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.
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