*Originally published on 3/3/10
It's my one year anniversary!! Yay!!! It's hard to believe that one year ago today, I wrote my very first article for this site. I thought, what better way to commemorate the event then to look back over my work and reflect on all the wackiness that has ensued. It's a tad self indulgent I'll admit, but under the circumstances I think it's justifiable. It's no worse then my 50th article and nobody had a problem with that so I see no reason to make a fuss over it. With all that out of the way, let's dig into my top 10 Stephen King examiner moments.
10. N
I stumbled upon this series after wandering Youtube looking for possible material. It exceeded my expectations, giving me almost a month's worth of posting material. It was fun to watch on a daily basis and I've even sat down and watched the whole series in one sitting a couple of times and it still entertains me. It was very well done and I'm glad they got the crew together again when they decided to release an official comic.
9. Stephen King vs. Dean Koontz
These two authors have oft been compared to one another. As such, it seemed like a natural fit for me to compare and contrast the work of the two best selling authors. As I mentioned in the article, I've only read some of Koontz's work. I did what I could with what I had, some expressed disappointment, but it did spark a rather lively conversation.
8. Heart Shaped Box gets reviewed
I can't recall which article it was, but people pointed out that Stephen King's son, Joe Hill, had become a pretty successful writer in his own right. I don't know if my parents discovered him via the comments on that article or just through their own research, but they got me his two first published books for Christmas. It was a darn good read and it exposed me to another author.
7. New comics are announced
With both the Dark Tower and The Stand comics being the successes that they are, it was no surprise that more King based titles were announced. First, Marvel announced that they were extending the Dark Tower comics and coming out with a new batch of mini-series to create another 30 issue story arc. Not much later after that, they announced that they were going to release a comic adaptation of the short story N. As if that weren't enough, Del Rey started releasing their comic adaptation of The Talisman. There is also the upcoming vampire comic that will be the first Stephen King comic not based on a previously existing work.
Incidentally, the first issue of N comes out today. I really need to try and make a comic run at some point, because I am quite far behind.
6. Vacationing at the Overlook
I knew that the infamous hotel was based on a real one where Stephen King vacationed. With Halloween coming up, I thought it would be cool to do a "travel" article and talk about the two hotels that have acted as the Overlook. I still plan on going out there at some point. I said it would be Halloween, but it's booked already (you guys weren't kidding, that place filled up quick). I'd have to look again, but I'm pretty sure that rooms are open for earlier dates so I could still very well make it out in 2010, but it most likely won't be Halloween.
5. Twi-hards declare war!!!
Good grief, as I was writing this article, I suspected that it would get the reaction that it did. I tried to be diplomatic about it, but clearly, that didn't work. This is the closest I've come to having trolls lurking on my page. One guy honestly went through three comment boxes (there is a character limit) just ranting on and on about the books. My personal favorite comment though, was as follows
"I didn't read this post..but this guy looks stupid and ignorant!!!! Using Twilight to get hits in his lame out of line post..Ignore this pathetic unwitting idiot .You are not the first one to use Twilight to get some atttention...I guess today is slow news day? Anyway shut up!! and Get lost looser!!!"
You'd think that something like this might hurt my feelings or offend me in some way, but every time I read it, I'm too busy laughing to get worked up over it. It's funny, so funny in fact that I had to point out to my roommate what the response was. He laughed too.
4. The Dark Tower animated series
With all the talk of a possible Dark Tower movie series, I couldn't help but think that maybe movies aren't the right format. There's a lot of stuff and the books may just be too big for the big screen. An animated series, however, would give the franchise the breathing room it needs to flesh out the details and build up the story and epic mythology of the series. Put it on HBO and market it as a more mature series and I think that it would be a pretty big hit. I try to hearken back to this article when I can because I think it is a good idea and I want to see it done.
3. Pennywise vs. Ghostbusters
This idea just randomly hit me one night when I couldn't sleep. I was so excited about the idea that I actually had to get up and write the article while the idea was fresh and the resulting geeky energy was still at its peak. I'd love to see this turned into a comic one day. Franchise crossovers aren't uncommon and the two mesh pretty well in my humble opinion.
2. My first article is published
After getting accepted as the Stephen King examiner, I pondered what topic I should discuss to get the ball rolling. I figured something simple would be best. With all of the great villains King has come up with over the years I decided to do a top 10 list. It was a good way to open the column as well as give readers an insight in to my writing style. This article is also notable in that it resulted in the number one event.
1. Stephen King name drops me in his Entertainment Weekly column
I'm still blown away by the fact that this happened. I have no idea who sent the link to him, but I'm still extraordinarily grateful. Seeing my name show up in an Entertainment Weekly column written by Stephen King was a surreal experience and it gave my column quite a bit of exposure, more than it deserves most likely. This was definitely my very own crowning moment of awesome. The only downside is that I'm not sure how I can top this.
All of this and we're only one year in. I don't need to tell you guys that there's still a ton of stuff left to talk about from the comics to books to stories to movies, so year 2 should be interesting. I want to thank all of you readers who stick by the column; you guys are awesome. I know my writing is a bit...unorthodox so it means a lot that you guys stick with it. As if that weren't flattering enough you've even stepped up to my defense in various situations. I don't know why, but the fact that you have my back is kind of heartwarming. OK, I've gushed enough, long story short, my gratitude, you has it.
Here's to year 2.
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