Readers and Fans: Lived Comics Cultures

This chapter expands on some of the different practices, interactions and preferences of readers and fans as part of their lived comics cultures, for, as Benjamin Woo argues, “An adequate understanding of the readers of comic books and graphic novels must extend beyond reader-text relationships to comprise contexts of reception” (125). Engagement with the medium has taken various forms, from casual readership and sharing titles amongst friendship groups in childhood, through to being a collector. Further, the chapter looks at how readers, both historically and today, have accessed their comics in varied formats and across many genres in Britain and the USA, linking their lived experience with production. In looking into these issues, the chapter touches upon several different publishers, genres, and titles, including DC and Marvel comics as well as British girls' comics and what might be considered cult publications because of their popularity and lasting impact on the comics scene, such as 2000 AD (1977-date).