A million times this—a great critique of the current scene’s flaws. Many indie comics veer dangerously close to “vanity press” territory, feeding on copious amounts of self-delusion. And in part it’s because of the breaking of the “honest feedback loop”, as mentioned in the quoted thread. I’ve said it before—there were and are many problems in the “old days” of comics, but the entry level standards back then were much higher, generally speaking. And that’s why so many comics were produced that are still read, reprinted, and admired—even revered! NOW, not only can anyone and everyone self-publish, but the parasocial elements get tangled into the proceedings, and this skews and screws up everything…usually not for the better. Because of the formation of these strange online tribes/gangs/mobs, people are scared to say anything that will be construed (or twisted, clipped, and misrepresented) as “negative attacks” about the creations of their OWN groups. They know they risk being ganged up on, viciously beaten online, and then kicked out; and similarly, they’re terrified to say anything GOOD about the work of anyone deemed “non-tribe” or “designated enemy of the month”. All of this kills the “honest feedback loop”. And it gets even more warped because sometimes fans from one tribe will buy demonstrably weak products from their in-group, not for their intrinsic merits, but simply as a way to make a statement and to “own” the other tribe. Despite the denials of some, this exact thing OBVIOUSLY happens regularly regardless of political affiliation. “Right-wing” indie people do this just as much, and as easily, as the so-called “SJW leftists” they regularly denounce. “Canceling” is still alive and well! In the old days the process of entry into comics was quieter, brutal, but more honest. The survival decision, the verdict on the work, was just between the reader/fan and the spinner rack—an anonymous process. The verdict was the sales figures, and before that, the opinion of the editor. It wasn’t endlessly played out in public, in tweets and streams and vicious online brawls. If the work was good and appealed to the audience, it sold…and if it didn’t, it was dropped. All this other BS didn’t and couldn’t exist…and that was one big reason why standards were maintained. This all happened more privately…and the entry level to get in as a “professional” at the big companies was HIGH. Everyone maintained the standards. Editors such as Joe Kubert, Archie Goodwin, Jim Shooter, and so many others KNEW THE CRAFT. So if you were finally published one fine day, that was VERIFIABLE PROOF that you’d hit the mark, and were good enough. Being a “pro” actually meant something! NOW, it’s a warped free-for-all with everyone pretending they can reinvent the wheel—often not caring about the methods and standards of the past. None of this will change, generally, because it’s a different era now with different forces and we’re not going back. But the good news is that there are still some amazing talents out there.