James and I will be recording the Yearly Comics Spotlight #018 episode in late Janaury 2025 covering comics released in 2024. This is partially due to me getting my books shipped monthly and needing a little time to read them after I get them.
The categories this year are consolidated this year.
When listing creators, it really helps if you include some of the titles that influenced your pick. For example, "FirstName LastName (Event title, Monthly title, obscure title)" is much more informative than just putting "FirstName LastName".
Likewise, when listing titles it helps to list the publisher, writer and artist. There are a ton of comics and creators out there. We don't know all of the creators on all of the titles and we can't always remember these ones we do know.
If you want to pick older material, please give an indication of when that material was originally published and which collected edition you are referring to. Feel free to give a brief explanation of why you selected your pick. That might onvince someone else to check it out.
Fill in as many categories below as you want. If you don't have a pick for some, that is fine. Just leave the square brackets empty.
An automated process will be compiling the notes we use for the episode using the square brackets as the delimiters for your responses.
Copy the text below and put your answers inside the square brackets.
You:
What should we call you when reading your picks? []
Comics:
Favorite Comics/Collected Editions (Series/Story Arc or Single Issue): []
Favorite Creator (Writer/Artist/etc): []
Favorite Publisher: []
What changes do you think the publishers should make to the line up? (What should they stop publishing, start publishing or otherwise change?) []
2024:
Favorite Comic Movie/Television Show/Book/Video Game: []
What did you think was the biggest news story/highlight of the year for comics? []
How would you sum up this past year for the Decade in Review? []
Prediction for next year: []
Comic Book Page podcast:
What has been your favorite Comic Book Page episode and why? []
How do you participate in the Comic Book Page community (Slack/forum/Previews Spotlight/book club/other)? What would encourage you to participate more? []
What suggestions do you have for the Comic Book Page podcast? []
Additional Comments? []
Please have your entries in by 9am the morning of Monday, January 27th, 2025. Thanks for participating!
Yearly Comics Spotlight #18: 2024 (Deadline: Mon 9AM Janaury 27, 2025)
Moderator: JohnMayo
-
NicksPicks
- Reviewer
- Posts: 128
- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 9:25 am
Re: Yearly Comics Spotlight #18: 2024 (Deadline: Mon 9AM Janaury 27, 2025)
I'll be updating this as a work in progress over the next month.
You:
What should we call you when reading your picks? [Nick's Picks]
Comics:
Favorite Comics/Collected Editions (Series/Story Arc or Single Issue): [Favorite collected edition for sure had to be "Frank Johnson, Secret Pioneer of American Comics Vol. 1" from Fantagraphics. His story is too much to go into here, but basically this guy wrote and drew his own comics in notebooks that date back at least to his late teenage years in the 1920s. The stories were ongoing and covered over 2300 pages that survived and were found by family members after his death. The art basically is fully formed from the start, his jokes are witty, and the presentation in the book is excellent. Fantagraphics presents it as "an alternative secret history of the comics medium."
My favorite ongoing series was " Detective Comics from writer Ram V and team. The best way I can sum up each issue is "moody." It was a slow burn, but the art and story had a mystic quality that I just didn't get from anything this year. And the artists in both the main and backup series were top notch. Maybe the most direct comparison I can make is with Spawn. You don't always know what's going on, but you feel transported into a different world reading it. The All In creative team of Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin has also been good so far.]
Favorite Creator (Writer/Artist/etc): [Bilquis Evely (artist on Helen of Wyndhorn at Dark Horse).]
Favorite Publisher: [DC, of course. I can't quit them so long as they publish Batman and Superman. And their art styles always resonate with me. Bright spots this year included Javier Rodriguez on Zatanna, Dan Mora on World's Finest, Bruno Redondo on Nightwing, and Chris Samnee on Batman and Robin Year One.]
What changes do you think the publishers should make to the line up? (What should they stop publishing, start publishing or otherwise change?) [I wish the Big Two would streamline their lines instead of fracturing their bases. Why are there two different Batman and Robin series ongoing, or why do we need both an Amazing Spider-Man and Ultimate Spider-Man ongoing? Sales for sure, but it's hard even for this experienced reader to follow along. Otherwise, I feel all the publishers are providing excellent variety. Even the Indy output is feeling less like Hollywood pitches these days. I will reiterate that Archie needs an ongoing series, even if it's trade paperbacks. How hard is it to sell teen drama considering all the manga crowd? And First Second never followed up with volumes 5 and 6 of the Castle in the Stars series. We need some publisher to continue the English translations of this French series from Alex Alice.]
2024:
Favorite Comic Movie/Television Show/Book/Video Game: [I have had a lot of fun binge watching the whole Superman & Lois show. Still have to watch the current season, but that series just concluded in December 2024. It was charming and engaging, and it was fun to see each member of the married-with-children Superman family get their own storylines.]
What did you think was the biggest news story/highlight of the year for comics? [The tragic loss of comic book creator and YouTuber Ed Piskor was the worst big news of 2024. Love your friends, listen to the hurt, and read more comics.]
How would you sum up this past year for the Decade in Review? [Independent comic book publishers found success in appealing to 80s and 90s nostalgia, with big hits like G.I. Joe and small hits like Grommets finding their way into the conversation this year. The Big Two took a decidedly more "what if" type approach to shake up the event fatigue.]
Prediction for next year: []
Comic Book Page podcast:
What has been your favorite Comic Book Page episode and why? []
How do you participate in the Comic Book Page community (Slack/forum/Previews Spotlight/book club/other)? What would encourage you to participate more? []
What suggestions do you have for the Comic Book Page podcast? []
Additional Comments? []
You:
What should we call you when reading your picks? [Nick's Picks]
Comics:
Favorite Comics/Collected Editions (Series/Story Arc or Single Issue): [Favorite collected edition for sure had to be "Frank Johnson, Secret Pioneer of American Comics Vol. 1" from Fantagraphics. His story is too much to go into here, but basically this guy wrote and drew his own comics in notebooks that date back at least to his late teenage years in the 1920s. The stories were ongoing and covered over 2300 pages that survived and were found by family members after his death. The art basically is fully formed from the start, his jokes are witty, and the presentation in the book is excellent. Fantagraphics presents it as "an alternative secret history of the comics medium."
My favorite ongoing series was " Detective Comics from writer Ram V and team. The best way I can sum up each issue is "moody." It was a slow burn, but the art and story had a mystic quality that I just didn't get from anything this year. And the artists in both the main and backup series were top notch. Maybe the most direct comparison I can make is with Spawn. You don't always know what's going on, but you feel transported into a different world reading it. The All In creative team of Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin has also been good so far.]
Favorite Creator (Writer/Artist/etc): [Bilquis Evely (artist on Helen of Wyndhorn at Dark Horse).]
Favorite Publisher: [DC, of course. I can't quit them so long as they publish Batman and Superman. And their art styles always resonate with me. Bright spots this year included Javier Rodriguez on Zatanna, Dan Mora on World's Finest, Bruno Redondo on Nightwing, and Chris Samnee on Batman and Robin Year One.]
What changes do you think the publishers should make to the line up? (What should they stop publishing, start publishing or otherwise change?) [I wish the Big Two would streamline their lines instead of fracturing their bases. Why are there two different Batman and Robin series ongoing, or why do we need both an Amazing Spider-Man and Ultimate Spider-Man ongoing? Sales for sure, but it's hard even for this experienced reader to follow along. Otherwise, I feel all the publishers are providing excellent variety. Even the Indy output is feeling less like Hollywood pitches these days. I will reiterate that Archie needs an ongoing series, even if it's trade paperbacks. How hard is it to sell teen drama considering all the manga crowd? And First Second never followed up with volumes 5 and 6 of the Castle in the Stars series. We need some publisher to continue the English translations of this French series from Alex Alice.]
2024:
Favorite Comic Movie/Television Show/Book/Video Game: [I have had a lot of fun binge watching the whole Superman & Lois show. Still have to watch the current season, but that series just concluded in December 2024. It was charming and engaging, and it was fun to see each member of the married-with-children Superman family get their own storylines.]
What did you think was the biggest news story/highlight of the year for comics? [The tragic loss of comic book creator and YouTuber Ed Piskor was the worst big news of 2024. Love your friends, listen to the hurt, and read more comics.]
How would you sum up this past year for the Decade in Review? [Independent comic book publishers found success in appealing to 80s and 90s nostalgia, with big hits like G.I. Joe and small hits like Grommets finding their way into the conversation this year. The Big Two took a decidedly more "what if" type approach to shake up the event fatigue.]
Prediction for next year: []
Comic Book Page podcast:
What has been your favorite Comic Book Page episode and why? []
How do you participate in the Comic Book Page community (Slack/forum/Previews Spotlight/book club/other)? What would encourage you to participate more? []
What suggestions do you have for the Comic Book Page podcast? []
Additional Comments? []
I read comic books for fun.
Re: Yearly Comics Spotlight #18: 2024 (Deadline: Mon 9AM Janaury 27, 2025)
Placeholder 
You:
What should we call you when reading your picks? []
Comics:
Favorite Comics/Collected Editions (Series/Story Arc or Single Issue): []
Favorite Creator (Writer/Artist/etc): []
Favorite Publisher: []
What changes do you think the publishers should make to the line up? (What should they stop publishing, start publishing or otherwise change?) []
2024:
Favorite Comic Movie/Television Show/Book/Video Game: []
What did you think was the biggest news story/highlight of the year for comics? []
How would you sum up this past year for the Decade in Review? []
Prediction for next year: []
Comic Book Page podcast:
What has been your favorite Comic Book Page episode and why? []
How do you participate in the Comic Book Page community (Slack/forum/Previews Spotlight/book club/other)? What would encourage you to participate more? []
What suggestions do you have for the Comic Book Page podcast? []
Additional Comments? []
You:
What should we call you when reading your picks? []
Comics:
Favorite Comics/Collected Editions (Series/Story Arc or Single Issue): []
Favorite Creator (Writer/Artist/etc): []
Favorite Publisher: []
What changes do you think the publishers should make to the line up? (What should they stop publishing, start publishing or otherwise change?) []
2024:
Favorite Comic Movie/Television Show/Book/Video Game: []
What did you think was the biggest news story/highlight of the year for comics? []
How would you sum up this past year for the Decade in Review? []
Prediction for next year: []
Comic Book Page podcast:
What has been your favorite Comic Book Page episode and why? []
How do you participate in the Comic Book Page community (Slack/forum/Previews Spotlight/book club/other)? What would encourage you to participate more? []
What suggestions do you have for the Comic Book Page podcast? []
Additional Comments? []
Re: Yearly Comics Spotlight #18: 2024 (Deadline: Mon 9AM Janaury 27, 2025)
NiklasJ wrote: ↑Sun Dec 29, 2024 10:20 am Placeholder
You:
What should we call you when reading your picks? []
Comics:
Favorite Comics/Collected Editions (Series/Story Arc or Single Issue): []
Favorite Creator (Writer/Artist/etc): []
Favorite Publisher: []
What changes do you think the publishers should make to the line up? (What should they stop publishing, start publishing or otherwise change?) []
2024:
Favorite Comic Movie/Television Show/Book/Video Game: []
What did you think was the biggest news story/highlight of the year for comics? []
How would you sum up this past year for the Decade in Review? []
Prediction for next year: []
Comic Book Page podcast:
What has been your favorite Comic Book Page episode and why? []
How do you participate in the Comic Book Page community (Slack/forum/Previews Spotlight/book club/other)? What would encourage you to participate more? []
What suggestions do you have for the Comic Book Page podcast? []
Additional Comments? []
I'm holding you to getting picks in
Thanks buddy!-
Xmanpatrick
- Visitor
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Sat Nov 03, 2018 2:05 am
Re: Yearly Comics Spotlight #18: 2024 (Deadline: Mon 9AM Janaury 27, 2025)
Yearly 2025
You:
What should we call you when reading your picks? [Xmanpatrick or patrick works.]
Comics:
Favorite Comics/Collected Editions (Series/Story Arc or Single Issue): [Reading Invinclible again. I have the 3 soft cover omni's and this will be my third pass i believe.
Jason Aaron Tmnt.
Anything Energon]
Favorite Creator (Writer/Artist/etc): [Writer-Charles Soule for Eight Billion Genies, Star Wars and Lucky Devils
Artist- Trish Forstner for stray dogs and Feral
Cover Artist- Scottie Young its nice to see the fun in the covers with the characters]
Favorite Publisher: [Usually Marvel is my favorite publisher but this year its Image. The Energon Universe which includes Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Void Rivals has me grabbing on mostly Indies on Wednesdays. I am rereading Invincible for the third time. I am waiting for trades of the Ghost Machine books like Rook Exudos, Redcoat, and the Rockefellers. Not much a reader of Geiger but never gave it a try. I have really enjoyed 8 billion genies by Charles Soule and recently I read Lucky Devils too and it was great. I have been collecting the colored Walking Dead and we have 90 ish more issues until completed. My 9 year old loved Stray Dogs and now is reading Feral. She asks me every couple of weeks if another has come out yet. That is a huge win in my book.
Some of my kids favorite animated movies are A Bug's Life, Ferngully, Epic and recently Honey, I Shunk the Kids. With all that, the book coming out called Bug Wars by Jason Aaron looks interesting. These are all reasons why Image is now my favorite publisher.]
What changes do you think the publishers should make to the line up? (What should they stop publishing, start publishing or otherwise change?) [The big 2 need to stop catering to a niche population. Mostly the political or sexual orientation changes annoy me the most. Plus, comics aren't written for the older generation anymore but the younger generation isn't into comics as much as we are or were. Cell phones and video games have killed reading i believe. Another issue could be that Marvel and DC had a great run but they are now stuck in their continuity trap. If they change something someone else is gonna be ticked off, me included. This is why Indies are working better for some of us. I have a few of my favorite characters. Gambit and Rouge, Hulk, Punisher, and Spider-Man. Once you change my character I have known for many years I get turned off. I bought Get Fury but I dont see me buying another Punisher book unless Frank Castle is in it. And not the pansy they made that was a wife beater. I want the soldier, the “punisher” of criminals back. Spider-Man is on my cut list as a comic because im done with JrJr as an artist. I really like Ultimate Spider-Man tho. What i am trying to say is change my character i have known for years kills my love for those newer comics. They changed something and now im saying get off my lawn. Change them but put them in a differnt universe then i can work with that. Some of the miniseries have worked better than the ongoings to me. I love the incorpation of Aliens, predator and Godzilla recently. I have enjoyed Dark Knights of Steel too. ]
2024:
Favorite Comic Movie/Television Show/Book/Video Game: [I am listening to a lot of books while i plumb. So the Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Im a big fan of Eragon by Christopher Paolini and American dragons in general. Fourth wing is a mix of harry potter, hunger games and eragon. Third book not out yet. Another series is the renegades series by Marissa Meyer. This book is about superheroes and villians centered around a girl villian who infiltates the hero group to destroy them but falls in love with the “superman” hero’s son.
Movie and TV have not lived up to my expectations. Deadpool vs Wolverine was good. Star Wars Skeleton Crew has been great but that just started really.]
What did you think was the biggest news story/highlight of the year for comics? [The new tmnt series, red hulk in a movie but that has died down due to tons of reshoots (lost all hope for a good movie. Plus they made a statement saying it's not about race like the Disney plus show. Such a turnoff. No need to make a statement like that.), and diamond messing up distribution during the holiday season]
How would you sum up this past year for the Decade in Review? [Chaos. ]
Prediction for next year: [I Have been predicting the collapse of DC or Diamond the past few years. One may actually happen. Achem diamond… I don't mean the company as a whole but maybe we wont get previews anymore. They are losing a lot of premier publishers. They lost DC, Marvel, Image (the big 3), IDW, mad cave, dark horse, soon to be Boom! and others. Who is left? Yes, they are still in diamond but get the shipment from penguin. Penguin does free shipping but comic stores are tired already with 3 different distributors and 3 different shipping and 3 different order forms that lack newer updates. I could see stores saying im done. “I'll get the big 3 and maybe not the diamond indies.” Then you could drop diamond all together and still get some indies from those distributors without missing too much. I know some places have boycotted Lunar when they first started.]
Comic Book Page podcast:
What has been your favorite Comic Book Page episode and why? [I listen to only the 2 shows really. Spotlight and previews. I dont have a huge want or knowledge of 80’s comics. No connection with tv shows or movies really.]
How do you participate in the Comic Book Page community (Slack/forum/Previews Spotlight/book club/other)? What would encourage you to participate more? [Im a slacker… try to do every other month with previews. I hit bookclub up recently just to hang and say hi! Im in my sport kid's parent era so im super busy most days]
What suggestions do you have for the Comic Book Page podcast? [keep up the good work!]
Additional Comments? [Sorry for the long responses.]
You:
What should we call you when reading your picks? [Xmanpatrick or patrick works.]
Comics:
Favorite Comics/Collected Editions (Series/Story Arc or Single Issue): [Reading Invinclible again. I have the 3 soft cover omni's and this will be my third pass i believe.
Jason Aaron Tmnt.
Anything Energon]
Favorite Creator (Writer/Artist/etc): [Writer-Charles Soule for Eight Billion Genies, Star Wars and Lucky Devils
Artist- Trish Forstner for stray dogs and Feral
Cover Artist- Scottie Young its nice to see the fun in the covers with the characters]
Favorite Publisher: [Usually Marvel is my favorite publisher but this year its Image. The Energon Universe which includes Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Void Rivals has me grabbing on mostly Indies on Wednesdays. I am rereading Invincible for the third time. I am waiting for trades of the Ghost Machine books like Rook Exudos, Redcoat, and the Rockefellers. Not much a reader of Geiger but never gave it a try. I have really enjoyed 8 billion genies by Charles Soule and recently I read Lucky Devils too and it was great. I have been collecting the colored Walking Dead and we have 90 ish more issues until completed. My 9 year old loved Stray Dogs and now is reading Feral. She asks me every couple of weeks if another has come out yet. That is a huge win in my book.
Some of my kids favorite animated movies are A Bug's Life, Ferngully, Epic and recently Honey, I Shunk the Kids. With all that, the book coming out called Bug Wars by Jason Aaron looks interesting. These are all reasons why Image is now my favorite publisher.]
What changes do you think the publishers should make to the line up? (What should they stop publishing, start publishing or otherwise change?) [The big 2 need to stop catering to a niche population. Mostly the political or sexual orientation changes annoy me the most. Plus, comics aren't written for the older generation anymore but the younger generation isn't into comics as much as we are or were. Cell phones and video games have killed reading i believe. Another issue could be that Marvel and DC had a great run but they are now stuck in their continuity trap. If they change something someone else is gonna be ticked off, me included. This is why Indies are working better for some of us. I have a few of my favorite characters. Gambit and Rouge, Hulk, Punisher, and Spider-Man. Once you change my character I have known for many years I get turned off. I bought Get Fury but I dont see me buying another Punisher book unless Frank Castle is in it. And not the pansy they made that was a wife beater. I want the soldier, the “punisher” of criminals back. Spider-Man is on my cut list as a comic because im done with JrJr as an artist. I really like Ultimate Spider-Man tho. What i am trying to say is change my character i have known for years kills my love for those newer comics. They changed something and now im saying get off my lawn. Change them but put them in a differnt universe then i can work with that. Some of the miniseries have worked better than the ongoings to me. I love the incorpation of Aliens, predator and Godzilla recently. I have enjoyed Dark Knights of Steel too. ]
2024:
Favorite Comic Movie/Television Show/Book/Video Game: [I am listening to a lot of books while i plumb. So the Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Im a big fan of Eragon by Christopher Paolini and American dragons in general. Fourth wing is a mix of harry potter, hunger games and eragon. Third book not out yet. Another series is the renegades series by Marissa Meyer. This book is about superheroes and villians centered around a girl villian who infiltates the hero group to destroy them but falls in love with the “superman” hero’s son.
Movie and TV have not lived up to my expectations. Deadpool vs Wolverine was good. Star Wars Skeleton Crew has been great but that just started really.]
What did you think was the biggest news story/highlight of the year for comics? [The new tmnt series, red hulk in a movie but that has died down due to tons of reshoots (lost all hope for a good movie. Plus they made a statement saying it's not about race like the Disney plus show. Such a turnoff. No need to make a statement like that.), and diamond messing up distribution during the holiday season]
How would you sum up this past year for the Decade in Review? [Chaos. ]
Prediction for next year: [I Have been predicting the collapse of DC or Diamond the past few years. One may actually happen. Achem diamond… I don't mean the company as a whole but maybe we wont get previews anymore. They are losing a lot of premier publishers. They lost DC, Marvel, Image (the big 3), IDW, mad cave, dark horse, soon to be Boom! and others. Who is left? Yes, they are still in diamond but get the shipment from penguin. Penguin does free shipping but comic stores are tired already with 3 different distributors and 3 different shipping and 3 different order forms that lack newer updates. I could see stores saying im done. “I'll get the big 3 and maybe not the diamond indies.” Then you could drop diamond all together and still get some indies from those distributors without missing too much. I know some places have boycotted Lunar when they first started.]
Comic Book Page podcast:
What has been your favorite Comic Book Page episode and why? [I listen to only the 2 shows really. Spotlight and previews. I dont have a huge want or knowledge of 80’s comics. No connection with tv shows or movies really.]
How do you participate in the Comic Book Page community (Slack/forum/Previews Spotlight/book club/other)? What would encourage you to participate more? [Im a slacker… try to do every other month with previews. I hit bookclub up recently just to hang and say hi! Im in my sport kid's parent era so im super busy most days]
What suggestions do you have for the Comic Book Page podcast? [keep up the good work!]
Additional Comments? [Sorry for the long responses.]