benlehman

I'm a big fan of webcomics. I think my favorite right now is either Digger or Questionable Content, but it is very close between a lot of them.

I have been a fan of webcomics for a long time, but I have always been afraid to tell the people whose comics I read about my enjoyment. I always looked at comic forums with a sort of strange disgust and a bit of "there before the grace of God go I." I already spend a big investment of time at other forums, of course, and there is something slightly off-putting about the obsessiveness of a "fan community."

Also, I think, I've been put off by my own fannish obsessiveness, or rather, simply the barriers that I put up in my mind between the artists whose work I like and myself. "They're the big artists, they couldn't possibly care about what I think," and all. I think this has a lot to do with the way that our society puts up barriers between artists and the rest of us, and tells us that our own art is no good unless it has been approved by a multi-billion dollar corporation.

Anyway, recently, I've gotten in the habit of just e-mailing the artist whenever there is a particularly cool thing I want to say "thanks" for. And, damn, but I get some nice e-mail back, and start up some good conversations. As compared to the alternatives (fan worship, silence, etc.) it is just so pleasant and refreshingly human. Not "Oh, you are a brilliant artist, and I worship you" but "Hey, guy, I like your stuff a lot."

I reccommend it to anyone.