It feels like it’s been quite a while since I’ve gone and done just a regular blog-style post where I share my thoughts on where the site is, where it’s been, and where it’s going. I’ll also share a few stats from August which I totally didn’t steal from another blogger who I follow but can’t remember but when I do remember I will totally give them a link right here. I find it fascinating how things can change over time. I’m closing in on four years writing on this site and what it is now is pretty different from what it was three years ago even though I’m still watching and reviewing superhero and comic book movies as the one constant.

By nature, I tend to be a very goal-oriented person. When I started this site, I really had two goals in mind. The first goal was to watch and review 100 movies during that first year which I successfully completed. The second goal was to eventually watch and review every superhero movie ever made. Almost four years in and I’m closing in on 300 movies closer to completing that goal, and while I haven’t stuck to the initial 100 movies a year that I did in the first year, I’m still clocking in at over 50 movies each year while only 20-30 new films get added to my running list. Instead, I have started to give myself smaller goals. A while back, I managed to watch all of the Warner Premier DC Animated movies that were direct-to-video and did a top 10 list. One reason that I don’t write too many top X lists is that I like to be a completist. I don’t like writing lists on a specific topic unless I’ve seen every film that could qualify for that list. There are a handful of similar smaller goals that I’ve had in my head, but haven’t made a lot of headway, like watching all of the 80’s or 90’s movies on my list.

There is one mini-goal that I made recently because I didn’t realize how close I was to completion until I started playing around with Letterboxd lists a little bit more. When I made a comprehensive Marvel Movies list I realized that there were only a few left that I hadn’t watched. And even though I since added a couple very obscure Japanese animated adaptations from the 80’s, I only have three of those films left before I have seen every movie made from a comic property owned by Marvel. And of course, once I complete those last three films, I will be recording a special two (or possibly three) part Filmwhys episode where I list them all and rank them. I also made a similar list for DC Movies though I’m a little bit farther behind on that one with nine films to go, mainly the early direct-to-video movies from the 90’s and some of the not-DC-but-DC-owned properties like Red and the Losers.

I also am a little bit torn over my lack of a schedule here. When this site first started, it was built around a weekly schedule, two to three films a week, a weekly blog post, a weekly Superhero Shorts post, and for a while a Follow Friday. Sadly, most of the blogs featured in my Follow Friday series have fallen by the wayside, and I realized that it’s been a long while since I’ve done a Superhero Shorts feature (though a new one is in the works and coming soon). Part of this is because I have spread myself across a few other projects and platforms. I’m doing two posts weekly as well as scheduling and behind-the-scenes stuff at Channel: Superhero, I’m doing weekly podcast roundups and more behind-the-scenes stuff for the Lamb Podcasting Network over at The Lamb, and while it’s only an every other week post here on the site, Filmwhys is a labor-intensive project, with two films to watch, one that won’t be reviewed and the other that may have already been reviewed, the time it takes to record, as well as the editing and promoting. Also, if you aren’t following me on social media, I tweet frequently @Bubbawheat on Twitter, and I’m currently a third of the way through my 100 Days 100 Essential Superhero Movies on Facebook. They will be collected here in the sticky post on the front page of the site, but if you want to see them as they’re posted, be sure to give the Facebook page a like.

As far as where do I see this site going in the future? Because I absolutely will complete my goal of watching every film on my list. There are plenty of bloggers out there who have finished the 1001 Movies To See Before You Die list, and while I’m sure I can find a lot more films to add to my list, I don’t think it will get that big. I suppose for that, I will just have to wait and see. For now, I would love it if I could get more interaction here. I love the regular commenters that I get now, and I’m certain that the lack of comments is in part due to the obscure nature of many of the films that I cover, as well as the fact that most of the time I have on the computer to myself is spent writing my own content, rather than reading and commenting on other’s content. There are a handful of sites and blogs that I read on occasion, but it’s more rare that I take that extra step to leave a comment myself.

And to wrap up this post, I’d like to share a little bit of behind the scenes as far as my most popular posts for the month of August.

#1 was Five Reasons Why Fantastic Four Movies Fail – this was more or less my attempt at a click-bait style article with my own spin on it. And I’m almost disappointed, but not surprised that it did actually work. Also unsurprisingly, the traffic has since died off to almost nothing after the initial spike, so there’s that.

#2 was Justice League: Gods and Monsters which I posted in late July and also isn’t a big surprise as the new DC animated movies typically bring a decent amount of traffic to this site. Not sure if it’s because I have reviewed all of them, or if it’s just that they’re not typically reviewed by other major sites so this is one of the few places to get a real opinion on them. Either way, I’ll take it.

#3 was Superhero Shorts: Captain Planet trailer – now this one is baffling to me. Nothing against the short itself, I really enjoyed it then and I enjoy it now. And the interview that goes along with it is quite fun, I just don’t get why this has suddenly gained interest again. I don’t recall seeing any Captain Planet related news crop up anywhere, and I also haven’t seen any of the guys blow up into something big, so I’m clueless. But if you haven’t watched it or read the interview, check it out, it’s good stuff.

#5 was I’m hosting #MTOS and I really appreciated the conversation that went with it on Twitter. It was a fun hosting gig. I’ve been aware of the #MTOS for a while now, and even though it seems like the discussion has died off a little bit compared to when it was at its peak, I had a blast hosting my 10 questions on comic book adaptations and I hope some of them that were new to me and my site have stuck around. (also, you may notice that I’m skipping some, mainly just more recent DC animated titles that I don’t have much more to say about)

#6 was 100 Essential Superhero Movies Ranked – I already mentioned this earlier in the post, but this is the page where I’m collecting my daily Facebook posts ranking my 100 Essential Superhero movies, updated for 2015 and ranked this time. I’ve been updating this page weekly-ish.

#9 was Captain America the 1990 version with JD Salinger’s son in the lead role. Similar to the Captain Planet, I have no idea why this post is popular while the Chris Evans Captain America review that was posted the during the same week at the start of this site doesn’t get any traffic, nor did my more recent 1979 TV movie Captain America review. Who knows.

#10 was Persepolis I don’t have much more to say about this one than I did about the Captain America review, but I wanted to link it because it’s a great movie that you should check out if you hadn’t heard of it before.

I think I’ve gone on long enough today, I hope you’ll continue to join me as I share my rantings and ravings over the next three hundred superhero and comic book movies over the years to come.