Some people are very poor or live in places with zero access to libraries and comic shops and if they want to read comics they should be able to. And giant corporations shouldn't own every trademarked character and IP, especially say just ONE company. Comics are expensive.

The distribution method is messed up. The ways they're marketed are antiquated. You might argue the entire industry model is largely obsolete. All that can be discussed and should be discussed. But...

When we're talking about people who feel entitled to pirate comics and then make excuses for it we should remember what started this week's conversation was an inker who is broke finding out the comic they worked on which is Eisner-nominated has been read at least 95k by thieves.

This isn't some person draped in ermine riding in the back of a limo angry at the labor class for not kissing their ass. This is someone who is struggling, too. And not getting paid for their labor, which is also they've been told something they should gladly give away for free.

Because of love. "People used to starve for art!" goes one argument. "What's up with this stuff where artists think they should be able to pay rent and buy food?" Now that particular person. What do THEY pay money for? How do THEY budget their entertainment?

Because you know they're paying for some things and stealing other things. Apparently comics should be free. Do they take the money I would budget in my own life for comics and spend it on movies? I'm going to guess they pirate a lot of those, too, and watch them on the computer.

What about video games? I wonder if they like go to Game Stop a lot and buy games, play them at home, beat them, then sell them back to Game Stop or whatever other place buys secondhand games then use the money from that to buy action figures.

Or even bootleg action figures. Those still cost money. It's like for a LOT of the people excusing piracy the money IS there. They're not as rich as your top comic book creators who live in solid gold castles on asteroids orbiting the earth apparently.

It's just they may earn roughly the same amount I do or even just somewhat less. I used to have zero money left over at the end of the month after paying bills and budgeting for food and entertainment. Literally zero. Or maybe enough to go to Wendy's.

I don't think I was poor. If that's poor then that's American poor which put me still among the richest people on earth and in history at most. And in the US there are people who really are poor. Who have almost nothing.

I don't know they're really that concerned with pirating comics, though. I would hope one day we live in a society that's economically just so they COULD concern themselves with pirating comics. I'd like a lot of the world to be able to have enough of their needs met...

...they have the economic freedom to consider whether or not they should take a comic from a pirate site for free versus paying for it. There are people who do want to read comics who are in that condition. Someone tweeted their situation yesterday. It really gave me pause.

And I do think the unfairness in the comics industry going all the way back to when it started and a lot of the publishers were just ripping off the talent left and right and setting up the total bullshittery that is "work for hire" where you don't own your creations is to blame.

More so than the pirates, even. I just feel like a lot of the people with the leisure time to argue this point aren't being fully honest about how they distribute their entertainment dollars. Or why. So I do occasionally come across someone who might have a point...

...where I'm kinda like "Okay, I might be willing to look the other way here," but for most of the people hectoring that one inker about the 95k free reads they're saying "I COULD pay for your comic but I don't want to. I want that money to buy STAR WARS toys."

"But I ALSO want your comic. And if I want both then I don't give a shit whether or not YOU can eat or pay rent as long as I can have every toy and plaything and bauble my appetite for fun desires." Well, I hope they are loving the HELL out of those pirated comics.

It may sound weird but I hope the fun and joy those comics give them are worth stealing them and making specious arguments about their justifications online.

Because I've been there. And I still paid for my comics. I didn't get to buy or have every comic I was interested in reading. And god I hope you ARE reading them for that matter and not just digitally hording them just to have them, come to think of it.

If you've got some money to spend on entertainment then you've got some money to shift around and pay for your comics. You can't get EVERY comic you want. No one gets everything they want. But if you've got a whole room full of plastic toys you bought this month...

...and the latest game system and high speed internet for downloading tons of stolen comics while complaining about rich comics collectors or whatever being mean to fans then I guess I have a problem with your value system.