Newsarama

• 1. Origins And Evolution

  ›

  In mid-1995, a fan named Mike Doran began posting news items on the Prodigy comic book message boards. These early posts shared information found across the World Wide Web and were titled "Prodigy Comic Book Newswire." By January 1997, Doran moved his column to Usenet's rec.arts.comics communities under the name The Comics Newswire. The title evolved through several iterations including CBI Newsarama before settling as Newsarama in 1998 with help from co-creator Matt Brady. That same year, Doran broke the story of Jim Lee selling WildStorm to DC Comics. This exclusive report established Newsarama as a major source for industry news. The site became one of the first online news sources dedicated to the comic book industry. It gained popularity by breaking stories faster than printed publications could publish them. Early versions of the column reported both confirmed news and unverified rumors.

• 2. Ownership Transitions

  ›

  Newsarama was acquired by Imaginova in October 2007. Three months later, the site left the ViewAskew.com network and became independent in early April 2006. In October 2009, TopTenREVIEWS acquired Newsarama alongside Space.com and Live Science. After this acquisition, TopTenREVIEWS rebranded itself as TechMedia Network. The company changed its name again to Purch Group in April 2014. Purch's consumer brands were acquired by Future US in July 2018. These corporate shifts marked significant changes in how the website operated. Each transition brought new management structures and ownership priorities. The site remained under various parent companies while maintaining its core focus on comic book journalism.

• 3. Editorial Conflicts

  ›

  Writers soon became unhappy with Imaginova when they relaunched the website without notifying staff. A promised raise fell through which caused those who contributed to Blog@Newsarama to quit en masse in November 2008. A new team of contributors were brought on a month later. Brady left the site in July 2009 leaving Doran and Lucas Siegel to run operations. Siegel took the position of Site Editor during this turbulent period. Staff departures continued as the site navigated multiple ownership changes. Internal disputes arose from the lack of communication regarding editorial direction. The instability affected long-term contributor relationships and content consistency.

• 4. Industry Recognition

  ›

  The site received an Eagle Award nomination for Favorite Comics-Related Website in 1999. It earned another nomination for Favourite Comics-Related Website in 2000. Newsarama won the 2004 Eagle Award for Favorite Comics E-Zine. An additional nomination followed in 2005 for Favourite Comics-Related Website. The publication won the 2006 Eagle Award for Favorite Comics-Related Website. Another nomination appeared in 2007 for Favorite Comics Related Website. In 2008, the site received an Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism. The Tripwire Award recognized the work with nominations starting in 2019. Newsarama won the 2020 Tripwire Award for Best Comics-related Website/Publication. Further nominations occurred in 2021 and 2022 for Best Comics-Related Website/Publications. These accolades highlighted the site's influence within the comic book community.

• 5. Journalistic Criticism

  ›

  In November 2005, Michael Dean wrote a study of Internet comic book industry news sources in The Comics Journal. He evaluated Newsarama's journalistic performance and found mixed results. Dean praised the depth of coverage provided in some articles but criticized reliance on press releases. He also noted the "softness" of questions asked during interviews. One story titled "Diamond Changes Thresholds" by Matt Brady contained factual inaccuracies according to Dean. The piece failed to get multiple points of view and sucked up to its corporate subject. At WonderCon 2008, Bill Willingham revealed information about his Fables series that he asked journalists not to report. Graeme McMillan representing Newsarama agreed to leave the information out of his transcript. Fans criticized the website's reporting after this incident. Critics raised concerns about factual accuracy and editorial independence throughout the years.

• 6. Content Expansion

  ›

  Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada contributed a weekly column called "Joe Fridays." This column renamed itself "New Joe Fridays" in 2006 as a joke regarding Marvel's relaunching habits. The column moved to MySpace as "My Cup O' Joe" when it shut down its comic book division in 2009. Spider-Man editor Stephen Wacker wrote for the "Weekly Webbing" Q&A column. Former DC Comics editor Michael Siglain contributed the weekly "5.2 About 52" Q&A column covering the series 52. DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio participated in bi-weekly and weekly columns focusing on Countdown. Regular features included "Animated Shorts" by Steve Fritz and "Write or Wrong" by Dirk Manning. Alan Kistler wrote "Agent of S.T.Y.L.E." covering costume evolution for different characters. Troy Brownfield contributed multiple columns including "Right to Assemble" and "Column . . . for JUSTICE." The site also ran Post Game columns offering coverage of genre-related television programs like Lost and Smallville.

• 7. Merger And Archive Loss

  ›

  In June 2020, Newsarama stopped being a standalone site and became part of GamesRadar+. Both brands were owned by Future US during this transition period. Most of the website's archives were erased during the integration process. Long-time contributor Chris Arrant left in February 2022 to become editor-in-chief of ReedPOP. On the 2nd of February 2023, it was announced that Doran had left Newsarama and GamesRadar+. The closure of talk@Newsarama occurred in 2010 when readers were redirected to comment on Facebook. Blog@Newsarama was discontinued in 2013 after Graeme McMillan moved to The Hollywood Reporter. These changes marked the end of an era for independent comic book journalism online. The merger represented a significant shift in how the content would be presented moving forward.