Yearly Comics Spotlight #18: 2024 (Deadline: Mon 9AM Janaury 27, 2025)

[JohnMayo]

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!

[NicksPicks]

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."]
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? []

[NiklasJ]

Placeholder no longer

You:
What should we call you when reading your picks? [Niklas]

Comics:
Favorite Comics/Collected Editions (Series/Story Arc or Single Issue): [The Ultimates have been best. Fall of X I liked as well, hard to say individual issues but the main miniseries that closed the krakoan age was nicely done. The new X-men and uncanny x-men are back to basics and works well for me. Another high point for me is always Monstress by Liu and Takeda, I read a bunch of the latest and that is a very nice fantasy story.]

Favorite Creator (Writer/Artist/etc): [Hickman, ultimate spider man hope they can continue showing an actual functional adult version of spider-man. Zeb Well´s issue of amazing spider-man #55 did a good take on how peter is doing all the unresponsible choices under the guise of responsibility]

Favorite Publisher: [Marvel, i read very little from others]

What changes do you think the publishers should make to the line up? (What should they stop publishing, start publishing or otherwise change?) [I guess this is an ongoing rant but they should start writing individual comics instead of writing a long story and then just cutting up in 12 chapters, seldom today a single comic book issue dont have a proper intro-start-mid-end, it just continues on and on until the large overall story comes to a shocking conclusion and then reverts back to status quo when next writer comes in]

2024:
Favorite Comic Movie/Television Show/Book/Video Game: [Dune part 2, honorable mention to tv series Fallout and 3-body-problem. Otherwise slim pickings this year, thunderbolts could be fun this year though.]

What did you think was the biggest news story/highlight of the year for comics? [all the horribly done movies and tv shows, how come no one realized madame web, kraven and others was going to be awful. havent seen joker 2 (or 1) but not surprised comic book fans didn't watch a musical about a tragic villain]

How would you sum up this past year for the Decade in Review? [Bleak with few bright spots if any]
Prediction for next year: [prediction/wishful thinking, wheel of time season 3 will pick up from the improved second season and do a homerun with action and suspense]

Comic Book Page podcast:
What has been your favorite Comic Book Page episode and why? [i just listened to camelot 3000 which was fun, it was published in sweden also but back then i didnt have all the issues, have bought the collection but not read it yet, that pod came out after new years so its disqualified. I eagerly awaited the Marvels review podcast to hear your comment on black girl magic line that i pointed out in last years year in review which didnt happen... Still the Marvels and the Ahsoka pods were fun]
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? [Another comment on repeat, where did the Lazarus comic go? Im still waiting on a continuation of star wars comics that is not a bunch of miniseries.]

[jrphoenix]

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]

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.]

[glzach]

You:
What should we call you when reading your picks? [G.L. Fan/ Feel me to call me Zach]

Comics:
Favorite Comics/Collected Editions (Series/Story Arc or Single Issue): [Green Lantern by Jeremy Adams].
Favorite Creator (Writer/Artist/etc.): [Jeremy Adams]
Artist- Dan Mora and Xermanico
Cover Artist- [No specific cover artist that comes to mind.]
Favorite Publisher: [DC Comics historically. Will sometimes pick up various indie comics from Image, Boom Studious, Dark Horse, etc. Marvel has never really grabbed me]
What changes do you think the publishers should make to the line up? (What should they stop publishing, start publishing or otherwise change?) [I agree with Patrick’s response mostly – that the big 2 need to stop catering to a niche population. While I understand that comics have been always been a medium in which social commentary is espoused, it just feels as if in recent years the big 2 (and others) have strayed too far into the political realm at the cost of a good story. In my humblest of opinions.

As far as Green Lanter goes – I would love an anthology series. For me, Green Lantern should have a stronger focus on the Corps. So, I would love tales of all the various members of the Corps throughout the universe. I get why anthologies are not a big seller for comic book publishers, but I sure would love it!]

2024:
Favorite Comic Movie/Television Show/Book/Video Game: [Favorite TV show that was discussed by John and his sister – The Way Home. Surprising how this kind of story/ show found its way onto Hallmark. Not sure if it comic book related – but I love the Cobra Kai show on Netflix. They have remained so faithful to the original movies. It appears Season 6 is its final – with a possibility (I’ve read) of other stuff in the Karate Kid universe down the road. Here’s hoping!]
What did you think was the biggest news story/highlight of the year for comics? [I honestly don’t keep up too much with comic book news.]
How would you sum up this past year for the Decade in Review? [I don’t follow the comic book industry nearly as closely as I did a few years ago. I read so fewer comics than I did before. With my somewhat waning interest – I just don’t follow the ins and outs of the industry as much as I once did. ]
Prediction for next year: [Pretty sure my current level of comic book reading won’t change a whole bunch.]

Comic Book Page podcast:
What has been your favorite Comic Book Page episode and why? [Same as Patrick’s response - I listen to only the 2 shows really. Spotlight and previews. Occasionally I will listen to an old comic review show or TV or movie review – if it is something I am interested in.]
How do you participate in the Comic Book Page community (Slack/forum/Previews Spotlight/book club/other)? What would encourage you to participate more? [I’m a Slacker, and only from time to time. I don’t listen to nearly as many comic book podcasts as I once did, but this is still one of the ones I listen to most regularly. I enjoy hearing what others are enjoying as far as comic books are concerned.]
What suggestions do you have for the Comic Book Page podcast? [I love the comic book reviews. Keep that up. It may be my oversight – but a return to more roundtable discussions about a variety of topics would be interesting to me.]

Additional Comments? [Great show. Sorry that I provide so little input throughout the year. I really do enjoy the shows you produce.]

[ChrisMyers]

You:
What should we call you when reading your picks? [Chris]
Comics:
Favorite Comics/Collected Editions (Series/Story Arc or Single Issue): [Geiger and Redcoat from Ghost Machine, Surfside Girls: Clue in the Reef written by Kim Dwinell and published as a series of graphic novels by IDW, One Bad Day issues from DC, Lady Mechanika:Devil in the Lake by Joe Benitez and published by Image comics ]

Favorite Creator (Writer/Artist/etc): [Geoff Johns writer of JSA, Green Lantern, Geiger and other Ghost Machine titles]

Favorite Publisher: [Ghost Machine, having met the creators at FanExpo in Toronto I know that they really care about the books that they are producing]

What changes do you think the publishers should make to the line up? (What should they stop publishing, start publishing or otherwise change?) [I think the publishers need to have, as the saying goes “a come to Jesus moment” and figure out who their audience is because at the present time I think they are pandering to groups who aren't interested in comics. The people who want to purchase comics are not the people that comic writers are writing for and as a result comic sales are dropping off.]

2024:
Favorite Comic Movie/Television Show/Book/Video Game: []
What did you think was the biggest news story/highlight of the year for comics? [For me it's the announcement that Mike Grell's Warlord is being collected.]
How would you sum up this past year for the Decade in Review? [Blah]
Prediction for next year: [That I will be buying my first omnibus in ages when Mike Grell's Warlord omni comes out.]

Comic Book Page podcast:
What has been your favorite Comic Book Page episode and why? [i really enjoy the Monthly Spotlight and Warlord episodes.]
How do you participate in the Comic Book Page community (Slack/forum/Previews Spotlight/book club/other)? What would encourage you to participate more? [I participate on Slack and the Book Club meetings.]
What suggestions do you have for the Comic Book Page podcast? [Keep on keeping on]

Additional Comments? [It's a scary time in comics with news od Diamond's problems. Going forward I'm thankful for the back issues on DC Infinite and Marvel Unlimited. As I've said before there's some real good reading in there.]

[JasonZ]

You:
What should we call you when reading your picks? [Jason Zeller]

Comics:
Favorite Comics/Collected Editions (Series/Story Arc or Single Issue): [Wesley Dodds The Sandman 6 issue miniseries. This was a fun retro series that happened in the golden age right before Wesley Dodds met and joined the Justice Society of America. It made me want to have more comics set during this time, specifically with the JSA characters.]

Favorite Creator (Writer/Artist/etc): [Jed MacKay has done a wonderful job on Moon Knight in continuing his saga from the Moon Knight series to the Vengeance of Moon Knight series and finally into the current series Moon Knight Fist of Khonshu. It feels like he has his own little pocket universe with villains and supporting heroes. I could have done without the 2 new series relaunches and would rather instead they would continue the original 30 issue run of Moon Knight. I also wish there was more popularity with the street level characters other than Batman, though I am very glad Batman's popularity continues in a wide variety of stories and in many different settings. Though Batman can hold his own even in settings where every other character is a superhero, I prefer the street level stories where he is a detective figuring things out or in settings where he is dealing with the supernatural. I think Batman's popularity persists due to his outfit where he is dressed like a creature of the night like Dracula, the street level vigilante side of him like The Shadow, the detective side where he is like Sherlock Holmes outsmarting the villains, the vehicles and gadgets where he is like James Bond, and finally his rogues gallery, which you could hold up to any in comics as one of the most interesting.]

Favorite Publisher: [DC Comics. I am so happy they are putting out the DC Finest line of comics, which seems to be their version of Marvel's epic collection comics. I prefer this epic/finest size of comic collection versus the heavier omnibus size, the thick compendium size which easily gets spine wear and has images lost in the gutter of the book. The initial DC Finest books seem to be varied with lots of obscure characters who have not see a lot of shine in recent years. I am hoping they will eventually cover entire runs such as Marvel is close to completing. Who knows how many years it will take them to cover Action Comics/Superman issues or the run of Detective Comics/Batman series, but one can hope. There are so many series I enjoyed reading over the years that I would love to have complete runs of including many war titles like Our Army At War/Sgt. Rock and Weird War Tales series as well as the Bronze Age mystery titles like House of Mystery/House of Secrets and others. ]

What changes do you think the publishers should make to the line up? (What should they stop publishing, start publishing or otherwise change?) [It feels like there are way too many books, especially in the DC Comics and Marvel Comics monthly releases. The main problem I think is that there are so many derivative characters with the same powers or design such as Spider powers as an example. I know relaunches get that Issue #1 boost, but it feels like there are too many. The unannounced miniseries books that look like the beginning of a new series but end up being 5 or 6 issues which was apparently always the plan make me less likely to be willing to pick up a new series. That being said, I would not mind having more series set in earlier times or what they refer to as retro series. One good example was the Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars Battleworld series that happened in the middle of Secret Wars. Overall, just let me know if this is going to be a miniseries or if I am to expect this series to be an ongoing.]

2024:
Favorite Comic Movie/Television Show/Book/Video Game: [The Batman 2022 movie. I know this is an older movie, but I had avoided watching it for quite some time. It came on Tubi for a short period, and I decided to watch it one day. I remember seeing the trailer for this and was not impressed and that I would try to have the movie going on in the background while doing other things. Boy was I wrong. I immediately got hooked into the story both with Batman's opening monologue "I am the Shadows" as well as the "Something in the Way" Nirvana song which seemed to be written for this movie. With no spoilers, let me just say that over the course of the movie Batman unravels the mystery like an onion with multiple layers. I went into it knowing nothing and was so glad to have watched it this way. It takes you for a ride and does not let up until the end of the movie.]

What did you think was the biggest news story/highlight of the year for comics? [Definitely the biggest story is Diamond declaring bankruptcy. At the time of this writing in late January 2025, there seems to be almost daily announcements of publishers leaving Diamond and uncertainty regarding the really small publishers. Personally, I am hoping the smaller publishers survive as many times something will be solicited that will catch my eye and make me want to give that comic or magazine a chance.]

How would you sum up this past year for the Decade in Review? [There continues to be a consolidation of publishers leaving Diamond. It feels like an uncertain time to be a comic fan.]
Prediction for next year: [This a hopeful prediction that other comic companies welcome the smaller publishers so they can continue to get their books out. Otherwise, I am also hoping that the really small companies will be picked up by other distributers if Diamond is no long distributing comics.]

Comic Book Page podcast:
What has been your favorite Comic Book Page episode and why? [The Back Issues Spotlights are by far my favorite but the Monthly Comic Spotlights are insightful as well. I enjoy hearing about classic stories that I have not read for years or a reminder that there are great stories I still need to read. The Legion Spotlight is my favorite, followed closely by The Warlord Spotlights.]
How do you participate in the Comic Book Page community (Slack/forum/Previews Spotlight/book club/other)? What would encourage you to participate more? [Slack Channel mainly but I have also tried to be more consistently active with Previews Spotlight clips. I do enjoy book club but has become more difficult schedule wise since my daughter has gymnastics at the same time as most of the meetings. I do hope to join you guys more in the future.]
What suggestions do you have for the Comic Book Page podcast? [Keep up the great job John, James and company. I would love to hear more about how you all perceive the industry is doing. I know we do not have numbers of how much comics are selling but there seems to be enough industry shaping news that would be great to hear you guys covering it.]

Additional Comments? []

[doctormo]

You:
What should we call you when reading your picks? [Doctor Mo]

Comics:
Favorite Comics/Collected Editions (Series/Story Arc or Single Issue): [DC Series – Zatanna: Bring Down the House by Mariko Tamaki (writer) & Javier Rodriguez (artist); Marvel Series – Rise of the Powers of X by Kieron Gillen (writer), R.B. Silva (penciler issues 1-4) & Luciano Vecchio (penciler issue5); Dark Horse Series – Dawnrunner by Ram V (writer) & Evan Cagle (artist); Image Comics Series – Public Doman by Chip Zdarsky (writer & artist)]
Favorite Creator (Writer/Artist/etc): [Favorite Writer: Mark Waid (Batman/Superman World’s Finest, Batman and Robin: Year One, Absolute Power, and Justice League Unlimited – all from DC Comics); Favorite Artist: Bryan Hitch (Red Coat – all from Image Comics; Favorite Colorist: Brad Anderson (Geiger and Red Coat)]
Favorite Publisher: [Image Comics due to the following titles: The Local Man, Public Domain, The Domain, Geiger, Red Coat, The Power Fantasy, and Blood Squad Seven]
What changes do you think the publishers should make to the line up? (What should they stop publishing, start publishing or otherwise change?) [For DC Comics – always going to advocate for a new Legion of Super-Heroes title; For Image Comics – a new Youngblood title (expecting one in 2025); Marvel Comics – a mutant title written by Peter David; For Dark Horse Comics - another Joy Operations series by Brian Bendis (writer) and Stephen Byrne (artist). I really enjoyed Joy Operations 2 released on in 2024.]

2024:
Favorite Comic Movie/Television Show/Book/Video Game: [Favorite Comic Movie: Deadpool/Wolverine; Favorite Show: Superman and Lois Season 4]
What did you think was the biggest news story/highlight of the year for comics? [The decline of Diamond Comics Distributer because it kept snowballing.]
How would you sum up this past year for the Decade in Review? [DC and Marvel find success with “ultimate versions” of their characters with the Absolute and Ultimate lines. Meanwhile Distribution Wars 2 starts to get really ugly and has substantial consequences for retailers, publishers, and fans.]
Prediction for next year: [Consolidation of comic book publishers.]

Comic Book Page podcast:
What has been your favorite Comic Book Page episode and why? [Non-comic related: I thought the Spencer Sisters Season 1 episode was a hoot!; Comics-related: I always enjoy listening to the Monthly Comics Spotlight episodes – cannot really select a favorite]
How do you participate in the Comic Book Page community (Slack/forum/Previews Spotlight/book club/other)? What would encourage you to participate more? [I try to participate in the Slack, Forums, and Preview Spotlight episodes whenever possible. However, work and school leave me little time to do everything I enjoy.]
What suggestions do you have for the Comic Book Page podcast? [Once the Astro City spotlights conclude hope you consider covering JSA by David Goyer, James Robinson, Geoff Johns and company and/or Captain America by Mark Gruenwald. I believe both options have been discussed in the past.]

Additional Comments? [I greatly appreciate all the work John and his co-hosts including Kay and James contribute to making the episode so enjoyable. I also hope Sam is able to contribute to an episode or two in 2025.]

[VikingJoker]

What should we call you when reading your picks? [Marvin]

Comics:
Favorite Comics/Collected Editions (Series/Story Arc or Single Issue): [TWDD and Energon Universe titles]
Favorite Creator (Writer/Artist/etc): [Robert Kirkman]
Favorite Publisher: [Image, specifically Skybound]
What changes do you think the publishers should make to the line up? (What should they stop publishing, start publishing or otherwise change?) [Considering recent the recent Diamond news, I’d like to see larger publishers take on co-publishing/imprint relationships with viable smaller publishers.]

2024:
Favorite Comic Movie/Television Show/Book/Video Game: [Fury Unleashed, a roguelike game set in an ever-changing comic book – your character literally runs from panel to panel. I’ve played for about 60 hours and still haven’t beaten it in hard mode. I’m very close.]
What did you think was the biggest news story/highlight of the year for comics? [Recency bias, but Diamond bankruptcy overshadows everything.]
How would you sum up this past year for the Decade in Review? []
Prediction for next year: [Seems inevitable, not a predication, but the unfortunate contraction of small independent publishers.]

Comic Book Page podcast:
What has been your favorite Comic Book Page episode and why? [Previews Spotlight is aways my favorite. Wish I participated more consistently in contributing clips.]
How do you participate in the Comic Book Page community (Slack/forum/Previews Spotlight/book club/other)? What would encourage you to participate more? [Slack, Book Club and Previews Clips intermittently]
What suggestions do you have for the Comic Book Page podcast? []

Additional Comments? [Thanks to John and this community. I primarily talk comic books with this group and really appreciate this space.]