ComicPop's 2020 in Review

I saw Jim Zub do a little retrospective for his blog. I don't have one, but what we do have is something better! We've got all of you! So without further ado...

I wrote up a huge list of stuff I wanted accomplished by the end of the year. It went up on the big whiteboard at the studio and sat there until the 23rd of December when I finally erased all of it. Every day I'd come into the studio, see the big board, and think about what else we were doing this year instead.

One item from the list was to collaborate more. I endeavored to finally work with Comic Tropes. Work more with Benny. But moreover, try to collaborate with colleagues outside the comics world. See if we could bridge the gap between people who like our kind of content in other arenas, but have a passing interest in comics, whose flames we could fan. 

I was willing to travel more. I hate traveling, but I was willing to do it to get ComicPop to the next phase.

By April it was over. March we eased into some collaborations, but it was random at best. In the month of March I decided it was time to get aggressive from the seat of my chair. I made a new list. Who do I want to talk to, gain insight from, and introduce to our audience?

All of you saw a big chunk of that list on our channel over the year. Bendis. McFarlane. King. Ennis. Names we've said on our channel dozens of times, but I was convinced would never give us the time of day. Turns out, all of them offered hours of their time and more. 

As we rolled out, the advent of the online con debuted. We had a few ideas, threw them out into the ether, and other guys dedicated a lot of time and effort into making it happen. I'm glad I was able to participate in At Home Comic Con. It was fun and entirely altruistic. Nobody went in acting a fool.

Baltimore Comic Con had its own issues (and strengths). We wouldn't have gotten King's ear without it. But we were promised a lot. Like, A LOT. And in the end, it was a gamble we lost on. That happens. If there's one good thing to reflect on from that experience, it was that we were strong enough to get through it and bounce back very quickly.

I knew I wanted to cover some of the biggest books we've ever promised on Back Issues, as well. I wish we hadn't waited until the end of the year, but hey-- we did it! And I think you guys loved it. And there's still plenty left for next year. That's another great thing.

And of course there's all of you. Without you, this would have been a devastating year for all of us. Instead, it was an opportunity to try new things and focus on what's important. So thank you all. Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts, and especially from mine. Supporting someone else during this time is tough, and things like Patreon tend to be the first to go, which is completely understandable. We lost quite a few of you over the year, and I don't blame anyone for that. But many of you didn't go anywhere, and that's just unthinkable. 

I'm beyond grateful to all of you for your continued dedication to this wacky life of mine and the silly ideas we have about comics and how to talk about them. If you feel like it, I'd like to invite you in the comments to talk about anything good that came to you in 2020, and what you learned about going into 2021.

For me, I learned to keep that list short. Be prepared for change. Be willing to adapt and be thankful for what you've got.

See you next year.