One hundred years ago, your community was the town
you lived in and the people you saw every day. In this age of the internet,
community is a self defined.You are free to find the people you want to
interact with, share your life with and do it on your own terms. The community
of comics that I have immersed myself in these last few years has made me think
deeply about what our community is, how it interacts, and why it’s so special
and important.
One of the amazing things I have discovered with
the community of comics is how much the lines between a fan and a creator blur
and shift rapidly. Finding out that most creators are they themselves fans of
other creators, and have just as much love and passion for comics, humanizes
the people I would idolize, and strengthens my appreciation for their work.
Being able to talk with creators about their work, their process and their
ideas online and at conventions ties me to comics in a way reading a work by
itself never could.
Comics are the only form of entertainment and
education that I enjoy seeing "behind the scenes" of, and discovering
how they are made, all the hard work involved in bringing them to us and the love
people have for reading and creating them. Before I found this community I
never understood the role of an inker, or a colorist, or a letterer. All I knew
was there was someone who wrote a comic, and I thought someone who drew a
comic, sometimes that was the same person. The amount of work that goes into
the production of these works we all enjoy is staggering, and getting to
understand that process through this community we have built has given me a
deeper love of the format.
Along that same line, the people I have met online who
are fans like myself, have inspired me to read books I never would have before,
and to understand comics in ways I never could have on my own, to write about
comics that I never would have had the confidence to do by myself. Often, for
me, the interactions I have with other people who are fans of comics are as
important to me as the comics themselves. One of the most surprising things
that has come from this community I've found is; what used to be a very
isolated and singular hobby, now has outlets for vibrant discussions.
I want to say thank you to all the friends I have made
through comics in the last few years. Thank you to all the amazing creators who
share their works with me. Thank you to the industry that works to bring comics
to me for my enjoyment. Finally, thanks to this community of such great people,
I am happy and honored to be a part of it.
