@Merle ; I agree with you to an extent. There is this illusion that popular creators show up overnight but really there's a lot of work that goes into creating and indeed marketing the story before that happens.
However, I'd like to clarify where I think I disagree. My question is do you make the story and then market it or do you make the story just to follow a trend that's going on and try to market that?
Because the latter tend to be stories that, yes for a while they can be popular, but then they fizzle out of social memory when the trend ends.
I believe in the short term there can be a benefit to taking advantage of the trends that are happening, but that's not my personal goal in this case. In the interest of creating a story that will endure past marketing and trends, I would like to argue that it is indeed about the craft and art of story more than worrying about an ever-shifting marketplace.
Human beings have been making stories from the very beginning of our organized societies. We instinctively resonate with those stories that touch on our essential human nature. That's why I believe a truly meaningful story won't be affected by trends, but rather be a trendsetter---if it's Marketed well
After all, the goal of marketing is getting a story out there where people can see it right? (I'm actually not entirely sure so please feel free to clarify it for me.)
(In a short-term view, yes I agree with you that Readers know a story they will enjoy. Demographics and taste is a thing. But in the long-term there are always those stories that span multiple demographics and endure through time. Those are the stories where I would say the Reader can tell it's a good story, generally.
And aw thank you! Yes, Comics is such a baby field compared to like Filmmaking and Literature, but I just want to show it can be just as robust in its storytelling~)
@Draconic ; Yes, I agree making money is not a bad thing. I'm a professional artist, it's how I make money. The point I was making is that you make money only after you create something worth buying, and the only way to do that is to learn to excel at your given craft.
Therefore the primary drive, in my opinion, for a comic artist is to write the best possible story they can for the love of it. The money will come if the artist remains persistent and continues to work in a manner that allows money to reach them because they put their story out there.
So in this manner, I believe you can make art for both its own sake and for life's sake.