Most comics critics/reviewers/editorialists/analysts/journalists/whatever you want to call the critical body that generate pages after pages of largely free content, do it out of love for the medium.

Many are fans first of the medium who just want to share in the joy of it. They want to continue a discussion of what they like, what they don't like, what they think works, what doesn't, how this character is awesome, or how their favourite colourist makes everything better.

It can grow in further nuance and depth depending on time, approach, and understanding of the medium, and of criticism in general, but the vast majority out there are surface impressions.

AND THAT'S OKAY.

Comics creators are not owed criticism. They aren't owed fawning adoration. They aren't owed soundbytes that they can put on a trade collection.

That's an added benefit, and as a reviewer it's cool to see, but by and large criticism isn't for them.

If you want feedback, instruction on how to better your craft, or smoke up your ass, you've got editors, teachers, veteran professionals, and family members.

That may sound harsher than I intend it, but the critical body exists as a multifaceted tool that can be entertainment in its own right. Meant to educate, tell its own story, fill a purpose outside of the creators' sphere entirely, or just inform on "I didn't like it".

And this is getting away from me. Rein it back into to the main point.

I see the overall dismissiveness towards a critical body in comics all the time from creators. Utter disdain for reviewers, disrespect overall for anyone who deign write about their work, and a feeling...

...we're all somehow beneath them. Coming off of both positive or negative copy, to many we seem to be scum to scrape off of their shoes. This isn't unique to comics, I'm just more cognizant of it because I see it acutely more often.

There are instances when a correction should be made, like when there's something factually incorrect, or if you've managed to leave off everyone who created a comic other than the writer. That's understandable.

But the sheer contempt for people who are trying to analyze, interpret, and synthesize creative works into something approaching a cogent critique simply out of love...that sucks. Sucks real bad.

Especially when you consider that most of us writing about comics are doing it simply because we love the medium.

We aren't doing it for money, what little there is out there won't pay for coffee for a month. We aren't doing it for acclaim, clearly given the social status.

(As an aside, many within the critical body do not get comps. No ARCs for reviews, except in the cases of a few publishers. Most people writing about comics are paying for those comics directly themselves. Especially Big 2 comics.)

We largely aren't doing it to break into the industry, since there are much "easier" and straightforward ways to it. Most of us aren't doing it because we're "jealous" of creators. And we aren't doing it because we think our opinion is inherently better than everyone else's.

We do it for love of the medium. The love of telling stories. The love of words and pictures.

And to regularly see the people who create what we love denigrate those who just want to share what we love...well, you ever wonder why it's hard to find critics who do it for long?