Nine Years of Bleeding Fool and Still Not Asking Permission

Nine years ago, we launched Bleeding Fool because geek culture needed another voice, not another website repeating the same approved opinions and calling it “journalism.” We love comics, movies, and television, but we didn’t believe enjoying them required signing a political loyalty oath. Our mission was simple: cover the things we love, poke fun at the industry’s pretensions, and say what we thought. Libertarian and right-of-center opinions were welcome. So was disagreement. We wanted a conversation, not a congregation. The comments section is still open. That distinction wasn’t always appreciated. Since 2017, we’ve questioned the replacement of storytelling with messaging, the careless treatment of beloved characters, and the strange insistence that disappointed customers were the problem. Too often, criticism was answered with accusations rather than better entertainment. Fans were expected to applaud the intentions and overlook the execution. We declined. But the purpose isn’t to spend every anniversary shouting “told ya!” It’s to keep looking honestly at what’s in front of us. That includes acknowledging good news. Comics aren’t dead: ICv2 estimates North American comics and g...