THE PAIN!!!

Well, shit.

Sadly, Dave Campbell of Dave's Long Box is calling it quits after blogging about comics for more than three years. Dave retiring is like Ali stepping out of the ring, a recognized champion going on to become a legend.

Woof, that's sappy. But let's consider the facts: Campbell was one of the first people to regularly blog about comics, building a tremendously loyal readership that not many other bloggers can match. He was funny, he was enthusiastic, he was insightful and he was consistent (mostly).

When I began trolling through comic blogs, the Long Box was the first one I read and it told me a lot. It told me that it was OK to be a comic book reader, and it reminded me that it was supposed to be fun. Eventually, reading the Long Box (along with Chris Sims, Kevin Church and Bully) would be what would give me the push to start my own blog. Thanks to them I rediscovered the joy of communication and community, things I thought had been ground out of me years before. But I've never forgotten that it all started with Dave's Long Box.

Most of all, though, Campbell just made me laugh. Every. Damn. Time. Seriously, go read the archives and look for The F*@% Yeah Files or Boob War, or just randomly click on entries. It won't matter because he's that good. And even though I'm sorry to see the shutters going up at the Long Box, I'm glad he's got a gig blogging for ABC and even happier to know he'll still be doing a personal blog of some sort.

Guys like Campbell can't keep quiet for too long. I know I'm looking forward to hearing what he's got to say.

Finally, here's my favorite moment from Dave's Long Box, if for no other reason than it made me and my wife laugh for an entire day:




Thanks, Dave. Stay Airwolf.