Hey gang. Well, if you read Tim Stevens’ DC News & Views you probably already know the “big news” about one of the least heralded personalities in comicdom: me; also if you read Widro’s Daily Pulse, (and if you haven’t why not?!) this should explain the “Loser Leaves The Pulse” hotseat a little better.
I don’t know if All The Rage or Lying In The Gutters has latched onto the story yet, but yes, Ben Morse is on his way out of Comics Nexus for the green pastures of print media in the form of Wizard Magazine.
I’ve loved Wizard since I was a kid and I’m incredibly excited to be joining the team over there. I went and interviewed there a couple weeks back and there’s an amazing group of men and women who put all of their publications together and I’m honored to be a part of all that. It’s going to be hard work, but it’s going to be a heck of a lot of fun too and I think I’m up for the challenge. There aren’t many folks who at age 22 and only six months out of college can say they’re doing what they’ve always dreamed of, so I am well aware of how lucky I am.
I want to thank Geoff Johns who helped me get my foot in the door and has been an incredible mentor. I also want to thank Brad Meltzer and Todd Nauck who have been awesome in their support of me; these are three guys who are genuinely good people behind their immense amount of talent and to be a part of the industry they work in, even as a neophyte, blows my mind.
I’ve also got to thank Wizard’s Senior Managing Editor Joe Yanrella (and not just because he’s my new boss) who has been made my application and interview process a pleasure and somebody I can’t wait to work for. Thanks also to Andy Serwin, Mike Cotton and anybody else at Wizard who put in a good word for me; you’ll all get to make me get you coffee soon enough!
Lastly, I’ve got to thank my family, friends and my amazing girlfriend Megan for standing by and believing in me as I embarked down the path less traveled. When you say you’re planning to make your living in comics, it’s not exactly the type of statement that inspires universal confidence, so I’m well aware that I have an especially amazing group of people who care about me.
In particular, I’ve got to thank my father, as he was the one who said to me in a sushi restaurant about a year ago “Ben, have you ever thought of trying to do this comics thing for a living?”
You may be wondering why I’m not thanking anybody from the site just now, but that’s because I’ve still got a few weeks left and I plan on writing the best farewell column I can, telling you all the full inside story of where 411Comics came from and how it’s brought me here and thanking a bunch of deserving people along the way; that will also be where you guys get your much-deserved shout out (although I’ll give one here as well: thank you so much for reading and supporting my work over the years; without you guys, there’s really no point).
I must apologize, however, as this news came to me in the midst of me writing this week’s column and needless to say, I’ve been a bit busy celebrating ever since, thus the latest installment of the Avengers Guide didn’t quite get finished. Rather than just give you the two entries I did get done (Invisible Woman and Jack of Hearts, for those keeping track at home), I’ll tack those two onto next week when I conclude the Guide to the Avengers”¦
“¦.WHOA! Conclude it? I’ve still got like two dozen Avengers left!
Unfortunately, there’s no way I’m going to get to every Avenger as I wanted to, so here’s what I’m going to do: e-mail me or post on the boards what Avengers I haven’t covered that you guys specifically want to read about and I will do my absolute best to get to as many as I can for next week’s column (remember, Invisible Woman and Jack of Hearts are already on the way).
I apologize for this sort of non-column, but I wanted to put something up to share my own glee with all of you guys since without you it wouldn’t be happening. I did do some actual writing this week both in The Mean and over in Who’s Who In The DCU, so don’t say I never did nothing for you. I’ll be back next week at maximum strength.
In the mean time, thanks for reading.
