Sorry to hear about your car. We also have a Honda that has served us well, but these things don't last forever. You did well to get 400k miles out of it.
I've never been to a big comic event, but maybe I will some day. I'm not really immersed in that world, so it might feel a bit surreal, but I guess it's valuable for some comic artists to get seen.
I still enjoy a lot of comics on Hive, but I know they are not making huge money. The platform is still a way off critical mass. Comics may never be the biggest thing here, but if a few thousand fans joined up it could be something. I've used what I've made to buy a few comics from people on here and built a good relationship with them.
Hope things go well for you.