YOU Did This, and I'm SO Grateful!
|
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 dive into The New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident. I hounded the creative team to schedule interviews ahead of the book's release, and spliced portions into a breakdown video. Then I released a full interview each week for the month of March (Patreon saw them first!). All that prep work left me tired and out of balance, so I decided not to do any longform videos this month. Well, except the one below... YOU Did This. Six months ago, I asked you guys for a HUGE favor. I offered up portions of my collection for sale and opened up donations, with the goal of upgrading my video editing. We needed a camera, storage media and -- most urgently -- a new computer. While we only raised half of the goal, SO MANY of you came out of the woodworks to show your support, and I can't express my gratitude enough. Today's unboxing is directly because of your support. Please check out this video so I can give you your proper thanks. Another reason for my absence in March was the passing of my buddy Onyx. If you're not familiar, Onyx was the 5 year old son of one of my friends in the area. Just before his fourth birthday, he was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive brain cancer. His family (and our local community) rallied to give him fun life experiences in whatever time he had left, and I'm grateful that my friends in comics stepped up to be a part of that. While I'm sad that Onyx's time here is over, I'm grateful to God for protecting his innocence and allowing him to go out with that awesome sense of wonder us adults are still chasing. If you'd like to support Onyx's family in their time of bereavement, check out the GoFundMe campaign here. Read Something Dope Today, BJ KICKS |
Comics Are Dope
Celebrating everything Dope about comics. Curated by BJ KICKS.
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...
Sunday, November 9th marked our 5th channel anniversary. 5 years of me talking to a camera about comic books. Telling everyone which books I'm buying and why I love them. Interviewing creators to get more insight into their works. Building a community of over 20,000 comic book lovers to celebrate all the best aspects of the hobby. But the best part of this hobby isn't the books at all. It's all the people who love them. Meet Onyx This is Onyx. I met his dad, a local rap artist, back when I...