Comic Book Resources
Comic Book Resources, also known by the acronym CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.
Screenshot of CBR main page from May 21, 2008 | |
Type of site | Comic book |
---|---|
Available in | English |
Headquarters | Saint-Laurent, Quebec |
Owner | Valnet Inc. |
Created by | Jonah Weiland |
URL | www |
Launched | 1995 |
Current status | Online |
History
Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland created to discuss DC Comics' then-new mini-series of the same name.[1][2]
Comic Book Resources features columns written by industry professionals that have included Robert Kirkman, Gail Simone, and Mark Millar.[1] Other columns are published by comic book historians and critics such as George Khoury and Timothy Callahan.[3][4]
In April 2016, Comic Book Resources was sold to Valnet Inc., a company known for its acquisition and ownership of media properties including Screen Rant.[5] The site was relaunched as CBR.com on August 23, 2016 with the blogs integrated into the site.[6]
The company has also hosted a YouTube channel since 2008, with 3.5 million subscribers as of December 10, 2020.[1]
Comic Book Idol
Comic Book Idol, also known as CBI, is an amateur comic-book art competition created and hosted by comics writer J. Torres, and sponsored by Comic Book Resources and its participating advertisers.[7] Inspired by the singing contest American Idol, CBI is a five-week and five-round competition in which each contestant is given one week to draw a script provided by guest judges. These invited comic-book professionals comment on the artists' work in each round. The contestants to move on to subsequent rounds are selected by fans who vote in a weekly poll.[7]
- Patrick Scherberger won CBI1 and has since worked on a number of Marvel Comics titles like Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man, Marvel Adventures: Hulk and GeNext.[8][9]
- Jonathan Hickman was the runner-up in CBI1 and went on to work for Virgin Comics (Guy Ritchie's Gamekeeper and Seven Brothers), Image Comics (Pax Romana, A Red Mass for Mars and Transhuman) and Marvel Comics (Fantastic Four, Astonishing Tales).[10][11]
- Carlos Rodríguez won CBI2 and went on to work on Shadowhawk for Image and Batman and the Outsiders for DC Comics.[12][13]
- Billy Penn also competed in CBI2 and went on to work on Savage Dragon.[13][14]
- Joe Infurnari, another CBI2 contestant, went on a couple of titles from Oni Press, including Wasteland and Borrowed Time, as well as on the back-up feature of Jersey Gods with Mark Waid.[13][15]
- Dan McDaid, writer and artist on various Doctor Who comics for Panini and IDW and Jersey Gods for Image Comics, as well as strips for DC Comics, competed in CBI3.[16]
- Nick Pitarra competed in CBI3 and went on to do work for Marvel Comics on books such as Astonishing Tales.[17]
- Charles Paul Wilson III, artist on The Stuff of Legend, competed in CBI3.[18]
Reception
The University at Buffalo's research library described Comic Book Resources as "the premiere comics-related site on the Web."[19]
In April 2013, comics writer Mark Millar said he read the site every morning after reading the Financial Times.[20]
Awards
- 1999: Won the "Favourite Comics-Related Website (professional)" Eagle Award.[1]
- 2000: Won the "Favourite Comics-Related Website (professional)" Eagle Award.[1]
- 2001: Won the "Favourite Comics-Related Website (professional)" Eagle Award.[21]
- 2004: Nominated for the "Favourite Comics-Related Website" Eagle Award.[1]
- 2005: Nominated for the "Favourite Comics-Related Website" Eagle Award.[1]
- 2006: Nominated for the "Favourite Comics-Related Website" Eagle Award.[1]
- 2007: Nominated for the "Favourite Comics Related Website" Eagle Award.[1]
- 2008: Nominated for the "Favourite Comics-Related Website" Eagle Award.[22]
- 2009: Won the "Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism" Eisner Award.[23]
- 2010: Won the "Favourite Comics-Related Website" Eagle Award.[24]
- 2011: Won the "Favourite Comics-Related Website" Eagle Award.[25]
- 2011: Won the "Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism" Eisner Award.[26]
- 2013: Won the "Best Biographical, Historical or Journalistic Presentation" Harvey Award for its Robot 6 blog.[27]
- 2014: Won the "Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism" Eisner Award.[28]
Controversy
In 2014, an article by guest author Janelle Asselin criticized the cover of DC Comics's Teen Titans,[29] leading to harassment of and personal threats against Asselin in the website's community forums. Weiland issued a statement apologizing for the incident, condemning the way some community members had reacted, and rebooted the forums in order to establish new ground rules.[30][31]
References
- "Press Kit". Comic Book Resources. Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on October 27, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
- Arrant, Chris (August 6, 2019). "DC Hires Jonah Wiland as VP of Marketing & Creative Services". Newsarama. Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on October 27, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
- "Jorge Khoury". Comic Book Resources. Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on October 27, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
- "Timothy Callahan". Comic Book Resources. Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on August 24, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
- Rich Johnston (2016-04-04). "How Comic Book Resources Employees Learned Their Site Had Been Sold To Valnet". Bleeding Cool. Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on 2016-06-11. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
- Heidi MacDonald (2016-08-25). "CBR.com has new design, rebrand, no blogs". The Beat. Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on 2016-11-11. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
- Torres, J (September 5, 2007). "Just the FAQs, m'am". Comic Book Resources. Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on April 28, 2008. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- Patrick Scherberger at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- Cronin, Brian (September 26, 2007). "Idol Thoughts 9/26". Comic Book Resources. Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- Jonathan Hickman at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- Cronin, Brain (September 4, 2007). "Jonathan Hickman on "Comic Book Idol… what!?!"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
- Carlos Rodríguez at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- Cronin, Brian (27 May 2009). "Idol Thoughts 10/4". Comic Book Resources. Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- Billy Penn at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- Joe Infurnari at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- Cardwell, Mark (April 3, 2018). "Talking Doctor Who with CBI Finalist Dan McDaid". Comic Book Resources. Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on October 27, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
- Tarbys, Jason (January 22, 2013). "Nick Pitarra Talks Conspiring with Hickman On 'Manhattan Projects'". Comic Book Resources. Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on October 27, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
- "Comic Book Idol Finalists Announced; Winner to Draw "Popgun" Story for Image". Comic Book Resources. Wayback Machine. October 12, 2017. Archived from the original on October 27, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
- "Comic Books: Internet Resources". University of Buffalo Libraries. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
- "The Third Degree: Mark Millar" Jupiter's Legacy 1: 27 (April 2013), Image Comics
- "2001". Eagle Awards. Wayback Machine. February 6, 2011. Archived from the original on February 6, 2011. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- "2008". Eagle Awards. Wayback Machine. November 30, 2011. Archived from the original on November 30, 2011. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- "2000s". Comic-Con International: San Diego. Wayback Machine. December 2, 2012. Archived from the original on April 11, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
- "2010". Eagle Awards. Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- "2011". Eagle Awards. Wayback Machine. November 30, 2011. Archived from the original on November 30, 2011. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- "2010-Present". Comic-Con International: San Diego. Wayback Machine. December 2, 2012. Archived from the original on February 13, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
- "Your 2013 Harvey Awards Winners". The Comics Reporter. Wayback Machine. September 8, 2013. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
- "2014 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Winners". Comic-Con International: San Diego. Wayback Machine. July 26, 2014. Archived from the original on April 1, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
- Asselin, Janelle (April 11, 2014). "Anatomy of a Bad Cover: DC's New 'Teen Titans' #1". Comic Book Resources. Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on January 13, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
- "Out With the Old: Introducing the New CBR Community". Comic Book Resources. Wayback Machine. April 30, 2014. Archived from the original on January 13, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
- Polo, Susana (2014-05-01). "CBR Overhauls Forums In Wake of Widespread Discussion of Treatment of Women in Comics". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on 2016-02-21. Retrieved 2016-02-27.