I reply to pretty much every comment I get and my readers appear to really appreciate it. I just either let them know how thankful I am for their leaving a comment or giving good feedback. Some readers and I get some good banter going, and over time we've developed a good rapport. It's actually one of my favourite things about having a webcomic.
Posting a simple thank you if you're bombarded with a bunch of positive but generic comments is courteous and effective, but I think people will understand if you can't type your thanks individually to each comment.
You shouldn't feel obligated to reply unless you want to. For some of the bigger creators it would be nearly impossible to reply to every comment. I like to reply when I can so that my audience can feel engaged in the story. Plus, sometimes readers ask questions if they're confused about something, so being able to answer them is nice, too. Tapas lets me know if people comment most of the time, but it doesn't always send me notifications. Webtoons is nearly impossible to reply to comments on older updates because they have no notifications.
Really, it's up to you if you feel comfortable replying to readers. I find it a fun way to communicate with my readers 
Oh yeah, I often see a lot of the same several names liking and commenting, especially on a lot of new, smaller, and up-and-coming comics. Seems to me that y'all are doing your part to share the love and support around to people just starting out, and for that I salute ya.
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If they have it turned on in their settings, they will get a notification when you reply to their comment.
Well, first of all I am not good... saying things xD as @Coati said, sometimes you just don't know what to reply.
I do put a like on every comment we receive though, or almost every. Then if I can answer something on it or if I have anything to add to it, I do.
If there is a comment "good comic, I like it", I most definitely will write that I am glad or a thank you. If a reader notice a detail, I will praise them for that. If they have a question I can answer without spoiling - sure. If it's a comment with reference, I will answer with the reference in mind or ask something, because I do not understand that reference. If they write something I find funny or original, or even when I like their name or something, I will answer =) Even something like this sometimes 
Personally, if I write a comment, I do not expect the author to answer. I just express my admiration for their work. If they answer - great, if they don't - well, that's not what I was even going for. Some of them have thousand comments a day, I think most of us understand that they are the working people with the same 24 hours, and not the robots who are sitting there writing "thank you" under every comment.
In the end, answer to comments you are comfortable with answering to 
I try to reply as much as I can. The goal is usually to troll as many of them as possible(especially those who want spoilers), but I usually just end up saying normal things cause I'm not witty enough for awesome replies.
I occasionally do but not always.
The thing is that sometimes people comment stuff on which I do not know what to reply on. @Kelheor losely quoted @Coati ...
Two examples:
If I see something like this I normally only give a thumbs up or a heart (what ever the respective company provides. Some provide hearts, some thumbs. In any case it can be seen very gory. 
On the other hand if I see something like this, I of course express my thanks and answer. Cause I want my readers to know that I care about their kind words.
I just feel very humbled then and want to express myself with words, also because with comments like those I notice that people do REALLY like my comic and don't just subscribe for binge like Steph on the last example did at first.
So ... yeah ... a not so easy answer to a seemingly easy question. Factors are the key I guess. ^^
When there's questions about stuff or interesting thoughts I do. But I mostly don't know what to answer to comments so I often don't ^^'
Same as I rarely comment on people's comics because I have like mostly no idea what to say either and just put a "I liked it" is too awkward for me to want to put it.
I don't think that each comment has to be replied to in a comic. That could become a time consuming task, itself. As long as the creator replies to interesting comments and gives an occasional thank you to their regular commenters, I believe that is okay.
I don't know if this is just me but I enjoy replying to comments in my comic. I genuinely love engaging with my readers and replying their thoughts on the comic or the specific page. We sometimes get really interesting conversations going because of this.
HA! you and me both Pal. I almost never reply. I only do if I really enjoy what the commentor says. I try to make it a habit but most times I'm working and forget. and I work a full time job so im toast by the end of the day.
ok I am VERY BAD, at replying comments. the problem is, its not just only comments but text messages too. I don't know what it is. anyway, back to comics. I do reply once in a while. not as much as I'd like to anyway. I comment if its something that really grabs my interest and the person wants to really engage or understand something. if I get comments like " he's so wrong for doing that." I could just like it. but if I get more detailed question comment I'm more likely to engage further. so honestly its up to you. I have a pretty decent fab base so I try to get to some of them. so as far as I'm concerned, its your choice. but it does feel good to get a reply from the artist so keep that in mind. 
Hrm, as someone else who struggles with this kinda communication, do you have any advice for getting past the mental block and feeling comfortable responding to comments?
I have kinda the same problem. A bit of social anxiety and feeling like I don't belong. But I assume some of my readers are the same way. If I respond to the people willing to post on my comic it might help show that I desire more communication with them and maybe the shy ones will comment too. So in a way you're helping them too. And nobody is going to be upset that you commented back to them! lol
I always reply to comments. I know I'm not obligated to do so, but when I see that someone is actually reading my stuff and taking their time to write something about it I'm like
It is my guilty pleasure replaying to comments.
Maybe it shouldn't do it because I reveal my English level is not the same as my comic's. But I love to do it.
hi there,
its up to up to you buddy 
personally i love it when readers leave a comment
and i love replying to them as well 
i got a lot of helpful tips on making my manga better by talking to them 
I like to reply to comments, although the truth is I haven't many of them and this way is easy. If I had hundreds (just dreaming!)... well, probably I wouldn't have time to reply to everyone, but nevertheless I'd still try to read all of them and respond the more relevant ones at least.
It is also true that sometimes you don't know what to respond to certain comments... In those cases, I just don't do it or reply with a "...ahmmm... what?". Or something like that (for example, if the comment is just a long string of consonants in uppercase, with no sense to me... Is it maybe a spy's message and I need a code to decode it, but he/she forgot to tell me? 
).
