No, it wasn’t me (though I admit the circumstantial evidence of my birthday is a tad damning). Also, yes, that’s a Morrison reference.

§ July 3rd, 2020 § Filed under blogging about blogging is a sin § 7 Comments

Okay, might as well make this a week of “Mike Crawls Up His Own Bottom” posts, so let me try to wrap it all up here with this posty-post.

Nate asked in the comments of my last post:

“I ask this every time someone reminisces about the golden age of comics blogging, but does anyone have a clue as to what happened to Dick Hyacinth of ‘Savage Critics’ and ‘Dick Hates Your Blog?’ He was a regular presence and then, poof, he was gone…”

What Age of Comics Blogging are we in now? The Just Barely Hanging In There Age, I’m presuming. Anyway, for those of you who missed it, Dick Hyacinth was a relatively acerbic comics blogger who popped up in 2007, cranked out a lotta posts for a couple of years, then vanished mysteriously on, of all dates, my birthday in 2009. He was…not a fan of what comics blogs were doing, as you can probably judge by the title of his site, and he wasn’t shy about saying so, at a time when most of us were generally playing nice with each other. I know a friend or two got into it with him over one thing or another. Aside from that, some of his comics criticism and discussion of the industry was worth reading, I think, and when going back over his blog I found myself looking at more than one thing he wrote and thinking “…yeah, he had a point.” I know he brought me up once or twice but was actually fairly complimentary, so I guess he didn’t hate every blog.

It does seem just a little strange that he up and quit without any notice, but only a little. It wasn’t, and still isn’t, uncommon for bloggers to have a strong start then dry up with no warning. What’s unusual here is that he also had a side gig writing reviews for another site, so the thinking is that he was a little more established than someone just blogging on a whim. But, hey, people burn out, or have other responsibilities that take precedence (I believe he mentioned a few times that he had a kid, or maybe kids) so there you go.

As to the person behind the pseudonym…I kinda think maybe he was another blogger or columnist or whathaveyou deciding to be a bit more blunt under an assumed name to avoid blowback. Or he was just an observer of what was going on in the comicsweblogosphere and decided “THESE PEOPLE NEED ME.” I mean, who knows. I don’t suppose it really matters now, eleven years on.

I’ll probably go through and revisit some of his entries at some point, and try to remember just why exactly he got up all our noses at the time. I know then I was bothered by some of what he’d said, but also, as I said back in Monday’s post, I’m not quite as uptight about this sort of thing. Could be the worst I’ll think looking back at his work is “boy, he’s really playing up his schtick here” and wonder why we were all so angry with him in the first place. Or I will get reminded and become angry all over again. I’M A JUMBLE OF RAGING EMOTIONS

Talking about this reminded me of one guy, years ago…a comics columnist of some sort who for whatever reason decided to point out that I wasn’t as funny as I thought I was. At the time I posted a response (not linking to the article, which is probably long gone anyway, along with its author) where I essentially said “hey, fine, everybody has a different sense of what’s funny, it’s okay if he doesn’t like me,” when what I should have said was “FUCK YOU, I’M HILARIOUS” but l’esprit d’escalier and all that.

And then there was that one guy who took to the message boards to complain about me and pal Dorian about being a couple of real jerks because, as far as we were able to determine, we didn’t like a comic he liked, I think? Also, same dude had me put together a sizable mail order for him then stiffed me on payment. But now I’m just listing grievances. Don’t worry, everyone, I’m too old and creaky to seek my bloody vengeance on anyone. I’ll just write satirical poems about them in my newsletter.

7 Responses to “No, it wasn’t me (though I admit the circumstantial evidence of my birthday is a tad damning). Also, yes, that’s a Morrison reference.”

  • Rich Handley says:

    The message here:

    Don’t be a dick (Hyacinth) on the Internet

  • Hey, Mike. Talking about blogs, there was one by a guy who went by snell and it was called SLAY, MY MONSTRBOT FROM THE DEEP and that was a panel in an Aquaman story. He lived in Kalamazoo and his real name was Brian Keith and he died in December of 2018, so yes, I’m timely.

    Also, something I don’t know if any of you all brought up, but has anyone ever written to a prolific letter writer? I’m as old as dirt, but I wrote to T. M. (The Mad) Maple and even found Irene Vartanoff online with her own blog. I wrote Dean Mullaney long before Eclipse Comics was a thing. I don’t necessarily miss letter columns, but even Martin Pasko was prolific for awhile.

    Other names I remember are Danny Fingeroth and Elvis Orten. I’ve been meaning to bring this up for awhile.

  • Randal says:

    I remember Uncle Elvis!!
    I still miss Dave’s Long Box. It’s been…good heavens, 12 years?!? I wish Chris Sims kept up the ISB…I also want a pony. Mightygodking just showed up for the first time in a year. Kevin Church, Tom the Dog…oh, Fanboy Rampage. Jim Treacher pre-politics. There was a golden time. I remember when you went down to three a week, Mikester. Was sad. Glad you’re here. I also remember how Wildcat loves me. You and Siskoid are the only two I follow these days, occasionally checking out Every Day is like Wednesday, and I’d have one less point of light if any of you go.

  • Dick Hyacinth bought some books from me during one of my CBG fire sales, paid via Paypal and used his real name and address for me to ship to. I can’t say anything other than that he wasn’t any known entity as you speculate, Mike.

    Like you, I spent a little time in his archives this week and was really blown away by his consistency and dedication. I wish he’d kept it up, but maybe he found some other thing to do with his energy and talent that would actually provide some income. I remember reaching out to him once after he disappeared off the internet, but I didn’t get a response and out of respect for his privacy I didn’t push it any further. I do hope he’s well, and if he’s reading this, I thank him for his support back in the day and a couple hours of nostalgic entertainment this week.

  • Nate A. says:

    Hey, thanks to all of you for your reminiscences, speculation and insights about Hyancinth. As a reader (as opposed to a potential subject) I never found him particularly hateful, just a little acerbic. That having been said, what was fun about that time period was the variety of tastes and interests. Anyway, I too hope our mystery blogger is alive and well!

  • Pedro de Pacas says:

    Speaking of which, I’m looking for the Jason Powell of New Universe comics – I’ll even be happy with a Bully The Little Stuffed Bull – could anyone point me in the right direction?

  • CalvinPitt says:

    I always figured Dick just enjoyed trashing people’s blogs because he liked watching people flip out about it. A troll basically, but with at least keeping it to his own blog rather than going in other people’s comment sections.

    Although the only post of his I can remember off the top of my head was one where he talked briefly about how he’d been playing a lot of Persona 3 on the Playstation 2 recently, and what he enjoyed most about it. I feel like that says something, but I’m not clear what.