Thanksgiving Hangover: What ComicsAlliance Readers and Writers Are Grateful For in Comics

As we recover from our hangovers, both turkey and otherwise, here's are a few thoughts on what ComicsAlliance writers -- and readers -- are thankful for this year in the world of comics.

Caleb Goellner: I've got a lot to be thankful for this year. I've got an awesome wife, a cute pug and a fun job I really dig. I also get to play a small part in forcing Chris Sims to review movies like Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Twilight: Breaking Dawn from time to time. Over the past year I've gotten to report from multiple conventions, plus work to create a lot of fun original content with people I'm proud to call my co-workers and freelancers. This is in no small part, due to the support of our readers, who -- when they aren't calling us hipsters (and sometimes when they are) -- tend to be wonderfully supportive. To celebrate this metaphorical pile of thankfulness, I'm going to eat too much food and probably Tweet some serious nonsense throughout the weekend while I play the new Zelda or Batman games. Wouldn't it be cool if we lived in a world where I could've written "Zelda and/or Batman game?" If we can dream it, maybe the videogame wizards will DO it?!

Chris Sims: I'm thankful that Laura Hudson couldn't figure out a reason for me to go see Jack and Jill.

David Uzumeri: I'm thankful for Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato's Flash for making me not lose all faith in the idea of an artist trying his or her hand at writing in Big Two superhero comics. I'm thankful for Jonathan Hickman and Grant Morrison for always making me think, and making earlier issues eminently rereadable in light of later events. I'm thankful for Greg Rucka coming back with Punisher. I'm thankful for the near-perfection that is Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin on Daredevil. And for the fact that I can now read an issue of Daredevil without losing hope in humanity's essential goodness.

Chris Murphy: I'm thankful for the improving state of digital comics. Having moved from small apartment to small apartment several times over the past few years, being able to reduce the number of comics I need to transport and store to only a few books that I want a physical copy of has become increasingly appealing... a time when digital releases are almost all same day is within sight. While a price point the same as a physical copy is still not something I'm pleased with, regular discounts on comics offered by many digital retailers help counter that concern. And the lower prices that have been offered on some collections, like the full volumes of Atomic Robo or this year's limited time deal on the complete Planetary Omnibus, are more steps in the right direction. I'm thankful for the opportunities that the digital marketplace continue to offer to smaller publishers who no longer have to worry about the cost of a print run, and I'm hopeful that in the years to come we could see a flourishing of independent comics creators facilitated by the digital marketplace in the same way that independent video game developers have flourished thanks to digital storefronts for games.

Laura Hudson: I'm thankful that when people ask me what I do, I get to give the insane answer of "professional comics blogger." I'm grateful to all of the people who have showed their support for the site either publicly or privately, and especially to the readers who come back day after day and find value in what we do (at least most of the time). I've grateful literally every day for my editors, the incredibly hard-working Caleb Goellner and Andy Khouri. It's easy to take for granted how good they are at their jobs and what a finely oiled machine we have become, but I hope everyone recognizes what a huge role they playing in making this site possible. As much as I like torturing him with terrible movies, I'm thankful for the hilarious, thoughtful articles that Chris Sims writes with unnerving regularity, and for a staff of freelance writers I'm proud to know and publish. Most of all, I'm thankful that sometimes when I write things that mean something to me, and I find out they also mean something to a lot of other people. I'm thankful for all the supportive e-mails I've received from readers and creators and strangers, even the ones I never answered, because I read them all and they all meant something to me. Oh, and I'm thankful Achewood came back. It's about time.

What are YOU thankful for?