this is not a subtweet, i've been thinking

if you submit your comic for a review to any pub, you need to understand what comics journalism aims to do. you also need to be ready to accept the end result of those aims, if they are executed in good faith

comic reviews are for potential readers and fans alike - we look at what works, what doesn't, what's appealing, who might like it, who should take a chance on it, what's novel, what's classic, etc. etc.

we communicate the inner workings to whatever level we choose & judge them as objectively* as possible, or at the very least outside of our own known biases/tastes, etc.

*objectivity is never possible

you can use a favorable review as marketing for a book. that does not mean that submitting a comic for a review is a mutual marketing exercise - that is, it's not our job to market your book for you

and if your book is not up to industry standards, whatever that looks like ...

then you likely should not be submitting it for a review to a pro site.

that may sound harsh, but believe me - no one needs to see the scripts or poems or short stories i wrote when i started out (no one needs to see them now, either )

personally, i think it's totally rad that people make comics, and i'll look at anything people send me and give it a fair shake. there's a lot i don't cover because it would not be fair to judge w/ my rubric , i.e. comics industry standards for art, lettering, scripting, colors

that said, it is your responsibility to understand when your work is not ready for assessment on that level. NOT consumption, but assessment. they're two different things

it's easy to adopt a marketing "tone" in communication - some folks are excellent at hype, at those loglines, etc.

it is deeply irritating to receive those communications and the attitude that often comes with a sub-par product

the nugget of wisdom here: make your stuff, make it often, make it better and better each time

don't put the cart before the horse if you're starting out by mass emailing journalists with that comics hype flavor and attitude. calm down. don't scrape, but be professional

whether we've been reading comics since we could breathe or new to the genre, we all basically know what makes a "good" comic re: publishing standards, or what's good in intentional subversions of those standards

you may believe your own hype, but that doesn't mean i will

and i'm less likely to engage with you if you're going to act like that person. yes, this industry is about the hustle, but if no one knows who you are and you come out blazing, it's not a good look

(no one knows who i am either, and it's ok)

i could write thousands of words about the various ways in which this industry and its fans front and undercut each other. we all could

why don't we nip that in the bud by coming at each other with a little less spice and more self-reflection?

this also applies to people with their razor-sharpened pens at the ready: calm down. comics journalism also requires craft and self-reflection. the hot takes are annoying, pedantic and babyish

they'll never stop because clicks rule, but everyone could do better. it's possible

"the art was ok" 3/10 is not a review

"the most rad fucking superhero book ever that'll literally blow your dick off" is not an email anyone wants to get

cringe all around

you know how everyone is talking about how a certain game that came out recently is trying super hard to be edgy and horny and just utterly misses the mark?

that's what you sound like when you do this

now, if you get a review of your book that you don't like?

1. shit happens and it's going to happen, no matter how good your comic actually is
2. if it's a LOL THIS BOOK IS BAD review, fuck 'em
3. if it has reasonable critique, you can either ignore it or listen. up to you!

what you should not do, ever, is name search yourself and come after people for their reasonable critiques* of your work, or send a shitty DM/email

this hasn't happened to me but i've seen it happen loads of times

*reasonable critique is a good-faith examination of the work

publishing and media are brutal industries

last thing: i see hype, i smell weakness. that sounds awful, i know, but it stands. if you're all filler, no killer, people are going to be able to tell. work on your ART, whatever that may be. let the hype follow

if you're trying to get something published do what you want, i suppose, but publishers also don't want the fire from the mount sermon, and they've seen it a thousand times. and they're less likely to be nice about it

all this is to say: hey everyone, cut the shit!

or rather, save it for when it counts, yeah?

oh, also? some stuff i don't cover because i just don't have goddamn time. so if i don't cover your book, it's likely not because i secretly think it is A HORRIBLE COMIC

it's because my attention span is shot, i work a full-time job and *gestures at all of this*