Favorite Comics 2015

This is the year that I really got into comics again; for once I'm reading stuff as it actually comes out.  Not all of the series here started in 2015 but all were still coming out or finished in 2015.


10. Batgirl- Cameron Stewart and Babs Tarr


Just an all around fun series; Tarr's art is playful and, best of all, most issues contain self-contained stories.

9. Howard The Duck- Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones

Zdarsky is one of the funniest guys working in comics today and the second issue of the re-launch nearly brought tears to my eyes. Talk about range! I'm looking forward to watching this series evolve.

8. Sex Criminals- Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky

Suprisingly less dirty than you think! The premise is just the hook to bring you into what is actually just a  very well written story about men, women, and relationships. Beautiful art from Zdarsky.

7. Southern Bastards- Jason Aaron and Jason Latour

Imagine the The Sopranos meets Friday Night Lights with a bit of Sons of Anarchy thrown in and you might come up with something like Aaron and Latour's southern fried noir about a football coach who is the kingpin of crime in a rural southern town.


6. Unbeatable Squirrel Girl- Ryan North, Erica Henderson, Rico Renzi

So much good!  My favorite thing about this series is that each issue actually takes 30 minutes to read (granted a good 5 of that is North's fine print comments on the bottom of each page... but still).  It's light-hearted, fun for the whole family that is smart and entertaining enough for grown-ups as well.

5. Spider-Gwen- Jason Latour, Robbie Rodriguez, Rico Renzi

Latour and Rodriguez turn the Spider-Man mythos on its head by having Gwen Stacy (arguably the first woman in a refridgerator) get bit in by the spider, transforming her from damsel in distress into the hero of the series.

4. Batman- Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo

This might be the best thing ever done with Batman in his monthly series.  4 years and this series is still going strong but this year saw, not only the finale to the brilliant Endgame (arguably the best Batman/Joker showdown ever done) but the current story arc with a very different version of Batman with Jim Gordon under the cowl.

3. Hawkeye- Matt Fraction/David Aja



Bottom line the best thing in Superhero comics over the last few years.  Beautiful art, brilliant, creative story-telling that maximizes the power of the comics medium.

2. Casanova- Matt Fraction, Fabio Moon, Gabriel Ba

I finally got around to reading this series this year and, fortunately, it was just in time for the latest volume.  Fraction is the Tarantino of comics; a mash-up artist of influence and style (and with taste closer to my own no less!).




1. Saga- Brian K. Vaughn/Fiona Staples

It's like nothing else out there--- not just comics, but anywhere! No TV show or movie is doing anything like this.  I seriously can't even begin to explain this series--- just read it!

Favorite Movies 2015

I saw depressingly few movies this year and a lot of the one's I really want to see are coming out as part of the 'Oscar Crowd' in the next couple of weeks (and most of those don't fall under the 'geeky' banner anyway) so here's the best of what I did see.

10. It Follows- The best horror movie I've seen in a while (granted I don't watch a lot); one of the more original and disturbing premises though.

9. The Martian- This comes in so low because of how disappointed I was with it.  I'm not typically a "the book was better" person but, in this case, 'the book was better'



8. Vacation- Again, I didn't see a lot of movies this year--- but this one made me laugh the most.  I saw it the same day as Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and I enjoyed this one much more.

7. Spectre- (SPOILERS)Not as solid as Skyfall and it drags a bit in places but Christoph Waltz as Blofeld was a brilliant choice.

6. Trainwreck- It is basically the same old romantic comedy where the person who refuses to settle down finally meets someone they want to settle down with--- only in this case, it's the woman who doesn't want to settle down. Which, in it's own quiet way, is kind of revolutionary.

5. Inside Out- Pixar delivers its most inventive tale yet.



4. Avengers: Age of Ultron- Kind of a mess, but still stunning visually with jump-off-the-panel action sequences.

3. Ant-Man- More than any of the Marvel movies that have been produced under Disney's ownership, this feels the most like a 'Disney' movie (I mean the old school live action ones--- Magical World of Disney)--- and I don't mean that in a bad way at all.  It's not doing anything original in terms of it's structure but sometimes the reason a formula is a formula is because it works.

2. Mad Max: Fury Road- It's amazing how entertaining seeing people drive one way and then turn around and drive the other can be in the right hands.  It's basically a 2 hour car chase that doubles as a critique of hypermasculinity that embraces feminism.  Not what you'd expect of a summer blockbuster of this type but--- there you go!



1. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens - The biggest complaint people seem to have about the movie was that it 'unique enough' but, given what we went through with the prequels, we needed reassurance that we were back in the world that we loved and that it was in good hands.  Also, when you consider everything they had to accomplish (set up new characters with unique story-arcs and motivations, re-introduce old characters, reacclimate us to a changed galaxy) this could have very easily have been a gigantic mess--- instead it's the best movie of it's kind (sorry Guardians of the Galaxy--- you were great--- but Star Wars is my BAE) since The Empire Strikes Back. 

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

The first thing I have to say about this movie is that I loved it--- every second of it.  This is what a Star Wars movie should be.  What I find amazing is how the plot is essentially the same as the original Star Wars (I'm an OG--- I don't call it A New Hope) and, yet, it still all seems so fresh.  But all the elements are there:  cute, MacGuffin-carrying droid on the run from bad guys, peasant character with more power than they know finds and helps droid, older mentor figure, gigantic world destroying weapon, "Hail Mary" assault to destroy weapon.

Grant Morrison once said that whenever a comic book writer/artist does a run on an established franchise they are essentially doing a "cover" version of what others have done before (For example, everybody that does a run writing Batman does a Batman Vs Joker story). What makes The Force Awakens fresh is how it finds unique riffs to play within the same old melody. One of the more subtle shifts is, whereas Luke Skywalker longed for a destiny greater than that of a farm boy, Rey and Finn are both, in their own way, running away from adventure and excitement (a Jedi craves not these things!).  While Luke ran towards his destiny headlong into to those twin suns, they find themselves rather reluctantly drawn towards theirs.

Also, the old mentor figure?  The New Ob-Wan? It's Han Solo! This was a brilliant decision to play against expectations and is far more appropriate for a 70-something Ford to be tackling. How sad would Ford be if he tried to be the same old arrogant, nerf-herder? They give the character real weight (don't worry,he's still a scoundrel--- but he's a bit wiser and, in many ways, a very different person from the man he used to be).

Speaking of weight, this probably carries the most emotional weight of any Star Wars film to date (successfully, at least--- Episode III should have been this powerful but was held back from doing so by a mediocre script and wooden acting).  I don't want to spoil too much--- but It's something most people have been guessing at anyway.  But the moment is fully deserved and accomplishes what it needs to in the film.

Lastly, on a lighter note--- it's funny! It's probably the most legitimately witty of all the Star Wars films!  It plays with the audiences own knowledge of the franchise in a winking way which doesn't endanger the film's suspension of disbelief (a tough trick if you think about it).  The story's more meta-textual elements are made possible by the fact that, to Rey and Finn, the events and characters depicted in those films are just as much a legend to them as they are to us--- and it works!

The Force Awakens is easily the best in the series since The Empire Strikes Back and, in time, it may even be viewed as an equal to that film, the best in the series and my all-time favorite movie.

Favorite TV 2015

Supergirl-  A lot of fun. Not too deep but a promising step in the right direction for female supercharacters.

Agents of SHIELD- I'm not a fan of this more cynical, damaged Coulson (wasn't part of the reason Fury picked him to be in charge the fact that he wasn't cynical?)--- hopefully, this is just a character Arc and he'll emerge as an older, wiser version of his old self.

Parks and Rec- I was wondering how the show could possibly top last seasons finale in terms of making a graceful exit but the final seasons entire premise of jumping ahead 3 years made it work brilliantly.

Game of Thrones- Perhaps not a strong as last season but the show has actually made it past the books in some respects of the story so that made some revelations from this season particularly noteworthy.

The Flash- This is my Junk Food.  It's not breaking new ground like Daredevil and Jessica Jones but it's still fun with tons of fanboy moments this season.

Master of None- Aziz Ansari's brilliant new show is funny and sweet and picks up where his wonderful book, Modern Romance leaves off.





Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt- My favorite new comedy, hands down!  How can you not totally crush on Ellie Kemper? It's exactly like 30 Rock except for the plot, story, and characters (this makes more sense than you might think; trust me).  The same razor-sharp wit and fast and furious punchlines. The most quotable show of the year. "Troll the respawn, Jeremy!"

Daredevil- Yes! This! Finally something to wash the taste of that terrible movie out of my mouth! This is Matt Murdock as he should be portrayed--- dark, gritty, and the most tortured hero of the Marvel Universe (cinematic or otherwise). Kudos for everyone for nailing the show and making it what it should be: a gritty crime noir in which the Wilson Fisk is portrayed with just as much complexity as Daredevil. D'Onofrio's Kingpin is terrifying; a big (but not green) rage monster that makes the Hulk look zen by comparison. Also: Scott Glenn as Stick? Brilliant!

Better Call Saul - For a spin off of what might be the greatest television drama of all time that started as a joke on that show's DVD commentaries, Saul far exceeds expectations on every level. Odenkirk gives his greatest performance ever and is supported by an all around stellar supporting cast including Michael McKean and Jonathan Banks reprising his (now twice Emmy nominated) role as Mike Ehrmantraut. Time will tell whether it will reach the same level of greatness as Breaking Bad but, if not, thus far it's still pretty great in its own right.







Jessica Jones- Yes! This!  If Daredevil was the first prestige-difficult-man-as-superhero-drama then Jessica Jones has at last given us the 'Difficult Woman' version of that and actually surpassed that show in terms of overall quality (not an easy thing to do when you consider how great Daredevil already was).  It serves as a bookend to Supergirl's rose colored 'girl power' take on superheroines. The women on this show are still strong but they're also flawed--- an important part of making a character truly relatable and compelling for the audience.  On top of all of that, it tackles some of the most difficult of women's issues without preaching to the audience.  David Tennant's Kilgrave is the most terrifying villain to emerge from the MCU yet---- not easy to do when you consider D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk set a pretty high standard.

Favorite Music 2015

10. Star Wars - Wilco-  I don't think it's one of their best by any means, but, considering I got it for free, I can't complain about the price.

9. No Cities to Love- Sleater-Kinney- 90's Riot Grrrls come roaring back without losing any of their ferocity.

8. 25 - Adele- At first, I thought it had one to many ballads--- but then I realized complaining about too many ballads on an Adele album is like complaining about to many sweet riffs on an AC/DC album....

7. Tetsuo and Youth - Lupe Fiasco- not as solid as Food Liquor II but perhaps Fiasco's trippiest
release yet.

6. A Head Full of Dreams- Coldplay- A welcome uptempo return after the plodding, low-key Ghost Stories (an album which seemed play into every naysayers perception of Coldplay that I almost felt they were trolling everyone); It's their strongest since Viva La Vida!

5. Kauai- Childish Gambino- Technically this came out late last year but I didn't get it until early this year, Donald Glover keeps getting better in his musical alter ego.

4.Dodge and Burn - The Dead Weather- I'm a fan of anything Jack White does; this might be his most diverse set with The Dead Weather: Key Track: closing torch song "Impossible Winner"

3. To Pimp a Butterfly- Kendrick Lamar- I am just now getting into him but Lamar has more depth and lyricism than pretty much any rapper since Nas.

2. What A Terrible World, What a Beautiful World- The Decemberist- this is the first release by the band that I purchased immediately upon release.  Old school fans may decry it's not "as good as their earlier stuff" but, screw that, it's their most accessible batch yet.

1. 1989- Ryan Adams- I would like to emphasize that, once again, this is MY PERSONAL FAVORITES not an objective best of list (To Pimp a Butterfly is obviously of a far greater cultural importance) and this was the album I most enjoyed this year.  Adams turns dance-pop into acoustic ballads and reveals their underlying sorrow and turns "Style" into a U2-ish anthem.  Plus, I love the rewrite of the lyrics to "You got that daydream nation look in your eyes"

So, life happens....

So, just after I recommitted to writing more post, I agreed to teach 6 classes with 3 plans--- so it goes! In any case, next semester I'm only teaching 4 courses (one of which is online) so, hopefully, I'll be a little less busy, but I'll try to start geeking out some more and soon!