Chris Bacon is a mild mannered man from Texas who in the last few months has become a notable figure in an online battle over the spirit of independent comics. This would seem odd considering that when asked, Chris responded plainly:
Personally, I care very little about the comic space. It just doesn’t interest me. I just felt if I was going to openly criticize a particular creator and in particular their business practices I wanted to get a better understanding of what it was I was criticizing above and beyond macro business principles that would apply to any industry.
What ultimately led Chris Bacon from the life of an unassuming Texan to being a notorious critic of one of the biggest names in independent comics? Analysis.
Chris has long detailed his path across many livestreams, but his journey is most well articulated in his own videos. When his neighbor Eric July launched a comic book company, “The Rippaverse” in the summer of 2022, Chris was an avid supporter. He not only purchased the first offering from the company, “ISOM: Ill Advised #1“, but he even contributed enough to receive exclusive variants of the issue.
Monetary support wasn’t all that Chris was willing to offer his neighbor, as he also began to post on the Rippaverse subreddit and conduct an analysis of the company. The campaign for the first issue reached historic highs for an independent comic, topping out at 3.7 million dollars. Chris’ initial financial analysis and related posts were well received, but the following campaigns from the Rippaverse saw a drop in both overall funds raised and number of supporters, and as Chris continued his analysis, attitudes toward him began to change.
The controversy surrounding the Rippaverse has many ins and outs, and Chris’ involvement has largely been to take a measured approach in his criticisms, and to mostly stay out of the fray. After being banned from the Rippaverse subreddit and blocked by Eric July on X, Chris started his own subreddit for further analysis of the company, and he has begun leveraging his travel for work to do regular man-on-the-street segments in local comic shops, where he asks for opinions from owners and patrons on ISOM #1.
These short interviews are audio only and posted directly to X, presumably shortly after they are conducted by Chris. Though the subject matter is often directly related to the Rippaverse, these interviews offer a unique insight into the mood and atmosphere in these shops. We asked Chris to fill us in on how it’s been going recording these segments:
External Gazer: What kind of people are you seeing there?
Chris Bacon: It’s a combination of owners and employees, with rare exception the owners are the ones manning the stores. Most of the stores have limited hours, like 11-7 so it allows them to be there when the store is open for a typical 8 hour work day.
EG: Do they seem happy to be there?
CB: I think so, most of the time they are talkative, and seem genuinely interested in the space. Even the employees I’ve talked to seem glad to be there. My take away from conversations is that there isn’t really a current state of comics. People like what they like and no one I spoke with had anything negative per se to say about the industry as a whole. Actually going into a shop there is certainly something for just about any taste.
Though these shops certainly weren’t crowded, it would seem that generally spirits are high in comic book stores these days. It may just be a love of the medium itself, perhaps the proximity to it even, but as someone who isn’t an avid comic reader Chris sensed a general enthusiasm in stores across multiple states.
When it comes to independently produced comics, Chris remains baffled:
From the outside looking in I still cant wrap my head around the approach most creators take in this space, particularly the ones who want to try and make a living doing this. I find the approach to be questionable. From what Ive seen I think they have a fundamentally flawed approach to getting their work in front of people and understanding what it takes to get it sold to the general public.
This would seem especially true when one of the highest selling independent comics like ISOM #1 frequently isn’t recognized by both comic shop owners and readers alike. So perhaps one of the biggest takeaways from this notable detractors journey into the American comic landscape is not just that quality is king and tastes vary, but that visibility may matter more than many creators realize. Although, as is the case with Chris Bacon and the Rippaverse, getting noticed may lead some people down a path they never thought they’d take.
EXTERNAL GAZER 
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