What is the project objective:
To analyze the opinions of female comic book fans in relation to character death to see if certain characters, certain modes of death, or certain pieces of demographic information lead to similar or divergent opinions about the listed characters.

Why research the response of female comic book fans about character death: Because character death brings out many opinions from all comic book fans, and because the opinions of female comic book fans are woefully unrepresented in the comic book community. Little to no academic research has been completed on any opinions held by female comic book fans, and this study will fill an academic research void that has been long ignored.

How are participants in the study protected:
All replies to the survey entry are screened and will not be unscreened. While basic demographic information (age, income, and so on) is asked, no names, addresses, or other identifying personal information is asked. A follow-up e-mail address is optional. This e-mail will only be used if I read an answer that I would like to have clarified or expanded.

Why are you asking about demographics:
Demographics are a way to see how opinions merge and diverge. People who read 10 comic books a month, for example, may have different reactions to character death than people who read 20 comic books a month. Correlation is not causation, but demographics may show trends that would provide a basis for further study.

Why these characters:
I chose characters with two parameters: I wanted characters who were assumed dead (or had previously died), and I wanted even numbers of male and female characters. To allow for a wider selection or characters, I chose to use equal numbers of characters from Marvel and DC comics.

Why is fridging being used as the measurement for character death:
Fridging is a well-known descriptor for a character death that occurs for the sole purpose of causing reactions from other characters. By and large, the character dying is female, and the characters reacting are male. Fridings are also noted for their severity. Heroes are often not just murdered, but brutally murdered, and that murder is shown in detail. Fridging has also been used to describe character deaths that are very badly written or very sloppily handled. These instances of the term include both male and female character deaths. The opposite end of a fridging is a “good” character death; deaths that are noble sacrifices or are not just used as an emotional device for other characters.

What if I don’t recognize a character/have no opinion on the death of a character:
Feel free to skip any characters whom you either don’t know or don’t have an opinion.


Please take the time to choose options in the demographic information. Demographic information can prove or disprove theories about how opinions will be similar or different. Filling out the demographic information honestly will produce a more accurate study.


EDIT: Edited the demographics poll to ask how comics are read, also added "Caucasian" to the list of racial identifications.

EDIT 2: Edited the demographics poll to include an option for reading both trade paperbacks and single issues.

EDIT 3: To answer a question: People not from the U.S. are welcome to join in the survey. I apologize if my demographic information is American-centric, but being one, it's how I tend to think. Please feel free to answer demographic questions with the other questions in your comment if the demographic information I've provided isn't quite accurate for where you're from.

EDIT 4: To help people outside the U.S. better identify their personal background, I've included a question after the big demographic poll where non-U.S. participants can fill in their country of origin and racial background. U.S. participants are also welcome to use this question if they feel it better describes their background.

NEWEST EDITS:

EDIT 5: To answer a question on fridging: If your definition of fridging does not match the definition of fridging used in this study, please feel free to fill out the survey using your own definition and please explain what you define as a fridging.

EDIT 6: (30 Oct. 2009; 12:53 PM) Rephrased the definition of fridging in the FAQ section because I realized I'd identified it incorrectly (thanks to those who made me double-check). Time-stamp is in place so I can take into account what definition I was considering official when I review the results.

EDIT 7: Currency converter for non-U.S. particpants. This will let you put in your yearly income and convert it to U.S. dollars. There are 164 currencies on this converter, and I hope everyone can locate theirs.

Poll #1478124
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 0

What is your age range?

What is your racial background?

What is your average yearly household income?

How many comics do you read in a month?

How do you read your comics?

What is your level of education?

Poll #1478434
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 0

What is your country of origin/racial background?

Important Notes Before Starting:
Please put some sort of identifying characteristic into the title line of the comment box. This can be your preferred screenname or some other unique word or phrase that you can use if you need to comment more than once to properly express your opinion (see the next item for an explanation of multiple comments).

Please give the most detailed explanation of your feelings as you can. If you run out of space (Livejournal comments only accommodate 10,000 characters), cut and paste the excess into a new comment, and please make sure to mark in the title bar that the comment is a continuation of your answer.

Do not be afraid of flames or negative feedback. All comments for this entry will be screened, and they will not be unscreened at any time. The only publically viewable information from this study will be the demographic information and the final paper (which will not include personally identifying information of any kind).

Survey:
1. Was the death of Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat (Giant Size Astonishing X-Men #1) a fridging? Why or why not?

2. Was the death of Angelo Espinosa/Skin (Uncanny X-men #423) a fridging? Why or why not?

3. Was the death of Janet Van Dyne/The Wasp (Secret Invasion #8) a fridging? Why or why not?

4. Was the death of Steve Rogers/Captain America (Captain America, Volume 5, #25) a fridging? Why or why not?

5. Was the death of Karen Page (Daredevil, Volume 2, #5) a friding? Why or why not?

6. Was the death of Bill Foster/Goliath (Civil War #4) a fridging? Why or why not?

7. Was the death of Kara Zor-El/Supergirl (Crisis on Infinite Earths #7) a fridging? Why or why not?

8. Was the death of Stephanie Brown/Spoiler/Robin (Batman #633) a fridging? Why or why not?

9. Was the death of Sue Dibny (Identity Crisis #1) a fridging? Why or why not?

10. Was the death of Sodam Yat (Green Lantern Corps, Volume 2, #36) a fridging? Why or why not?

11. Was the death of Ted Kord/Blue Beetle (Countdown to Infinite Crisis) a fridging? Why or why not?

12. Was the death of Eddie Bloomberg/Kid Devil (Teen Titans, Volume 3, #74) a fridging? Why or why not?

All comments for this post are screened and will remain screened.