The past two years I've posted a top 10 geek out highlights of the past year, to be honest this year I'm not sure if I have 10 highlights for 2013 so I will just talk about the things that piqued my interest in 2013.
Thought Bubble Comic Con:
This is a double-edged sword for me as we decided to skip visiting the con on Saturday and went on the Sunday, while it was still good it was a lot more quite and as a consequence it lost some of the punch of the Saturday show. Now don't get me wrong its still a great con but I love the hustle and bustle that comes with the first day, the coz players are everywhere and there is a whole buzz about the place, Sunday felt more like a lazy hangover day which for many it was. On the plus side the convention gave me a chance to meet Martin Gray and Steven Robertson two Facebook friends who I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting before, Martin was the person I reached out to for advice when I first hit on the idea of doing a blog. Martin runs the fantastic blog Too Dangerous For A Girl which if you haven't read then hit the link and get reading, after you've finished this blog of course.
Scott Snyder:
Scott is writing some great books at the moment so its hard to single out any individual storylines, in 2013 he manage to make the Joker creepy and scary again, his Batman Year Zero is making the origin of Batman interesting something I didn't think could be done again. His Superman Unchained is a hark back to the Superman I loved as a kid, he made Swamp Thing a must read book every month and his horror mini series The Wake which is simply spectacular, so not a bad year for Mr Snyder.
Marvel Movies
Yes I know the films that marvel put out weren't as good as the Avengers film but in all honesty they never could be, Iron Man was still better than Iron Man 1 or 2. The Wolverine was better than the first Wolverine film and the link to the upcoming X-Men Days of Future Past made this x-men fan geek out. I still haven't got to see Thor the Dark World yet but I have it on DVD order so I will get to see it at some point this year, but all the reviews I read were positive so Marvel still seem to be going in the right direction with their films.
TV Shows:
There were a few surprises for me in the world of cult TV last year, Sleepy Hollow was far better than I thought it would be, after initially giving it a shot its now become must see TV. American Horror was back to its best with The Coven which saw Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett and Kathy Bates on particular fine acting form throughout the series, Walking Dead was as good as ever and just when you think a character is established they kill them off. Arrow came back stronger in its second series and seems to be heading down the Superhero road now rather than the vigilante one, the introduction of the Flash was a particular favourite episode of mine from the first half of the season.
Doctor Who:
Unless you have been living under a rock you cant have helped notice that a certain cult British show turned 50 last year, its hard to imagine that the show I watched as a child in the 60's is still running and is more popular now than it has ever been. The 50th celebration episode that was shown simultaneously around the world and in cinemas was simply perfect, it had all the nods for the fan boys like myself while still been entertaining enough for the new or casual viewers. Matt Smith who has become one of my favourite Doctors was on top form as was the returning David Tennant, a special mention has to go to John Hurt who played the Doctor no one knew and played the part like he had been playing him all his life. The only downside to the whole 50th celebration night was we had the misfortune to watch the after party on BBC 3, which is best described as car crash television at its worst. Whoever thought that linking up with One Direction in the States was a good idea, should be marched out and left in a field full of Weeping Angels, if you watch the show you will understand.
Comics:
Having spoke about comics earlier in the Scott Snyder section I will give his books a miss here, but other ones that I enjoyed in 2014 included. The Rocketeer books there were several mini series throughout the year with the Spirit cross-over been particularly good, Five Ghosts is a great read and should be checked out as is Injustice Gods Among Us which for a book based on a game is surprisingly good. Earth 2 is still one of the top DC books and its good to see that the X-Men books are also providing some great stories once again, with the pick of the x-books been New X-Men, although I have to say I'm not keen on the younger Jean Gray who seems a bit winey for my liking.
Books:
I read some great books last year both on the Kindle and hand held ones (I don't know what else to call them), either way the type of books I am now reading has widened considerably mainly due to been able to contact and talk with some of the authors. Some of the books I really enjoyed were Deadly Games and Evil Ways both by the award winning author Bobby Nash, they are so good I have them on Kindle and hand held. The Ruby Files an anthology about a New York private eye in the 30's with story's from Andrew Salmon, Bobby Nash, William Patrick Maynard and Sean Taylor. Project Alpha and Hugh Moon by Lee Houston Jr, and Domino Lady: Sex as a Weapon by Nancy Holder. They are all great books and these guys have so many more that I will be checking out this year so do yourself a favour check them out as well.
Disappointment's in 2013:
Well there have been a few Matt Smith leaving Doctor Who, the Dome TV show (a second series really), however all of those pale into insignificance against my biggest disappointment, Kick Starter. I backed my first project last year it was by a reputable artist, an artist whose work I enjoy, well despite the book been launched I'm still waiting to receive my copy and I'm not holding out too much hope. If I wanted too I can now buy the book I backed on Amazon or some other online store, so I could have just waited for it to be backed and released, oh well lesson learned no more Kick Starter projects for me.
Thought Bubble Comic Con:
This is a double-edged sword for me as we decided to skip visiting the con on Saturday and went on the Sunday, while it was still good it was a lot more quite and as a consequence it lost some of the punch of the Saturday show. Now don't get me wrong its still a great con but I love the hustle and bustle that comes with the first day, the coz players are everywhere and there is a whole buzz about the place, Sunday felt more like a lazy hangover day which for many it was. On the plus side the convention gave me a chance to meet Martin Gray and Steven Robertson two Facebook friends who I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting before, Martin was the person I reached out to for advice when I first hit on the idea of doing a blog. Martin runs the fantastic blog Too Dangerous For A Girl which if you haven't read then hit the link and get reading, after you've finished this blog of course.
Scott Snyder:
Scott is writing some great books at the moment so its hard to single out any individual storylines, in 2013 he manage to make the Joker creepy and scary again, his Batman Year Zero is making the origin of Batman interesting something I didn't think could be done again. His Superman Unchained is a hark back to the Superman I loved as a kid, he made Swamp Thing a must read book every month and his horror mini series The Wake which is simply spectacular, so not a bad year for Mr Snyder.
Marvel Movies
Yes I know the films that marvel put out weren't as good as the Avengers film but in all honesty they never could be, Iron Man was still better than Iron Man 1 or 2. The Wolverine was better than the first Wolverine film and the link to the upcoming X-Men Days of Future Past made this x-men fan geek out. I still haven't got to see Thor the Dark World yet but I have it on DVD order so I will get to see it at some point this year, but all the reviews I read were positive so Marvel still seem to be going in the right direction with their films.
TV Shows:
There were a few surprises for me in the world of cult TV last year, Sleepy Hollow was far better than I thought it would be, after initially giving it a shot its now become must see TV. American Horror was back to its best with The Coven which saw Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett and Kathy Bates on particular fine acting form throughout the series, Walking Dead was as good as ever and just when you think a character is established they kill them off. Arrow came back stronger in its second series and seems to be heading down the Superhero road now rather than the vigilante one, the introduction of the Flash was a particular favourite episode of mine from the first half of the season.
Doctor Who:
Unless you have been living under a rock you cant have helped notice that a certain cult British show turned 50 last year, its hard to imagine that the show I watched as a child in the 60's is still running and is more popular now than it has ever been. The 50th celebration episode that was shown simultaneously around the world and in cinemas was simply perfect, it had all the nods for the fan boys like myself while still been entertaining enough for the new or casual viewers. Matt Smith who has become one of my favourite Doctors was on top form as was the returning David Tennant, a special mention has to go to John Hurt who played the Doctor no one knew and played the part like he had been playing him all his life. The only downside to the whole 50th celebration night was we had the misfortune to watch the after party on BBC 3, which is best described as car crash television at its worst. Whoever thought that linking up with One Direction in the States was a good idea, should be marched out and left in a field full of Weeping Angels, if you watch the show you will understand.
Comics:
Having spoke about comics earlier in the Scott Snyder section I will give his books a miss here, but other ones that I enjoyed in 2014 included. The Rocketeer books there were several mini series throughout the year with the Spirit cross-over been particularly good, Five Ghosts is a great read and should be checked out as is Injustice Gods Among Us which for a book based on a game is surprisingly good. Earth 2 is still one of the top DC books and its good to see that the X-Men books are also providing some great stories once again, with the pick of the x-books been New X-Men, although I have to say I'm not keen on the younger Jean Gray who seems a bit winey for my liking.
Books:
I read some great books last year both on the Kindle and hand held ones (I don't know what else to call them), either way the type of books I am now reading has widened considerably mainly due to been able to contact and talk with some of the authors. Some of the books I really enjoyed were Deadly Games and Evil Ways both by the award winning author Bobby Nash, they are so good I have them on Kindle and hand held. The Ruby Files an anthology about a New York private eye in the 30's with story's from Andrew Salmon, Bobby Nash, William Patrick Maynard and Sean Taylor. Project Alpha and Hugh Moon by Lee Houston Jr, and Domino Lady: Sex as a Weapon by Nancy Holder. They are all great books and these guys have so many more that I will be checking out this year so do yourself a favour check them out as well.
Disappointment's in 2013:
Well there have been a few Matt Smith leaving Doctor Who, the Dome TV show (a second series really), however all of those pale into insignificance against my biggest disappointment, Kick Starter. I backed my first project last year it was by a reputable artist, an artist whose work I enjoy, well despite the book been launched I'm still waiting to receive my copy and I'm not holding out too much hope. If I wanted too I can now buy the book I backed on Amazon or some other online store, so I could have just waited for it to be backed and released, oh well lesson learned no more Kick Starter projects for me.
