The end of the PCG...?

Matt C: We've come a long way since the very first post appeared here back on 2nd November 2007, and we've written thousands of words on comics, comic book movies, comic conventions and more since then. We were the Paradox Comics Group to begin with, we abbreviated to the far more catchy PCG along the way, and here we are, twelve and a half years later, ready to say... goodbye?

We'll leave that unanswered until we get a few things out of the way. Or at least, until I've had the chance to say some things.

I started this blog with several aims: to promote Paradox Comics, to provide a wider platform for the members of our 'reading group' to wax lyrical about comics and to give me a creative outlet so I felt I was contributing something to the wider conversation about the medium. And, as this is essentially an extension of a hobby (it's not a paying gig!), it's often been a struggle to keep content coming on a weekly basis but, somehow, thanks to the support of my friends and colleagues, we've managed it.

The PCG has been witness to a lot in the last twelve plus years. The New 52. Marvel Now. The rise of creator-owned work, particularly from Image Comics. The birth and incredible success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The mainstream popularity of comic book properties, from the aforementioned MCU to The Walking Dead and beyond. Comixology's emergence, and the success of digital comics. The passings of such creative titans as Darwyn Cooke, Len Wein and the legendary Stan Lee. We've visited numerous conventions, from the sorely missed Bristol Comics Expo to Thought Bubble to the wonderful Melksham Comic Con. We've followed the careers of some breakout creators, now top tier talents, like Jonathan Hickman, Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire. Oh, and we also bore witness to our beloved Paradox Comics hosting various Free Comic Book Days, providing us with endless comic book delights and moving premises, the indomitable Andy Hine constantly working hard to keep us supplied with our weekly comic book fix. Basically, we've seen a lot, and we've done our best to pass on our thoughts and enthusiasms to our readers, many who've stuck with us from the beginning.

I couldn't (and wouldn't) have started all this without the green light from Andy, so I'm eternally grateful that he allowed my ramblings to be associated with his shop. But this was never intended as a solo venture, and I had plenty of help along the way, so a big thank you to the following excellent people: James Randall, Rob Nott, Stewart Ryder, Matt Tuffin, Dan Henry, Jo Sibley, Kenny Jeffrey, Simon McLean, Andrew 'The Butcher' Butcher, Tom Pike, Mike Smith, Billy Proctor, Mike Vincent, Ian & James Utley, Ann Luce, and, more recently,  my sons Harvey and George (who were barely twinkles in my eye when the first post was published in November 2007!).

And now, in 2020, with the world sort of turned upside down, it feels like as good a time as any to say that we've done the weekly review thing now, we've done the comic book movie reviewing thing now... it's time to move on.

But no, it's not goodbye. Because we're moving to www.thepcg.uk!

Yes, we're still going to be writing, but having written about just comics for so many years, and considering our shared interests are far broader than that, we're going to be covering not only comics but films, TV, books and more. Maybe not to the same kind of routine schedule but hopefully with some reignited passion for things we love.

When will this new site go live? It already is! Click there now to see the start of something new and check back with us for lots of great articles in the future. This site will remain (we've invested too much time to close the doors permanently) but this is likely to be the last new post you see here.

So a very brief goodbye and we'll see you on the other side very soon...

10 Years Of The PCG

Matt C: I honestly didn't expect to be writing this 10 years later.

I don't know what I expected, really. There was never a long term plan, it was just a case of putting a few thoughts into words, an extension of the monthly comic book discussions held at Paradox Comics in Poole. We had so much fun yakking about comics that I decided - perhaps arrogantly - that there may be others out there who'd want to 'hear' what we have to say (oh, and I've steadfastly avoided going down the podcast route, and I'm not changing my mind now before anyone says anything!).

Turns out there were a few folks who were willing to give our words a shot, and came back for more on a weekly basis. Not in their thousands maybe, but enough to get us thinking that this could be a meaningful endeavour, worth pursuing. And so here we are, 10 years to the day after I published the first post under the moniker 'Paradox Comics Group' (the abbreviation should have happened sooner!), and we're showing no signs of stopping just yet.

Happy Birthday To Us! Five Years Of The PCG!

Matt C: Time really does fly.

Tomorrow we hit the fifth anniversary of this little blog of ours – the Paradox Comics Group arrived in cyberspace on 2^nd November 2007 with very little fanfare. When I set it all up I had absolutely no idea where it was headed, if it would be a solo venture or if I could corral some friends to assist, and whether I would be able to keep the enthusiasm for the project aloft or whether would die on its arse a few months later when I became either bored or distracted or disillusioned. But, to my surprise as much as anyone’s, it’s still here, it’s still thriving, it’s not got an audience of thousands but it’s got enough people coming back time and time again to reassure me that our thoughts and opinions aren’t falling on deaf ears.

What is the Paradox Comics Group?

The Paradox Comics Group has its origins in a rather inauspicious venue, namely Borders book store in Bournemouth, England. There, way back in January 2001, a soon to be former-employee of the store, Gemma B, set up what was known as the Borders Graphic Novel Reading Group.

It was a small but successful group: firm friendships were made, much fun was had, and it probably caused all those attending to start buying a hell of a lot more comics. It didn't last forever though. Gemma moved on to pastures new and without a leader (or a venue) the Borders Graphic Novel Reading Group ceased to be.

I missed it though - the arguments, the laughs, the passion. I need my monthly fix of comics talk.

I discussed this situation with Andy, proprietor of possibly the best comics shop in the world (!), Paradox in Poole, and he agreed. As another former member of the Borders group he was also missing the monthly get-togethers - so we came up with a plan.

We had a few members of the Borders group still kicking around, plus a few of Andy's comic-reading pals, so who needed a specific venue to talk about comics?

And so, in the summer of 2004, the Paradox Comics Group was born, and over three years later it's still going strong.

So, while we regularly hook up to chat about our favourite books.... now it's time to take it to the next level.

This blog exists as an extension of the Group, a forum for its members to write about what they love and hate (but mostly love) about comics. We may not always agree on things, but we all have a lot to say about this beloved medium and we will say it with passion.

Enjoy.