Monday, October 25, 2004

Pizza Pies


Well, the cat is finally out of the bag. I've been waiting a long time to be able to tell you all about Tom Spurgeon's wonderful new psuedo-blog/commentary site, The Comics Reporter. Milo got the exclusive drop on the announcement, but now that the embargo is broken, we can all chatter about it to our heart's content.

Since the end of Journalista!, the blogosphere has been lacking a central pivot. Sure, I tried my hand at it for a few months, but honestly, it was way too much work for me. In the months since, we've seen some people rise to the challenge and do some great work - particularly Johanna Draper-Carlson, who does her damndest to keep us males in line, and Neilalien, who covers an eclectic array of topics besides just Dr. Strange. And of course, we can't forget Kevin Melrose at Thought Balloons - who does just about the best job of compiling all the "mainstream" comics news and gossip of any site around. But the fact remains that even with the superb job these guys and a few others do, the blogosphere has been missing that vitally important one-stop-shop for all the day's pressing news and commentary. I know from our conversations that Spurgeon had no real intention of following in Dirk Deppey's footprints, but the fact remains that he brings an unparralleled authority in the field to just about everything he does, and his presence on the blogosphere has created, at least for me, a new central point for this far-flung digital universe of ours.

Tom Spurgeon is who everyone who wants to write intelligently and cogently about comics wants to be when they grow up - and if they don't, well, they probably don't know what they're talking about. Now that he's made his presence felt on the internet, I can only say: it's about fucking time.

I am happy to once again have a place to go to learn all that wonderful international comics news that no-one else seems to focus on, or at least not consistently. Context in our criticism and in our understanding of current events within our industry is vitally important, and from what I have seen of the first few "Members Only" weeks of TCR, I feel somewhat safe in saying that this much-needed context is finally back again. There is more to the world than merely pointing at the circus geeks at the Bendis Board and giggling uncontrollably - not that that isn't fun, but even that gets boring after a while.




I hope you are all checking out our good buddy Composite Superman's new blog!




Did everyone get a chance to look at Friday's Comic Remix, featuring the Legion of Superheroes? The remixes will now be posted on Fridays, so change your calenders accordingly.




Now that the Spurge is on the scene, it is time for me to rededicate myself to the wonderful world of blogging. I've admittedly been coasting for a little bit now, because of everything going on in our very busy lives - but that's no excuse. The fact that so many of you were so very generous to me during my recent "cry for help" tells me that there are indeed people out there who care about the goings-on on this particular blog. So, we shall hopefully not have too many days in the near future where I post one of my asinine Cereal Mascots in lieu of actual content. That's a cop-out, and you people - or at least the half-dozen of you who gave me money - deserve better from your's truly.

But if you haven't contributed, don't think that lets you off the hook. Even if I were rich as Croesus, I'd still be a damn greedy bastard. Oh wait, that probably won't endear me to the masses... hmmm. Well, suffice it to say I'm not rich, not yet, not until Joe Quesada sees my outline for the "Ultimate Woodgod" mini-series.

I'm telling you: Half-Man, Half-Goat, All Ass-Kicker. It's the next big thing.

Image Intended for Satyrical Purposes Only.

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