POP! Is Coming to an End
Unfortunately, I have some very upsetting news. My good friends, Marc Sumerak and Jason "Jae" Fitch, have decided to end POP! The Comic Culture Club after a six-year-long run. Over the past few months, the two co-founders/moderators had noticed an influx of negativity that has created what they perceive as a hostile environment. As a result, the two have decided to pull the plug on the organization.
I've decided to copy the full announcement Marc made on POP!'s Facebook page earlier today:
Dear POP!Stars,
It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the end of POP!: THE COMIC CULTURE CLUB's Cleveland chapter meetings. With over a hundred meetings, our six-and-a-half year journey was an impressive run by any standards -- especially in a comic book industry known for relaunches every six issues!
We would like to thank the hundreds of members who have taken part in POP! meetings and discussions since we began this group in 2011. So many of you have made our Mondays brighter by keeping things positive and sharing the joy of what you love with your fellow fans. Not everyone understood or agreed with our core mission, but those who did helped to make POP! a very memorable and welcome group for all involved.
Over the course of POP!'s lifespan, we've seen lots of faces come and go, but we've also seen lots of friendships formed as people from completely different corners of Northeast Ohio who might never have met otherwise came together to bond over their mutual interests. We've been honored to participate in conventions, collect food and money for charity, and even spin-off a second chapter in Akron. It's been one epic adventure!
While the monthly live meetings in Cleveland have reached their conclusion, the POP! Facebook Group will remain open for the time being so that members can continue with us in our mission to share the LOVE of pop culture without any of the negativity found elsewhere online. More news about the future of the Akron POP! chapter will follow soon.
And even in our absence, we encourage you to keep POP!'s mission alive every day, going out into a culture of fandom filled with hate and venom armed with the most impressive super power of all -- positivity!
Thanks again for all of your support on this wild ride known as POP! We hope you got as much out of this group as we did... and, who knows, maybe someday we'll be back with a reboot... (Nothing ever stays dead in comics anyway...)
Peace, Love, and Comics,
Marc & Jae
While I'm sad to see the end of the group, I can understand the reasoning behind Marc's and Jae's decision. Hopefully in the future, another group will rise to fill the void left by the awesome pop culture discussion group. I wish both Marc and Jae the best in all their future endeavors, and I want to thank them for six years of fun and many great memories!
