Figure Friday began in earnest on September 20th, 2019, after I told Andy Burns that I wanted to expand the scope of my writing from a weekly comics column to a weekly comics column and a biweekly toys column. The rough math works out to about 5,000 to 6,000 words a month spread across six different columns.
Fun fact: When Heroes & Villains was offered to me as a column, my immediate response was a resounding “no” because I didn’t think I could do it.
I don’t know what changed in the year between me taking the reins on H&V and launching Figure Friday. But I was doing it to it and blasting out comics and toy columns like it was going out of style. Perhaps I was possessed by a magnificent hubris. Perhaps I just love alliteration.
This is my 521st post here over the nine years I’ve been writing for Biff Bam Pop, that’s about 58 posts a year, and I am so, so tired.
It’s been four years (!) since I pulled the plug on Heroes & Villains as a weekly column because I felt like I had said everything I needed to say about comics, and that’s kind of where I’m at with toys right now.
Truthfully, I don’t know if there’s anything else I can say about Transformers, TMNT, Star Wars/Trek/Gate, Batman, Spider-Man or any of the other shit I collect, and I think that’s bleeding through into my writing. I mean, my last column was only tangentially about toys at best.
It’s a real quandary I find myself in; I still enjoy reading comics and collecting toys (I always will), but turning that into grist for the mill is something else entirely. As always, Andy has been exceedingly kind with every piece of work I’ve dropped on his digital desk. Even when I feel it’s absolute dog shit, he somehow tells me it’s the best thing I’ve ever written. I don’t know if I trust him or myself less.
Josh Wallen has been an indispensable collaborator for this column, and I don’t think he’s ever missed a deadline. My decision to ask him to fill in while I was on vacation a few years ago is continually validated.
Josh will be keeping up the Figure Friday column in my absence, and I’ll continue to host and produce the Biff Bam Pop Presents… podcast, which has both Heroes & Villains and Figure Friday under its umbrella (Please like, rate, share, and subscribe). I’ve also been trying to find a way forward with writing here on the site because I’m not throwing in the towel entirely until I get 10 years in print. Wheels are also in motion to keep Figure Friday a weekly column, so watch this space as they say.
I should reiterate that I’m not going away entirely, but I just need to do some other shit right now. Plus, I’m sure I’m contractually obligated to produce something if Don’t Hide PR or Wandering Planet Toys come a-knockin’.
So, see you out there.
