A little over three years ago, Zack Jenkins DM’d me on Twitter while I was watching Parasite and asked me if I wanted to merge my website, WMQ Comics, with his, Xavier Files. We used the extra time we had during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to forge a new website, ComicsXF, that offered a mix of ongoing comics coverage, podcasts and bits.
Over time, society reverted to a riskier, angrier, climate-disaster-ier semblance of its former self. We got busy. Our writers have gotten divorced, remarried, started new relationships, had children, come out, gained and lost pets, moved, advanced in their jobs, etc. And in the meantime, the site kept on keepin’ on.
But it’s time for a change.
After seven years of running this site in its various incarnations, Zack is hanging up his editor hat and riding off into the sunset.
Well, not all the way into the sunset. He’ll still be co-hosting Battle of the Atom, our X-Men ranking podcast. He is the Bad Boy of X-Men Podcasting, after all.
But that brings me to the biggest change you’ll notice right away. Effective Aug. 1, the Battle of the Atom Patreon will no longer be tied to ComicsXF. If you’re looking to support all our great comics journalism and criticism — and you should — you’ll be able to do that at the new, improved, ComicsXF Patreon (formerly the WMQ&A Patreon).
Tiers of support are as follows:
$1 a month: You get our deepest thanks, and a shout-out at the end of every episode of WMQ&A: The ComicsXF Interview Podcast.
$2 a month: You get early access to WMQ&A: The ComicsXF Interview Podcast and a shout-out at the end of every episode.
$3 a month: You get one of our stickers (Either ComicsXF, Battle of the Atom or Pete Wisdom “Hot Claws”), early access to WMQ&A: The ComicsXF Interview Podcast and a shout-out at the end of every episode. (Sticker is one-time.)
$5 a month: You get access to our monthly Patreon bonus podcast Our Son Pete — a deep dive into the comic appearances of British mutant superspy Pete Wisdom — a sticker, early access to WMQ&A: The ComicsXF Interview Podcast, and a shout-out at the end of every episode.
$25 a month: You get to request a Primer — our custom reading guide for a series, character or creator — plus the bonus podcast, the sticker, the early access and the weekly shout-outs. (You may request a new Primer once every six months.)
$50: You get to advertise on WMQ&A: The ComicsXF Interview Podcast. (Subject to hosts’ approval, no other rewards with this tier.)
Our crew is working on some other new projects, so new backer benefits are always a possibility. And if you have suggestions for what you’d like to see, share them with us at contact@comicsxf.com.
Nobody gets into the comics journalism/criticism game for the fortune and glory. You want to be a Nazi-punching archaeologist treasure hunter for that. But your support means we’re able to do at least a little something for our many writers, editors and podcasters. We hope you’ll consider it.
In the meantime, you can support ComicsXF by telling your friends, enemies and lovers about us and following us on Twitter (X?) and Facebook.
And don’t worry, we’re not done doing bits.
Dan Grote is the editor-in-chief of ComicsXF, having won the site by ritual combat. By day, he’s a newspaper editor, and by night, he’s … also an editor. He co-hosts WMQ&A: The ComicsXF Interview Podcast with Matt Lazorwitz. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, two kids and two miniature dachshunds, and his third, fictional son, Peter Winston Wisdom.
