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I think a lot about the accessibility (or lack of) of an in person artistic community, and just how much that support often means to the members support. Areas that lack that sort of community or struggle to find members can be challenging for artists to thrive in.
Areas that tend to be great for comic artists (SF, SD, NY, Seattle, Portland) are often very expensive to live in, whereas cheaper areas often lack support and resources for artists.
Nashville was a weird one- a major city in the South, LOTS of support for very specific types of art, but little support for comics and comic artists, and trying to form a community there was an uphill battle of finding a space, finding people, making time.
The longer I've lived out of a city that had support for comic artists (to be fair, the only city I felt I had support was Savannah,& I was a SCAD student- there is little support for non SCAD comic artists there),the more I'm aware of just how important that in-person support is
I've made many online spaces that provide artist support- I was a co-founder of Ink Drop Cafe, and I currently run a smallish Discord that still provides artist support, but in person is so different.
From human interaction (vital for ambiverts and extroverts) to access to expensive supplies like printers and scanners, to heck, even just borrowing a much-recommended pen or paint set- in person support can really help make the difference.
And I wholly believe helping to make such spaces is important- I did a lot of work towards that in Nashville including teaching comics classes through community ed, and I've done a lot of work towards that in Louisiana BUT
If you're just one person doing all the wanting, all the organizing, all the sharing, all the doing- it either needs to be a full time job, or you need SUPPORT. People can't sit back and wait for it to exist, they need to pitch in!
Also, pay attention to what cities new and existing comic talent hail from. Typically, it's not your backwater places- they've ever moved to a comics city where they could find support, or at least moved CLOSER to a city with those opportunities.
And then what happens? They pay it back to their old comic group- their comic community. They recommend their IRL friends for jobs (bc they know they can do the work!), they hire their IRL friends to help with inking, coloring, editing, ect.
And while there's absotively nothing at all wrong with that...that doesn't reflect diversity either. The US is a diverse place- there are a lotta stories, a lot of talented folks, a lot of folks without the means to travel much- who have stories worth hearing.
TLDR, I will forever fight to help decentralize comics. More comic hubs. More comic cons where you have a shot at pitching your work. More comic support. Stories told from every corner of the US, that showcase different lives.
Decentralization gives more voices a chance, and makes comics as a possible career (something already challenging and often not feasible) more affordable and accessible.
