One thing I didn't realize for a long time is you do have the ability to upvote comments. I try to upvote every nice comment just to show I read and appreciated it. If someone asks a question or writes a longer/more thoughtful/hilarious comment, I'll reply.
I just don't have the time to reply to them. The ones I respond to usually is if it's a question I'll so my best to respond (unless it's a spoiler) or I'll thank them if they are pointing out a spelling mistake. Responding to other comments is very rare.
I do up vote every comment I get to try and show I appreciate them.
This is how I reason about it too but I rarely get questions or longer compliments on my current series so it just looks like I'm not very invested in my readers because I find it hard to respond to their comments.
I personally always think it comes down to the comic itself, and, first of all, you are never obliged to answer comments.
However, as someone who got barely any comments at all, I always try to answer all of them, even if it's just a "thank you" for a very non-descriptive comment. I didn't have negative comments so far (on my comics at least) but there it usually depends on how it is worded, what the commenter's intention probably was, and what mood I'm in that day. I usually try to understand where people are coming from if they have something negative/that doesn't align to my opinion to say. Thus I try to kind of ... make them understand where I'm coming from and what I think, or that they might even have a point.
If I'm enough in Fight Mode(TM) (which is most of the time) I also call out unnecessarily rude/inappropriate comments etc. - so far barely anyone got back at me but uuhhh yeah.
I'm generally just happy to just have intereaction with people about what I do so I just try my best. You can also always get back to comments later, and, especially if you get TONS of comments, you probably won't have time for that anyway.
I haven't receive any mean comments yet, just because of the low traffic and mostly its the lovely hoomans who commented on my series, but I didn't always reply to every comments. I reply to 4/5 comments that I can commented on, and sometimes I just 'upvote' the comments without answering them since I don't feel the need and mostly because I don't really know what to say. XD
But every comments I receive has been precious, and I'm happy that someone would take your time to make some interaction with me (my series) :3
But you can always ignoring the mean comments, and take some that is you think is an actual criticism rather than just plain trolling.
I get so few comments on tapas I definitely try to reply to all of them, but sometimes I'm just not creative enough. On webtoon, I get enough that are sorta the same comment, I don't know how to reply to them all. Sometimes I pick an ep(like on a day i'm having more freetime than normal) and actually reply to everyone. But usually I just reply to the people I have some witty reply for, or to people asking questions, or I thank people who leave compliments.
I upvote every comment unless it's spam or hateful.
My go to response for mean comments to the comic- "Thank you for your feedback." It usually shuts them up and doesn't start much fire, although sometimes my readers get defensive for me XD Bless those fans I love them haha
If you haven't already, try asking your reader's questions in your update descriptions. Plenty of people want to comment but don't know what to say, so it helps to open the door for them.
Honestly, it is not disrespectful at all...If you don't wanna reply, you don't have to
For me, I read every comment and I either reply or give a like to them...I do that as a way of connecting with my audience and in reality...I LOVE THEIR COMMENTS! 
I didn't realize this was something you struggled with- since I have recently started following your series, and I do try to comment as a form of encouragement to other creators (I always find comments tremendously encouraging myself) you may find that I tend to comment often. :3
Admittedly it didn't occur to me that some creators might actually find comments off-putting or stressful to respond to. If that's the case for you, I hope I haven't been the cause of unnecessary stress!
Personally I do try my best to respond to every comment, whether that's on my art-sharing accounts or the comic. If I have thousands of followers someday, that may not be realistic, but it is for the moment. I just think it really means a lot when people go out of their way to respond to something I've created- and I feel the urge to thank them for taking the trouble.
i believe its a great way to engage with your readers, sometimes they may have questions or they notice things they want to help you with. (like spelling mistakes that happen to slip by.)
i look forward to the comments i get they make me want to work hard and improve my comics :3
I only have like one or two comments at best with each strip and they're usually the same people, so I respond to them just to be nice and thankful to my ver small fan base. 
I never had any hate comments, but I get some weird nonsensical ones, I do reply to all of them. 
I am guilty of giving even weirder responses. Nonsensical comments are like funny faces or onomatopoeia and I post a funny face too. One of my beautiful readers commented, "What is this?" about my first pages and I didn't know what he was referring to... so I answered, "This is Amorte, a comic of chocolate and bacon chips -", a joke description. When Nitelini commented that he would subscribe for now but wasn't sure if he was 100% convinced he would stay, I told him that he was now in a cult and could not unsub, ever. And if he unsub we would find him... He stayed and he is so cool! 
A weird response either make them laugh or...make them hate your forever you-insufferable-smart-ass. So...do it only if you are willing to take a risk, or else just ignore them.
(Yes; I'm worried I will someday make someone mad, but I'm careful to show that is just a lighthearted joke)
I think it's okay to not respond to every comment. I've seen some novels and comics with over 100 comments on it, so to respond to each and every one of those would be overwhelming and after awhile the quality of your replies would go down. Also, I've received some comments that were difficult to respond to, i.e. "Things are heating up now!". Also, sometimes people are just plain mean in their comments and you are under no obligation to respond to someone who calls you names or berates you. Over all, though I would suggest replying to the ones that you can easily reply to, upvote other nice ones that don't led themselves well to discussion, and ignore negative ones (unless they are offering you constructive criticism, then thank them for their help).
I try to reply to all if I got a witty reply. If I got nothing i'll just skip it. It's kinda awkward just saying "thanks" on every post because you got nothing more interesting to reply back with so I just don't.
I reply when applicable, like to questions or to clarify, and if someone says something funny I'll reply with a 'xD' or 'LOOOL' if they do get a reaction out of me. Other comments though I will leave alone or simply upvote. Like how do you reply to a basic 'LOL'?
Another thing I enjoy doing is replying in a character's voice.
for example
comment: Gee, Gavin's so handsome!
my reply: Gavin: Oh! Thank you! 
It's fun and ups the level of interaction.
I always am happier to get a comment than I am stressed about what to reply! I have a bit of social anxiety and in the end that's what this boils down to for me, I can have a hard time engaging in real life conversations, this is just a symptom of that.
Don't feel any pressure to adapt your comments for my sake, you do you, I read every comment and appreciate every word. Thank you so much for the comments Yoz ~ ! <3
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