So Many Comics. So Little Time.
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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.
Being an adult is weird. The older I get, the more I just feel like a bigger kid. I mean sure, I'm paying bills and making big decisions. But I'm also reading comic books, and I still look to the left and right before sneaking a chocolate chip cookie out of the pantry. Perhaps the biggest gap between my perceived and actual maturity levels comes in parenting. Today, I'm headed to a parent teacher conference. There will almost certainly be a moment where the teacher will tell me something very...
It’s 10pm on Wednesday night. I’m sitting in my car, periodically checking to make sure the battery charger I bought from Amazon isn’t frying anything. What better time to start tapping out this email? This week seems chock full of those little hiccups. All the car trouble has me a full day behind on my production schedule. The Marvel showcase that should’ve been out today? Not even filmed. I’m almost certainly not going to have tomorrow’s Podcast episode up on time. Lunar was late with their...
It’s been a busy week! My cushy Work-From-Home job became a Work-From-the-Office job on Wednesday. But it wasn’t all bad news, as it meant I was in close proximity to an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet I’d never been to before. I ended up coming up on a mother load of action figures at a great price! Check out the video to see what I grabbed. My Latest Ollie’s Haul is Live on the Channel Now! Click the photo to watch. Speaking of things at a great price, did you catch the trailer DC put out for their...