Tuesday, September 20, 2011

A Slowing Down of Sorts


Doug: In the past during some surveys we've run, many of you have said that the Blog Archive feature on the sidebar is where you most often head for some spelunking. A glance over there will show that we've for the most part been a daily blog since July 2010. That's a lot of posts! And we've been faithful through our own vacations, illnesses, and creative lapses. But Karen and I have always attempted to maintain a passion for this blog and our daily audience, especially our regular commenters -- you 20-or-so readers are near and dear to the BAB community. That being said, we have decided to pull back a bit for the time being.

Doug: For me, this has definitely been a labor of love -- I've said that often. But lately, and I hate to confess this, I've hit somewhat of a creative wall. I've expressed this to Karen that sometimes when I sit down to write it just doesn't come easy (cue the George Harrison version of It Don't Come Easy). And it has affected the pace of the blog. If you could see the queue, it is sometimes built out over a month in advance. Lately, we've been catching up to ourselves, and that has perhaps created a bit more pressure to bring our product on a daily basis. So, after an editorial board meeting over the weekend, we've decided to go back to our original imagining of the Bronze Age Babies -- posts three times each week.

Karen: I have to echo Doug's sentiments. I love the blog, love getting up each morning and checking everyone's comments, but lately there's been a lot going on that's dividing my time. I have to say my blog partner has taken on more than his share of work here, for which I have been grateful. But going back to our three a week schedule will help us both.

Doug: We hope this scheduling change won't affect our readership, which is pretty strong. We would hate to feel like we are letting down any of the almost-300 people who call this a home on a daily basis. But in order to maintain our high level of quality, a scaling-back is necessary. You can still look for all of our regular features -- they'll come along, as they always do. But as a way to get your fix, we'd definitely encourage going back through some of our many comic book reviews and other topics, like the Open Forums. Go ahead and make a comment, even on an older post -- we'll see it. There's no reason for an old conversation to be "dead".

Karen: There have been a number of times where people have revisited an older topic and brought a new perspective to it, which is always nice.

Doug: And thanks so much for the interaction over the past 26+ months. This is really a fun place to hang out -- we look forward to the comments rolling in as each day goes by. You provide a service to us as much as we hopefully do for you.

16 comments:

dbutler16 said...

I don't blame you guys for slowing down to 3 times a week. I can't believe you were posting every day as it was! Thanks for all the fun reliving (and often viewing for the first time) some wonderful Bronze Age moments. I'm sure you both need to recharge your batteries and perhaps worry about other things in life besides Bronze Age comics. The less frequent posts won't affect my readership - I still plan on checking in.

As far as older posts being "dead" it does seem that way to me. I've commented on some of them but it didn't seem like there was ever a response. Still, now that I know you guys do check older posts, I'll be much more likely to post something when I'm reading an archived item.

david_b said...

I'm really under the same gumption.., STILL hard to believe your grinding pace in having the daily posts with all the graphics; yes, having them all done ahead is necessary, but to also deal with scheduling and 'breaking news', it's still a daunting undergoing even with two folks, so my applause all around.

A M-W-F schedule would be just as super to have. There still much fresh dirt to dig, but even revisiting the FOOM issues, more Defenders and backup stories, more artist analysis (did we do Barry Smith..??, can't recall), and yes, comparisons on music groups, lead singers, news events of Bronze (besides the 'Secret Empire', where else was Watergate elluded to in comics..?)

I'd say perhaps Tuesdays and Thursdays either do a 'encore presentation' (like SNL used to call their repeats) or the Open Forum invites.

You folks have done so much here, besides up my eBay purchasing...

My humble thanks!

Doug said...

Aw, shucks -- you guys will make us blush.

Here's a microcosm of what we've run into lately: Karen just remarked to me last night that she has wanted to do some posts, only to discover that we've already done them! Well, she's sharper than me, because here's my big confession -- I did do that.

You check it out: earlier this year she ran an Open Forum on "favorite lesser characters". Check, too, and see if a few weeks ago I didn't run one on "favorite B- and C-listers". See? Fortunately, you all were gracious enough to not give the same answers to a very similar question!

This community is great, and we appreciate your support!

Best,

Doug

J.A. Morris said...

I don't blame you for slowing down. Work and "offline" life have caused my Assistant Editors blog to slow down(it's not dead though, new post up soon!).

But thanks for creating a place for those who love the Bronze Age of Comics.

Edo Bosnar said...

A blog like this should be fun, and you shouldn't turn it into an obligation, so if cutting down the posts accomplishes that it's fine with me.
Besides, it's always fun to dig through your archives...

Inkstained Wretch said...

This is one of my favorite blogs so if the choice is between a few less posts a week and the hosts becoming burnt out and the blog going south, well, I know what I'm picking.

Seriously, thanks for keeping the conversation going for so long and putting so much work into Bronze Age Babies. It's been a real joy to rekindle my love for the comics of my youth.

Redartz said...

I understand completely the need for a bit of breathing space. Life certainly fills every spare moment, and we still wish for more time! Your blog is one of my favorite daily visits, and I'll be joining everyone else in checking out older posts. Best wishes to you both, and I'll look forward to your new posts as they come!

William said...

Can't say as I blame you for wanting to scale back a bit. A blog about old comics (and such) should be a labor of love and it should be fun for you. If it becomes a chore the quality will surely suffer and that would be a shame.

I really enjoy BAB, and I'll definitely keep reading. I just discovered you guys a few months ago, so I'm actually looking forward to having an excuse to peruse the archives and check out some of the great stuff I missed over the past couple of years.

Keep up the excellent work. :)

Doug said...

You guys are great -- thanks again for your understanding. We just feel like slapping a scan up just to have something posted would betray our original intentions: To read and review comics from our youth and to hopefully create a sort of message board where people could discuss elements of a childhood spent in the 1970's-'80's.

Doug

david_b said...

It's all with pacing.., setting such a high bar as fresh material, served up daily, is quite a feat, regardless of all the scheduling ahead of time.

I think of other graphic-intensive past blogs I've enjoyed like 'Dial B for Blog', and I know I couldn't do it, probably why it only lasted a few years.

I look forward to revisiting older subjects, perhaps provide a 'Top 10' listing of most popular past subjects (from number of posts..), comic stuff Doug and Karen loved as kids, and definitely more Open Forum.

If it's been covered before.., 'So what..??'

Not to go 'Stan Lee' on you all, but it's the colorful responses from our 'loyal readers' that really make/break this blog.

MAKE MINE BAB..

Doug said...

Don't know why, but I was checking an older post and happened to wonder about how many posts we've done. Today was #601, making yesterday's wrap-up of our Jungle Action 4-parter somewhat significant as our 600th post.

Wow -- I didn't realize there had been that many!

Doug

starfoxxx said...

I'm always a day or two behind, this will be perfect for me (and my two-cents).

Anonymous said...

I've been doing a weekly blog for about a year and a half and it's all I can do to come up with ONE post per week. You guys are amazing doing three a week to me. I'll probably still be stopping by every day to catch up on previous posts that I've missed. Keep up the good work at whatever pace you choose.

Darpy

johnlindwall said...

You guys are terrific - the pace you've been working at is really super-human. To be honest, as a reader I've had trouble keeping pace! I feel bad when I skip a post here and there because my busy life makes to impossible to read them all. I console myself knowing that the blog remains and I can go back at my leisure.

You give us this great content and location to enjoy reading about stuff we love; stuff you two obviously love as well. We all need to keep our lives in proportion and keep our fun activities .. fun. Please know that we all appreciate your awesome work and look forward to more great posts, at a pace that is fun and healthy for _you_.

Karen said...

Thanks for being so understanding everyone. You have no idea how Doug and I struggled with this, but at least for now, I think going back to three days a week will help us stay sane. And hopefully we can avoid repeating ourselves!

Karen

Michelle said...

I'm so glad that you aren't stopping altogether. This is one of my absolute favorite blogs (and the best Bronze Age one out there) and I can only imagine how much time it takes to produce what you do. Keep up the great work and I look forward to when you do post.

With apologies to Steel Magnolias: I'd rather have a few days a week of wonderful than a blog full of nothing special.

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