Troy Brownfield
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Troy Brownfield is a journalist and college professor from Indiana. He has an extensive list of credits, but he's primarily known to the online community as a columnist for Newsarama and the creator/editor of ShotgunReviews.com. [1]
[edit] Journalism Background
Brownfield attended Indiana State University, where he eventually earned a Master's Degree in English with a focus in Creative Writing. While an undergraduate student, Brownfield wrote a number of items for ISU's Indiana Statesman, including a catch-all column called "My Opinion, Not Yours". This background led to Brownfield's invitation to join the now-defunct ComicKingdom.com; while working with that site, Brownfield created his "Shotgun Reviews" column, so-named because it covered a wide area of ideas and approaches with the overriding element of satirical humor.
In 1999, Brownfield created ShotgunReviews.com, a site intended to give young writers a place to sharpen their work. The site covers several facets of entertainment, and has featured a variety of long-running columns. Among the featured contributors have been Shawn Delaney (site webmaster and Music Editor), Jonathan Birdsong (Lyrical Lounge section editor), Russell Ray (wrestling columnist and one-time Managing Editor), L.I. Rapkin (Senior Writer), The Rev. OJ Flow (comic columnist), Corey Henson (wrestling columnist), Eric Barker (film critic), Matt McConnell (anime critic), Ian King (feature writer), and many more (including numerous members of Birdsong's hip-hop review crew).
Around the same time, Brownfield, who worked a day job in publishing, began aggressively pursuing print work. His articles have appeared in sources like The Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis Monthly, INTake Weekly, Street Miami magazine, Savant online, Comicon.com's The Pulse, Nuvo Newsweekly magazine, and more. He has also written nearly 100 features and reviews for Newtype USA magazine alone.
Brownfield eventually began contributing regularly to Newsarama. He presently edits and co-writes the Best Shots review feature, and writes the columns "Your Manga Minute" and "Super-Articulate". [2] In 2004, Brownfield accepted an appointment to the position of Assistant Professor in the Department of English, Journalism, and Languages at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, where he teaches journalism, English, communications and film. [3]
In July of 2006, Brownfield was announced as one of the first writing talents on board with the freshly minted Fangoria Comics, an offshoot imprint of the popular horror magazine. He is currently an Associate Editor for the line.
In addition to his journalism work, Brownfield has a strong reputation for providing live music events. Beginning when he was 19, Brownfield became the first student to independently organize a music festival on the campus of Indiana State.[citation needed] Some six festivals and 30+ smaller shows later, he decided to give that side of the business a rest.
Brownfield continued to work with and manage bands like Samsell. After moving to Indianapolis in the late '90s, he organized several shows for promotional packages and charity work. The ShotgunReviews.com site sponsored many of these endeavors. After the dissolution of Samsell, Brownfield has retired from promotion for the time being.
