Another classic old time blogger has hung it up: Johnny Bacardi is folding up after five years. Bacardi was there at the beginning of the Blogging Explosion, and rode the wave:

Then, not long after I started, the Comics Blogosphere happened, and since I was reviewing and writing about comics as well as music, movies, sports and TV, I was kinda caught up in the groundswell and witnessed how it grew (for better or worse). I have been privileged to see the advent of a ton of great writers who have written either solo or as part of a collective, many of whom extended friendship and respect my way. Even though I kept writing about other things, eventually I decided to focus on comics at the expense of the other subjects, and that’s what I’ve featured here for quite some time now.

Bacardi cites several reasons for going to that great cache in the sky: not having much to say about comics today, a lack of link love. We can understand both–this is a tough gig, and you need to be motivated, God Knows — but we’re saddened nonetheless. Bacardi, aka David Jones, will continue to have a web presence with his LJ and a website devoted to the song stylings of Elton John.

So long, Johnny, and if you ever want to come back, we’ll be waiting for you.