In 2011, iFanboy.com published roughly 200 articles a month. What did you do last year?
…What’s that? Had a lot of fun, fulfilling experiences, often outdoors? Failed to get a prescription for Zoloft that you could directly attribute to online arguments about Wonder Woman’s pants?
Yeah, but still.
Last year was an enormous one for both this site and comics in general, and to paraphrase Ferris Bueller: the headlines on the home page move pretty fast. If you don’t stop and let me mention them again once in a while, you might miss commenting on them. Here now, in no particular order– and I cannot stress that enough– are some things that come to mind when someone says “iFanboy 2011,” hypothetically.
Feel free to add anything that’s been neglected in the comments below.
No, I mean it. Just this once, for a change, please mention any mistakes or omissions in the comments. Overcome your shyness, just this one time.
ANYWAY!:
EXCLUSIVE: Former Wizard Employee Speaks. As hard as it is for many of us to believe now, there was once a time when a single magazine– in print, no less, on actual, ancient paper!– clutched the entire industry by the Bathing Suit Area. As with many people throughout history in positions of undeserved power, this dealie eventually fell apart, and as it crumbled the witnesses told the tale of its inevitable decline. And you were there. Whenever an end-of-the-year list is compiled, there are things that seem to have happened ten minutes ago and others that seem to have happened in another lifetime. Somehow, this was both.
Oh, My God, the New 52. DC, you guys! Did you hear about this? New new new! (Yet also, 1940! H0w, what? Shh!) Action Comics is new, and Batgirl is new, and Jonah Hex! It sounds familiar, but no it is not.
Were you lost? Not for long. DC’s reboot consumed the biz, and iFanboy was there to cover it from every angle. We had the definitive guide. We had someone smart talking about it. We had someone dumb talking about it. We have Coveragepalooza, faster than you can say “what is happening in this book, which Lynda Carter and I as a preschooler could once summarize concisely?” iFanboy was there for all of the different strokes that move the world.
Josh asks “What’s Wrong With You?“ In context, no offense, it’s an excellent question. The more Mr. Flanagan got down to specifics, the more one started to wonder why no one asked before, even when the You in question wasn’t actually You. From gender issues to Being Creepy, these gentle admonitions were all the rage. Of course, the question is also an excellent way to just start a fight. Not that we would know anything about that.
The World Ends, a Coupla Times. A year ago, sales were down as far as they could go without all of us gathering around them for warmth and having a jolly marshmallow roast. Comics were dyyyying. Again. Apparently. Now…? Oh, Lordy, I dunno. Almost everything’s day-and-date digital, but Borders is closed, but the New 52…. I’m sure it’s ten times more awful by someone’s standard or an0ther. Who knows? Not me.
There is a new iFanboy: For the first time in approximately nineteen years, the site gets a complete overhaul. Everyone agrees it is the best thing ever, for roughly eleven seconds, after which it is immediately deemed flawed, and then becomes an atrocity on par with that blimp that time. This is another one of those things that somehow seems like it happened yesterday and ten years ago at the same time.
This was also the year the podcast hit 300 episodes, believe it or not.
Ron disliked things! And they are still not great.
Also in 2011, Josh uncovered the secret of the year over at Marvel, right around April 1st. Whether it fooled anyone or not, it was perhaps the funniest April Fool’s article since Ron went to the trouble of writing an entire Book of the Month article about Cable Classics.
One day, one of us said, “I understand why people download pirated material… but why in hell do people go to the trouble of making it?” and that innocent question resulted in an outpouring of interviews and weeks of well-received articles.
Jeff Reid plumbed the depths of history, and Timmy Wood shook his brain to see what spilled out.
If I had to pick just one story from 2011, however, it would be the most scandalously under-reported unsolved mystery in the history of comics. Scott Snyder exposed the Background Character Mystery, which remains unsolved to this day and drives me crazier than I ever would have imagined possible. Someone must know someone who knows what is going on here. It’s time to come forward so I can sleep again.
Thanks for a year of helping us make memories! Now let’s do it all again.
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I remember that background character mystery article. That mystery drives me crazy sometimes, too. The best theory I can come up with is that all companies share the same background character templates.
Snyder tweeted a few weeks ago that he got something in the mail from an anonymous source. It was a picture of him from NYCC and the two guys he’s noticed in those kids books were standing right behind him! Like, the two actual guys not just a copy/paste from the book. The note said something to the effect of: “We’re watching”…..And that is kinda fucked up whether it’s a joke or not.
Other then Marvel Comics in general, this was a pretty great year for comics and a good year for ifanboy. I definitely like it were seeing Timmy, Jeff, and Ali get their own articles on here.
ha! if you click on the what’s wrong with you link, the two posts with the lowest comments are about “you’re not good enough” and “making fun of cosplay.”
apparently, we are mostly in agreement that 1) we suck, and 2) it’s fun to place dress up. good job 2011!
ergh. it’s fun to PLAY dress up.
comment = ruined. good job, mark!
We still love you.
WHO ARE THEY?
Gah, that mystery still boggles my mind.
I half think Snyder is planning a kids book staring those two guys and is doing some really bizarre marketing for it.
that would be genius
I hope Ron does another ‘worst of comics’ list for 2011. Not that we should always harp on the negative. But at the same time, 99% of the articles on this site are ultra-positive/pretty much advertising for the publishers/creators. It’s fun to have the writers from time to time put the crap in it’s place. And it’s not just to hate by any means. If we don’t point out the bad, the good doesn’t get the credit it deserves. Without bad, there is no such thing as good.
Speaking of which, how did Josh calling Fear Itself “Fucking Garbage” not make this list?!
Because Jimski wrote this. He’s the most vocal defender of Fear itself. Look alive, j206.
Good list Jimski. Sigh. Good times.
“Pretty much advertising”
Thanks, so much.
Poor choice of words on my part, Josh. Humblest apologies. That came off snarky when that was not the intent at all.
You guys are very promotional/supportive when it comes to the industry. Running all the solicits and previews is kinda advertising for the publishers and creators. That’s happened a lot more of late. I guess I was referring to that. Nothing wrong with it at all. I understand how the industry works. You gotta do that stuff to keep good relationships. Don’t Miss is a great podcast, and serves both the creator and listener alike.
Don’t get me wrong. I support the positive and supportive slant fully. As why shouldn’t you use your status and voice to champion and help out an industry that desperately needs it. I was only trying to say that it’s fun to hear/read you guys mix things up every once in a while.
And I know that Josh, you have said you regret the Fear Itself comment. And I was mostly joking (damn the internet and it’s inability to include the proper levity in my posts!!!) about it being on this list. But it was a memorable moment. And like I said before, what power does saying something is good have, if we say everything is good?
Woah, I hadn’t read that Wizard article prior to now. Wow, that is completely f’ed up. If I recall, an article I read detailed how one of the Shamus brothers created a shell company, and Gareb sold him every share of Wizard through that company for right around $3000.
I quit reading Wizard years and years ago. The juvenile humor just got old. I can completely fathom that staff had no idea what was going on. Stephen Shamus sent me a message over Facebook offering me a booth at Atlanta Comic Con. It really doesn’t take much Googling to discover I am not the Jeremy Love that created Bayou. (I wish I had his talent though) It just struck me as the heads of Wizard being very, very out of touch.
Also, they scheduled said Con REALLY close to another long running local con, which I think is a complete dick move. I’m pretty sure it was within two weeks.
Love the Mystery Hipsters…. mystery, awesome that it’s still UNSOLVED….. really should try contacting a few of the artists to find out why they drew them.
i really love the “whats wrong with you” series of articles. The articles by themselves were very thought provoking and the accompanying comments were some of the most lively and interesting conversations about the comics industry and the fan culture that i’ve ever read.
so many other great moments throughout the year. Its why i keep coming back. keep up the great work guys! =)
Was this the year of Post-Coital Thor? If it was or wasn’t, fun times. All of the accidental spoofs and gags from the podcast were always a treat. Also, the constantly amazing weekly serving of great art from the “Weekly Sketch Up” articles (?) filled me with happiness this year :). I know these weren’t the big ones but it always made coming here a joy.
My vote is also “What is wrong with you?” I love reading the comments and it provokes quality discussions.
Jimski! You’re back! Please come back to Twitter, it’s been too long.