Dear Faithful Beat readers: Those of you who have been with me for a while know that change is a constant. And today we’re announcing another change!

Two years ago, I entered a deal with Dave Steward II at Lion Forge to take the Beat to the next level. And we did!

As of February 1st, I’m excited to announce that the Beat will once again be independently owned and run by me. Dave and his Polarity team have been instrumental in their support for two years, and we’ve accomplished a lot of what we set out to do. But a new chapter is beginning.

Before you ask, yes the media landscape is a hellscape as only Hieronymous Bosch could imagine it, with broken websites and shattered platforms lying littered in a sulphur choked plane of volcanic ash filled with blood sucking ticks covered with the Facebook logo.

The Beat has always been…well, one of a kind. When I look back at my blogroll from when I started this, in the Golden Age of Blogging, I’m the only one still going. CBR, Newsarama and Comicbook.com have all changed hands. Bleeding Cool was many different things before Rich found his stable platform. Tom is no longer with us.

Maybe I’m stupid. Or stubborn. But there is one thing that keeps me going: The media landscape may be a hellscape, but the COMICS LANDSCAPE is better than ever.

And that’s why we’re sticking with it!

The Beat will continue on, reporting on comics and comics culture. There will be changes and adjustments, of course. And going indie means we’ll be looking for new financial partners and models, including crowdfunding. But one thing I’ve learned over the last few years is that The Beat isn’t just a website…it’s part of a community.

We’ll keep going as long as you want us to.

As I write this I’m literally about to hop on a plane (crazy timing, I know) and there will be (to quote my other media venture) more to come on all of this.

In the meantime, a huge thank you to Samantha Puc, our managing editor, who has been a collaborator in every sense, yin to my yang, filling in my gaps in knowledge, knowing how to actually keep a schedule, and instilling best practices that will see us through many a campaign. She is the best.

Thank you to Alex Lu, Kyle Pinion and Hannah Lodge for being with me all the way. They were all just kids when I met them and now they have their own media empires.

Thanks to Josh Hilgenberg for helping with everything. And our new social media editor, Randall Trang, who we never even talked about but he made a HUGE difference in the time he’s been here. Thank you, AJ Frost, for getting the newsletter out every week when you can get me to do it.

And thanks to Joe, Zack, Deanna, Avery, Chloe, Ricky, Cori, Taimur, Hussein, Arpad, Matt, John 7, Brandon, Andrea, Edie, Erica, Nancy, Ruth, Megan, Morganna, Phillippe, Nick, Louie, Billy, Greg, Aaron, George, Kay, Klaudia, Carolyn, Yael, Patrick, Jordan, Alex D, the Unsinkable Torsten…..and whoever I’m forgetting, which is a lot. They’re the best, as professionals and as colleagues.

And of course, thanks to Dave, Carl, Rick, Mike, Rachel, Terry and the rest of the Polarity team, for their support and guidance over the last two years. It’s been a blast! Now on to new adventures.

You can read the official press release below.

THE BEAT RETURNS TO INDEPENDENCE IN 2020

Comics Media Stalwart Emboldened Following Strategic Two Year Partnership Between Polarity CEO David Steward II and Founder Heidi MacDonald

In 2017, Polarity founder David Steward II acquired the original comic book blog turned influential voice in pop culture.The Beat. Following a limited partnership to provide additional resources and infrastructure,The Beat returns to its original independence under founder Heidi MacDonald in the new year.

“I’m incredibly grateful to Dave Steward and the Polarity team for their partnership these last two years” says The Beat founder Heidi MacDonald. “With this participation, The Beat was able to reach new heights and expand to cover the incredible diversity of the comics medium and the culture it inspires. Now I’m incredibly excited to take The Beat back and build on what we accomplished to become even more essential to readers and the industry.”

“Our partnership with Heidi and The Beat was intended to empower the site to reach new heights and grow the audience for inclusive comics coverage” says Polarity’s David Steward II. “Over these past few years, we have worked together to ensure she succeeded in that goal, and the site’s reputation as THE authoritative voice of our industry, presenting insider knowledge in a format that is welcoming to a broad audience. We wish Heidi continued success and prominence in the years to come.”

The Beat continues operations as normal under the vision of Heidi MacDonald, with daily coverage of the comic book and entertainment industry as a whole.

Heidi MacDonald is an award-winning editor and journalist who has been covering the comics industry for more than 20 years. As an editor at Disney and DC Comics, she edited such titles as The Lion King, Scooby Doo, Swamp Thing, and Y: The Last Man. She has spoken about comics and their culture around the world and cohosts Publishers Weekly’s graphic novel podcast More to Come.

Established in 2004, The Beat has been covering the world of comics, graphic novels, comic cons, and pop culture daily to an audience of both fans and industry influencers. It is a two-time nominee for the Will Eisner Award in the Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism category and the winner of the Shelf Dorf Award for Best Comics Blog. In 2017, The Beat was added to the Library of Congress’s historical archives.

About Polarity

Polarity is a diversified global media company founded in 2018, with a mission to bring authentic content to a diverse global audience. The name Polarity conveys opposing forces and a global perspective to build a captivating range of assets. To create a richer content experience and offering, we believe in the value of embracing diversity and highlighting opposing views and voices.