If you had jumped in your Delorean and gone back to 10 years ago and told younger me that we would be seeing the prime years of the geekdom boom, I would have probably not believed you and would have wanted a ride back home. I myself have taken my love of all things pop culture to that next level all while riding the awesome wave that is geek culture.
Best TV Show: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012 Series)
This show has slowly been getting better and better. Especially getting the awkward interactions with the teenage turtles and a teenage April O’Neil. The show being geared towards the younger crowd with the antics and general brotherly fights. There is a reason many shows and movies “reboot” the series, mainly because it worked the first time through. But I also found this last season and beginning to the newest season has really upped their overall story telling as well as including many classic story lines and characters. It’s those nods and Easter eggs that has me watching this show eager to recognize the sometimes subtle (the re-imagining of the first movie’s farm scene) and sometimes much more obscure (The Doom Beavers being a step around the copyrights for the Terror Bears from the RPG game). When a show keeps the original fans’ hearts in mind its a show I definietly want to watch
*Runner up: Arrow
Best Movie of the year: Godzilla
The answer is in the main characters title (main character is dependent on interpretation). There is only one king of summer blockbusters and that is the King of the Monster, Godzilla. I’ve seen every Godzilla movie, cartoon and silly attempt to Americanize the Toho legend. Many fan boys complain about the movie not being about the monster that stands well over 40 stories tall. It is hard to argue with wanting to have a movie completely about monster battles, but let’s be realistic, there needs to be some kind of plot. This movie gave me chills when I saw the teaser trailer, I had an ear to ear grin when Big G offered his iconic Skreeonk, and the appearance of the King’s signature finishing move was a sigh of relief of anxious anticipation that needed to happen.
*Runner up: TMNT
Game of the Year: Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition
Put down your controllers, and turn off your TV. Grab a pen, some paper and some adventurous friends to play this limitless and creativity testing game. Dungeons and Dragons has been doing its best to keep pace with the electronic and glued to their cell phone generation of gamers for a good 40 years now. There have been several editions to come out, starting with the classic red box to the player favorite 3.5 edition which has an incredible amount of supplemental books. This summer came the Tyranny of Dragons campaign which brought players a new style of play in D&D 5.0, a mixture of the flashy 4th edition and the extensive 3.5 rule set. The new players guide came at a great point as I had been undertaking the task to train two groups of players that are both brand new to the game. The new edition has really peaked their interest for whats instore. Also included is fantastic art that depicts some iconic characters from the novel series.
*Runner Up: Disney Infinity
Best Comic of the Year: Jim Henson’s Storyteller: Witches
My answer to this question is in flux, and I am fine with that since this year was full of many big hitters from the big two, some great new comics from the secondary publishers, as well as getting my feet wet in the indie comic realm. But for me, there was one series that I cherish, and cannot wait to use as an introductory comic to kids of my own (when I have them). Jim Henson’s Storyteller series was a 4 issue miniseries that had an amazing script, beautiful art work, and a terrific amount of soul and meaning to take out of each story and their standalone issues. In a time when superheroes are the characters to follow from screen to glossy page, these legends and tales do a nice job of keeping you invested in the characters and if you read deeper into the story being told, there are some valuable life lessons and values as the backbone to the comics.
*Runner Up: (Untitled comic being scripted by myself and friends, the experience and imagination from the attempt is worth the effort).
Book of the Year: Kingdom Keepers: The Insider
Kingdom Keepers: The Insider is the final book to this Disney young reader series. This is book seven by Ridley Pearson in this series that sees a handful of kids that are the motion capture models for holographic tour guides in the Disney Theme Parks. That is the simple concept that started this series in 2005. The story takes off when the teens, who don’t actually give the tours but their holograms do, go to sleep and wake up in Disney World where they have to battle the evil and villainous characters of the Disney franchise (Star Wars and Marvel excluded) all for the control of the Disney parks themselves. Each book took the adventure to a different theme park, and this final book brings it back to where it all began, Disneyland. The involvement of the attractions and characters is what makes this book enjoyable to an adult like myself. The entire series was lacking noticeably one figure, Mickey Mouse, which is the central plot of this book that will once and for all settle a nearly 75 year old feud between Chernabog and the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. All different level of fans of the Disney name will want to read the entire series, from the Frozen babies to the wanna-be imagineers.
*Runner Up: Zombie Fallout 8: An Old Beginning, By Mark Tufo
Most Anticipated Geek Event of 2015: Star Wars the Force Awakens
I can’t say that I feel like a kid again, watching the original trilogy trailers as I wasn’t born yet, I can only compare this to seeing the first trailer for the Phantom Menace. From watching the original unedited VHS copies of 4,5 and 6, it opened up my mind that there is an entire universe out there that can be explored, it can be imagined, and one day there will be some amazing technologies to make science fiction appear become science fact. The prequels may have veered from what was important, but with J.J Abrams involved, the force awakens is more than just a movie title its a revolution!
*Runner up: My Disney themed wedding
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