Webcomic creators Hazel and Bell argue that online censorship is making it increasingly difficult for independent artists to publish and sustain their work. Social-media algorithms and restrictions imposed by payment providers can limit both the visibility of comics and artists’ ability to earn money from them. The consequences are especially serious for queer creators, whose stories may already face heightened scrutiny or exclusion online. The piece frames these pressures not as isolated inconveniences but as barriers that threaten whether independent webcomic artists can continue to work.
The discussion is part of Comics Against Censorship, a five-part series of original comics about the history, impact and resistance to LGBTQ2S+ censorship. Hazel and Bell have collaborated since 2011, creating the webcomics Electric Bones and Always Raining Here, with stories rooted in their home province of British Columbia. Their Canadian slice-of-life romance Always Raining Here was published by First Second in 2025 and is available in Canadian bookstores. Their experience sharing comics online gives the piece a creator’s perspective on how platform rules and payment restrictions can affect the circulation of queer work.
Summary generated by AI from the linked article. hn.today is not affiliated with Hacker News or Y Combinator.
David Chapman imagines a post-Singularity future where AI brings a surprising reprieve from disaster, focusing on what people might find meaningful rather than on technology. He argues that meaning is found in present experience, not in an imagined eternal or cosmic realm, and that searching elsewhere can obscure it. (meaningness.substack.com)
Walter Koenig, best known as Pavel Chekov on the original Star Trek series, has died aged 90. He also reprised Chekov in six films and played Alfred Bester in Babylon 5. (bbc.com)
Scottish surgeon Joseph Bell, who taught Arthur Conan Doyle at the University of Edinburgh, inspired Sherlock Holmes with his powers of observation and deduction. Medical historian Lindsey Fitzharris explores Bell’s life and influence in her new biography, Sleuth-Hound: The Case of the Real Sherlock Holmes. (arstechnica.com)
The Onion Voting Simulator 3D is a free satirical walking simulator from Onion Interactive, released on Steam on October 26, 2026. Players navigate a school gym on Election Day while resisting the temptation to stay home, with surreal obstacles including demons and Hell. (store.steampowered.com)
Neiman Marcus’s 2026 Fantasy Gifts lineup includes a Star Wars Legacy Experience. The listing presents it as a high-end Star Wars-themed offering from the luxury retailer. (neimanmarcus.com)
Unwanted political and marketing texts flood the author’s phone, while Apple’s spam filters fail to catch them. The author avoids replying STOP because it makes recipients responsible for opting out of unsolicited messages. (notes.npilk.com)
Today's best Hacker News stories, summarized and screenshotted, one email a day.