Following the announcement that iFanboy founder Ron Richards would be moving over to Image Comics, more changes at iFanboy were announced today. Longtime iFanboy contributor Paul Montgomery will be filling Richards’ editorial duties at the site, including joining the podcast.
In addition, iFanboy is splitting from Graphicly, the digital distributor which acquired the site in 2010. Richards explains that the move is because Graphicly’s focus has changed from comics alone and passes along a statement from Graphicly CEO Micah Baldwin:
Now before any speculation happens about nefarious business dealings or behind the scenes decisions let me be absolutely clear. This was a joint decision by all of us and there’s nothing to read into beyond that. Simply put, Graphicly is focusing their resources beyond comic books, and no one involved wanted to see iFanboy shut down as a result. So Graphicly generously worked with us to enable this transition back to independence. Graphicly CEO Micah Baldwin asked me to include his point of view on this and provided the following:
“It was an easy decision to acquire iFanboy given its place as the pre-eminent community for comic book enthusiasts and collectors. There is no better place online to enjoy and share the stories we all love. It has been amazing watching that community almost double in size in such a short period of time, and now iFanboy no longer needs Graphicly to continue its meteoric pace, and therefore I am excited and proud to see Ron, Josh and Conor take stewardship of the community back over full-time.”
And so with that, iFanboy is an independent entity once again. So what does this mean for you, the iFanbase? Not much. iFanboy will continue to provide its unique view of the comic book industry as long as you keep coming and enjoying what the editors and the staff have to say. We have to thank those of you who are active iFanboy Members. Your support has been vital to keeping the lights on at iFanboy HQ, and you will continue to be. For those of you who want to help, but aren’t members or who chose to suspend your membership, stay tuned as we’ll have ways for you to show your support for iFanboy soon. In the meantime, click on the banners, shop at Amazon, support our sponsors, and just keep on enjoying all the great content iFanboy has for you everyday!
