Basically, I've come to the conclusion that the LESS the buying/reading public knows about the personalities and processes behind the comics, the HEALTHIER it would be for the industry.

Just buy the characters, read the stories, eventually find something else and move on. That's how it worked for a long time. And I think it worked better that way.

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Yes -- as the industry stands these days, it's rather like a man with a gangrenous leg going to a doctor to get treatment for his gangrenous toe.

In many ways, I liked it better when I knew less about the creators of comics (I don't mean JB; this forum is an excellent educational experience).

The differences I see between generations of creators is disturbing. When I've read interviews with older creators, I saw that they all treated making comics as a job. Some loved it, some say it only as a paycheck or as a stepping stone to comic strips or advertising or other work, but all acted professionally, met deadlines, did the job to the best of their ability and seemed to put the work before their personal interests. I do not get the same impression with many of the more recent creators and I think it shows in the work.

Looking at Marvel up to about 1990 or so, for example, is like thinking about the construction of a building. The Golden Age creators made the foundation. In the Silver Age, Lee, Kirby, Ditko, etc began building something bigger. Roy Thomas and JB and the generation of the 70s built more floors and the 80s made the building even taller, each new shift adding to the work of its predeccesors and the structure was tall and strong.

Current Marvel? Those aren't architects and builders. Those are kids playing with blocks. One little boy makes a Spider-Man or Avengers the way he wants to and then the next brat comes along, knocks the blocks down and makes his own thing, and the cycle repeats over and over.  

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That 1990s dating is very generous. I think the rot set it a long time before then.

A big part of the problem lies in the shrinking of the marketplace. Those who wanted to be "on the inside", party to all the backstage gossip and spoilers, used to be very much the minority, even in the most ardent corners of fandom. But as the industry has suicidally shrunk itself, the outer fringes have moved closer and closer to the center, until, in many ways, they have BECOME the center.

From this springs the affected ennui, the supercilious attitudes, and, of course, the (often malicious) rumor-mongering. None of which existed in any real sense for the first several decades of this hobby. Sure, there were inevitably those fans who suffered from "taxpayer mentality" ("I pay your salary!!") but they were the minority, and easy enough to ignore, in the days before the internet. Now, tho I'm sure we'd like to think they are still a minority, they are a LOUD minority.

I had no LCS either.  Being a comic fan was kind of a solitary venture back in the 70's-80's.  The only hype I got was from the "Hype Box".  Yes, I had a couple of friends that also read comics, and we would compare notes, but most of the time I poured over the spin rack to discover a great new artist or writer alone. 

Sure, the creators were celebs to us fans, but we didn't even know what they looked like.  There was zero behind the scenes dirt.  The work spoke for itself as Steve Ditko says.

What amazed me -- I picked up a comic magazine, and it was tearing down artists and writers.  This would NEVER have happend when I was reading comics in 78.  NEVER!  I was stunned!  The earlier magazines were about helping the industry, not causing drama and strife.

Somewhere along the line, the adults left the building.