So Many Comics. So Little Time.
|
In high school, I had an unhealthy relationship with 90s R&B and early 2000s era Neo-Soul. Kids with unregulated hormones probably shouldn't be listening to back-to-back ballads about love, heartbreak, and well.. other things. But as I recover from missing yet another 'weekly' newsletter, Musiq Soulchild just keeps taunting me. It's busy season in the Kicks household. Church responsibilities are picking up. School is back in session, morning routines feel everything but, and I'm probably in need of a nap at any given time of day. It's a good thing we have welcome distractions like weekly comics, amirite? On The Channel I'm not crazy fond of describing myself as an influencer. But I do love connecting comic fans with stories, experiences and products I know they'll enjoy. I recently got the chance to test out a few products by WHAM! Stand, a company building custom 3D printed solutions to help you display your comics fandom. Check out the review, then visit their site and use coupon code BJKICKS to save 20% off your entire cart at checkout! On The Podcast This week, I'm joined by artist Ryan Oakley. She's made a name for herself in traditional illustration, but has her eyes set firmly on comics. We had a great conversation about art history, goals, and why she won't take no for an answer. Episode 42 is live now! Closing Thoughts Seriously. If there were ever a time I wished there was an extra day in the week, it's right now. Our current 7 day structure is just not enough. Take my YouTube schedule for instance. Earlier this year, I implemented a personal rule to limit weekend uploads as much as possible. That means I have a maximum of 5 video slots per week. With work and family obligations, it's more like 3. Just yesterday, there were nearly 12 dozen comics released into the Direct Market. How in the world does anyone decide what to read and cover? They're all so good! And that's not even counting the wonderful world of self-published books. Seemingly every day, there's a new and interesting comic project on Kickstarter (insert shameless plug for The Few of Farbetween) or on Webtoon. I'm over a decade late to the party, but I just discovered JL8 by Yale Stewart. It's the type of thing I wish were legal to have printed up, because I REALLY need it in a hardcover. I guess this whole conundrum underscores the importance of people like me. Curators. Purveyors of comic culture. Dare I say -- influencers. Years from now, someone will ask whatever AI overlords we have what the best comics were in 2024. The answer may very well lead to one of my videos. That's too much power for one man to have. Read Something Dope Today, BJ KICKS |
Comics Are Dope
Celebrating everything Dope about comics. Curated by BJ KICKS.
I had a whole intro typed about procrastination. I'll get to that later. This week, I gave myself a challenge. Post one video each weekday leading up to HeroesCon. Just so I wouldn't chicken out, I posted the schedule on social media SNL style. Now if I went back on my word, I'd be lying to at least a dozen people. 3 Down, 2 to Go. It's part of what I'm calling the Summer Sprint. After nearly a year of having to put the channel on the backburner while I dealt with more pressing matters on the...
It's a milestone week here in Dope Land. I woke up to two bits of exciting news on Tuesday. First, our audience grew to 18,000 subscribers on YouTube! I've set a goal in my head to reach 20k by November. But the truth is, the number only matters to me as much as I'm bringing joy to the person on the other end of it. That any singular person chooses to spend time listening to what I have to say about an artist's words and pictures will always be mind blowing to me. That makes the next...
Yesterday, I posted a video updating the general public about what I've been up to lately. If you read this briefing regularly, you already know. I'm busy being a family man, yada yada yada. But I also hinted a bit at some things to come on the channel. I've been searching for ways to include more book reviews in my heavily compressed schedule, and I think I've found just the trick in YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. Look, Ma! I'm in 16x9 format! While I've been hesitant to join the...