Kinda blows my mind that it’s been an entire year since Chaz created the website that would become Dontforgetatowel.com. In tribute to one of his favorite authors ever, Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), and often mistaken to be a reincarnation of Towelie from South Park, DFAT has grown to be something much, much more. I think what impresses me most about what has been achieved in one year, is the fact that the site itself has only gotten better. As most of you Towelites know, I write mostly about comic books, comic book movies, and toys, and that I am an avid action figure collector and comic book buyer. An expensive habit, yet a dream for another day. I wanted to make my collecting habit something more, I wanted to give it a purpose. The site became a great outlet for me, and I am thankful to be part of it. No matter what direction it takes, DFAT is an entity of its own. To me, DFAT represents a commitment to something higher. It’s a theme that is heavily explored in comic books and something that truly benefits the human race, teamwork. We have picked up some faithful Towelites along the way, writers: Mozeus, the CheriMonster, Doc Palindrome. and our Web Designers: Bren[TRON] and Dan Lee, who gave DFAT a new look in Year One! Exciting things are on th horizon for Year Two.
To immearse yourself in to a genre like comic books, is a journey of knowledge that lasts a life time. Comic books themselves have not been around for all that long, in fact we are only in Superman‘s 75th year, if that helps. In less than one hundred years the comic book culture has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry. Yet the expression of story through art has been around since the beginning of man. So why do I choose to write about the in’s and out’s of comics? I love ’em. To me, superheroes and even villains are like modern-day gods to me. Being an enlightened person, I like to think that tales, suchas the Greeks and Romans used to tell, still live today through this medium. Jack Kirby‘s The New Gods are one of my favorite stories ever (check out the New Gods Omnibus‘ for a collection of the best arcs). Talk about a new world pantheon told through the eyes of imaginative genius! There’s nothing better than finishing a series or a story arc that intrigues you, actually teaches you something, or even makes you question some things. I feel that some of the best imaginative writers of all time are currently writing. Minds such as Grant Morrison, Scott Snyder, Geoff Johns, Brian Michael Bendis, Jonathan Hickman and more, have told some of the greatest stories in their respective hero/villains history! The argument will always exist, which editor is better, DC or Marvel? I don’t think either at its core is better than the other. On certain levels both Marvel and DC don’t know how to express themselves properly or on the other hand excels in certain genres, for example, animation, than the other. All I ask for are stories that do the character(s) justice, I am someone who can kinda look the other way when it comes to changing aspects of a character. My favorite comics are DC Elseworlds, if that tells you anything, so give me a good story and I will appreciate it. The coming of Doc Palindrome to DFAT was very welcoming, as my reading, collecting, and reporting tends to favor the DC side of things. Luckily, his knowledge is Sage-like and he delivers the Marvel mythos (and sometimes DC) to the Towelites through original column, Vogonian Rhapsody .
From the beginning we wanted DFAT to be more than just a blog. So naturally, it was important for me to try some new ideas throughout Year One. The most successful being my weekly column, CynicNerd’s Comic Cravings. Since the first day of CCC, I don’t think I have missed a week. Impressive, most impressive. This is another important aspect of DFAT to recognize as we review the last 52 weeks, consistency. DFAT became something more than just a hobby, it became a passion. My passion for comic books, the preservation and appreciation of the medium, is what drives me to write for DFAT. What else do I love? Playing with a camera. I think I probably should have pursued photography at some point in my “college career”, to at least give it a try. But I guess somethings come about naturally. So now with this new outlet I decided to give action figure photography a shot. Being a fan of sites like TheFwoosh, Captain Toy and BrickUltra, I really wanted “toy” reviews to be a major part of DFAT, so I came up with the idea of Figures in Action Photography, a trademarked affiliate of DFAT. I don’t know why I like to collect action figures, but displaying them is something that I really enjoy. Maybe someday I will get into panoramas, who knows? Maybe I’ll open a museum. Anywho I remember when Chaz and I were first discussing how we could get companies to let us do reviews for their products, and I applied to a lot of sites. But you see the sites require you to send them some of your own reviews, at the time I had not even done one review yet, this was even before Titan Books approached us. Of course no-one picked us up. But the most exciting thing I remember this year was when Titan Books reached out to us and sent us some review copies, I think that this was our first step to our goal of a being a professional site. I believe the Jaws Blu-Ray (which got us the Titan opportunity) and the Jaws book (aka the first book Titan sent us) were my first two reviews for DFAT, check em out. After books slowed down, toys took the spotlight from there. I love collecting the current LEGO Superheroes sets, and I have belong to MattyCollector.com‘s Club Infinite Earths. I have been collecting DC Universe Classics for a few years now, and for year two of the CIE I decided to buy an extra figure to do reviews, you can check them out here. Something I would like to write more of this year are comic book reviews, at least major arcs.
Another amazing aspect of comic books is the current hold they have on the movie industry. A fad it may be, but we are getting some of the best action movies I have seen to date. The stable of characters that each publisher has to offer is massive and is basically endless. On the more successful side of this phenom, lies Marvel Studios. The column, Marvel Studios Updates, became a steady read for Towelites throughout Year One, as news and rumors from Phase 2 and Phase 3 started rolling in! It is a really exciting time for comic book fans these days because Marvel Studios is creating some great movies based on their characters, while DC and their unfortunate relationship with WB, seems to always be treading water. Man of Steel was a decent attempt at trying to start-up their own movie-verse, and we see them taking baby steps with MOS 2, AKA Batman vs Superman, I will laugh if this is the title. Well at least they are giving it the old “college try”. Yet DC has excelled in putting out quality animated movies, when Marvel has been a little lackluster. But you can’t argue that when Marvel dominates the silver screen. The debate continues….
Why do we write? To be heard? To inform? All of the above? Yes. Thank you to everyone out there who follows and reads DFAT. To you out there who get something out of it, thank you, Maybe you learned something, maybe one of our reviews helped you make the geekly choice! So, Year Two. Where do we go from here? Look for news and reports live from NYCC 2013, as I will be there in person!! MORE ORIGINAL CONTENT! Your favorite columns and probably a few new ones! Surprises, adventure, a Jedi does crave these things! So wherever this crazy starship is headed, I’m along for the ride. And yes, I remembered my Towel.
Stay tooned :P, because this is only the beginning….
~CynicNerd
