The Unbearable Lameness of Blogging
Posted by: Guy LeCharles Gonzalez on April 19, 2007 at 9:50 am
I go through phases a couple of times a year where I get bored with blogging about comics, or even with reading comics in general. When it’s combined with other aspects of my life getting busier, as it is right now, I often don’t even make the trip to Midtown to pick up my weekly stash. At these times, reading other blogs becomes tedious, too, because, lacking anything interesting to talk about, too many of them turn to lame snark or posting supposedly humorous covers and photoshopped panels.
I started blogging about comics casually towards the end of 2003 on my personal blog before launching Comic Book Commentary as its own separate blog. A few months later I registered the URL www.comiccommentary.com when Arcana Studios quoted a review of mine in a Previews ad and credited it to that, as of that moment, non-existent URL instead of comiccommentary.blogspot.com, where it was initially located. I’ve had several ups and downs over the past 3.5 years, cutting more and more monthlies from my pull list and focusing on TPBs and OGNs, while moving back and forth between the blog and PCS a couple of times, or taking a couple of outright breaks and not blogging at all. I’m on the verge of another one of those breaks, I think.
Over the past month or so, I’ve changed jobs, taken on the responsibility of coaching my son’s Tee Ball team, and re-started my personal blog. All this in the midst of trying to carve out time for my own writing, trying to work with my buddy Dan on his comic idea, getting hooked on Guild Wars: Nightfall, and baseball season getting underway. (Go, Mets!)
For me, blogging has always been a way for me to keep the juices flowing until that mythological day comes where I have the time to do the kind of writing I really want to do. At least, that’s how I rationalize it. Figuring out what medium is the first step, as I’ve no interest in returning to poetry, but I worry I don’t have the time (or, to be honest, the self-discipline) to tackle fiction, which is my first preference. Doing some more journalism is always an intriguing possibility, but other than comics, there’s nothing I’m invested enough in to make the effort worth it; not for something so casual, at least.
So my goal for 2007 is to finally find the time to get back to my own writing, in whatever form that takes, while hopefully still maintaining this blog. Not sure where that time is going to come from exactly as I’m lucky to get 5 hours sleep most nights, but I’ve put it off for too long and one of the primary culprits has been the comics blogging.
It’s almost like the answer’s right there in my face and I’m just choosing to ignore it, no?
Erech Overaker April 19th, 2007
Good and bad news. I enjoyr reading your take on things, especially the crazier aspects of comics (speaking of, there is a pretty good article in the latest BITCH about the women in comics – and refridgerators :) ) that drive me nuts too.
But breaks are good. I am on an indefinite one. I would blog more if the actual of it was less of a pain in the ass – maybe if voiceblogging were more of an option – but in the real world we just call that “talking to people”.
At least now though, you can get around to sending me the notes on our script so I can finish that thing sometime this summer HINT. HINT.
Guy LeCharles Gonzalez April 19th, 2007
maybe if voiceblogging were more of an option…
My buddy Dan (I should trademark that name for him) has been trying to get me to do a podcast for over a year now, but I have neither the time nor inclination to do such a thing, partly because I’d feel obligated to read some of the Marvel/DC crap I tend to skip over these days. At the same time, a weekly podcast is probably more fun and less overall work than blogging 3-5 times week…
And yeah, notes on your sketches have been on my to-do list for a few weeks now. Everything that takes any serious thought has been pushed back, but I’m hoping to go over them this weekend. Really!
Erech Overaker April 19th, 2007
I kinda wanna do a comic podcast too. I have been on one over at my friends video game site, but it’s got no format and it’s just random stuff.
But yeah a cool comic podcast would be fun.
And who says you gotta read marvel and dc? Boo.
Jon Haehnle April 19th, 2007
Maybe you should blog about Grays Anatomy ^^;
In other news, as I’m posting this, I see a Google Adsense ad on the sidebar which says: “Are You Gay? TheGayQuiz.com”. Which, according to Dylan, means Google knows PCS uses hot pink. Or perhaps it knows that Gay = Lame, but doesn’t know that’s the wrong kind of gay.
Guy LeCharles Gonzalez April 19th, 2007
@Jon: Don’t tempt me! Grey’s Anatomy is finally back to new episodes tonight; maybe Allan Heinberg will be the credited writer on an episode again sometime soon and he’ll blog about it and I can blog about his blogging!
Or maybe they’ll mention that George reads comic books again, and he’ll talk about how much they suck now compared to when he was a kid.
Yeah, maybe I will blog about it…
@Erech: If I ever do a podcast, I’ll have to figure out how to have you call in.
Guy LeCharles Gonzalez April 20th, 2007
Funny, we’ve been planning to get Skype and a webcam so my wife can talk to her brother in Spain more often.
Hmmm…
Jon, can PCS host a podcast?
Jon Haehnle April 20th, 2007
Audio or video? Either way we can make it happen. I was thinking of a related idea I wanted to run by you anyway.
Guy LeCharles Gonzalez April 20th, 2007
Definitely audio. Would want to keep it as simple as possible since the idea is to make it less work than daily blogging! :-)
s dot s April 21st, 2007
my friend and i were doing a podcast last year. the biggest challenge was ’scripting’ out the episodes and the editing. not saying it won’t be less work than blogging but…
my only suggestion is to keep them short.
good luck.
