Good luck to you, BlogBro.
A bittersweet symphony, then! Happy Blogiversary on the one hand, and very best wishes to you for the future in the other. Be good to yourself.
Been reading your sight for a while, your reviews were always well written and informative, thanks
Very sorry to see you close this place down. I'll break out the old Thriller issues in your honor.
Also, Go Cats! and Go Toppers!
I hear ya about shouting into the void... it's certainly a depressing thought.
But all that aside, the three years I've been reading you have been great, so I sincerely thank and congratulate you for that. Don't be a stranger on Myspace, Facebook, or any of the other online hangouts!
Congrats on lasting five years!
We'll miss your blog, but hope you find any future endeavors fun and rewarding.
Thanks Johnny.
As someone in my 40s myself, it was always good to read reveiews from someone who had been collecting comics for so long. Especially since you had a rather similar perspective to my own.
Good luck, and I look forward to reading the Livejournal occassionally.
I certainly hope you'll still come around whenever I make an ungainly musical analogy involving Marc Bolan.
Another 40-something here saying "Thanks" and "Happy Trails!" Yours was one of the few comics blogs that didn't drive me away with either their "insightful" political slant on any/every new comic or obligatory praise for the mean, nasty trash that passes for today's comic "blockbusters". Apparently, comic writers aren't the only ones who feel the need to be part of the "cool" crowd. Thanks for always keeping it fun...
I always liked your posts, Johnny. You take care; don't be a stranger.
Sorry to see you retire this site. Have fun with your other ideas!
You've always been an inspiration. Thanks for doing this as long as you have!
Thanks for being the first guy to link to my blog.
It really,really meant alot to me.
Made me feel like I wasn't punching at the air anymore .
Best to you in everything you do,
Devon
Tres bummer; you've done this almost exactly twice as long as I have. Ironically, I HAVE gotten into Journalista because I've dredged up some old FantaCo news, and it was nice, actually - but strange, and probably wouldn't have happened if ADD hadn't plugged me in his column first.
Truth is, though, I didn't come to your blog for your comic book comments but for your music insights. Glad you're still doing that Elton thing.
Thanks for your inspiration and your taste - five years is still a helluva run. Cheers, JB, and all the best.
Geez. That sucks. I always like your stuff.
Plus I remember being REALLY EXCITED to find your Thriller site way back when. So I have good memories.
Actually, hey, I know you're sick of writing about comics and all, but how'dya feel about doing sort of an "exit interview" for CSBG? You were one of the first and it would be cool to acknowledge that and get your perspective on the THEN of the comics (proto) blogsphere vs. the NOW.
Plus on a purely SELFISH level I've got a couple Thriller related questions I'd like to ask...
Well, damn.
Can't say I don't know how you feel. That "screaming into the void" thing eventually got me to quit, among a few other things.
But every time I came to this site I remembered why I kept coming back, if that makes any sense. I'm sad to see you go, but you know what's good for yourself better than anyone, so I'll just mirror Jog: Don't be a stranger.
Cheers, old boy. We'll see one another again, I'm quite sure. Now, about this round of whiskey you were going to pay for...
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.
-
Alas, Mr. B, one of the first comic bloggers I discovered and always a pleasure to read. Be seein' you, partner!
Nik
This isn't goodbye since I expect we'll all be following you to the other sites -- well, I sure will! -- but I still can't help feeling sad.
And you're always welcome to shoot the mouth off over at Parkerspace, David. Especially when I finally get around to Music Week, because I know you'll have some opinions on that.
I enjoyed all the Bacardi!
Oh, you'll be back. They always come back. I've said that a half a dozen times on my own blog, and I still came back. Bloggin' is like some bad case of kryptonite poisoning. Once it gets in your blood, there's no stopping it. In the meantime, thanks for 5 great years!
Void schmoid, chief. You had an intelligent viewpoint that you articulated intelligently for years. One of my OG blog buddies. I was excited to start getting back in tune with you now that I'm comics-blogging once again. I guess it'll have to wait, but I'll be around if you ever come back! Take care buddy!
In case you want to reconsider...
Links? You've had a few. ^_^
Congrats on making it to five years. See you on LJ.
Dave --
You're not alone in your malaise, believe me. I hope if it fades a bit you'll be back. It truly won't be the same without you.
Alan
It won't be the same without ya, Jonny.
Thanks for a memorable farewell from Freakazoid. He still rules!
I know you'll be back. Somehow, someway. Until then, I'll miss it!
What can I add that hasn't been said by others. I know I took your fine blog for granted. And now it is ending. But I hope the market produces product that inspires you to write about comics again. Until then, you'll be missed.
Good luck, Dave! I always enjoyed reading your music commentary, as I'm pretty much totally out of the current comics scene, but I can certainly understand your feelings. For a long time, everytime I watched/read/listened to something, I felt an obligation to try and write my feelings down about the experience on my blog, and that eventually kinda killed the buzz. So now, I write when I'm truly moved, and otherwise, nah. Hopefully you'll eventually take the same tack, cuz we sure don't wanna lose Johnny B entirely y'know!
Oh, and happy fifth! MY fifth comes up at year's end--I don't have to leave then too, do I?...
In all seriousness, it's been my pleasure to know you, Dave!
Fred
Hey thanks for all the posting and good readings, e-amigo.
Thanks, everybody. I gotta say I'm overwhelmed and grateful. I kinda feel like I've died and am reading my obituaries!
One thing I want to make clear is that I'm not stepping away because I wasn't getting linked to as much as I would perhaps have liked. It was a small factor, for sure, and kinda annoying, but it was NOT the main reason by far. It's no one thing, honest, and I probably shouldn't have spent as much time dwelling on it in that post as I did. Nobody ever owed me anything.
It's a combination of things, mostly personal, that led to this decision. I just want to not feel obligated (even though I KNOW I wasn't anyway) to write something. I've always been the sort that if I was going to do something, I didn't want to do it half-assed, and I've felt for a long time that this was what I was doing here. So I just wanted to stop for a while and see if the desire returns.
As I said, I still intend to put something up at the LJ once in a while, and I definitely plan to provide a comment or two here and there, so I'll be around. I'm ecstatic that everyone cares about that.
So thanks once again, and I'll see ya in the funny papers or something like that.
Oh, and MarkAndrew: I have no desire to be interviewed, but I'll be happy to try and answer any Thriller questions you might have. Just shoot me an email!
Cheers!
I'm sorry to see the blog go - it has been a fun ride! Looking forward to seeing the leftover energy go into your LJ, though!
I'll definitely miss your regular blogging, JB. Yours is a place that I've always made a point of visiting every time I've gone blogreading. (I admittedly haven't been following your LiveJournal as closely, but now it looks I'll have to.) Best o' luck to ya!
This only gives me more reasons to bother you on Livejorunal and Facebook (and thanks for the kind words). I'll miss this ol' blog.
Best Bowie song ever.
So, long Johnny, or at least to the JBS.
Johnny B:
You've been on my blogroll since I first started blogging myself. You'll be missed.
Please don't be a Skrull. I mean, stranger. (What could be stranger than a Skrull, though?)
thanks for everything, johnny! wishing you the best in your future adventures!
Hi Johnny,
Thanks for these years of sensible and intelligent thoughts about comics, a rare find these days (especially when dealing with the so-called mainstream).
Best,
Marcos
Hey Johnny, damn! I feel we've been part of the same blog-family forever. Take care -- I'll miss you, don't be a stranger!!
xxoo
Oh no!
Oh, well...
I guess five years is a long time to be out on the blogpath, for sure. I'll miss this site's distinctive voice -- as any decent writing teacher tells his kids, voice is the toughest thing to get, because it's the most valuable thing to have...
Off to the LJ page, then! See you in a minute.
Congrats, Dave, on the five years - and I'm sorry to see you go!
JB- In case you haven't seen it, you are the inspiration for today's post.
Hey you will always have a special place in my heart for turning me onto Brian Wilson and Warren Ellis.
Congrats on making it to five years, which is forever in blog-time!
I come back after a long absence... and I find you leaving...
I'll miss ya, bub.
Don't get too discouraged, though. There are still some creators out there that want to make fun comics.
However... even those feel obligated to make some sort of "epic" story to be taken seriously.
As a creator, myself, I often feel torn between wanting to make the kind of comics that I would like to see out there and wanting to create something that would show that I'm not un-hip.
The problem with the mainstream comics is that they don't allow writers to choose. They have to be trendy and imagination is limited to variations of previously successful concepts.
I do hope to hear from ya again someday.
Til next time... Make Mine Bacardi!
Thanks for five years of good, readable blogging, and thanks especially for helping rekindle my own interest in comics again (though mid-life crisis might go a long way to explaining that too...)
The JB show has always been one of my favourite blog stops - I'll miss it for sure, but I appreciate that five years is long enough to spend at anything. So "hail" rather than "farewell"...
Now I'm off to an ice-cream parlour to drink some milk-shakes cold and long...
Sorry to see you go. I loved your blog. Take care.
Commenting by HaloScan
