Best of 2012: Part One

Stefan Blitz
@forcesofgeek | www.forcesofgeek.com

Best Movies: The Cabin in the Woods, The Avengers, Django Unchained, Safety Not Guaranteed, Ted, Looper, The Silver Linings Playbook, Paul Williams Still Alive, The Dark Knight Rises
Best TV Shows: Justified, The Walking Dead,Homeland, Arrow, Dexter, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Fringe, The New Girl, American Horror Story, Shameless, Modern Family, Community, The Newsroom, Louie (and I still haven’t watched Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Girls, Doctor Who, Mad Men, Downton Abbey or Boardwalk Empire…I will, just give me time).
Best Books (fiction): I didn’t read as much as I hoped and was disappointed with everything but Red, White and Blood by Christopher Farnsworth
Best Books (non-fiction): Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe, My Life as a Mankiewicz: An Insider’s Journey through Hollywood by Tom Mankiewicz and Robert Crane,  The Revolution Was Televised: The Cops, Crooks, Slingers and Slayers Who Changed TV Drama Forever by Alan Sepinwall
Best Video Game: The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
Best Songs: Call Me Maybe (Carley Rae Jensen), Locked Out Of Heaven (Bruno Mars)
Best Albums: Blunderbus (Jack White), Some Nights (Fun.)
Best Comic Books / Graphic Novels: Hawkeye, Saga, Daredevil, Popeye, Walking Dead, Batman, Batman Incorporated, Before Watchmen, Nowhere Men,  Jonathan Hickman’s The Avengers, Fantastic Four and Manhattan Projects
Best Blu-ray/DVD Release: Jaws, In Search Of The Complete Series, Prometheus 4 Disc,
Thing that you were most excited about in 2012? Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, Django Unchained
Thing that disappointed you most in 2012?  Prometheus, The Amazing Spider-Man
Thing that you’re most looking forward to in 2013? A slew of movies including Mama, Evil Dead, Man of Steel, World War Z, Kick-Ass 2, Pacific Rim, Red 2, The Wolverine, Lone Ranger, 2 Guns, The World’s End, Thor 2, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Gambit, Iron Man 3, Jack Ryan.

And I hear there’s a new Star Trek film that might pique my interest.

I’m also looking forward to reading Warren Ellis’ second novel, Gun Machine, Christopher Farnsworth’s secret project, and Grant Morrison’s Mulitversity

On tv, Joss Whedon’s SHIELD series, Rebel Wilson’s Super Fun Night, Shawn Ryan’s Beverly Hills Cop, Neil Cross’ Luther Season 3

On a personal level, putting more time into my own writing and a few other projects that I hope to launch into fruition.

Stefan Blitz is the founder and editor-in-chief of Forces of Geek

Salvatore S. Cucinotta
Best Movies: The Avengers

Best TV Shows:

Best Books (fiction): Ghost Story by Jim Butcher

Best Books (non-fiction): Encyclopedia of Demons by Theresa Bane

Best Video Game: Super Robot Wars 2nd OG


Best Comic Books / Graphic Novels: Journey into Mystery by Kieron Gillen

Best Blu-ray/DVD Release: Godzilla by Criterion

Thing that you were most excited about in 2012? The Avengers

Thing that disappointed you most in 2012? Avengers Arena

Thing that you’re most looking forward to in 2013? TIE: Pacific Rim and the SHIELD TV series.

Salvatore S. Cucinotta, writes the column “The Footsteps of Monsters”

Frankie Thirteen
@frankiethirteen | www.frankiethirteen.com

Best Movies: The Avengers, Skyfall, Wreck-It Ralph, Bernie. (I did not see Moonrise Kingdom yet. I freely acknowledge it may have been better than all of the above. I barely made it to the movies this year.)

Best TV Shows: Ehh…I’m gonna go ahead and say I haven’t watched enough TV to make that call.
Best Books (non-fiction): Marvel Comics: The Untold Story

Best Video Game: Angry Birds Star Wars. What? I haven’t hooked up by Xbox in three years!

Best Songs: Bat for Lashes, “Laura”; Jens Lekman, “Every Little Hair Knows Your Name”

Best Albums: Jens Lekman, “I Know What Love Isn’t”; David Byrne and St. Vincent, “Love This Giant”; Bat for Lashes, “The Haunted Man”; Rick Ross, “God Forgives, I Don’t”; Scott Walker, “Bish Bosch”

Best Comics: The Defenders, All-New X-Men

Best Blu-ray/DVD release: The Avengers was the only new DVD I bought, so…that.

Thing I was excited about most in 2012: Not much. Certainly not The Avengers.

Thing that disappointed me most in 2012: The cancellation of The Defenders, the final issue of The Defenders, the New 52 continuing to lose my interest (now I have none), the ending to Amazing Spider-Man #700, Prometheus

Thing I’m most looking forward to in 2013: Pacific Rim. Maybe owning a TV. Who knows?

Frankie Thirteen is the secret identity of Andre Bennett, who currently co-writes “Why Love The 90’s” with TJ Martinez

Ryan Ferrier
@ryanwriter
 | www.readchallenger.com

Best Movies: Prometheus

Best TV Shows: Breaking Bad

Best Songs: “Key Entity Extraction I: Domino the Destitute” by Coheed and Cambria

Best Albums: “Ex Lives” by Every Time I Die

Best Comic Books / Graphic Novels: Hawkeye, Saga, LP, Comeback

Best Blu-ray/DVD Release: Jaws on Blu-ray

Thing that you were most excited about in 2012? Django Unchained

Thing that disappointed you most in 2012? “Fake nerd” sexism

Thing that you’re most looking forward to in 2013? The continuing success of creator owned comics

Ryan Ferrier, a former columnist for Forces of Geek has launched his own comic imprint Challenger Comics and is the author of several projects including “Tiger Lawyer,” “Kataki,” “Brothers James” and “Children of Russia”

Fred Galpern

Best Movies: Moonrise Kingdom

Best TV Shows: American Horror Story – Asylum

Best Books (fiction): (haven’t read new stuff this year, re-reading Stephen King Dark Tower and connected books… It, Salem’s Lot, The Stand are all so, so good)

Best Books (non-fiction): Who I Am by Pete Townshend

Best Video Game: Spaceteam (iOS, multiplayer only)

Best Songs: Love Interruption (Jack White)

Best Albums: Blunderbuss (Jack White), Blues Funeral (Mark Lanegan)

Best Comic Books / Graphic Novels: Cardboard by Doug Tenapel
Best Blu-ray/DVD Release: Prometheus 4-Disc Edition (the detailed 3-hour documentary is better than the movie)

Thing that you were most excited about in 2012? Magic: The Gathering, X-Wing miniatures game (from Fantasy Flight Games), Quarriors!, Creature From the Black Lagoon poster for Eddie Vedder’s last solo show, Marvel Legendary card game

Thing that disappointed you most in 2012? tie between The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises

Thing that you’re most looking forward to in 2013? continuing to enjoy sharing the world of geek pleasures with my wife and kids

Fred Galpern is an upcoming contributor to Forces of Geek

Tony Pacitti
Best Movies: Looper, Sleepwalk With Me

Best TV Shows: Breaking Bad

Best Books (fiction): Railsea by China Mieville

Best Video Game: Dishonored

Best Albums: Dinosaur Jr–I Bet On Sky

Best Blu-ray/DVD Release: Rosemary’s Baby (Criterion)

Thing that you were most excited about in 2012? The Dark Knight Rises

Thing that disappointed you most in 2012? The Hobbit being split into three movies

Thing that you’re most looking forward to in 2013? Unsubstantiated rumors about the next Star Wars trilogy

Tony Pacitti, a former columnist for Forces of Geek, is currently working on his second book.