Zinemakers of the world, unite and take over

I've been interviewing a ton of local comics creators this week for an upcoming feature in Westword, Denver's Village Voice paper. It's reminding me just how empowering and amazing it felt the day I printed up my first minicomic, all those many years ago. Mine had shitty art, a bad attitude, and the production values of a takeout menu. But it was the tiny spark that snowballed into my current career--lord, am I really calling it that now?--and I can trace a direct line from that first crappy little zine to the work I make a living off of now. I'm the last person in the world to say DIY is the only way, but it's a great way, and I never would've gotten anywhere without it. And even if I hadn't, that raw self-expression and owning of some small fraction of the media would have alone been worth it. Hats off to all you cartoonists and zinesters out there, big and small. You rule.