Good Grief!
Panel Patter has reached 1,000 posts, mostly by me with some help from Erica and Sarah as this year moved on. It's hard to believe I've been reviewing things for so long--or so many comics! I've done everything from the Avengers to Yotsuba&! and featured comics from major publishers, overseas, and some of my friends in the mini-comics scene, from Carolyn Belefski to Rob Ullman.
In that time, I've even progressed to having the pleasuring of working with several publishers and independent creators to see what's out there in the wider comics world. I have participated in ideas that crossed between blogs, and even hosted one. I've tried recurring features, some of which stuck around and others kinda fell flat. But that's the fun in running a comics blog for the joy of it--no one is there to get mad at you if you "fail" at something.
I'm a talker by nature. I'll talk your damned ear off. Always have, always will. Panel Patter is where I come to talk about the comics I love, the comics I think you should like, and now and again, the comics you need to stay away from. I'm very blessed to be living in an era where we can freely express our ideas about comics to anyone who cares to add you to their RSS reader. Anyone can do it, and anyone who wants to should.
I'm not in Panel Patter for the fame and fortune. I know I'll never reach thousands of people a day, but that's okay. I'm not here to try to snag a deal writing comics (and trust me, drawing them is NEVER gonna happen. I make Chris Sims look like Jack Kirby.). Getting paid might just give me a heart attack, if anyone ever offered. I write this blog because I love comics, and I want to share that love with anyone who wants to listen. I'm so happy when Sarah and Erica are up for sharing some of their love of comics here as well. I get a thrill when a creator e-mails me to say they've enjoyed a review or I see that a publisher picked up a review I did and is using it to promote a comic. It means that what I'm doing matters to someone who also loves comics.
I consider myself a comics evangelist. I want everyone to know how good comics are, whether they feature people in ridiculous spandex, read right to left, are photocopied at Staples, or feature the heartbreaking (or heartwarming) stories that are close to the hearts of the artist. No one genre of comics is better than another. There are great comics being made in all formats right now, on paper, on the web, in the hands of corporate conglomerates and at the smallest of publishers. They're on your screens, tablets and cell phones. They might be in your local paper. But they exist, and they need people like you and me to tell the world around us that there's so much to be found, if only they take the time to look.
I have no idea how many more Panel Patter posts are going to happen. Maybe it's another 1,000. Maybe it's 5,000. Who knows? (Please don't say the Shadow.) All I know is that I am incredibly blessed to be able to talk about a medium of entertainment I've loved since I could read. I may not be able to do whatever a spider can, despite the best efforts of my childhood self to get bitten by spiders. But if my younger self knew I'd be doing this, I have a feeling he'd have climbed the walls in joy.
Thanks to all of you who've shared the ride so far. Now stop reading this and go read more comics! And tell the world about them! Together, we can make the comics world a better, even more varied place!
All my best,
Rob McMonigal
