Junior Classics Vols. 4, 5, and 6

The Castalia Junior Classics Vols. 4 – 6

We’re pleased to announce that The Castalia Junior Classics 2020 edition, Vols. 4, 5, and 6, are now available in the USA from Castalia Direct. The Backer Editions will begin shipping in the first two weeks of January. In the UK, they will be available soon from Amazon and Waterstones, and in the USA they are already available from Barnes and Noble. The epubs will be sent out to backers toward the end of January and made available on Amazon sometime after that.

If you are a backer who a) has not received Vols. 1-3 or b) you have changed your address since receiving Vols. 1-3, please email CastaliaJuniorClassics-AT-outlook-DOT-com. Please send an email even if you have changed your address on the arkhavencomics site or previously sent an email to Castalia Library. Please include your full address, as well as your backer ID (if you have it) and whether you are on the royal octavo or demi list.

Also, since we are beginning the process of binding the leather editions of Vols 1-6 and will be shipping them (or at least the first five volumes) to the leather backers this spring, it is necessary for those who wish to purchase a goatskin set to do so now. The cost for the 10-volume set is $5,000 and the backer can select the color. If you wish to purchase a set, please send me an email specifying the Pantone color.

DISCUSS ON SG

Traffic Report 2021

2021 was, in some ways, the one-step back year that hopefully presages a two-steps forward year. The big news, with regards to the blog, was that Google blocked access to it in August, which necessitated the activation of the long-ready backup plan that permitted a seamless transition from voxday.blogspot.com to voxday.net. However, combined with the elimination of blog comments in favor of SocialGalactic, this had the effect of significantly reducing the overall number of daily pageviews by about three-quarters, as the monthly traffic went from 4,279,064 pageviews in July to 1,060,917 in September.

This is not a problem. Truly. Nietzsche wasn’t right about very much, but he was correct in observing how that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Strategically speaking, it’s much better to be on our own platform, as future integrations that are now possible will eventually demonstrate.

In 2021, Vox Popoli had 38,884,355 Google pageviews, down 5.9 percent from last year. The blog is now running at an average rate of 36,091 daily pageviews, down 68.1 percent from an average 113,255 last year. Total historic blog views closed out the year at 252,554,766, The running annual pageview totals are as follows:

2008: 3,496,757

2009: 4,414,801

2010: 4,827,183

2011: 5,422,628

2012: 6,098,774

2013: 9,340,663

2014: 11,236,085

2015: 16,211,875

2016: 25,817,343

2017: 31,216,357

2018: 32,260,094

2019: 32,757,068

2020: 41,338,037

2021: 38,884,355

Sadly, John Scalzi did not post his actual pageviews again this year, although he did describe his annual traffic in sufficient detail to permit a reasonable comparison to The Most Popular Blog in Science Fiction. “I’d also like to bump up visits; 2021 visits were down slightly from 2020, although about equal to 2019.” Apparently he also bought an old church in his town, which is actually pretty cool.

The primary accomplishment in 2021 was the successful launch of Arktoons, which now features over 60 series, 1200 episodes, recently hit four million views, and is currently averaging nearly as many daily views as this blog. Unauthorized had a solid 2021 and closed out the year very well, with record subscriptions and revenue in December. Castalia Library struggled thanks to Covid-related issues at the bindery, but with the new bindery coming online and the US bindery getting its act together, there is reason to anticipate an exceptional 2022.

On the writing front, I did not finish A Sea of Skulls in 2021 nor did Castalia House get the entire 10-volume Junior Classics 2020 edition published, but we did get volumes 1-6 finished by the end of the year. However, both publishing objectives WILL be accomplished in 2022, and most likely before July. And we did get the entirety of the There Will Be War series published as planned.

Thanks to all of you for your staunch and steadfast support. We have some very exciting new projects to announce in 2022, beginning as soon as next week, so please to enjoy the ride that never ends.

DISCUSS ON SG

Proud to be a Boomer

This epic masterpiece of generational grandiosity is now available for your listening pleasure, courtesy of Boomer Patrol. There is some expressed opinion on Socialgalactic that this may be the best Boomer Patrol track yet, and despite the fact that the 80s KS95 lite pop pomposity of it makes my teeth hurt, I suppose I can, ever so reluctantly, see their point. Especially in light of the Gab Boomer reaction.

…oh please! Why would something as special and unique as the memory of my generation be proud to simply dissolve into a parody, into a common meme…shame on you! Not even funny, DuMB!! I hope Lee Greenwood’s legal team sues the hell out of this!

Proud to be a Boomer

If tomorrow all the things were gone I’d worked for all my life,

Except my 401, my pension, and my second wife.

I’d thank my lucky stars that I am me instead of you.

I’ve got my generation and Bob Dylan and The Who.

I’m proud to be a Boomer ’cause this world was made for me.

And The Beatles were the greatest band in human history.

I’ll gladly stand up, lecture you, and tell you ’bout my youth,

Cause there ain’t no doubt I love myself

God knows that is the truth!

From the Moon landings of NASA, to the war in Vietnam.

From the muddy fields of Woodstock, to protesting the bomb.

From civil rights in Georgia to the riots in LA,

Well there’s pride in every Boomer heart,

It’s time we stand and say:

I’m proud to be a Boomer ’cause this world was made for me.

And The Beatles were the greatest band in human history.

I’ll gladly stand up, lecture you, and tell you you’re no good,

Cause there ain’t no doubt I love myself

You’d Boomer if you could!

Continue reading “Proud to be a Boomer”

Turns Out THEY See Color

All those cucks and cons who proudly declare that “I don’t see color” and “we all bleed red” and “there is one race, the human race” are discovering that as soon as color gets control of the government, it suddenly develops the ability to see the difference between color and white:

The New York State Department of Health appeared to announce this week that non-white New Yorkers would receive priority over whites in receiving “extremely limited” Covid-19 therapies for people at risk.

In a document dated December 27, the Department of Health announced that two antiviral oral therapies – Paxlovid and molnupiravir – had received emergency use authorization and would “reduce the risk of hospitalization and death by 88% and 30% respectively.”

The department said supplies would be “extremely limited initially” and would therefore have to be distributed based on its “guidance on prioritization.” That guidance currently prioritizes those who are either moderately or severely immunocompromised or have at least one risk factor for severe illness. Though these risk factors include suffering from cancer, dementia, or diabetes, among other diseases, the department stated that being non-white “should be considered a risk factor, as long-standing systemic health and social inequities have contributed to an increased risk of severe illness and death from Covid-19.”

The reality is that if you want to make America great again, you’ll have to make America British again. America was great because it was founded by British people with traditional British mores. It’s not an accident that America was founded by people who also happened to create the largest empire the Earth has ever seen as well as the Industrial Revolution.

It’s also not an accident that the USA has gotten consistently less free, less Christian, less functional, less intelligent, and ever more evil as the founding White Anglo-Saxon Protestant population has dwindled over time. It’s deeply unfortunate that the stubborn refusal to connect the historical decline with the demographic adulteration will probably not be abandoned until after the political entity collapses.

DISCUSS ON SG

Unearthing THE STRANDED

Bounding Into Comics dives into the history of the newest Arktoons series, The Stranded.

Digital comic website, Arktoons, added a classic Chuck Dixon story to their library as the site celebrates 4 million pageviews since it launched back in April. The classic Chuck Dixon story added to the platform is The Stranded that features artwork by Argentinian artist Enrique Villagran.

The series was originally published by Apple Comics and titled The Time Jump War back in 1989. Arktoons is publishing the series under its original name before it was changed by Apple Comics. Not only has the title been reverted to its original, but Arktoons has also remastered the series. It was originally published in black and white and has now been fully colored.

As for the story it follows U.S. Space Cavalry Captain Doyle Macklinton as he pilots a troop transport full of Marines with his co-pilot Lieutenant Veronic ‘Ronnie’ Killy as they do battle against an invading alien force. However, once they engage the alien forces on Europa they travel through a time warp and find themselves stranded in prehistoric Earth. Not only are they stranded, but a number of the alien forces also made it through the warp and still have their plans of conquering Earth.

The original official description from Apple Comics stated, “When rocket jockey Capt. ‘Doy’ MacKlinton and his beautiful co-pilot, ‘Ronnie’ Killy blasted the invading aliens’ stargate, they thought they’d stopped the invasion – instead, they discovered they’d trapped themselves in the prehistoric past! Now, even though Doy and Ronnie can’t understand the language of their own ancestors, they must lead them – with only stones and spears – against the deadly high-tech alien menace!

”When the series was originally published by Apple Comics it included commentary by Chuck Dixon detailing how the series came about.

Dixon explained, “In the dark days of Winter, 1988, Enrique Villagran and his brother, Ricardo, invited me to the studio they shared in the Philadelphia suburbs. As usual on these visits, we had an animated discussion of comics and movies and guns until the early hours of the morning.”

He added, “On this particular evening, between the jokes and the stories, Enrique showed me some drawings he had done. They were in his usual crisp and attractive style and depicted male and female space warriors and a scantily-clad cavegirl.”

“He asked me what I thought of them. I told him they looked great and asked what story they went with. He replied that they went with whatever story I chose for them to go with,” he detailed.

BIC also observed the recent FOUR MILLION mark that Arktoons recently surpassed.

When the site launched it featured 16 different series. In just its first year the site now has 60 different series that run new episodes on a weekly or twice-weekly basis… Dixon, who has numerous titles on the platform also observed, “Everyone can see all the numbers right there on the site. And everyone can see that the time between each million views is becoming shorter and shorter.”

The most popular series on the platform are Hypergamouse, a romance comedy about mice, Savage Memes, a comic strip featuring “viciously biting commentary on current events,” Stonetoss, a similar comic strip in the vein of Savage Memes, and Midnight’s War, “a vampire comic with enough violent intrigue to rival A Game of Thrones.”

It’s also introduced a number of new series that are quickly gaining in popularity including How To Succeed Like A Dark Lord and My Sister Suprema.

Needless to say it doesn’t look like Arktoons is going anywhere, but up as it provides a clear alternative to Marvel, DC, and even WEBTOON.

Read the whole thing there.

How Boomers Killed Comics

From Part Five of the history of the decline of the comics industry:

“The comics business went into a steep decline in the ’50s and early ’60s. During that time a lot of companies folded, a lot of comic book professionals were unemployed, and so, if you were an editor at a surviving comic book company you never had to train anybody, you knew lots of guys who were out of work. The streets were awash with unemployed cartoonists. So what happened is we had a generation gap—relatively few new people came into this business between the mid-’50s and the early-to-mid-’60s. Around that time a few of us started to trickle in. Among the arrivals in the early to mid-‘60’s were E. Nelson Bridwell, Roy Thomas, Archie Goodwin, Neal Adams, a few others and me. We were pretty much the last guys who got to learn our craft from the older guys–the guys who really invented and built the comic book business.
. . .
“There was a GENERATION GAP in the comic book industry. There were some people in their 50’s and 60’s, there were a lot of people in their twenties and early 30’s, but not enough in between. Because there had been an extended period of decline when relatively few new people came in, we were missing a generation. What that meant is that young guys who should have been assistant editors to a forty-something person were instead editors or editors in chief, even though their main qualification was having read 10,000 comics.”

Jim Shooter, Marvel Editor-in-Chief, 1978

Roll this bit of information back to 1968. The Marvel staff that remained through 1978 would have been in their 40s and 50s in 1968 by Shooter’s estimation. These folks would be Greatest Generation with some very early Silents. The generation gap that Shooter speaks of would be Silents who were generally unable to break into the industry in the late 50s and the 60s due to the downturn in the industry. Greatest Generation creators hung on to the majority of remaining positions. Those new staff at Marvel would have been in their late teens and early 20s in 1968. Those individuals would be Boomers...

Boomers work to undo the Greatest Generation’s efforts

We see in these two titles the distinct generational split between the unified-vision, long-term editor in Stan Lee with Jack, Steve, Don, and the Greatest Generation Bullpen members, and the multiple-editor driven Roy Thomas/Archie Goodwin/etc and Boomer Bullpen model. The Greatest Generation creators took more from the traditional Western Historical canon — focusing on romantic pairings (Reed and Sue, Ben and Alicia, Johnny and Crystal, Peter and Gwen), family formation (marriage and children), forging strong male interpersonal relationships (Reed and Ben, Ben and Johnny, Peter and Robbie, Peter and Capt Stacy, Peter and Harry, Peter and Flash), and investigating the interpersonal relationships of these smaller elements with other family, friends, co-workers, as well as antagonists and villains.

The few Silents and majority of Boomers took the lead on aligning the content of the books with the popular zeitgeist of the current day, moving the books away from aspirational themes of their Greatest Generation predecessors toward ‘realism’. That meant divorce, no marriages, no children, and few relationships outside of the ‘hook-up culture’ varieties. Traditional values highlighted by Greatest Generation creators were ignored, avoided, and eventually derided.

And while we’re on the topic of Boomers, don’t miss Boomer Patrol’s latest, FUNKY BOOMER, which chronicles much the same phenomenon across a wider strata of society.

DISCUSS ON SG