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You acknowledge that this is unscientific, but even covering that poll result seems misleading. When two of the choices are diversity, and the only other two relate to the things that a lot of people don’t pay attention to (preview catalogs, press coverage, and interviews), it’s obvious that diversity will finish with a high percentage of the vote.

Consider a poll question like: “What character do you like most?” Choices: (a) Black Widow, (b) Vice, (c) Skateman, and (d) Toad. You couldn’t then write a post saying that 100% of readers prefer Black Widow.

Lack of diversity is and always has been a liability for mainstream comics publishers, and I’d argue that the sales numbers still show that people aren’t buying based on diversity.

(Also, love the site. Really. Keep up the good work.)

First and foremost for me is whether it’s a corporate owned intellectual property or a creator owned intellectual property.

I didn’t vote on that poll on twitter and won’t vote on The Beat’s poll because an important option isn’t included. (and frankly, since The Beat constantly gives sales reports I.m pretty surprised that it was omitted)

Cost.

The cost of single issue comics, most over priced, as compared to buying a collected book or original GN. I haven’t bought a single issue of a comic in over five years now. But not because of diversity, or reviews, or cover or any on that list. I find it’s just more cost effective to buy all the chapters in the book at one time. (and because I feel pretty stupid paying $5 for a 22 page chapter of a story)

Also, 95% of what I read is by cartoonists, not a creative team.

Some factors that influence me that were not part of the poll:

– Character. Marvel was my gateway into comics so I do keep an eye on their output. But a couple decades of Marvel’s seasonal events and churned out stories have gotten me to the point where I only really care about a bare handful of the characters, and almost none of them are A-listers. For example, I’m reading Captain Marvel for Alpha Flight, and the moment they exit the book or their treatment reverts to the standard nonsense, I’m gone.

– Cost (mentioned above). I’m more likely to pick up a $3 book by an unknown than a $5 book from an established franchise. $5 first issues are the reason I decided to give Extraordinary X-Men, the last Ant-Man series, and several other of Marvel’s recent offerings a pass. On the other side of things, $1 issues have gotten me hooked on quite a few Comixology Submit titles.

– Publisher. DC’s recent flailing for direction and Marvel’s clunky attempts to synergize their comics with other-media adaptations have both been something of a turn-off over the last few years. It’s one more barrier to getting me to buy their products and has lead me to actively seek output from publishers I feel have something more interesting to offer.