2010 has been some year, hasn't it?

In the comics industry, it's meant another wild ride on so many fronts. CBR News Editor Kiel Phegley ran down a list of the Top Stories of 2010 and that just scratches the surface! Having run CBR in some shape or form for 14 years, I've watched how much the industry has grown and gained mainstream acceptance in that time. With pop culture now driven by comics culture (just look at how many comic book movies and TV shows get made each year), the news cycle has changed and grown in incredibly dramatic ways. Just five years ago we likely only published 5 or 6 stories a day. Today, with the combined efforts of the main CBR Web site, our three blogs, our reviews team, etc., we publish an average of 50+ stories every day! Not too shabby for a comic site that began with the name "Jonah Weiland's Crappy Links Page."

2010 has been another year of growth in every category for CBR. In the last year we expanded our horizons by covering TV & Film news with our new blog Spinoff Online, created new tools like the CBR Twitter Directory and Hotlists, published new columns by Jason Aaron and Ron Marz, launched a new video platform, said hello to a number of new staff members and even said goodbye to a few. It was a year that saw a number of changes and additions to the site that certainly kept me busy! And as I said earlier, we saw growth in every category, from traffic to revenue and more, and that's all incredibly gratifying and humbling. We owe a big thanks to all of our loyal readers for checking out the site daily, for the incredibly talented creative folk from comics, TV, film, video games, music and more for taking time out of their busy lives to talk with our reporters and to the advertisers who've supported the site, helping us pay our bills and keep this ship running. All of you, thank you. It may sound trite, but it's very true - we couldn't do this without you.

As we head in to 2011 I'm very optimistic about what the future has in store for these creative industries that we, as comic fans and professionals, are a part of. We're going to have one hell of a year in film in 2011, with massive super hero franchises launching and relaunching next year. The new year will see more players enter the digital marketplace and that should be a rapidly changing category all year long! How will the economy affect comics publishing in 2011? The past three years have been challenging to all industries, but there are signs of hope. On the CBR front, we are committed to continually evolve and grow the site, never content to sit still for a moment. I'm quite certain the wild ride of 2010 will continue in to 2011 and beyond!

While many of you will be taking time off to enjoy the New Years weekend, we here at CBR will be business as usual all weekend, especially Sunday when our comics news commentary blog Robot 6 takes over the site all day long to celebrate it's second anniversary. There will be a lot of special features and exclusives all day. You really won't want to miss it - the guys have done a great job putting together some very fun content for their anniversary and you'll definitely want to check out the site Sunday.

Before I go, I encourage you to check out CBR's list of the Top 100 Comics of 2010 as well as our CBR TV video blooper reel. Both are worth a moment of your time and provides an opportunity to learn about a new book or two, or just have a laugh.

Thanks again to all of you for your support in 2010 and here's looking forward to a safe, happy and prosperous 2011. Happy New Year, everyone!

Sincerely,

Jonah Weiland

Executive Producer, Comic Book Resources/Spinoff Online