End of the Year Stats – 2020

We’ve now arrived at the end of our second year of operation on this page, and so as I did last year, I want to get a handle on just what the most popular posts and features have been around these parts, so that they can influence future decision-making concerning what to write about. Also, this will serve as a handy index for people looking for the most disseminated pieces we’ve done here.

So, beginning with the all-time list, once again the most well-read pieces came primarily from the Lee and Kirby category dealing with comic book history. I do have a few more of these in teh hopper already, so they’ll be coming along shortly.

• The best-read entry this year is still The Minor Mystery of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #8: https://tombrevoort.com/2019/04/09/lee-kirby-ditko-the-minor-mystery-of-amazing-spider-man-8/
• The Spider and the Fly: https://tombrevoort.com/2020/10/24/lee-kirby-simon-ditko-oleck-the-spider-and-the-fly/
• The Four Work Stages of Lee and Kirby: https://tombrevoort.com/2019/07/27/lee-kirby-the-four-work-stages-of-lee-kirby/
• A Clue in the Saga of Joan Lee: https://tombrevoort.com/2019/05/25/lee-kirby-ditko-a-clue-in-the-saga-of-joan-lee/
• The Narrative Techniques of Jack Kirby: https://tombrevoort.com/2019/06/01/lee-kirby-the-narrative-techniques-of-jack-kirby/

The first non-Lee and Kirby comes in at #6, from the Five Best categoty:

• The Five Best Unofficial Marvel and DC Crossovers: https://tombrevoort.com/2020/06/21/5bc-five-best-unofficial-marvel-and-dc-crossovers/
• AMAZING FANTASY #15: https://tombrevoort.com/2019/03/03/lee-ditko-amazing-fantasy-15/
• Five Mean Caricatures of Comic Book Creators: https://tombrevoort.com/2020/07/12/5bc-five-mean-caricatures-of-comic-book-creators/
• The Unused INCREDIBLE HULK #4 Pages: https://tombrevoort.com/2019/04/21/lee-kirby-the-unused-incredible-hulk-4-pages/

And this last piece at #10 from the world of Everything Else:

• The Purpose of Super Heroes: https://tombrevoort.com/2019/03/31/the-purpose-of-super-heroes/

When we pull our focus back to just pieces that have been posted within the last year, there are a few other ones that made the Top-10 for the year, beginning with an entry from the Perfect game category:

• SUPERMAN #400: https://tombrevoort.com/2020/06/06/perfect-game-superman-400/
• The Last Fantastic Four Story, Part One: https://tombrevoort.com/2020/05/06/lee-kirby-ortolani-the-last-fantastic-four-story-part-one/
• Making the Kid Who Collects Spider-Man (a terrific showing given that it was only posted a few days ago: https://tombrevoort.com/2020/12/24/making-the-kid-who-collects-spider-man/
• Five Best Forgotten DC Retcons: https://tombrevoort.com/2020/04/19/5bc-five-best-forgotten-dc-retcons/

And the first entry from the repurposed Blah Blah Blog reprint posts:

• Comics I Don’t Apologize For, Part 5: https://tombrevoort.com/2020/04/11/blah-blah-blog-comics-i-dont-apologize-for-part-5/
• Comics I Screwed Up, Part 5: https://tombrevoort.com/2020/02/09/blah-blah-blog-comics-i-screwed-up-part-5/
• Even More On FANTASTIC FOUR #1: https://tombrevoort.com/2020/10/11/lee-kirby-even-more-on-fantastic-four-1/

And then, just to be completist, here are the top-ranked entries in all of the remaining categories:

• EDITORIAL SIMULATION: Editorial Simulation Update: https://tombrevoort.com/2020/06/21/editorial-simulation-update/
• BREVOORT HISTORY OF COMICS: ACTION COMICS #481 (thanks in large part to a repost from Kurt Busiek): https://tombrevoort.com/2020/02/09/bhoc-action-comics-481/
• FIRST AND LAST: The Greatest Betty And Veronica Story Ever Told: https://tombrevoort.com/2020/01/19/the-greatest-betty-and-veronica-story-ever-told/
• STAR BLAZERS: The Modern Era: https://tombrevoort.com/2019/07/20/in-our-next-star-blazers-adventure-30/
• BRAND ECHH: DYNAMO #4: https://tombrevoort.com/2019/10/06/brand-echh-dynamo-4/
• GREAT COVERS: Marvel Around the World: https://tombrevoort.com/2019/05/18/great-covers-marvel-around-the-world/
• HAVE GUN – WILL TRAVEL: A Quiet Night In Town: https://tombrevoort.com/2018/12/27/best-of-have-gun-will-travel-2/
• YOUR COMICS CODE AT WORK: PLASTIC MAN #63 Pt. 3: https://tombrevoort.com/2019/11/02/your-comics-code-at-work-plastic-man-63-pt-3/
• BLAKE’S 7: Star One: https://tombrevoort.com/2020/04/18/best-of-blakes-7-star-one/
• DOCTOR WHO: The Timeless Children: https://tombrevoort.com/2020/03/02/doctor-who-the-timeless-children/

Thanks as always to everybody who stopped by to read something, and especially to those who commented and/or posted links elsewhere. There’ll be more of the same to come for the remainder of this holiday break and then onward into 2021!