As some of you may already know, Thought Balloonists is going into hibernation in 2011 so that Charles and I can contribute to a new blog called The Panelists. This new site will launch in early January, and contributors besides Charles and I will include Madinkbeard's Derik Badman, Guttergeeksters Alex Boney and Jared Gardner, and Satisfactory Comics' Isaac Cates. We'll be affiliated with the main webpage of The Comics Journal, so keep an eye on TCJ.com for our debut if you're so inclined.
Why a new blog? Primarily, Charles and I are excited about the idea of collaborating with ferociously smart critics like Derik, Alex, Jared and Isaac. Personally, though, I'm also ready for a new direction in my online writing. Over time, my TB posts became longer and less frequent, which is (surprise!) not the best way to build a steady audience for a blog. In 2011, I plan to retool my writing to make my Panelist blog posts shorter, snappier and at least bi-weekly--hopefully without abandoning the idiosyncratic, intellectual content I've tried to present here at Thought Balloonists. And the other Panelists will be gettin' my back; together, we'll be putting up new posts all the time.
Thanks to everyone who's read our work and commented on our posts here, and thanks especially to Charles for inviting me to join him on TB. As I recall, it was October 2007, at the Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington DC, while we were in line to have books signed by Pat Oliphant, that Charles suggested we blog together. At that time, I was in the midst of a debilitating writer's block, and I suspect Charles hatched TB to jolt me out of said sorry state. CH, it worked. These last three years have been a joy, and I can't wait to continue our Eddie Campbell project, and Panelize with the rest of the whole sick crew. The future's so bright, I've gotta wear ruby quartz shades...!
Happy holidays to all, and we'll be back soon. I'll post a link to The Panelists as soon as the domain is up and running.
congratulations on the new gig, guys! TB will be missed-and I'm very sad to see you close shop here--but it's good to know you'll both be putting your well-honed critical chops to use over at TCJ. So now there actually is something to look forward to in 2011! best of luck & Happy New Year!
Posted by: Geoff | December 19, 2010 at 03:02 PM
Book! Book! Put together a book of the best of!
Posted by: Mike Rhode | December 20, 2010 at 03:12 PM
And you know I'm right.
Posted by: Mike Rhode | December 20, 2010 at 03:13 PM
This is fantastic news. Looking forward to having you all as neighbors!
Posted by: Noah Berlatsky | December 20, 2010 at 07:55 PM
Aw, thanks for all the nice comments, guys. I'll be too busy in the next few months to compile a TB "best-of" book, Mike, but I've been thinking of it as a long-term project. (I also intend to strip-mine some of my posts--particularly the one on TAMARA DREWE--for academic articles.)
And Noah: hope we don't make property values plummet! We'll be the redneck family down the block with the rusted-out cars in the front yard...
Posted by: Craig Fischer | December 21, 2010 at 06:28 AM
Congratulations, Craig! I'll add the new bookmark...
Posted by: Jordan | December 31, 2010 at 08:01 AM