Back to Life, Back to Reality
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For my kids, this week is Back to School week. They've been feeling it for a while. Bedtimes have gotten earlier. Routines more rigorous. And finally, they'll have something filling several hours of their weekdays. It's been a perfect time to examine and tighten up my own routines as well. I've been waking up earlier, taking advantage of the quiet time to get more videos done. I've always been more early bird than night owl, but I forgot how much I used to get done between 5:30 and 8:00am. Maybe I do have time to get back in the gym. Speaking of tightening up... Last week, I FINALLY completed the big purge. I'd been blowing my $50 weekly budget out of the water for a few months. But when I looked out and saw that I was nearly DOUBLING my budget for August, I had to take drastic measures. Of course, I've been met with a deluge of calls to reconsider dropping Absolute Wonder Woman. Thankfully, we have DC Universe Infinite for that. Newspaper Comics Are Dope Do you remember reading comic strips in the newspaper? For me, those were the only comics readily available in childhood. When I saw a Facebook ad for a free issue of The Ducktown Weekly -- an ALL COMICS newspaper, I couldn't resist it. Click the image to check out my review, then join my petition to get George Gant's Beware of Toddler strip added to the paper! Coming Up on the Channel In the spirit of Back to School, I'm working on a showcase of Graphic Novels to help your kids cope with the heavy dose of seriousness headed their way. From Ducktales to Animorphs, there's no shortage of kids comics out there. You just have to know where to look. Also coming this week are my deep dive ranking of all the major Digital Comics subscription services, and a longform Q&A video I've been teasing for a month. I'm also gearing up for a new season of guests on the Podcast. The summer break wasn't really intended, but I'm so happy to have more interviews on the calendar. Relax, Scoob. It's Just a Rebrand! One more quick announcement. Channel sponsor Organic Priced Books has just completed a rebrand, and is now known as Panel Bound Comics! The new name helps them avoid being mistaken for a farm-to-table recipe source, and plants them firmly in the world of collected editions as a major player in the years to come. Rebrands are scary, but often necessary. I'm really proud of JP, David and Jake for pulling it off! Read Something Dope Today, BJ KICKS |
Comics Are Dope
Celebrating everything Dope about comics. Curated by BJ KICKS.
I never would have guessed I'd only write 3 newsletters in 3 months, but here we are. February was a really good month, but it was tough for me. Every year, I feel like I struggle to cover the wealth of amazing Black comics projects out there during Black History Month. This year, I made 2 videos I'm really proud of. The Deep Dive into Dwayne McDuffie's unique legacy of Diversity at Milestone was well-received, and that made me happy. But the most ambitious video I've ever made was my deep...
Friday, February 20th would have been Dwayne McDuffie's 64th birthday. In comics, he's best known as the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Milestone Media -- home to Static, Icon & Rocket and more. He arguably had an even better career in the world of television animation, first with Static Shock, then serving as Story Editor for Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Ben 10 and the list goes on. His last screened work, a direct-to-DVD adaptation of Mark Waid's Tower of Babel, is probably...
We're finally at the last day of what has been an incredibly STACKED year for Comics. I've only been around since 2019, but this is the most excitement I've ever seen about the medium. We have straight up BANGERS coming out from EVERY comic publisher. DC's Absolute line sold millions of copies. Marvel's Ultimate Universe consistently overperformed, as did Skybound's Energon Universe. IDW is CRUSHING it with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Godzilla's Kai-Sei line. And we got a ton of really...