Interviews - Jonah Weiland

Jonah Weiland is a man of many websites. The one he is most famous, if one is really famous for such things, is ComicBookResources, great site filled to the brim with news, columns and a widely populated message board system. Luckily for all of us, Jonah is also one hell of a guy. We had wanted to do this interview since we started up the site but things got in the way. Now I proudly present you with the one, the only (thank God) ... Jonah Weiland.

2HC: Name, occupation and favorite super powered pet:

JW: Jonah Weiland
Self-Employed
Sock Monkey


2HC: What is it about Sock Monkey (not that I mind, being a monkey myself) that draws you to him?

JW: Tony Millionaire brings a great balance of sweetness and total anarchy to that book. I think I live my life that way a bit.

2HC: What made you start a comic-book web site?

JW: Actually, I shared this story on my own Web site a while back.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/thehotseat/12032001-weiland.shtml

I think it's all summed up in this quote:

"On a dark, late night in September of 1995, while lying in bed huddled under my covers, CBR was born."

2HC: Is this a full time paying job? How do you make money running a site like this?

JW: It's a part-time job. In addition to running CBR I also run Boiling Point Internet a Web hosting/design firm based in Los Angeles and FreeComics.com, a contest site giving away really cool comic book prizes. So, I've really diversified myself financially which protects me.

CBR makes money off of sponsorships and advertising. My main goal is to make sure CBR pays for itself. That means covering the costs of the contributors and the costs of running the site, which since I own my own servers the main cost is bandwidth.

What's nice about my set-up is if one division of my company does poorly one month, the other two can pick up the slack. So, if CBR doesn't pull in a lot of ad revenue one month, then the hosting and FreeComics.com sponsorships help protect the company.

2HC: CBR has a huge variety of columns, news and a growing community... why did you choose to not focus in on one aspect?

JW: Why limit myself? When I started CBR way back when and went the route I did there was not much else out there like it. Sure, there's 243 different on-line comic magazines now, but back when I started an editorial focus on the site in 1998 things were very different. It's surprising as comics, being the visual medium they are, you'd think would have been big on the 'net early on. Not so. It wasn't until 1999 that we really began to see major growth for comics on the Internet with all the publishing houses establishing strong presences on the 'net.

But back to your question ... why specialize in just news or just commentary? I wanted to present people with a variety of ideas and opinions. It's that simple.

2HC: With all those comic sites out there now, as you mentioned, which do you read outside of your own?

JW: Seriously, every single damn one. Thankfully a lot of them aren't updated daily, but I stop by all of them at least once a week, a couple more often, and check out what they're doing. Gotta keep an eye on the kids!

2HC: Where do find your news items?

JW: Sometimes fans send in ideas, sometimes we're tipped off to upcoming events. Most of the time it's simply sitting down and figuring out who would be interesting to talk to and there's always someone to talk to.

The one thing I hate hearing is "It's a slow news day." There are thousands of comics published each month, most of which barely get any publicity. So there's always someone to talk to and always something interesting to talk about.

2HC: You have one of the more open and active comic fan communities around, what do you attribute to it's success?

JW: Longevitiy is really the main thing. The CBR community has been around for a long time now and many of those original members still hang out. In fact we recently ditched our old and frustratingly slow message boards in favor of a new system that's been operating well. With this relaunch we've seen a lot of those original members come back and enthusiasm re-injected into the communtiy.

2HC: So, the overall response to the new message boards has been positive?

JW: Yup. Only one minor incident where the guy just wouldn't even give the new format a chance. He left. Kinda wankerish the way he left, too, but oh well.

2HC: CBR has had everyone from Warren Ellis, one of the more widely known writers in the comics field, to Steven Grant, Larry Young and Gail Simone, all fantastic comic writers doing columns with you. How do you snag them?

JW: My main goal in finding contributors for CBR is to find people with very different qualities. I could have 20 columns running on CBR right now, but there's a big likelihood they'd be repeating one another. Note that every columnist on CBR has had a very unique perspective on the industry and life, but all share a tremendous love and respect for this industry. The personalities of those writers is what helps define CBR.

2HC: Outside of the professionals doing columns, CBR boasts ongoing columns by "unknowns", what makes you decide to run with a new column, take us through the process if you would.

JW: Like I said, it's all about personality. I remember reading Augie De Blieck Jr. years ago when he was self-publishing his column on-line. What I loved most about his column was his very apparent enthusiasm for comics. He loves comics more than any other person I know, and as a side-note he's remarkably normal! That's what most appealed to me about Augie. I've got a column that we'll be announcing at CBR in a week and will begin running in February by an up and coming writer in the biz I think everyone will enjoy. Most people may not know who he is, but you will enjoy his column. His writing style is original and creative.

Essentially, I look for something different. Take Gail Simone for instance. She had one of the most unique columns with "You'll All Be Sorry," a satire column that took a humorous look at comics illustrious history. When she finally decided to bring her column to a close a lot of people recommended I pick other satirists to take her spot. What? WHY? The goal should be to find new voices, not similar ones. Something new and different.

2HC: One thing CBR doesn't have is a straight review column, any reason or any plans to add one?

JW: One day.

2HC: Do you run any other websites? Show us around the Weiland Web Empire as it were.

JW: Well, I run FreeComics.com and CBRMail.com plus BoilingPoint.com. I'm the WebMaster of a whole slew of client sites, most of which don't have anything to do with comics.

2HC: Tell us a little more about Boiling Point and Free Comics. What kind of sites does Boiling Point webmaster/host? How does Free Comics work? Are there any sign-up fees?

JW: FreeComics.com is absolutely free! You can enter up the contest up to four times a month, once a week, and at the end of the month we award the prize package to the lucky winner!

What's really great about FreeComics.com is the benefits the sponsor receives. Each time you enter the contest the entrant is redirected to the sponsors Web site, so we guarantee the sponsor traffic. People will see their Web site, unlike other Web advertising where it's a struggle just to get them to click. FreeComics.com works and has been highly effective for the sponsors.

As for Boiling Point, we do lots of things. First and foremost we're a hosting company. We host mom and pop companies on up to work with major Web sites like UpcomingMovies.com, AlexRossArt.com, the Chicago Tribune Media Services and many others. Secondly, we're a Web site design firm handling design duties for a variety of clients.

2HC: Outside of CBR, what does Jonah the guy do? How do you relax and get your groove on?

JW: I LOVE Basketball and I love television. I'm a huge Los Angeles Clippers fan and have been since 1990. We've had some serious ups and downs, but right now things look very promising for this team. I've been a season ticket holder 1990-1992 and 2000 up to the present.

I'm also a big fan of television. I'm a TiVo owner so I record everything and watch it later, avoiding commercials and all that other junk. Favorite television shows are "The West Wing," "NYPD Blue," "Six Feet Under," "The Chris Isaak Show" and "The Sopranos." The list goes on, but those are the ones I get most excited about.

2HC: What do your family and friends think of all of this? Anyone try to tell you to "get a real job"?

JW: I have a real job! I'm self-employed, working from home, living the American dream! I work in my underwear!!! (Okay, not that often, seriously! Okay, don't print that. Okay, print it. Wait, no, don't. That's embarrassing. Oh fuck it, just print it.)

2HC: Not only does that see print, but do you have any pictures to go with it ... ?

JW: I will find you and I will hunt you down like a dingo if you print those pictures!

2HC: Is it all still as much fun and as satisfying to manage as it was when you started?

JW: It's much harder doing this all full-time. I used to do it part time and was a Radio producer at the biggest talk station in LA. That was hard, but relying completely on self-motivation is very tough.

2HC: How do you motivate yourself again when you hit a slump then?

JW: Sometimes you just have to force yourself. Sit down in front of that computer, set-out a task and get it done. Sometimes that reinvigorates you more than anything else. If that doesn't work you take a break and come back to it as soon as possible. That could mean I'll take a walk, go spend some time watching a movie, practice the guitar. Anything. Just keep the mind working.

2HC: Do you have any cats? If so, names and rank please.

JW: Cats be the devils animals. I'm a Dog man myself, but don't have one currently. My lone pet is a nasty looking Red-Eared Slider fresh water tutle named "Elliot Ness." It's a girl. I found this out after I named her. She's sexually conflicted. It's fucked up. Sometimes she tries to hump the rocks in her tank. It's not pretty.

2HC: So how much is your monthly therapy bill?

JW: For me or Elliot?

2HC: Rant. Anything you like, for as long as you like, there will not be a test on this.

JW: I once had a run-in with a churro salesman in Tijuana. Let's just say he was upset that I was purchasing from his buddy and not him. Things like "Stupid Gringo" and "Maricon" (spanish derogratory term for gays) were yellled at me. Dude, get over yourself! Your buddy was selling 10 for a dollar, you were only offering 8. It's a buyers market! The stories actually really interesting, but you'll have to buy my book in 20 years when I write it to read the whole story.

I also once took a crap at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles in a stall directly next to "Weird Al" Yankovic, but that's not a story anyone should know more about.