I did a year in review for Sequential State in the year
2014, and I think it’s appropriate I think to do the same for 2015.
Some quick metrics
for the interested:
Posts: 91
Books Reviewed: 83
Interviews: 4
Con Reports: 1
Audio & Video Content: 6
Followers: 1103
The numbers look better (to be expected given the age of the
blog, which will turn 2 years old in April!)
Shows: I made it
to TCAF, SPACE, SPX, and GenghisCon this year. I didn’t know what to expect from SPX, but I absolutely loved it. TCAF feels spread out in ways, all people congregating to one central location. SPX is the central location, and everyone is there. I had pho for the first time. The show was everything I had hoped it would be. Next year my hope is to take the train there instead of driving, to give me some more time to relax and not be so wiped out by the drive.
I am hoping to get to TCAF, SPACE, SPX, GenghisCon, and CXC in 2016. I missed a good show in CXC 2015 (at least by all
accounts), and I would have loved to be there to see Katie Skelly win the CXC
Emerging Artist award.
Writing: While
overall I wrote more this year than I did in 2014, I certainly didn’t hit my
goal of ~2 pieces a week. There were some dry spells. I’m
happy with the writing I did in November, specifically, but those pieces took about a week apiece. I need to find the right mix between the normal writing I do and the writing I loved most in 2015.
2015 wasn’t all sunshine and roses. I messed up in a major way in 2015. Here is
the link to the piece explaining what happened from my perspective. I have completely changed the way I read about
comics on the internet, and I’m trying very hard to be self-critical moving
forward from that point.
Podcast: I am
very excited about the Sequential
Statement podcast that my friend Nick and I started in the Summer of 2015.
We’ve done 6 episodes thus far, and we’re finally learning and getting into a
good groove. It’s a real joy to do a podcast, even though it’s more work than I
expected.
Unlike 2015, I don’t have definitive plans for 2016. But I do have some goals, and they’re pretty simple. My goals for 2016 are to:
- Be a better person.
- Be a better critic by letting work breathe, by
being intentional about my procrastination, and by examining my own instincts and
evaluations more closely. - Read more Rumiko Takahashi comics.
- Try to be better to myself.
- Expand the coverage of Sequential State to
better cover manga, which is still the majority of my reading and the minority
of my writing.
Thank you, reader, for being a part of this small community.
I’m very happy that you decided to subscribe or to follow the blog. It is
overwhelming the amount of support I’ve received from readers and the comics
community. You are lovely people. Here’s to a wonderful 2016.