It's a lot harder, but you actually make a profit off of it so it is worth it, once you get going with it. Redbubble is great for just having a little stream of passive money that doesn't require much work--but you don't make much on Redbubble, you really don't. With Etsy it's a lot of branding, a lot of photo work, some promotional work, and you have to factor in and track the costs of producing your work, the cost of the business license, and the cost of the taxes and fees, to see if it is worth it to sell (I've noticed things within the 15-50 dollar range are a good sweet spot for Etsy, but I've seen people who only sell stickers for a few bucks, but they have to really sell just a ton of stickers to make it meet.)
So, when it comes to merch that you're selling...depends on the merch...but I think the thing Etsy is best for is doing more generic homegoods and handmade art, something that people would put in their home or something that generally everyone needs like stationary and wall art. Stuff that's just based on your comic might be too niche to ever get much traction on Etsy.