webcomiclibrary answered:
Honestly… why I’ve kept an archive in general has evolved over the years. What most peeps don’t know is that The Webcomic archive started off as a branch off from a much bigger project. You see, I used to (still semi do) run a different archive and blog called the Link Librarian. I started it… wow almost 4 years ago in October in my Sophomore year of Highschool.
It started off as a way for me to keep track of all the media and useful links my friends and family would recommend me. This was actually the takeoff of my love of webcomics cause I had a friend who kept recommending me webcomics but I kept forgetting to read them.
Then…. I’m not gonna get into detail of what was going on but I was dealing with a lot of things personally as well as watched nearly all of my friend/support group go through some really dark points. I was scared and felt useless cause I just didn’t know what to do and how to show support of the people around me. It was like everything I had worked for in all aspects was crumbling around me and everyone thought I didn’t care. So I tried to show my support in the best way I could think of. I expanded my library to include info on mental illness, abusive situations, school resources, LGBT+ resources, anything and everything I could think of that might help my friends and educate myself. I then made a blog to make the work more public knowledge. If I couldn’t help myself, then I was gonna help everyone I could. That’s just the type of person I am. I did a couple of masterposts that still circulate pretty well years later.
While a lot of peeps really liked my blog work, the results irl didn’t do as much justice. I don’t think my friends realized what I was trying to do, things still got worse. By the time I graduated I was left with trying to figure out what to do next and my support group has scattered all over North America and some stopped talking to me. I tried going to college the semester after I graduated but with everything I dealt with in high school I’m not quite sure if I’ll ever be able to thrive in that type of teaching situation. I also got a job but it went bankrupt and closed without warning 2 months in.
During all of this my love of webcomics really grew. I was reading then whenever I had the chance. I had discovered my queerness a little before starting the OG Library and fell in love with the medium and all the representation involved. I even convinced my friend to try making a longform comic with me which we’re now trying to get back up and running. I wound up making a separate Library just to keep track of all of my webcomics. Started by organizing by update time, then I kept having peeps I knew via chatroom ask for recommendations with specific representation. Ace Day came around right after I got layed off and I decided to make a new blog just for geeking out about all the webcomics I read. I was getting really tired of all the negativity that had been consuming my life for the past couple of years and wanted to do something fun with a topic I loved. I also brought along my affinity for making resources easier to find and instantly started making masterposts.
Today I no longer really update the Link Library. I still occasionally reblog stuff on that blog, though. The big difference between the Link Library and the Webcomic Library is that the Webcomic Library comes out of a place of love with no fear. I know it’s a big project. No one really asked me to go this far with my work. But knowing I’ve managed to accomplish so much just because I wanted to do it has really helped with my self esteem. Plus seeing that positivity be passed on to other creators and reader helps remind me that this work has worth. It’s a cycle I want to keep going! I want to eventually get some form of consistent monetary revenue from this work just so money and time don’t become an issue on my end. As long as this blog comes from a place of passion without anxiety, I’ll be doing this as long as I can!
