Or, does it?

Lately I've been struggling a lot with the fact that there are so many causes out there in the world I could be helping with, rather than sitting at home doing art. Especially when there are also swaths of artists out there doing art.

But honestly, I keep coming back to storytelling as something I need to do, for me at least.

But still, I want my work to mean something. But mostly I just see webcomic artists hustling for views and patreon donators.

And there's nothing wrong with that. Artists have every right to make a living off their art.

But I don't want to hustle like that.

And while there are various initiatives for making comics for certain causes and/or donating money, they are often separate/secondary from an artist's main project.

So - I just want to open up a discussion on this. WHY do you do your comic? What need is it filling in the world, and who does it benefit? Is that important for you?

No shame or judgement on any of this - I really do just want to know what keeps you going with your work, especially when there are many, many good causes out there that you could be putting time into. Because I keep stalling myself by saying that there are other things I could/should be doing.

TL;DR: What is a webcomic artist's responsibility to the world and everything in it?

I do my comics because I got tired of me being the only one who knew my character's stories. While each of them contain themes that reflect current events (and tend to reflect my thoughts on said events), I don't really see myself "filling a void."

If it did fill a void, I would hope it would be balanced, intelligent storytelling with a wider perspective on events than just what's popular...

Because I have strong thoughts about popularity, and not a lot of them are flattering... Just because something is popular doesn't necessarily make it good...

I've written stories with no happy endings... I have written characters growing out of being "the bad guy," but still dealing with some of their amorality... I've had good guys descend into darkness because of unfavorable circumstance and fight to retain that glimmer of light. I like taking a more stark look at issues...

I like exploring stuff that is greater in the gray area rather than in the realm of straight black and white.

That is where I find my inspiration because my world view is trying to see both sides and finding a common ground...

Big questions! I would argue that just about everything creative work that's not destructive or harmful makes the world better, or at least the creator, who is, in turn, part of the world. Some points to consider:

• Like everything else, nobody's born dropping truth bombs with every word. Comics are an intricate complex combination of writing, art, layout, pacing, stamina, editing, world-building, etc. and every one of those things takes time and practice to hone. Even if this story I'm doing is a poorly-executed flop from beginning to end, my time is not wasted.

Just like a musician's time is not wasted by rehearsing a piece or doing scales, by working on this story, I build up my skills to tell better and more impactful stories.

• You do not get to decide whether or not a story is meaningful to others. You do not get to decide the impact of your work. Only other people can do that. This comic that I'm doing now might be my magnum opus, but it's probably not. And honestly, I'm glad for it. Putting that kind of pressure on any one work to be everything to everybody is going to lead to a lot of frustration.

• Earning money/followers from your art and "making a difference" with your art are absolutely not mutually exclusive. One could argue that making money and gaining followers grants you the platform to make larger changes, tell more stories by hiring assistants, and influence more people than you would otherwise be able to do with smaller means or a more meager following. As someone who's done marketing work for homeless rehabilitation centers, money is a very very useful tool in "making a difference".

• I am changing and learning all the time because of the comics I make. The things I wanted to say when I started my story have changed so much in the last 8 years as I've grown, and by improving myself, I am improving the world. My story and the community it's lead to has taught me a lot about my values and inspired other artists. Putting my thoughts on the page for me to read in a different more symbolic context, talking to other people about my work, and in general being part of the comic community has made me a better person in all arenas. You could absolutely get that elsewhere, but comics can be a valid place to do it too.

• We can't be on and doing Very Important Things with all of our spare time, because that leads to burnout. There's no shame in just doing a story that's just fun and makes you happy. And the funny thing about fluffy insignificant stories is that sometimes people who are doing big important things need to read those kinds of stories to recharge THEIR batteries.

Let's imagine a person who fights injustice in every important way you can envision, helps the needy at every turn, finds the cure for cancer, and has the power and influence to really "make a difference". If that person decided after a particularly exhausting day that nothing would make them happier than sitting in a cushy chair and having a slice of pie, they've definitely earned that happiness and probably need it to fight another day.

But guess what? Somebody's gotta bake that pie. Somebody's gotta build that cushy chair. And that carpenter and that baker are making a world of difference in supporting our heroic figure and others like them by being the best carpenters/bakers they can be, whether they can measure the effect they're having or not.

----

I encourage you to tell your story to the best of your ability, finish it to the best of your ability (cause man oh man, finishing is a WHOLE set of skills I did not expect), and then make something else.

This story will resonate with some people. Your next story will resonate with more. Brick by brick, you're going to build something amazing, even if it seems small and insignificant and clumsy now. That's what keeps me going.

Delphina makes a lot of excellent points, and I would like to second all of those.

A few more that have come up with my own work:

- The more stories about people from marginalized groups, the better.

Take a look at any awful thing going on today, and nine times out of ten the root of the problem is people deciding they get to dehumanize everyone who's queer/trans/black/brown/Muslim/Jewish/foreign/poor/the list goes on. Writing about well-rounded, complex, sympathetic, engaging characters who belong to any of these groups is a way to push back.

It doesn't have to be direct or dramatic -- I mean, I wouldn't expect some alt-right neo-Nazi to start reading Leif & Thorn and go "oh my god, interracial gay romances are just as valid and genuine as any other, I've been so wrong!" But making the comic is contributing to a good overall trend.

- Fiction can be a valuable way of supporting people.

Support comes in a lot of forms. Helping someone financially, protecting their legal rights, defending them against predatory scammers and physical assaults...well, emotional/psychological support is on that list.

Once in a while I get a comment along the lines of "this scene was especially cathartic/validating/inspiring to me as a (trans person, trauma survivor, depression-haver, etcetera)." So I helped make that reader's life brighter, in a very specific way that would not have happened if I had done something else with my time instead of writing that scene.

...and even if the something-else ended up being helpful in its own way, there's no guarantee it would've been more helpful. There's no way to perfectly optimize that kind of thing. You just gotta take whatever skills and resources you have, and do the best you can.

- When you DO want to make a direct contribution to some other cause...it really helps to have money! (Saved the simplest one for last.)

There have been a few months over the past two years where I've decided to just up and send my whole Patreon take to, say, the ACLU. Awfully hard to pull off when you don't have a Patreon take in the first place. (Or if you can't afford to donate anything because you're only making enough to cover your own basic needs.)

Final note: your comic doesn't need to be the Vehicle By Which You Make The World Better.

If you have that need to create, but genuinely feel like you aren't making enough of a difference, think about what other parts of your life could be rearranged. You can donate, volunteer, write your representatives, go to protests, get a job in some form of public service, offer your skills pro bono to people who need them...

Whatever it is, you'll be able to do it better, for longer, more reliably, if you take time for yourself to avoid burnout. So when you do that, the comic-making can be your comfy-chair-and-slice-of-pie.

I always liked telling stories. I began as a writer and got into drawing comics much later.

My stories serve many purposes.
They are the beautiful places I ran away from my bleak real life into.
They are the way I talk to the world (being autistic I cannot communicate as easily as normal people do, so telling stories is a good way to fill the void and feel less lonely).
And each of them is an experiment. I literally create people with various traits, put them into an imaginary world and watch them live there. I never know how my stories will end, so it's always interesting.

They also have a little mission that contributes a bit into making our world a better place. I think there are not enough good stories focused on women and I'm trying to fill the void.

None of my stories (done, WIP or planned) have a stated purpose of bettering the world in some way. I enjoy doing them and they're my way to outlet to balance my life.

If anybody enjoys them and gets something out of them, be it a smile, an evening without worry or some warm and fuzzy feelings, then all the better. But primarily I'm selfish with my comics and they're supposed to be my medicine first and for everybody else second

A few months ago, I was feeling very much this same way. A close friend of mine essentially told me this:

By making something that people enjoy reading, you're offering them an escape from the troubles that plague them. You're doing good by making something people can enjoy even when they're feeling bad about the world. People need to escape sometimes, so they can keep going later.

I think about that a lot whenever I'm starting to feel down about not doing enough.

And to Erin's point, I also want to help share stories of marginalized people. So, I put casually lgbt characters into my stories, to make it more common and accepted.

Delphina and ErinPtah make some excellent points, and I agree with all of them. I feel that storytelling and other forms of entertainment have their own value and contribute to a better world even if all they do is make people happy. Not every contribution has to be major. Reading your comic could be the highlight of someone's day, and that's not nothing.

Yeah, sometimes I feel like I should be trying harder with all the problems in the world... but realistically, there's not much more I can do. I can't single-handedly save the environment. I can't bring about world peace or end bigotry. I could try to write a story about those things, but it would feel forced, and probably wouldn't end up helping - and I wouldn't be able to do all the talking to people stuff that would potentially actually help at the end of it anyhow. I used to direct shows and run crews at a children's theatre, and sometimes I miss that (a combination of politics and needing to actually make money is why I stopped), partly because I felt more like I was making a difference doing that, but it is what it is. My other job now is running the website for a local non-profit non-partisan news source, and I feel that's valuable, too (and, bonus: I hardly ever have to talk to people face-to-face to do it). So I guess in a way doing those other things takes the pressure off me to try to make a difference with my storytelling.

It's easy to feel helpless about the state of the world. Things are bad. But if anything, that makes entertainment more of a service to people, so they can take a break from all that. Stories and art are very valuable, and somebody has to keep making them, or there won't be any more.

Sometimes I feel bad about the hustle, which I try to cure myself of, because that makes it harder. I know I wouldn't be able to do a regular job, and one needs money in the world, so I have to get it somehow.



Yes, this I understand well.

Agreed. I write and draw for myself. I wouldn't be able to keep going for over 2 years if I didn't.
Other possible motivations:

1) I love history, and travelling and I like to share aspects of both with other people, and hope they love them as much as I do.

2)Writing a book is on my bucket list; once I've finished my comic, there's only getting a tattoo and sailing round Cape Horn on a tall ship to tick off.

3) drawing comics makes me happy and if I'm happy I'm less of an @rse to the colleagues and students I spend my working day with.

This is a question that I think about so often!

If I take a step back I have a ton of arguments about why creating comics is worthwhile. Stories are deeply important, giving people an escape and sharing new perspectives with them is very enriching. It doesn't matter how many people a creative work influences: you just don't know who is reading, what it means to them and what future works it will inspire. It's also worthwhile if it keeps you personally happy, healthy and fulfilled, because self-care is as important as caring for others.

Buuuuuuut that doesn't stop me going through it all in my mind sometimes and wondering if I'm wasting my time. Usually if I'm a bit anxious or on edge about the wider world in general. I think that questioning how you spend your time isn't a bad thing, so long as you don't let yourself get despondent.

Or you could do what I did and make a comic that is literally about this issue, and whether spending all your time telling your stories to one person (or jellyfish?) can result in a fully-lived life.

Our responsibilities to the world, I think, depend on us as individuals, and what we're able to do. But when it comes to comics, I'm going to echo what caroline and SophiePF said- I make comics that I would enjoy reading, first and foremost. I enjoy creating comics, and hope that by putting my work out there, maybe I can inspire someone else to do something creative too?