Also. When did digital downloads of comics become more the norm, not exception? Some of these don't seem to have physical copies available. I know digital has been around a long time, but it always seemed like the biggest hits would still have physical copies on sale.
Edit: Another interesting data point, there were more than 14000 games released just on Steam last year [2]. So I think it's not crazy to assume there's also several thousands of comics.
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_films_of_2023
2: https://gamerant.com/games-released-steam-2023-record-number...
Traditional physical comics require a lot of hands. Often separate people do the writing, illustrating, lettering, and coloring. On top of that, you have to have an actual publishing press and ship the comics out to stores. Still, if you go to a comic shop you'll find at least a few dozen new comics a month.
Unlike film, though, where it's incredibly difficult for a single individual to do the writing, acting, filming, and editing, a talented artist can definitely create a comic start to finish without outside help. Webcomics have a thriving indie scene of staggering proportions. Most of these probably don't generate much money - people tend to read them for free and even ads are limited - but not everyone in the indie scene is treating them as a full-time job.
Oh, buddy, you are in for a treat, here's some publishers just off the top of my head: https://drawnandquarterly.com https://www.topshelfcomix.com https://www.silversprocket.net https://www.fantagraphics.com and there's a lot more after that.
barriers to entry are low and it's a rich, internationally thriving medium
Having physical copies of all the manga I read would be extremely cumbersome, it would take up a ton of space.