So, comics and TV shows I’m looking forward to in 2015. As much I’d like to keep up the ’15 for 15′ theme in this final look ahead, it’s just not going to happen. Comics and shows are not usually announced as early as books and movies. Besides, I’m not going to add 15 ongoing monthly comics to my existing pull list, and I’m certainly not adding 15 new shows to my watchlist — there are only so many hours in a day. Still, I found 10 comics and 5 new shows that I’m geniunely looking forward to in the new year:
Comics for 2015
01. Nameless (02/03) – It’s weird, cosmic horror by Grant Morrison and artist Frank Burnham. I need no more reasons to buy this.
02. The Sculptor (02/03) – This 500-page beast of a book is the first full-length graphic novel by indie sensation Scott McCloud. It’s a spin on the popular Faust story. Here, a deal with Death allows the titular sculptor to sculpt anything he can imagine — but in 200 days, he will die. As per usual in these situations, the sculptor begins having second thoughts. There’s nothing wrong with a good Faust tale (I’m actually working on one of my own right now), and this one certainly looks like a fresh take.
03. Spider-Gwen (February) – No new charater in the past decade or so has been embraced as swiftly and wholly as „Spider-Gwen“. Originally conceived as a one-shot character, this Gwen Stacy exists in a parallel universe where she received amazing spider-powers while her school friend Peter Parker died. Her one-shot, in a weird way, read like an effortless update on the original Spider-Man stories by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Hip, colorful and full of potential, it’s no wonder the fanbase demanded more. I’m glad Marvel decided to give us more in this new monthly series, and I’m thrilled to see Spider-Gwen’s creators, Jason Latour and Robbie Rodriguez, doing the honors.
04. PastAways (03/25) – So, have you checked out my 15 movies for 2015? If so, then you already know that I’m a huge fan of timey-whimey stories, which this new ongoing promises to deliver. Written by Matt Kindt with artist Scott Kollins, PastAways follows the misadventures of five time exploreres who find themselves stranded in pre-history — a.k.a. our time. Also: Dinosaurs, giant robots and rifts in space time. I’m so in.
05. Savior (04/01) – What if the most dangerous man in the world was also the one trying to do the most good? This question will be addressed in Savior, an all-new ongoing series chronicling the journey of an amnesiac superman with god-like powers. As far as I know, this is the first series by Todd McFarlane since he launched Spawn back in early 90s, so I’m excited to see what he has in store for us here.
06. Jupiter’s Circle (04/08) – This mini-series is a prequel to Jupiters Legacy by Mark Millar and Frank Quietly, a book I wasn’t really crazy about when it first started coming out. The first two issues felt half-baked to me — chockful of ideas, but unable (or unwilling) to commit to any of them — and the massive pre-release hype didn’t help. We were promised this big Wagnerian superhero epic and got the cliffnotes version instead. Still, there is something to this series. The concept continues to fascinate me, which is why Jupiter’s Circle, much to my own surprise, ended up on my must-read list for 2015. The prequel is set to explore the world that was unceremoniously torn down in the initial issues of Jupiter’s Legacy in more detail, paying homage to the zaniness of old-school superhero stories while infusing these wacky adventures with a sense of humanity and gravity. I can’t help looking forward to that.
07. Fight Club 2 (04/08) – I never thought I’d read the title Fight Club 2 on anything but cringeworthy fan fiction, yet here it is — on a a comic book, no less. Penned by original author Chuck Palahniuk, the sequel to the cult novel will be published as a 10-issue limited series by Dark Horse Comics. That’s really all the incentive I need here.
08. Secret Wars (May) – I’ll be honest: As much as I’ve enjoyed Marvel’s stuff over the past decade or so, I’ve usually been skipping the big events. I didn’t read Civil War as it was coming out; I didn’t read Avengers vs X-Men; I didn’t read last year’s Original Sin. I stayed in the loop, certainly, but I never felt the pull to actually go out and buy these event books. I already feel the pull towards Secret Wars. With parallel universes and timelines colliding and merging to reshape the Marvel Universe, Secret Wars looks a legit big deal — one that Marvel has been building up to for years now. Besides, you have all these parallel worlds and alternate timelines, many of them well-known and beloved in their own right, suddenly inhabiting the same space and fighting for survival. I’d be all over that even without the sweeping changes Secret Wars looks set to introduce. Make mine Marvel!
09. Paper Girls (no start date yet) – Set in the late 1980s, this supernatural mystery series follows the adventures of four 12-year-old newspaper-delivery girls who are connected through some strange event. And that’s all we really know about the book so far. That and the fact that it’s written by Brian K. Vaughan, author of hit comics like Runaways, Private Eye and, of course, the acclaimed Saga. What else does a book really need?
10. Plutona (no start date yet) – This 5-part mini series, written by Jeff Lemire and lovingly illustrated by Emi Lenox, deals with a group of kids who find the world’s foremost superheroine dead in the woods. No clue where the creative team is going to take this, but MAN, what a premise! Stand By Me meets Death of Superman? Yes, please!
TV Shows for 2015
01. The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (03/06) – Young Kimmy Schmidt exits the doomsday cult she grew up in and henceforth tries to find her place in the real world. Calling it now, this is the next 2 Broke Girls — a show that you can’t help but enjoy despite the clunky premise. I’m gonna give it a weekend binge for sure!
02. Daredevil (04/10) – This is the first series to come out of the deal Marvel struck with Netflix, and I can’t wait to watch it. Marvel has been on a roll, Netflix has been on a roll, so this should be awesome!
03. Utopia (no release date yet) – Not the reality show, obviously. Never the reality show. This HBO series, based on the UK show of the same name, revolves around the manuscript sequel to a cult comic which is rumored to have predicted the worst disasters of the last century. Interesting premise, but what really got my attention is the fact that every episode of the first seaon is being written by Gillian Flynn and directed by David Fincher. Wow!
04. Westworld (no release date yet) – How did this series elude for me for so long? A sci-fi western originally written by Michael Crichton, adapted for the screen by Jonathan Nolan and produced by J.J. Abrams? By all rights, this should be amazing!
05. Sense8 (no release date yet) – This is the story of eight strangers who suddenly find themselves mentally and emotionally linked. New sci-fi by the Wachoswkis and J. Michael Straczynski — this could be awesome or disastrous, depending on what the trio was smoking while working on it. They don’t always deliver, but when they do deliver, they deliver in spades, so I’ll definitely be checking out this new project when it hits Netflix later this year.
Once again, those are my top picks for the coming year. If you think I missed something crucial, don’t be shy, drop me a line and let me know!