58 thoughts on “A Bold New Era, Etc.

  1. AHH!!! The glaring brightness! I’m blind!

    Actually, if that were really the case, that post would have looked more like:

    QJJ@@@ Rje fkstimf vtojrmwaa# O;n nkoms@

  2. TOOOOO BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGHHHHHHHTTTTTT UGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH

    Seriously though, this is less than pleasant.

  3. It’s because the old design wasn’t built to handle the sheer torrent of hilarity that’s coming! It started to burn if you brought words which make money near it, which wasn’t ever expected to be a problem back then.

    Also, asbestos.

  4. Chris, I think your choice to go black-on-white was very brave, as nobody has ever done that in the history of print, the internet, television, or in cinema.

  5. Oh, great.

    There’s a new format for the site where you link to your Comics Alliance articles.

    That’s it. I’m only visiting this site 3.5 times a week from now on.

    (I’m just kidding, Chris. Don’t get mad!)

  6. Speaking of Peanuts, Chris,do you know when the snowman-building league strips ran? (And if it didn’t seem like I was sucking up to get you to answer my question, I’d mention that I think the new design is pretty cool.)

  7. So, have you done away with the Best of the ISB list? That’s kind of a shame. I was hoping to see it expanded, at least to include The Core Marvel Universe.

    Also, for the benefit of people who, like me, had no idea what the deal is with those weird circles by the comments are: They’re called Gravatars. Google should be able to handle it from there.

  8. I like this look. Much gentler and less distracting. Though I think you should bump your projects higher up in the right column.

    Good job, Sims.

  9. So, have you done away with the Best of the ISB list?

    Oh, no, I made one but it looks like I forgot to actually put it in the sidebar. It’ll be in there under the heading “Greatest Hits.”

  10. I like the change. Nice and clean. Also, it will likely be easier to read at work as the color scheme goes much better with the programs we use…

  11. Wondering if there’s any way you could put that pic of the Punisher punching the polar bear somewhere. Just doesn’t seem the same without it.

  12. The text is still clean and easy to read and nothing leaps out of the screen and punches me in the face, so I feel as strongly about the redesign as I did about the old design. Which is to say, I am completely neutral about it.

    Honestly, the last time I felt anything about ISB-related design minutia was when the ISB was the Old Chris Sims Classic ISB. Which is to say, I liked it, because it felt all amateurish and “I work in a comic book store full-time”y and everything. And nothing makes me trust the nerd-cred of an Intertoobs guy like amateurishness.

    At least, that is the design philosophy behind my own free blog.

    Of course now that I trust Dr. Chris Sims, he could make the ISB look like the Walmart website and I’d still value his opinion. Unless he’s talking about video games and new Batman comics. But that’s for non-design reasons.

  13. I like it–it’s brighter and easier to read. Bravo, Chris.

    Also, David, thanks for the heads-up re: the Gravatars.

  14. Your year? Careful with the new full-time profession there… 2010’s been killing a lot of writers.

  15. Please create a secondary skin so that I can avoid the light. I read this exclusively in dark rooms with a lit screen and it’s blinding to have black text on a white background.

  16. It’s fresh, it’s clean, it’s now… It’s like heliskiing off a glacier in Patagonia and then heading to some kind of Ken Adam stainless steel James Bond villain set for apertifs.

    Plus, the gravatars give the commentariat more personality, which I’m sure you’ll never come to regret…

  17. I preferred the old layout, but I think this will work fine. And will probably grow on me. And hey, you updated your friends links, which is nice. I’ve been considering suggesting that for a while, but I couldn’t think of a way to do it that wouldn’t risk seeming dickish.

  18. But will such a radical change go over with SHIELD? You know they only peruse website from the helicarrier that match the steel grey, navy blue and black interior.

  19. Change? But I hate and fear change! Why can’t everything stay exactly like it was when I first discovered it?

  20. The new color scheme is closer to matching your paymasters at Comics Alliance. The synergy works. Looks clean, looks professional, and there is less of a feeling of disconnect when we click over to the CA stuff. Now it’s like you’re your own department in a bigger store. Bravo.

  21. MY NAME IS SEPTOPUSS AND I APPROVE OF THIS DESIGN. IT IS A BRAND NEW DAY IN THIS HEROES AGE OF THE DARKEST NIGHT, BRIGHTEST DAY, FINAL CRISIS ON INFINITE BLOGGERVILLETOWN CITY.COM.

    Secret Wars.

  22. Well, I got used to it when “Living Between Wednesdays” changed so I guess I’ll get used to this.

    I would like to suggest you move the “Archives” list lower in the sidebar to underneath your “Greatest Hits”. Mainly due to the fact your archives will be growing longer and longer, thus making it harder for new readers to check out the gold that gets them hooked.

  23. I liked the old look a little better, though I do think the change is fitting. The thing that bothers me is how all your text is perpetually centered. That’s REALLY annoying. Anyway, congrats on the new writing gig, Chris. Rock on!

  24. It would’ve been more jarring, had Mike Sterling not done it first. YOUR LATE SIMS

    Seriously, it looks great. Also, the user icon I picked to comment on Beaucoupkevin works here too! (I hope.)

  25. Okay, some constructive criticism, I swear:
    Could you put another set of the navigation buttons for each post above the comments section? It’s annoying to have to browse all the comments (even quickly) when I want to check out the old times, get my retro on, ya dig?
    For the rest, the new site looks spiffy (never knew what it exactly means, assume it’s good?) and I’m sure it will follow with the best of luck in your new pro life.

    Although, oddly enough, I don’t miss the Punish-panda pic nearly as much as I miss the Aziz Ansari plug. Not a complain, just weird.

  26. It’s funny how there are so many comments about something so simple like changing this blog’s theme/template. In fact, there are more comments about this than there are for the Many Emotions of Batman posts, the WWF posts, this week’s Week In Ink post, etc.

    Just goes to show what people find important, I guess. :-s

    Also, first Sterling changes the look of his blog and now you? Is this some sort of meme?

  27. 2 things:
    (1) Why change? Why not just stay with the ISB 2.0 look?
    (2) The fellow comic blogger links in the sidebar now take you to their pages in your tab, rather than opening a new tab or window for them, as they formerly did. I liked the “opened a new tab” feature – it let me use the ISB as a launching point to check out the comics blogosphere easily. Any chance of getting it back?

  28. First The Progressive Ruin changed and now The ISB is all different?! TOO MUCH CHANGE, INTERNET! TOO MUCH!

    But oooh so bright and shiny!

  29. The thing that bothers me is how all your text is perpetually centered.

    Ah. That wasn’t intentional, it was a misplaced tag in one of the sidebars. I didn’t even notice it because everything looked fine in Firefox and on my phone, but there it was in IE. Fixed now!

    Wondering if there’s any way you could put that pic of the Punisher punching the polar bear somewhere.

    One of the things that prompted the change in design was that I was getting increasingly leery of associating myself with someone else’s work. As disappointing as it is for all of us, I’m not Garth Ennis or Steve Dillon, nor have I succeeded in owning the original art for that page. Thus, Sol and Minxy. It’s still someone else’s work, but at least I told him to draw it.

    nothing leaps out of the screen and punches me in the face

    The comments I get, I’m trying really hard to get that into the next update.

  30. “(2) The fellow comic blogger links in the sidebar now take you to their pages in your tab, rather than opening a new tab or window for them, as they formerly did. I liked the “opened a new tab” feature – it let me use the ISB as a launching point to check out the comics blogosphere easily. Any chance of getting it back?”

    Center-click in any browser but IE. And who uses IE anymore? :P

  31. Late to the party with comments, but I just realized what it is I miss — those giant (Palatino?) numbers in the background of the comments. Classy and handy. RIP, giant numbers. You’ll live forever in memory.