The year is winding to a close, which got us to thinking…what are we looking forward to next year? The Comicosity staff has gathered and submitted their top picks, today being Most Anticipated Series of 2015:
Roderick Ruth
TOKYO GHOST
Written by Rick Remender
Art by Sean Murphy
Published by Image Comics
Two of the edgiest creators in comics are finally united at last! After reading the solicitations and looking at the art teasers, I absolutely can’t wait for this series to be released. Dystopian future set in Los Angeles? Check. Futuristic gangsters? Check. Tokyo? Sure, why not!
What I gather is that this series will combine Judge Dredd, Akira, and Mad Max into a comic book. Sean Murphy is one of my favorite artists and Rick Remender whole-heartedly embraces the fringes of science fiction. The combination of these two creators has me teeming with excitement.
Runner-Up(s): Secret Wars (Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic), Injection (Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey)
Sam Marx
CRIMINAL
Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips
Published by Image Comics
The original Criminal series by Brubaker and Phillips is crime comic heaven – the characters, the action, and tone all add up for some great stories. To see the series return is beyond exciting for fans like me, and now that it’s being published by Image I have to imagine it’s only going to get more crazy! To prepare, make sure you go back and read the original stuff – it’s worth it!
John Ernenputsch
SECRET WARS
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Various
Published by Marvel Comics
Everything that Jonathan Hickman has been working towards during his instant classic run on Avengers & New Avengers has been leading to Secret Wars. It’s a story that is literally years in the making. It might just be the biggest thing Marvel has ever attempted, and Hickman has proven that he can handle the biggest of stories. This will be the event book of the year, and I have a sneaking suspicion that the Marvel Universe will never be the same again (No, really I’m serious).
Runner-Up(s): Star Wars (Jason Aaron and John Cassaday), Darth Vader (Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larocca), Princess Leia (Mark Waid and Terry Dodson), Kanan: The Last Padawan (Greg Weisman and Pepe Laraz)
Alison Baker
MARCH: BOOK TWO
Written by Congressman John Lewis and Andrew Aydin
Art by Nate Powell
Published by Top Shelf Productions
You may have noticed that racism isn’t over, if you’ve watched the news at all lately. Electing a Black President of the United States didn’t put an end to it; in fact, it brought out some sincere ugliness in certain Americans, and that ugliness continues to manifest, 6 years later, in new and inventive ways. Recent systemic failures of American institutions including police and courts have left many black Americans (and plenty of non-black Americans) feeling angry, helpless, and frustrated.
In this context. the second volume of civil rights legend John Lewis’s autobiographical graphic novel, March, is required reading for 2015. Congressman Lewis and his aide Andrew Aydin, with artist Nate Powell, wrote this story as a reminder of what had come before – a way to educate people about their own history. Where volume 1 set up Lewis’s beginnings as a social and political activist, Volume 2 will focus on more intense subject matter – the increasingly violent confrontations between non-violent civil rights protestors and the police. March: Book Two promises to be instructive for students of history and humanity both.
Runner-Up(s): Darth Vader (Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larocca), The Complete Eightball (Daniel Clowes)
Keith Callbeck
PALOOKAVILLE #22
Created by Seth
Published by Drawn & Quarterly
Canadian artist Seth’s newest volume has been pushed back a few months into 2015 and I can’t wait to see it. Having switched to graphic novel format, Seth brings his skills as a book designer and a biographical story-telling style to the table every time. Seth is a master craftsman of comics and each book is a unique artwork from binding to page.
Runner-Up(s): Final issues of The New 52: Future’s End and Earth 2: World’s End
Kelly Richards
CASANOVA: ACEDIA
Written by Matt Fraction
Art by Fåbio Moon and Gabriel Bå
Published by Marvel Comics
Casanova Quinn is back and I’m so excited that I will probably do a little wee when it finally hits the shelves. I’m not even kidding. Casanova is pretty much the whole reason I read comics. If my BFF had not jammed a trade of Casanova: Luxuria into my hands and told me to read it I don’t know where I would be, but I imagine it would be both dark, and scary. Featuring backups from Michael Chabon, Casanova: Acedia looks to be bringing back the weird, funny, sexy, sci-fi, spy stuff that we all know and love. I, for one, cannot wait.
Anthony Blackwood
WOLVERINES
Written by Charles Soule and Ray Fawkes
Art by Nick Bradshaw and more
Published by Marvel Comics
A comic book death has never been so sweet. With Wolverine gone, it’s high time for his successors, rivals, and antagonists to fight to fill the void he’s left in the Marvel Universe. Charles Soule has already begun setting the stage for this book in The Logan Legacy and Weapon X Project miniseries, ensuring readers that there’s a intricate and longterm plan at play. Logan’s death could wind up being the best thing to happen to characters like Mystique, Daken, and X-23, giving them much needed development and direction. Wolvie, you stay encased in that adamanatium as long as you want, bub.
J.A. Micheline
SPIDER-GWEN
Written by Jason Latour
Art by Robbi Rodriguez
Published by Marvel Comics
You guys — Spider-Gwen. Just say it with me. Spider-Gwen. This is the kind of thing that I, as a female fan, cry over quietly on Tumblr because it’ll never come to pass no matter how much I will it to — except this is real and it is really happening and can you believe it? A female character, one of many who has been sacrificed to the refrigerator gods, was redesigned to be the hero for whom she was killed in a cool updated one-shot that was released to critical acclaim. We all looked up and shouted “save us,” — and Marvel looked down and said yes. They did what I hoped but never dreamed was possible—and that was to give Spider-Gwen her own book in 2015.
If that doesn’t make you believe in miracles, I don’t know what will.
Runner-Up: X-Men ‘92
Nick Couture
8HOUSE
Written by Brandon Graham
Art by Various
Published by Image Comics
Brandon Graham’s new Image comic 8House is his next foray into having his work judged by the masses. Let’s all be grateful and look at the pretty art his squad of artists come up with.
Matt Santori
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000
Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis
Art by Howard Porter
Published by DC Comics
Beetle. Booster. Fire. Ice. Nuff said, really.
The good old team is back and they’re about to have crazy new adventures in a future that we scarcely know yet. And bringing them face to face with a version of the very Justice League they were meant to replace over 25 years ago? It’s enough to make this fan drool at the thought. Giffen, DeMatteis, and Porter haven’t just returned a part of my childhood to me. They’ve upped the ante in a way that feels fresh, and where this leads us in the next year excites me to no end. If you haven’t given this book a shot, now is the time to jump on, because you’re not going to want to miss what happens next.
Runner-Up: Convergence: New Teen Titans (Marv Wolfman and Nicola Scott)
Aaron Long
STAR WARS
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by John Cassaday
Published by Marvel Comics
Me and everyone else, right? Sure there’s been a million copies pre-ordered, and yeah, Dark Horse has been doing Star Wars comics for years, but there is just something about this launch that is electric. Aaron and Cassaday are a dream team and I can’t wait to see what they do with Star Wars… luckily, I don’t have to wait very long.
Runner-Up: Injection (Warren Ellis, Declan Shalvey, and Jordie Bellaire)
