Welcome

After a long, quiet month, House of Ideas/Power of Secrets is ready to burst from the gate, out onto the open web, and into your inboxes. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you stay for the ride.

What's all this, then?

Well, it's pretty simple. I'm a comics/pop-culture media critic and occasional fiction writer who finds it more stressful to not write thousands of words a week than relax. So, here I am. This won't be like other newsletters, mainly because I have no idea how to write one of those. I also don't know how to do the personal blog thing. Maybe I'll learn with all of you here. Maybe I'll just retreat into my cave.

I know standalone reviews though! And essays! And interviews! All that's coming up in the next couple months. I've got a lot planned for this little site. I'm aiming to have a post a week, though that may be ambitious since I'm all by myself. Don't worry if things slip a little. I'll try not to keep you waiting too long.

First up is a return to one of the columns I did at Multiversity with a bit of a twist. Then, expect some Multiversity reruns for pieces I thought got lost in the shuffle, like my interview with children's book author Mary Pope Osborne and my review series comparing every episode of Tower of God's season one to their respective Webtoon chapters. Finally, I'll be updating my massive TMNT reading list now that some more books are out and the Reborn-era has come to a close.

After all that, well, you'll just have to subscribe to see.

The Pitch for Paying

Last thing for this intro: why should I subscribe? More importantly, why should I pay?

Well, if you're getting this as an email, you're already subscribed, to which I say, thank you! You probably already know the kind of voice I bring to the table, that you like my special brand of weird and wacky, and put up with my forays into pretension. You don't really need to read this next part, at least not until I reach the fundraising drive.

If you've stumbled across this post on the web, subscribing means getting access interviews with creators big and small, at publishing houses and small press indies, as well as webcomic coverage, an area that's certainly less focused on, though more and more with each year. I've written thoughtful, longform deep dives into a wide-array of comics including "Batman" and "Thor," "Demon Slayer" and "Monster," and I reviewed every episode of the 90s sci-fi show Babylon 5.

Stick around and I'll probably finish up the movies.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I've had nearly a decade of experience critiquing and analyzing comics, many of quality, many, many not, at two separate Eisner-nominated sites. I've got a lot planned and I truly think it's worth coming along with.

Now we reach my least favorite part of this whole endeavor: asking for money. As we've learned throughout the last few years, good, solid writing doesn't come cheap; to keep it going and keep it good, it needs investment. The internet economy built around eyeballs alone does not work anymore, for reasons big and small (mostly greed, a smidgen of corruption, and an unhealthy dash of ad monopolies and centralization.) So, one must turn to other ways.

There are plenty of models for this. Some choose to be wall it all off behind subscriptions - my least favorite - while others do the magazine model, whereby you actually own the damn thing afterwards. I prefer the PBS model: free for everyone, sharable and visitable, and supported by readers like you. Those who support will get access to articles early when I can as well as additional commentaries and maybe some game/movie nights down the road.

And extra cat photos, because who doesn't love those.

Without your support, I cannot afford to keep this running. It may not be my main business, but I'd like it to be sustainable. I've got more details on the About page. So, if you've got a little cash to spare, think about throwing it my way. I truly appreciate it.