mindpollution.org

In an article I wrote for ComicMix today, I describe my thoughts about April Fools Day on Internet and assemble an April Fools Day Round-Up for the masses:

When it comes to April Fools Day on the ‘Net, I’m not sure where I stand. On one hand, I’m endlessly entertained by the creativity various companies show in their efforts to pull the digital wool over readers’ eyes. It’s also an amazing promotional opportunity, providing websites that normally wouldn’t be players in the viral marketing scene a chance to flex their creative muscles and attract new readers.

On the other hand, however, it’s an editor’s worst nightmare. Every story is likely to be a hoax, and it’s damn near impossible to break any authentic news due to the inherent skepticism of online readers for a 24-hour period.

It’s a bit of a personal hell for me, too. Every year, I wake up on April 1 and remind myself that anything I read that day is probably an April Fools Day prank. And every year, I end up getting excited about a story anyways, only to realize that it was just another joke — more often than not, this happens after I go public with my excitement, adding to the embarassment. In the end, I’m reminded of Charlie Brown trying to kick that football time and time again, even though he ends up on his back in the dirt every time he makes the attempt. I feel his pain.

So this year, I’ve put together a list of some of the highlights from this year’s April Fools Day on the Interwebs. It’s nowhere near a complete list, just some of my personal favorites from the world of comics and comics culture, as well as a few notable non-comics pranks. Feel free to add your own to the ‘Mix (pun totally intended) by adding a link in the comment section at the end of this article.

The recent ruling involving the rights of Jerry Siegel’s Estate to the Superman character prompted a number of Superman-related pranks, including our own announcement that Superman’s adventures would soon be published here at ComicMix, with our own John Ostrander and Mike Grell handling the writing and art duties, respectively.

Oni Press got in on the fun with an announcement that they had acquired the domestic publishing rights to Superman, too. Their first issue of Superman was scheduled for an April 1, 2009, release. (We’re suing, by the way.)

Here at ComicMix, we couldn’t resist providing a few more April Fools Day moments, though, and posted a big scoop involving a merger between DC Direct and My Little Pony — with accompanying images our “secret source” came across during Toy Fair.

Head over to ComicMix for the rest of the merry prankster fun.