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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/27757
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/27757
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I think your revised question reveals a confusion of two different things. There are works with strong and enduring followings, and there are works that inspire roleplaying. There may be some intersection between these two categories, but they are by no means the same thing.

The roleplaying phenomena seems to have arisen out of comic books with no particular literary merit. As far as I can tell, there is not a lot of ongoing readership of older comic books. The time I went into a comic book store looking for something for my grandson, I did not find a shelf of classic comic books. All the action seems to be in new titles. The cult is a cult of the characters, not the works. Feeding the cult of the character requires a continual stream of new work. That in itself indicates that there is little literary merit here, the real attraction is the brand.

Why are people attracted to brands? Because associating themselves with brands makes them feel better about themselves in some way. Why does the bullied kid identify with Bat Man? Because Bat Man can fight bullies. Why do people buy iPhones or Gucci, or Ferraris? To make a statement about themselves to the world.

Branding is a big thing in the entertainment world now. Comic Con may have started out of fan obsession with Iron Man, but the whole phenomena has been thoroughly corporatized to the point where they design the dolls and the lunchboxes before they ever writer the script.

Role playing is about brand identity, not literary merit. Beating Disney at this game today is going to be next to impossible. Writing a book with a strong and enduring following, on the other hand, is about literary excellence, and does not involve any dressing up or conference attending.

Original score: 1