Oh God, is this a blog??

Graphic from The Many Loves of the Amazing Spider-Man #1. Penciled by Nick Dragotta and Michael Ryan

Alright, listen.

We-- well, I say "we", but in this instance, it's very much an "I"-- have been struggling with how to utilize this website to the fullest of it's capabilities. Sure, it acts as an archive to the Cape Swoosh Productions catalog (which ALL Y'ALL should go back and listen to, because there are some straight up gems in there). But what else can we do? What else do a bunch of creative and artistic nerds with a lot of incredible passion for the comic book industry have to say...

And then someone said "write some articles". And I went "oh no". And they went "oh yes".

Here's the thing: as much as I love writing, I consistently struggle with writing. Whenever I take the time to sit myself down in front of a keyboard/pen and paper/quill and parchment/cave wall and chiseling tool, I find myself immediately asking the eternal question of "what do I even say?" Or, perhaps more pertinent, "Is what I have to say even worth while?" Sure, I have opinions. Who doesn't. They aren't necessarily good opinions, or informed opinions, or hell, a lot of times they aren't particularly impassioned opinions, either. And when I do have a topic worth sharing, that elusive art of finding the right words to say remains eternally elusive, like Mips in the cellar of Peach's Castle in Super Mario 64...a horrendous reference that is lost on oh, so many people.

I often ask myself if my voice, my muddled thoughts, are worth platforming more than that of someone who either has a stronger voice, or perhaps doesn't have the same privilege or opportunity as I have to use my voice. We live in a world where a LOT of people have a LOT of important things to say, and I don't necessarily need to add my caterwauling to the void and drown them out.

Now...that I've said all of that, why the hell am I writing this anyway? Well, because I'm slowly but surely learning that I do, in fact, have a voice worth hearing. Because, apparently, people care what I have to say. Because I want to use this platform to raise the voices of the people who have given me so much of their time and talents, and in order to do that, I have to elevate myself as well. Because 2021 is the year we take steps forward, instead of digging our heels into the plateau.

So hello there, dear reader. My name is Jeremiah FH Doyle. I'm one of the co-founders of Cape Swoosh Productions. I'm a huge nerd who likes a lot of things and likes to make art whenever and however he can. I have weird taste, sometimes (read: oftentimes) I have terrible grammar, and I will guarantee you that any article you will read by me will have been rewritten no less than 14 times.

I'm here to talk about things I like, why I like them, and why it would be cool if you liked them too (but no pressure). I'm going to talk about I think some stories and media that I think are important, or good, or neither but worth consuming anyway. I'm going to reveal what's behind the cape at Cape Swoosh. I'm here to tell you my opinions about the big wide nerdy world out there, and how we can make it even bigger and better. But most importantly, I'm here to make a lot of terrible puns and analogies that literally only I, Jeremiah FH "Porkhands" Doyle, will find funny. And no, I won't be sorry about it.

So ready or not ('cause I'm still kinda not), here we go. Welcome to The Soapbox. I hope you brought your waders, because it's gonna get messy.

-J