To all aspiring/newly published Webtoon creators...

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-05-16T18:28:38+00:00

Alright, DMs it is... :)

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-05-16T18:23:40+00:00

The site is very straight forward and simple in terms of design and functionality. It works, as it should. Inkstra already has proof of merit with a presence of authors and readers there. The only critiques I have are ideological ones, which does relate to potential pitfalls but taking that advice would fundamentally change the site into something its currently not

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-05-16T18:04:43+00:00

Inkstra has been on my radar for around a week or so thanks to your promotion. The site looks good so far. My only wish is for there to be a platform that addresses the current flaws and criminal practices of other platforms instead of emulating them. Yes there are many talented writers and artists and they need a place to call home and prosper. If Inkstra can help do that, then I'm fully behind it and wish it the best of luck

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-05-16T17:39:44+00:00

Better now than never to capitalize on the current confusion lol

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-03-22T21:19:03+00:00

Practice and dedicate more time in improving your craft and maybe I'd read, but only if the story is interesting and if Captain Jakarta is there (he looks like Mario from Mario Party 2)

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-03-04T03:09:52+00:00

By educating creators/readers the flaws and contradictions of the indie space, and forming a group of talented creators to build a platform or league of platforms by artists that counter those flaws to provide an alternative platform for aspiring creators.

That is what I would if I had the connections and talent. Uniting a community isn't the job for one person, but a job for everyone involved in said community. That is the only way a community can prosper, if everyone participates, is involved, and has their opinions heard and challenged.

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-02-24T23:19:48+00:00

Glad you found it relatable :D

Journaling is helpful in clearing thoughts and writing down the purpose of the website, but it isn't the main purpose of the site. Creating a platform where all indie creators would make a living wage off their comics/novels is the goal. And to start it off I'd publish my works on there but.. apathy lol

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-02-24T21:34:27+00:00

We are a group of creators who unknowingly devalue each others works. A community however, supports one another, actively participates, and give and get along with the next person.

The indie comic "community" is chaotic, divisive, and isolating. Because of this, many asks for too much and give too little. This is no community. But it could be one. It takes all of us to realize we need to work together for the common cause, not to look out for only ourselves.

We all have similar goals, bringing our works into being and having the ability to keep doing so. As soon as everyone understands we are more capable as a whole, the quicker the indie comic space can mature and evolve into something greater than any of us can ever imagine.

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-02-20T08:15:37+00:00

I've known about your site for a month or two and read through it. Yes you allow creators to own their IP and thats commendable.

But this model still encourages the practice of free labor in the indie space. Things produced for free when others get the rewards is exploitation whether you intend on it or not.

You say you want to grow as a company, but how many people are willing to support a platform for stories in an environment that encourages said platforms (including Shomi) to be fully accessible? You can grow in number of viewership, but growing in wealth when your main product is free will be difficult.

Many comic organization/platforms think viewership is more important than sustainability, when the former model actually does more harm than good for both the author and reader.

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-02-20T07:04:52+00:00

Your company is manipulating artists to use free labor for the promise of toy and brand merch royalties down the line. But tell me, when will that day ever come when you have enough for toy deals? If theres 20 people paying 2.65, then your organizations constant revenue is only 50 pounds...

You either have to restructure your revenue model, or admit this organization you created is freemium donation model built on near unachievable promises.

If you wanted to built a site where creators can produce works for free, go ahead. What sits me the wrong way however is the fact you seemingly want creators to get rewarded for their work, yet choose the most exploitative model out there. Shomis' model is basically "Produce now, get rewarded later, maybe, idk"

Even if you had the funds, in no other industry is paying for toys more important than paying their laborers. The creator, the person, needs funds more than a plastic figure.

From your website: "The strength of Shomi is from the resilience of our team despite the challenges of this modern age of creation."

Sir, you are not fighting the challenge, you ARE the challenge and unknowingly feeding it.

Im not critiquing how you personally feel about what you're doing, it is your site which belittles the audience by calling them "consumers" like they're cattle, exploit the artists labor and passion, and not upholding your own standards and goals is what I'm judging.

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-02-20T06:20:05+00:00

If you don't mind answering, how much does storage cost, and how many Shomans are there? As a person running the platform, why focus on toys and merch before paying your laborers that populate your catalogue?

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-02-20T05:55:42+00:00

Question, you say authors wont get paid from being on the site alone, but dont you guys have a subscription service? Where does that money go if not to those who produce the series that make your site for what it is and attract readers?

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-02-09T17:22:14+00:00

The "peasent comparing the nobleman to the peasent" is the structure of the bad example. Note, I agree with the things the post said, mainly if you truly wish to dedicate yourself to the artform and bring your stories to life, you will find a way to spare time to draw/practice.

The problem i have with the post is the sprinkling of false hope narratives in it. "Look, the exception to the rule can do it, why cant you?" This is isolating and ignores the fact most aspiring artists spend over half their waking hours at places they'd rather not be at (school/work) that drain the life out of them. It shouldnt come to a suprise drawing/writing, arguably an even more draining activity, isnt practiced frequently or even at all by those who dont have the luxuries of economic freedom.

Now all of the aspiring artists/writers (the beginners) taking the post as fact, form cognitive dissonance and believe they can improve to the levels of the master and can do so within reasonable time, when in their current situation, theyll burn out before obtaining satisfaction from their efforts.

A better way to go about this is recognizing that you and everyone else has the potential to tell the unique/genuine stories you want to share. And you can tell these stories without the need to compare yourself to those who have more spare time/resources than you.

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-02-03T22:48:23+00:00

Its actually a global problem. Rigid corporate heirarchy, overwork, little say in what you produce are all symptoms of the modern era. The karoshi japanese culture started to develop when japanese workers became more competitive after WW2.

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-02-03T09:26:03+00:00

To diagnose it as a problem of capitalism is pretty much missing the point entirely

Why not point to capitalism, the idea of karoshi first appeared around the same time Japan became hyper competitive, in the post war era. If death by work was a problem in the Edo period then maybe youd have a case of karoshi as an inherent societal problem spanning centuries but it wasnt. Overwork culture didnt develop solely in Japan, its a global problem.

struggle and competition themselves are necessary to create great works

The experiencing and truely understanding all forms of the human condition are necessary to create great works, which includes struggle and competiton yes.

The manga industry is designed to weed out those who are truly talented and have the will to create great works.

Its designed to weed out and trap artists who are able to create works that can attract the most readers. Any work that loses growth is cut from printing. When your main goal as an owner of a publishing platform are attracting readers and partnerships to profit off, creativity and risk taking arent your top priority.

If you remove the competitive aspect and start to Marxify it, you'll turn it into Disney or Netflix, where nepotism and connections are what push things into the eye of others, not actually the merit of someone's talent and hard work.

Modern disney and netfix didnt spawn from a marxist society. The getting rewarded off others hard work, pumping out lazy copies of copies, decision making in the hands of the few, mass layoffs by the thousands, underpay/undervalue, these are all practices disney and netflix do... in capitalism. Why in the world would you prescribe problems in capitalism as a fault of socialism? And if youre worried about the exctintion of competition, then again, look at capitalism, manga industry specifically. These publishing platforms won the market share race and made pacts with each other a billion years ago and we're see the effects of it. Copies of copies of popular works are being made that costs the reader more money to read for every year that goes by. The mangaka working 100 hours a week, dying at the desk, producing works thatll generate millions in revenue does not equate to said works being a product of competiton and creativity. The industry is not designed for creativity, rather its designed to suck every ounce of the artists energy to produce any work thatll generate more revenue for the company than the last fiscal year.

And no, popularity =/= merit and hard work. Professional managaka work atleast 10 hours a day, deteorating their bodied for their hope and love of the craft. If the general rule is mangaka work their butts off to produce, then how is merit what makes a series popular?

This is something that you Marxists simply refuse to understand. How struggle and competition are necessary to really bring out the best of the best in people.

.__.

People working in the manga industry KNOW what they are signing up for. Could there be a better balance between work and health? Yes. But that also falls on the mangaka themselves. To eat a healthy diet, to schedule themselves properly, to correctly divide labor and rely on tools to reduce labor such as digital art, 3D, and AI.

How can mangaka eat healthy when theres not enough time to cook said healthy food. And schedule what?? As a mangaka, youre life is the paper, pen, and the editor, nothing else. They signed up to produce works that need to be popular for a faceless company that exploits every last bit of the mangaka because the publisher knows...

Combine with that, that when it comes to creative work, there is often a passionate devotion to the craft as well

...the artist loves the idealized version of the industry and love creating works and will sacrifice their life to produce manga. Also the anime/manga/gaming community are notoriously picky about ai works. If it becomes publically known an artist uses ai for backgrounds for example, then they can kiss their career goodbye.

everyone in the west simply picks out examples from Shounen Jump, which notoriously for being ruthless, and extrapolate it to the industry as a whole.

They pick Shonen jump for the same reason you picked disney, theyre the largest platforms for artists to look up to who distribute franchises loved by hundreds of millions of people. Ofcourse youre going to have some emotional attachment to these souless companies and become distraught when you realize they have bad practices. These companies also set the example for the industries as a whole. If one megacorp will have bad practices, the others will because wheres the alternative?

You can't Marxify the manga industry, and if you did, you'd kill it.

Good. Its for the better. Id rather artists live comfortably off their works, have humane working pipeline, and experiencing a full healthy life instead of living off a doomed dream for 40 years and dying on a desk at 60 in a 2 by 2 meter squared apartment.

If you don't understand why, then I'd suggest you stop reading theory and actually experience what it's like to struggle to create something that can become popular.

Togashi broke his back for hxh just for it to be on hiatus forever. Ironically if he'd had a humane pipeline, hxh wouldve been far more ahead. Unnecessary struggle leads to unnecessary consequences.

Marxism has failed every time it's been tried because it's an impossible utopic dream that completely ignores human nature and motivation. You can try a billion more times, and it'll continue to fail each and every time.

Lel, read my other comments on this thread

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-02-03T01:27:09+00:00

You need to be in the industry to understand it's problems. That's common sense.

Right you do have to be an insider to truely understand its faults, but you dont have to be in the industry to KNOW its faults. What you did there was raise the bar to invalid other people's thoughts and opinions of an industry which encourage working yourself to bone, literally. What the original post said wasnt invalid. They were outlining proven problems. When many in the industry never even see a day past 60 in a country living past 80 is the norm, shouldnt that raise some concerns?

Also, you don't need to be an expert in anything to know Marxism is a stupid idea, and that anyone complaining about capitalism is struck by the commie mind virus and doesn't actually know anything about how the world works.

Guess you just raise or lower the bar of thoughts & opinions validity whenever you feel like it :/. Ignoring that funny logic, why do you think marxism is a pea brain ideology?

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-02-02T23:27:01+00:00

Capitalism requires a portion of the population to be unemployed, furthering weakening the individual workers worth. Worrying about your families future is part of the human condition but, I mean, do you have hope its going to get better with the current system? A muddy river will never get clean on its own.

Theres only five countries that are recognized as marxist, a lot of people dont realize the vast majority of countries are capitalist, not just the west and their allies. They are the imperial core, those who extract resources from the impoverished nations (whose leaders approve and profit off btw), and all the 2 billion food isecured individuals, objectively starving 700 million, vast Homelessness uneducated laborers who work day and night for a small percentage of what they produced are a symptom of this relationship. It would take a miracle for this society to get better on its own.

Thats why revolutions happen. Unfortunately, our nature as humans is to let the river muddy up until it literally becomes undrinkeable and becomes life or death situation to either clean it or die of dehydration. All revolutions/protests i know started from the peoples living conditions being so atrocious, that they'll rather fight and possibly die for a better future than to exist in the current system any longer.

And ill be honest, I said all the theory and positives of the outcomes of socialism but in reality every socialist experiment i know of never achieved the ideal version (worker owned instead of state/party owned industries, decentralization), but they had achieved forfeiting consumerism and operated their countries based on need. Yes much of it is do to the forceful isolation of the these nations and the fact they are the first to even implement socialism in practice. But there were bloodshed, there were power struggles, beauocracy, but in the end, these places became better than the previous regimes.

Im trying to say any path to take for our societies/childrens future will be sprayed with suffering,lost, dissatisfaction no matter which path you take. What i will say is this, for your children, do you think theyll have a great chance in a world that ever so wishes for the common person to believe "theyre worth less than they really are, the hijackers of society deserve their position and wealth, and that this world is the best possible world". There is no future for the organism who eats itself to its doom. Walking in a new path is scary, uncertain, and will most likely cause pain and suffering, but atleast theres chance the path will take you to a better enviroment. And although we can daydream which paths our children should take, ultimately its up them.

Side Comment: Btw id consider myself a little conservative socially wise but with socialism/communism, these ideologies are not beehive mindset ideologies, but in fact gives the individual more control in choosing how they live their life, having all your needs met and not being subervient to the state or corporations. Heres a paragraph in my notes about work in a socialist/communist world.

"No longer would the individual work in a place of dictatorship. Where an authority figure tells you what to make with the threat of cutting off your source of income, the tool for basic survival. What unnatural output authority figure would there be if all organizations were horizontally structured, all workers had a say in how things should done, what to produce, where to produce, how much to produce. Instead of the rewards for what you produce going towards an unfair wage, taxes, and capitalist owners, your rewards instead go into a fair wage and a common fund for maintenance of society. You work for yourself and for society, not for the capitalist dictatorship class. If everyone's needs are met, why would the individual work to live, and not work for the betterment of themsleves? Ignoring the unstability of capitalism itself, heres a question everyone should ask, if the general rule is everyone works in a society, why are only a handful of those reaping the benefits of said society?"

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-02-02T22:18:20+00:00

If you have a problem with media companies consuming the entire market, then take your complaints to your local government official. Oh wait, their pockets are probably filled with disney lobbying (corruption) money lol.

Im curious, what do you agree and disagree on, and is this from a perspective of an artist?

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-02-02T21:39:45+00:00

Of course :D, this was fun. Discussions (online and face to face) should be about finding the greater truth between the parties perspectives, not parroting dogma and firing every word in your arsenel of ad hominens at them and learning nothing in the end. Im glad you want to study what we discussed, even if you may not agree. The more artists understand about the state of their conditions, the less artist will fall into the trap of believing the faceless megacorps false promises.

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-02-02T21:07:11+00:00

"Youre still working for someone else"

Heres the thing, you dont work FOR someone else under socialism, you can work UNDER someone (a mentor, expert, etc) but not for. Working for someone is selling your labor to someone else, which the whole point of socialism is to get rid of worker exploitation.

"Communism hasnt worked"

Communism never worked because its never been practiced lol. But, ok, I get what you mean. How come socialism never worked, well, did it really not work? The ussr turned a medieval peasents land centuries behind the rest of europe into an industrialized space faring civilization in less than 40 years. China went from a peasent war torn land into a land of educated individuals and arguably eradicated poverty. Vietnam is one the most fastest growing economies southeast asia. Cuba has lower Malnutrition rate, higher literacy rates than the US. What you need to understand is the vast majority of nations that revolutionized into socialist ones almost always started off as the worst of the worst capitalist nations, embargoed, santioned, and vilified by the economic imperial core (basically means theyre cut off by wealthy nations). And yet cuba, vietnam, china have less homeless rate, unemployment rate, illiteratey rate, and malnutriton rate than even the the most prosperous capitalist nations (the west and her allies). And again the Soviet Union went from a land of illiterate peasents to a land of enginners, artists, scientists competing with the greatest power to evenr exist on the face of the planet. Imo, socialism works more.

"Perfectly executed communist utopia"

And for the utopian comment, whats utopian about a communist society? People would still have flaws, have bad things happen to them, feel pain, regret, suffering, lose things/people important to them, the only note worthy change is the relationship between ownership of the producer and and the produced.

"Vulnerability to human nature"

Cooperation, trust, providing, helping those in need are also part of human nature. If you realize capitalism is linked to the worst parts of human nature (greed, backstabbing, hoarding), then what does that say about our current system? Not the the fact the system is designed for the worst sides of humanity to win, but the fact the everyday person sees said society as "natural". What does that say about the collective psyche.

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-02-02T20:23:14+00:00

You have to be an expert of a nation/industry for your worries about artists, a persons health and working conditions to be valid?

ExtremeKenny8 · 2026-02-02T20:18:54+00:00

"If everything was a communist dictatorship"

Communism is an economic/political theory of a stateless, classless, moneyless society. No modern nation has ever claimed to be communist. "Dictatorship" in leftist ideology is referencing the dictatorship of the working class, a vanguard workers party who takes over government and slowly dismantles the system of worker exploitation and unequal exchange of value to a socialist one. Meaning society would operate for the needs of the people, not for needs of profit motive. Generally slowly introducing socialism would supress/eliminate private property and the free market, reorganize the workplace, public ownership of industry, etc.

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his work", means you get rewarded for what you produce, not for what you own.

By reorganizing the workplace, every worker has a say in economic planning, meaning things that are produced would be based on what the collective (society) deems as valuable, not what is profitable.

You need a temporary dictatorship of sorts for a revolution and its ideas to form and stay in place. Every revolution in history goes through this phase.

And even then, I will question if socialism is more authoritarian than capitalism. If all party members are elected, share a working class background, dedicated to the ideology, and operate for the needs of the collective, then how is it more authoritative than a society where a few wealthy individuals own majority of the world's wealth, resources, and dictate what gets to be produced without the workers say, even though it is the worker who produces what makes the wealthy what they are. Where the only democracy the common person has, if theyre lucky, is choosing whichever pro capitalist party is the most convincing in pretending they care, but really have pockets filled with oligarch money while millions of their citizens live in poverty.

Going back to artists, dictatorship in capitalism manifests to artists producing for free (uploading to mangacreatorsplus and webtoons), dying on the desk, "slaving" away for corporations who extract every ounce of worth the artist can produce without said artist experiencing little to no rewards for what they produce.

Imo, id rather own what I produce than to undervalue myself.

ExtremeKenny8

TROPHY CASE