Making Clickbait Work For YOU
★MCU Casting News★, Daredevil and Batman
Look, one of my favourite things in the world is seeing clickbait sites posting “Marvel movie news” that they just made up. On Sunday I saw one of those for the upcoming Fantastic Four movie, trying to get themselves those sweet sweet clicks and retweets and I thought…
“Shit. Why not get ME some of that?”
I even leaked my arduous “screen test”:
So, fingers crossed I get that “Feige Finger” pointing my way and finally prove myself on the big screen!! #chip4reed
YOU FUCKING IDIOT
Hey! I’m YOU! WE’RE the “fucking idiot”!
FUUUUUUUCK
In actual work news, DAREDEVIL 650 (uh, also issue 2) is out this week!
It’s oversized and full of amazing artists! Plus it has a short story by Ann Nocenti and myself! AND it pays off some plot threads that I started seeeecretly laying down a couple of years ago in the title, which is always satisfying for me! Maybe it’ll be satisfying for YOU? I don’t know! I’m just the writer!
Also! BATMAN: THE KNIGHT 8 is out this week! In which I get to introduce a new mentor to Bruce, the devilish and brilliant Daniel Captio:
Oooooo spooky!
I know I go on and on about this, but I’m just so incredibly blessed to work with some of the best artists in the world.
And now, a question from the comments!
Hey chip, I hope u don’t mind me throwing a random question at u. Do u think it’s ok to still like the works of comic writers and artists, even when they have become controversial for one reason or another, and everyone seems to be telling you that you shouldn’t like or support anything of theirs? And I’m not even talking anything new from them, but what’s already out there, from a while ago, before their metaphorical fall so to speak. Whether they said something, or were rumored to have been involved with something (nothing criminal of course) and they suddenly become persona non grata to fans who don’t want them thriving or for people to engage with anything they have done already. Is it still ok to like what they did, or even new things they have out now? Maybe it’s a little too ethically challenging to expect a for sure answer, as there are so many things happening at once that it’s never just a single thing, but I just don’t think that it’s a bad thing to like what you like, even if mutuals and fellows in the fan base say otherwise. What’s ur two cents if I may ask? —RChatham92
Well, shit, that’s a pretty intense question for someone like me (a dummy).
The short answer is, everyone’s different. Everyone has their various lines, what they work out in their heads of how bad someone’s been to be unsupportable. Or, how bad a company’s been. Or, how bad a, uh, country’s been. We make these decisions every day with purchases. There are places I won’t shop at, products I won’t buy. There are people whose work I won’t lay down money for. And there are some creators where I just can’t enjoy their work anymore, even if I’ve owned it for decades. A story about someone’s love for their kids is forever ruined when you find out that writer was abusive to their kids, you know?
Everyone has their lines, their compromises. All you can do is listen to what people have to say—people affected by these creators—and check your gut about what you should do, like with anything in life.
You’re the final arbiter of what you consume and how you consume it. This world is complex and you have more information than ever to make your decisions, and that can feel overwhelming.
Just do the best you can. Be kind and listen.
This is a weird note to end on, so here’s a picture of Margaret Atwood reading Sex Criminals!
Oh, wait! One MORE thing! There have been some major fuck-ups behind the scenes here and Substack has been auto-renewing the $250 CHIPNUTS subscribers even though that level does not exist anymore. They’ve also been auto-renewing Annual subscribers at the old rate, a rate that does not exist anymore.
This is, as the kids say, bullshit. I’ve been communicating with Substack about this and they are going to refund the difference for those who were overcharged for the Annual level, and bring the Chipnuts level people down to an Annual level with the appropriate refund.
So don’t do anything rash! I’ve got this! I swear!!!!!
Bye!
Hey Chip, this is a question I’ve wanted to ask for a while now. Usually you always refer to yourself as “dumb” and “bad at your job”, but in recent years, it is hard to deny that you have written critically acclaimed books that are loved and annoyed by fans and critics alike. As new fans get into comics, and younger fans mature and become more seasoned, have you ever genuinely thought about the fact that now or in the near future some of these fans may refer to your runs on books as “their favorite, “definitive”, or even that some may refer to you as “their favorite writer”? Sorry to drop that bomb on you, but it’s something I’ve wanted to ask for a little bit now. I hope you have a great week!
chip,
thank you for all of this, as always!
here's a question that will seem like a real question until the end or somewhere in the middle (like now) where i reveal that it's mostly (if not entirely, or really it's up to you how much) a joke question:
have you ever considered referring to "clickbait" as "CHIPbait"?
thank you for your time
love,
myq (a guy who signs his internet comments like letters sometimes like now)