Decapitated Dan Retires

The time has come friends, it's time for me to walk away from what I do when it comes to Comic Books. Now that is a vague way of putting what is actually happening here, so allow me to break it all down for you. I'm not fully leaving comics behind, but I am no longer going to do Reviews, Interviews or News.

So where did all this come from? I've been covering Horror Comics since 2009. It all started with my involvement with Peter Normanton of From the Tomb Magazine. I was offered a chance to review some comics, and from their it just snowballed. I got involved with Comic Monsters and Comic Related right away. See my goal when it came to reviews was to get the word out on the little guys. The people you didn't see in Previews or being picked up by Publishers. I would spend hours looking at who was on Comixpress and KaBlam. I would email them to setup interviews or trying to see how I could help getting the word out on their books. So through that I then had to setup a network for sharing the reviews to get them seen. I would post the reviews on the message boards at numerous sites, and then once they got seen by the site staff, I became a site reviewer. I was on the front line of helping get Comic Attack going. I helped start the Comic Monsters podcast, and I welcomed with open arms into the Comic Related family. All of these things meant so much to me on a personal level, but they also meant so much because I now had more open avenues for helping get the word out on other people's work.

It was in 2010 when I decided to stop doing typed/article style interviews and venture more into podcasting. So in August 2010 I started Discussions with Decapitated Dan. A weekly podcast that allowed these Horror Comic creators a chance to be heard. The show ran 125 episodes, it was weekly, and it helped shape what was to come. At that point I was a podcasting junkie. I was doing Discussions, Co-Hosting Comic Monsters and I figured why not add a third show into the mix, so I teamed up with Infinite Speech and the Southern Sensation to start Tales From the Water Cooler. Another weekly show added to the mix, where we reviewed comics that came out the week prior. So this show was more about the mainstream, but it was still a way to help get the word out.

Now keep in mind that while doing all this coverage, podcasting and even running a Convention (Dan Con) I was still working 40-45 hours a week. I'm lucky in that I work in front of a computer and I am able to multi-task and get these things done. However it just takes it's toll. I needed to step back, and re-evaluate what I was doing. I toyed with the Horror Comic Roundup and Terror Tweets. Both ways to do quick hitting reviews. Get the word out there in one or two sentences, not make it as big of a deal, in my mind, when it came to devoting time to share. I ended Discussions with Decapitated Dan, I took a step back from Tales from the Water Cooler and went from a Co-Host to a reoccurring guest.

At the same time as Discussions was ending though, I was getting back into an early passion of mine, Heavy Metal. I was listening to more music, checking out more bands, going to concerts, etc. So I was looking for a way to transition from Discussions and combine my love of Horror and Metal. Which is how Monsters & Metal was born. Now I have a show where I can not only share that Horror Comic news and info, but I can share some absolutely brutal and kick ass music.

So I got one other tangent to jump off on here before I go and do the full breakdown of what is to come in the future. I've already talked about my love of Horror Comics, and through that I wanted to create something that was meaningful and paid respect to what was being created. So in 2011 I reached out to Steve Banes, Mike Howlett, Lonnie Nadler and Mykal Banta. Together we created the Ghastly Awards, which is the Horror Comic equivalent to the Eisner or Harvey. Our intention was to have an Industry Award. Something that you win based on your peers saying so. To me it was a way to make sure that Horror Comics were getting the spotlight that they deserved, without being overshadowed by the Hero Comics that dominate the industry.

So what happens to Decapitated Dan now? The big question right? Well before I even type the next sentence, I'll make this very clear, I had decided to retire before I even knew. My wife getting pregnant with our first child is just the nail in the coffin to solidify my decision. So yeah, I am going to become a Decapitated Dad, but I was falling behind prior to finding out. My reading habits had changed, I wasn't doing reviews anymore, I was thinking of ways to retool podcasts to fit my new interests. I got into Tabletop gaming, and have been creating and working on a game that will be announced soon. Basically it boiled down to me knowing it was time. So here is what is going on:

• I am no longer doing any Comic Book Reviews

• I am going to officially walk away from Tales From the Water Cooler after episode #200

• I am going to continue to do Monsters & Metal

• I am going to continue to run the Ghastly Awards

• I am going to take on a new role of Horror Comic Corespondent and Content Coordinator for ComicRelated.com

So what does all of this mean? It means you can still email me if you want some News shared. I am going to help more behind the scenes at Comic Related getting information out there for the world. I won't be running news on this site though. So if you have a Comic you want me to look at, I am just going to straight up say "Thanks, but I no longer review comics". If you want to do an interview, I will try to line something up with someone or myself for it to run on Comic Related. You come to me with a Press Release, I'll do my best to get it ready to roll in a timely manner on Comic Related. I'm not devoting the time I was to these things anymore, but I am still here to lend a hand should it be needed. I am solely refocusing almost everything I have on the Ghastly Awards and Monsters & Metal. Along with Family, Work and Fun. Plus this board game project is going to really take up some time.

That really sums it all up. Like I said, I am still here, I am just not going to be putting myself/my words out there anymore. For now DecapitatedDan.com will stay up. I'm not sure for how long, I might just shift funds and switch it back to the Blogspot address, but the archives will always be here.

6 Years of doing this stuff, and it's harder than HELL to walk away from some of it. I have loved every minute of doing and I just want to thank some people. I'm not intentionally trying to miss anyone here, but if I do miss you I'm sorry:
My wife Amy, without her help and support none of this would have ever happened.
Peter Normanton, Rob Caprilozzi, Gid Freeman, Aron White, Jeff Jackson, Andy Liegl, Chuck Moore, Brant Fowler, John Wilson, Dirk Manning, Dave Elliot, Douglas Paszkiewicz, Aub Driver, Rondal Scott, Billy Dunleavy, Steve Banes, Mike Howlett, Lonnie Nadler, Mykal Banta, Spaced, Bree Ogden, Denise Dutton, Daniel Viney, Rachel Deering, Pedro, Richard Katterjohn, Gary Reed, Buz Hasson (for the AWESOME retirement image) and anyone else who was there along the way to make all of these things a reality and possibility. Oh... and John McClane.

Thanks Everyone!