Learn to Duck

Cross posted from The Couch:

Last October, when Kevin and I decided to join forces and focus on building Graphic.ly, it became clear that the comic community—a community that I havent been a full time member of since I was about 15—was dynamic and rich, and that I had a lot to learn.

When talking to my friend Joe Stump, he offered to introduce me to Ron Richards of iFanboy, and last October, Ron and I jumped on a phone call.

That call lasted about 2 hours. We talked about all kinds of things, from people we mutually knew to comic books to the differences between New York (where Ron is from) and California (where I am from). By the end of the call, we had become solid friends.

Over the course of the next few months, we continued to talk regularly. I started to learn more and more about the comic industry and community and became more and more impressed with what Ron, Josh and Conor had built with iFanboy.

As I started to talk to publishers, creators and community members, it became equally clear at how well respected iFanboy was within the industry and community.

In December, I went out to New York to meet with Marvel and a couple of other publishers and met with Ron, Josh and Conor for dinner. We talked for a couple of hours about what we collectively saw as the future of the comic industry.

There was no doubt that we were all of like mind, and more importantly, actually liked each other.

About a week or so later, I approached Ron with the idea of iFanboy becoming part of Graphic.ly. I knew that the only thing holding them back was a lack of resources. I knew that for Graphic.ly, and for the comic community as a whole, that our two companies joining forces would create something that could only be beneficial and exciting.

Over the next several weeks, we talked about how the deal would look, what responsibilities Ron, Josh and Conor would have, and how would we operate together effectively.

We decided:

1. Josh and Conor would become co-editors of iFanboy and manage all the content creation on the site, including the hiring of a team of writers. We will look at expanding the show in terms of content and distribution.  There are so many interesting directions that iFanboy will explore.
2. There would be an editorial wall between Graphic.ly and iFanboy. This was extremely important to all of us. IFanboy will continue to be iFanboy, but better. They will write about other digital platforms and review Graphic.ly honestly.
3. Ron would focus on product and business development for iFanboy, helping to expand the pull list offerings, comic book store locator, and other important community features. Ron has a budget to redesign and expand the site. I am personally excited to see what iFanboy evolves into.
4. Just like we gave the company to the community at Graphic.ly, we are doing the same with iFanboy. The community will help drive where we go as a combined company, and what features, etc. are developed for iFanboy.
5. Josh and Conor will stay in NYC and will take on the additional responsibilities of publisher and creator relations. They will help make iFanboy and Graphic.ly the best place for publishers and creators, helping them connect directly with their fans.

Yesterday, we finalized the deal, shook hands, and now iFanboy is part of the Graphic.ly family. Amazing.

For me, the best part of this transaction is that I get to work with three more people that I consider friends. Three people that I have a ton of respect for, and look to learn a lot from as we build the pre-eminent comic book community.

I hope you all share our excitement, and I look forward to hearing what we can do to do the best job possible!