An Opening Statement from Matt Brady

Hi folks - I don’t have too much to say this time, other than obviously to thank JK and the crew for all their work over the last couple of years here at Blog@Newsarama. While I was as frustrated as anyone that things reached a point where they felt it was in their best interests to quit, I wish them the absolute best as they go on to set up their own shop and make a go at this crazy thing on their own. JK had mentioned to me that Robert Kirkman manifesto was a big motivation for the group, and I can’t wait to see how they take his message to heart to do their own thing under their own shingle.

That said, I’ve got to look toward the future at this point, with a huge thank you to Troy Brownfield in refining the ideas we had of what Blog@ should be despite the four-day, holiday weekend notice that we’d be needing something to fill the big shoes of JK and the rest. Troy has done an outstanding job of assembling a team of some familiar names, some new names, and some names that folks may be familiar with from reading the indicia in comics. I’m truly convinced that we’ll be seeing new and great things from Blog@ in the coming weeks and months, taking it to new readers, and new heights as a companion to Newsarama. I won’t spoil any surprises, but it looks like there’s some great stuff coming up.

So that’s all from me for now - as I said, I’ll be around, and am easily found at matt@newsarama.com  if you want to drop me a line. I’ll be asking some friends to stop by occasionally as well, and probably give this thing a go now and again. Oh, and one last thing about the great stuff that’s coming up - in the “don’t believe all that you read” category, Matt Maxwell will be continuing here at Blog@, for the next few weeks at least, with “Strangeways: The Thirsty.” If you’ve been missing it - you’ve been missing some good comics. Check it out.

Thanks, and see you in the comments.

Matt

New Day Rising
An Opening Statement from Troy Brownfield

Blog@ . . . All-New, All-Different! Welcome to Blog@; we hope you survive the experience. Blog@ . . . and nothing will ever be the same. Okay, we all know that we could go all day with the comic-based “new writer, new direction” clichés. Those of you that know me from here and elsewhere don’t need an intro; for the rest of you, we’ll get to that. My first true order of business is to say thanks to our predecessors here at Blog@.They built a strong foundation here, and I wish them luck in their future endeavors.vPerhaps they’ll gather in one place, and between what they do and what we do, there will now be two cool blog teams in the world where once there was one.

Introductions, then. I’m Troy Brownfield, and I’ve written for Newsarama for going on five years. Nearly four years ago, I put together the Best Shots review team with regulars from my own ShotgunReviews.com (founded in 1999) and other writers pulled from various locations. My “day job” is that I’m a professor at a small liberal arts college in Indiana; I also write for Fangoria and WIRED magazine, among others. When Matt Brady asked me if I would step into a leadership position here when the former crew told him they were splitting, I took it as a welcome challenge and a chance to try some new things.

A few words about the team: what you’re going to see is the evolution of Blog@. There is a global rethink here that will involve a dozen or so regular posters for starters. On top of that, there will be a layer of posters that are representatives drawn from virtually every major American comic company. On top of THAT, there will be a layer of working pros from various avenues of comics and beyond. We are reaching for an unprecedented level of interaction here, and we want you to participate in a dialogue that cuts across company and creative boundaries and forwards comics as a whole.

Members of the core team include:

J. Caleb Mozzocco: Writer of EverydayislikeWednesday.blogspot.com and member of the Best Shots team, Caleb has also contributed to the likes of Columbus Alive, Las Vegas Weekly, and DoneWaiting.com.

Michael C. Lorah: Jovially referred to as the “indie guy” of the Best Shots team, Mike has worked in various capacities for DC Comics, Soap Opera Digest, and business publications.

Lucas Siegel: Co-host of the online show Shots in the Dark, Best Shots team member, and primary video game writer for Newsarama, Lucas also logged time as an Army medic in Iraq. Angry posts do not frighten him.

Sarah Jaffe: The “Verti-girl” to Mike’s “indie guy”, Sarah also teaches and has written for BUST magazine and Ohyouprettythings.net.

Corey Henson: Once a PR guy for ADV Films, Corey also wrote with me for the ADV publication Newtype USA magazine. Corey joined the ShotgunReviews.com team several years ago, and, with me and The Rev. OJ Flow, was one of the founding members of the Best Shots team.

The Rev. OJ Flow: In addition to writing for Life During Wartime, ShotgunReviews.com, and moderating multiple groups for Suicide Girls.com, The Rev was one of the founders of the Best Shots team. You may recall that Newsarama once ran a feature on his tattoos; it’s time for an update.

Vaneta Rogers: Writer of many fabulous interviews for Newsarama, Vaneta will be checking in here from time to time.

Barbara Hallock: One of the best students that I’ve ever taught. Barb took over as ShotgunReviews.com webmaster a couple of years back and has contributed several times to the Best Shots column.

Russ Burlingame: You know Russ, right? Russ Burlingame from ComicRelated.com, everybody! Russ has contributed convention coverage to the ‘Rama before, and he’ll be checking in over here frequently as well.

David Pepose: A rookie to us, but seasoned elsewhere. David was an editor for the college paper at Brandeis, and has interned for DC Comics and Fox News. He also has another interesting credit, but you’ll see that later in the year.

Julius Marx, Jason Geyer, and crew: Julius and Jason run ActionFigureInsider.com, and will be sharing collectible news on a regular basis. In my mind, these guys are the online authority in this area, and we’re happy to have them.

Who else? What about Jimmy Palmiotti, who’s done nearly everything that one can do in comics? And Troy Hickman, who parlayed his hand-drawn ashcan comics of a decade past into writing for Image and Top Cow? And Newsarama’s own Dirk Manning?

How about, including, but not limited to:
Paul Levitz from DC Comics
Scott Allie from Dark Horse Comics
Chris Ryall from IDW Publishing
Chris Staros from Top Shelf Productions
Christian Beranek from Kingdom Comics
Scott Licina from Fangoria Graphix
Raven Gregory from Zenescope Comics
and David Marks from Avatar Press?

That’s just the beginning, kids. There are already more signing on. This conversation is going to run the gamut. We’ll start the ball rolling, and you roll it back. Pose questions to the pros. Share feelings about the direction of various lines. Challenge us. Tell us what you want to see.

I want to make one small point here. A prominent online presence in “our world” recently chided Newsarama for being too “rah rah” about comics. I have to say, “I’m sorry? When did it become wrong to actually LIKE this thing that we all spend so much time and money on?” I get it if the mainstream isn’t for you. I get it if you prefer one type of book over another. But I don’t think that there’s ever been anything wrong with enthusiasm or the passionate celebration of something that you enjoy. That’s not to say that all comics are automatically great. They aren’t. That IS to say that no one here is aiming to talk down to you if you read super-hero books or horror titles or if you prefer Marvel Adventures over the 616. The comic and graphic novel and manga reader tents should be large enough to contain multitudes. This IS a community. We may disagree, and we may argue, and we may not see eye-to-eye on what is best for the industry or the art. But you’re all welcome here. Let’s start talking.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 1st, 2008 at 5:00 am and is filed under Announcements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.