days have only one thought put into them “this guy was popular in a previous casting so it’s sure to get me some kudos”. People tend to pick the best from other peoples articles and throw them together in a bid for popularity. I pride myself on trying to make my fan casts as unique as possible, yes there may be one or two choices seen elsewhere but as a whole, they remain a unique and personal piece. If it goes down like a lead balloon then so be it, if it goes down well then great! Either way, I sleep better at night knowing the article was my work based on what I truly feel to be a good cast.

If you think a rehash of the most popular casting choices is going to give you a boost up the popularity ladder then think again. It is getting stale, people are starting to see the cracks and others are turning away from the section completely. Try something fresh, what’s the worst that could happen? Someone says they don’t like your choice, boo hoo! What’s the best that can happen? You are praised for an inspiring cast that no one had thought of. Isn’t that better than a pat on the back for simply following the crowd?

All I ask is that when any of us submit a fan cast, we put effort into it. Try to explain who the character is, why you think your chosen actor could do the job and lastly, try to make sure it really is your chosen actor. Don’t take credit for someone else’s work. If your casting includes one or two “used” choices then fair enough but if the number of recycled castings outweigh the rest of your article do us all a favour, don’t click “submit“. Save the file and work on it a while.

Again, I mean no offence to any user on this site and I am not belittling anyone’s work. But if we keep infesting this site with the herpes of fiction then things will only get worse. Lets show a little common sense when posting articles, leave the big G man to keep the wondrous CBM wheels turning smoothly and do something ourselves to make Fan Fic excellent once more!