Watchman author, Alan Moore, has a few words about fandom. In the past he’s taken on comic book companies and how they’ve bleed dry every scrap of an idea he’s ever put down in a comic. However, this editorial is a bit different.

Moore paints a portrait of the kind of fan who actually bothers him. He does not pull punches.

An older animal for one thing, with a median age in its late 40s, fed, presumably, by a nostalgia that its energetic predecessor was too young to suffer from. And while the vulgar comic story was originally proffered solely to the working classes, soaring retail prices had precluded any audience save the more affluent; had gentrified a previously bustling and lively cultural slum neighbourhood. This boost in fandom’s age and status possibly explains its current sense of privilege, its tendency to carp and cavil rather than contribute or create. I speak only of comics fandom here, but have gained the impression that this reflexive belligerence – most usually from middle-aged white male conservatives – is now a part of many fan communities. My 14-year-old grandson tells me older Pokémon aficionados can display the same febrile disgruntlement. Is this a case of those unwilling to outgrow childhood enthusiasms, possibly because these anchor them to happier and less complex times, who now feel they should be sole arbiters of their pursuit?

“Reflexive belligerence” is the name of my metal band.

Moore is describing the old gatekeeper’s mentality—the kind of person who sees a hot girl with a Metallica shirt on and who accosts her to name five Metallica songs. These people want their secret society to be secret and only for them. I

I"m not always with Alan on things, but I do agree with him here.