Top 10 TV Shows of 2014

                

The volume of TV shows I’ve watched and followed in 2014 has dramatically doubled from the previous years’ set.  Hence, with a comfortable pool size, I can now, for the first time, make a top 10 list of my picks for the best TV shows of 2014.

Before I proceed, these are, in no particular order, all the TV shows I’ve watched and followed in 2014 (I’ve mentioned some already in a past post) but didn’t get into the top 10: The Blacklist, Castle, Elementary, Sleepy Hollow, Psych (ended in 2014 after an 8-season run), Almost Human (unfortunately cancelled), Dracula (finished; I believe that it was a mini-series, but the ending was as if there’s a season 2 – there is none), Defiance, The Big Bang Theory, Pinocchio (from South Korea), The Legend of Korra (I marathoned this during Christmas break), 24: Live Another Day, and Constantine; while these are the TV shows I gave up on and dropped after watching a few episodes: Gotham, Warehouse 13 and Crossbones.   

 

10.) HAIKYUU!

This anime taught me a lot about volleyball, and this is also my pick as the best anime series of 2014.  I already shared my thoughts on this exciting and fun anime in “Haikyuu! Made Volleyball Awesome to Me” – click the link to read the full article.      

9.) MARVEL’S AGENTS OF SHIELD

When it started in 2013, AoS had a slow start.  It was almost always deficient of any exciting, notably fun thing.  Only Clark Gregg’s Phil Coulson was keeping it afloat.  It felt tedious often, as if I was watching it out of obligation of being a loyal Marvel fan.  Everything felt mediocre during its first dozen episodes or so.  Then in 2014, once it had its tie-in with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, AoSimmediately became a bona fide intriguing TV series worth watching.  From then on, I was greatly looking forward for the next episode.   And now in its season 2, this show keeps getting stronger and stronger with every episode.       

8.) THE FLASH

When I saw the trailer for this series’ pilot – which already basically gave away its entire plot – I wasn’t particularly looking forward to it.  Then, the pilot was leaked months before its official start.  I found the time and opportunity to watch it… and I was hooked (read more about it in “It’s Official: the Upcoming Flash TV Series is a Must-Watch”).

Grant Gustin’s Peter Parker-esque Barry Allen is the best version of the character ever.  The character’s lovable geek persona just resonates with disarming appeal.  Next to the lead character, Jesse L. Martin’s Detective Joe West and Tom Cavanagh’s Dr. Harrison Wells are also fantastically engrossing characters to watch.     

This show has some problems; the two major things being: a.) lack of chemistry between Barry Allen and Iris West; and b.) suffers cheesy, uninspired writing half of the time.  Nonetheless, the potential of and the good things about this show still outweigh the negative stuff.

The peak of this show, so far, is the “Flash vs. Arrow” episode – the first of two crossover episodes with Arrow – in which the Arrow and the Flash get to fight each other.  Despite the limitations of a TV budget and production parameters, the fight scene blew me away.  It was stunningly terrific. 

    

7.) ARROW

Watching The Flash paved the way for me to watch Arrow for the first time.  I was excited of the prospect of an extensive DC shared TV universe, and I intended to catch up with its flagship series and trace its foundation.  I started with season one and found it entertaining but not as awesome as I was expecting.  But in its second season, however, the kick-assery and narrative improved a lot – I became an invested fan.   It’s not perfect, but I find a lot of awesome stuff about it (along with other current DC TV series, I listed the things I like about it as well as those I don’t in my article evaluating DC’s TV programming).  It’s my hands down choice for best DC TV series right now.         

6.) I HEAR YOUR VOICE

This originally ran in 2013 in Korea, but it only got into Philippine TV in 2014, so I will count this as a 2014 TV show.  I am completely surprised how this Koreanovela has won me over.  I tried watching another Koreanova, Pinocchio, trying if I can replicate the experience I had with I Hear Your Voice.  Pinocchio has the same writer and lead actor as I Hear Your Voice, but the former doesn’t have the same depth and delightfulness as the latter.   I Hear Your Voice is truly special.  Heck, I even compared it with the classic Huckleberry Finn! ––     

  For me, I Hear Your Voice is something like how a certain gentleman valued Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn.  This gentleman went to Mark Twain and told the author he wished he didn’t read Mark Twain, and was willing give a hundred dollars for it to be so.  His reason?  So he could have again the pleasure of reading Huckleberry Finn for the first time.
  Really.  I found it astonishing that I found myself wishing I haven’t seen the series yet, so I can have the pleasure of watching it for the first time.  I Can Hear Your Voice is that awesome.

(Read more in “I Hear Your Voice is the Koreanovela that Has Made Me Invested… And Swoon”)               

5.) BLACK MIRROR – CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

Before this special, I had never been aware of the existence of Black Mirror, a British science fiction anthology series that is very Twilight Zone-esque – hence, extremely fascinating, dark, intriguing, and smart.  I haven’t seen any previous episodes yet (it has, so far, two series – the last one still back in February 2013 – with three episodes each; a total of six episodes before this Christmas special), but I bet that this Christmas special has perfectly defined the overall exceptional quality of Black Mirror.

2014’s Christmas special, entitled “White Christmas”, is a tremendously absorbing three-part tale that featured two terrifying technologies.  First, the capacity of “blocking” people in real-life (just like in Facebook).  Second, “cookies”, a device where one’s thought patterns is extracted and stored, creating a digital copy of the consciousness of that person.  This digital copy is at the mercy of the person that holds the “cookie” and is forced to become a slave of its original/owner.        

4.) DOCTOR WHO

I’ve always been meaning to get into Doctor Who – primarily because I know that the Doctor is one of the most unique and interesting fictional characters ever, and I want to enjoy the character – and it was only this 2014 that I finally get to do so.  When it was announced that the Doctor will undergo another regeneration with Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor, I decided to finally start getting associated with Doctor Who.  Before the 8^th season started, I proceeded to watch its key episodes, especially “Day of the Doctor” (its 50^thanniversary special) and “Time of the Doctor” (when Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor regenerates into the Twelfth Doctor).  Just as what I had been suspecting for a long time, Doctor Who indeed turned out to be a show that is truly in accordance with my tastes; I was immediately charmed by the show’s quirky science fiction premise and rich mythology.

3.) TRUE DETECTIVE

My take on it:

  Next to Sherlock, True Detectivecould turn out as my most favorite TV show for 2014.  It was extremely engaging and thrilling that it was completely hard to turn away from it; I watched all episodes of the first season (pre-downloaded) in one sitting (that has to be something around eight hours straight).
  I’ve noticed that all of the TV shows I currently like and follow have elements of humor in them.  So it was kind of an “odd-man-out” case for the grim True Detective with me.  Despite having a “serious” tone, the show still mightily appealed to me.
  It’s just that there are a lot of things to love about this show.  First of all, it was an intelligent detective-mystery story, and I’ve always loved the genre.  The opening theme was also pretty fine and catchy.  The narrative and dialogue (especially whenever Rust is involved) were completely rich, stimulating, and simply well-written.  But the show’s finest appeal was the strong and captivating performance of its leads, Woody Harrelson and Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey.  The creepy and grim sensibilities also mightily boosted the mysterious charm of the entire tale.  Heck, the mood was gothic enough to provoke many fans to expect that a Lovecraftian, supernatural twist was going to happen.

(Excerpt from “Next to Sherlock, True Detective is the Best Thing to Happen on TV this Year”) 

I wrote the stuff above before I got to see…

2.) ORPHAN BLACK

I love Orphan Black.  I adore Tatiana Maslany.  This show is awesome.  There’s nothing left to say.  Read my full ravings in “I ♥ Orphan Black”…

1.) SHERLOCK

Sherlock is already a lock for one of my most favorite TV series of all time.  If it had been an already finished show, it would have qualified for my “Top 20 TV Series (That Had Already Concluded)” and it would have ranked second there.  Hence, I never had any struggle on what my number one choice would be.  What I wrote before…     

Hands down, Sherlock Series 3 is the greatest thing that came out in TV this year.  At this point, it seems unlikely for any other series to replace this as my favorite TV series this year.  Its Series3 was just as excellent, intelligent, creative, funny, clever, and pleasurable as the previous two seasons – probably even more so.  Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman remain fantastic and charming as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson.  If I will rate this show out of five stars, I will give it a six.  That’s how much I think highly of Sherlock.

…held true throughout the year.  

Read More

Top 20 Movies of 2014 I've Seen in the Second-Half of the Year (+Top 10 Movies of 2014)

For 2014’s movie list, just like last year, I will be enumerating the top 20 best movies that I’ve seen in the second half of the year – regardless of whether they were released in the first half or second half – and, then, from this list and from my first-half edition list (read that one first), I will pick my top ten movies of the year. 

(And, just like every year, there are a couple of movies that I missed watching that would have likely made the list if I was able to.  These were John Wick, The Imitation Game, Unbroken, and Birdman.)

20.) SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR

 

Just like the earlier sequel film of 2014 based on Frank Miller’s work, 300: Rise of an Empire, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For also carried the same visual and narrative theme of its predecessor.  Though I find the tales of the original 2005 film greatly better in general than the ones in A Dame to Kill For, the stories featured here are still gripping enough to keep me invested.  A lot of critics pan this movie, but, for me, though it’s definitely inferior to the first movie, it still possesses the same gritty neo-noir appeal that made the first movie entertaining.  Also, the performances of Eva Green and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are simply magnetic.       

 

19.) 22 JUMP STREET

This is the funniest movie of 2014.  Really.  Just like before, Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill killed it.  The goofy chemistry and genuine comical talent of this duo flawlessly carried the comedy of this movie.  I really applaud and appreciate the fact that this movie relied on legitimately hilarious content in creating laughs, instead of going the “crude debauchery” route (i.e. the humor in the overrated This is the End).  Moreover, the closing sequence of this movie – where it makes fun of itself as a sequel, as well as any potential sequels – was gold!                

18.) THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1

 

It was clear that Mockingjay suffered from being split into two parts.  The movie is as thematically rich and dramatically intense as its predecessors, but the action was lacking.  I like how the movie further explored the power of propaganda through Katniss’ struggles while serving as a propaganda tool.  But, seriously, Katniss only gets to shoot one arrow in this movie?  Yes, she took down that aircraft, which is badass, but I saw that in the trailer already.  With the lack of great, notable action sequences, which the previous two films had in droves, Mockingjay Part 1ended up being tedious at times and not as fun as I was expecting.

I know that Mockingjay Part 1 will work best when watched back-to-back with Part 2 in 2015.   But by its own, clearly, Mockingjay Part 1 is the least of the franchise so far.           

   

17.) GODZILLA

For some, Godzilla was a disappointment.  And I understand why, for the supposed star of the movie – Godzilla – actually only had 8 minutes of screen time.  Out of the movie’s 2-hour running time, that’s just about 7%!  The griping is justified. 

Nonetheless, for me, the movie was able to successfully utilize the human drama that the narrative mainly focused on to enhance the glory and magnitude of when Godzilla is finally revealed – short time his appearance may be.   How?  The human characters and how the existence and emergence of monsters got to affect their lives served as the audience’s lens – a kind of worm’s eye view to the whole thing.  By witnessing it through the point of view of human beings – who are just small, helpless, irrelevant worms beside such something grand as Godzilla – the movie wants us, the audience, to emphatically grasp that, in this movie’s universe, Godzilla’s emergence transcends human history.   And, I think, the movie pulled it off very well.  Godzilla gets an exhilarating re-telling of his origin, and we were awed by it all. 

16.) HERCULES

I would have loved it more if it’s an actual depiction of Hercules’ mythological adventures, but I appreciate the reinvention done here nonetheless.  In this movie, Hercules is actually a leader of a band of interesting mercenaries (one of which is a female archer that would have made my “top 10 fictional archers” list if I had encountered her then).  He is truly a formidable, strong warrior but his great strength isn’t supernatural at all, and his divine parenthood is actually just a ruse.  Stories of his feats and accomplishments are greatly exaggerated so that his fame and reputation will become more legendary, hence, he and his friends will gain more employment, receive greater rewards and payment, and intimidate future opponents.  

The story isn’t particularly smart or original (in fact, most critics hated this movie), but it’s a very entertaining sword-and-sandal film.  The action is top-notch, and there are some legitimate twists that I was not really expecting.  Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, given his background and physique, really thrives in such “comic bookish” roles like Hercules; he was a great delight to watch.

15.) AFFLICTED

Afflicted is a “found-footage”-style horror movie done right; it has comprehensibly gorgeous cinematography (considering its genre), thrilling action sequences (especially the stunning first-person action scenes from Derek’s point of view), and genuine scares.  The premise: filmmakers Derek Lee and Clif Prowse, playing fictional versions of themselves, proceeded to go on a year-long travel around the world and make a documentary-vlog about their experiences.  Along the way, Derek hooked up with a girl named Audrey, who left him unconscious and bloodied in his hotel room.  Derek recovered and dismissed the whole incident, but later in their trip, he would discover that he has been dramatically changing into a vampire.                            

14.) GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

I haven’t checked yet, but I bet that the makers of 2012’s Moonrise Kingdom are the same ones that made Grand Budapest Hotel.  The latter simply has the same narrative style, humor, production value, and viewing experience as the former; hence, I got the same enjoyment from Grand Budapest Hotel as I got from Moonrise Kingdom.        

13.) BATMAN: ASSAULT ON ARKHAM

This is, hands down, the greatest direct-to-video animated movie from DC this year.  Set in the universe of the Batman: Arkham video game franchise, the focus of this film is actually on the Suicide Squad, with Batman serving a supporting role, as they are tasked by Amanda Waller to break in Arkham and extract information from the Riddler.  As expected from such set-up – and with the Joker notably incarcerated in Arkham – chaos ensues, to us viewers’ delight.    

12.) NIGHTCRAWLER

We’ve already seen countless movies that feature a sociopath, but this neo-noir crime thriller was able to deliver a unique sociopath tale.  It’s a dark but enthralling story about a sociopathic thief named Lou Bloom (great performance from Jake Gyllenhaal) that underwent a “career change” after discovering the thrill and money from being a “nightcrawler” – an independent media man that shoots footages of crimes and accidents and then sells them to news agencies.  That may sound like a boring premise at first, but, I assure you, it’s not.  I know, I first thought so, too, but I gave it a shot, and found it a very compelling watch.      

11.) WHIPLASH

 

In this movie, J.K. Simmons magnificently plays a hotheaded, terrorizing jazz maestro who verbally abuses his students at a regular basis (it was revealed later on that he’s that fearfully intense so that he can squeeze the best out of his musicians and hopefully transform them into jazz legends).  Simmons’ character, Terence Fletcher, spews insults and scoldings that would make hardened drill sergeants cry; it’s quite entrancing to watch.   Only an actor like Simmons, who got to flawlessly bring J. Jonah Jameson to screen in the Spider-Man franchise, can truly deliver such electrifying performance.        

Oh, Miles Teller’s character is actually the main protagonist of this movie, a drummer who trains under Fletcher and who is determined to win his approval.  But Simmons’ intensity and prime A-holery truly stole the show. 

This movie is also worth watching over because of its music.  “Whiplash” and “Caravan” are pure eargasm.   

10.) 'RUROUNI KENSHIN: KYOTO INFERNO' & 'RUROUNI KENSHIN: THE LEGEND ENDS'

These are, technically, two movies.  But in essence, they are actually just one movie-story split into two parts, and released into two separate dates during the year.  So I evaluated them as if they are just one movie, and allocated a spot for them as if they are just one movie.   

The Rurouni Kenshin movies – including the first one in 2012 – are the greatest live-action adaptations of an anime ever done (as of writing, I haven’t seen the new Lupin III live-action movie yet, and, from the trailer, it looks amazing.  I also have high hopes for the Attack on Titan live-action movie in 2015).  The production value is fantastic – really bringing to life the characters and setting of the anime.  I truly appreciate the movies’ effort to be as authentic and accurate as possible. 

The story from Kyoto Inferno and The Legend Ends is based from the anime’s arc with Shishio and his Juppongatana.  The movies were, understandably, unable to be faithful to the detail and there were a couple of notable liberties.  However, the theme was generally faithful. (I was, however, disappointed that Cho’s whip-like Hakujin-no-Tachi sword was not featured in his appearance in Kyoto Inferno.) I also noticed some dumb details in the plot – like, why is there a need to ride a boat and get on Shishio’s ironclad to fight the bad guys there, when it’s possible to just pound it with cannons and sink it from shore? – but the positives still overwhelm the negatives.    

The fight scenes were gorgeous – especially the climax in The Legend Ends wherein everybody wanted a piece of Shishio.  Next to The Raid 2, the Rurouni Kenshinmovies have the best fight scenes of 2014.         

   

9.) PREDESTINATION

This 2014 Australian movie is to be generally released early this year, but since I’ve seen it in 2014 already, I will consider this for this list.  I won’t give much detail regarding the plot – only that it’s a captivating and clever time traveling tale – for the narrative relied on some twists to blow the viewer away.  I’ll let you have the pleasure of having these twists – and the rest of the story – be unfolded for you.  Now, personally, I was able to easily predict what these twists would be (there were too many clues, actually), but I was still able to enjoy them when they were revealed.  

8.) BEGIN AGAIN

Begin Again is supposed to be a 2013 movie, but it was only seen in film festivals.  It was only released theatrically for mass audience in 2014, so I will consider this a 2014 movie. 

At first, I thought that this was going to be a shallow rom-com flick, but it’s not.  It’s actually a thoughtful musical comedy-drama, and, no, (SPOILERS?) the characters of Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley didn’t romantically hook-up at all.  And it’s actually brilliant.  When the narrative seems to be teasing of going there, it just stops itself in a fun way – developing their friendship instead.  It was truly more satisfying than making them a couple.  

The story is about a down-on-his-luck, ex-record label executive (Ruffalo) and a singer-songwriter (Knightley), who recently broke up with her longtime boyfriend/songwriting partner after he became a pop star, as they collaborate into recording an album set in different places around New York City.  And going through this unique recording project – as they bond, share their musical tastes with each other, learn more about themselves, and turn into better individuals – a beautiful story of friendship and music unfolds.      

My favorite part of the movie was when Ruffalo’s character heard Knightley’s character sing for the first time.  It was in a bar, and Knightley’s character, who has just recently been broken-hearted, was invited to sing by a friend that had a set that night.  She was singing an originally composed song of hers while playing an acoustic guitar.  But Ruffalo’s character was revealed to have a special talent: when drunk, he can imagine out how musical instruments will sound like.  So while she was singing, he imagined out an entire band arrangement for the song.  It was awesome.    

7.) INTERSTELLAR

Being a Christopher Nolan movie starring Matthew McConaughey, there was a lot of expectations for this movie.  Personally, it didn’t meet my expectations.  It’s a truly good sci-fi movie, but I was hoping to be blown away, and I wasn’t, really.  Nonetheless, Interstellar is a well-acted, well-directed, thought-provoking, and visually appealing film that possesses the same emotional depth and charm of 2001: A Space Odyssey.         

6.) DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ praiseworthy acting, directing, plot, and visual effects (especially the work on the apes) magnificently worked together to deliver an emotional and intelligent story that considerably improved – and outdid – the original franchise it was based from. 

The story takes place a decade after the events of 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  Human civilization has collapsed, and humanity itself is in the brink of extinction.  The ape community that Caesar has started in the woods outside of San Francisco at the end of the first movie is now thriving.  However, tensions are mounting high between the apes and the human survivors living in the ruins of San Francisco.  And despite Caesar’s best efforts of keeping peace, the war between apes and humans is inevitable. 

5.) GONE GIRL

Gone Girl is an intense and absorbing mystery thriller from start to finish.  Set in a small town in the US Midwest, the story is about a man (played by Ben Afleck) suspected of murdering his wife (played by Rosamund Pike) who has gone missing in their 5^th anniversary.  In the public eye, the two were having a blissful marriage, but after her disappearance, details slowly unraveled regarding their marital turmoils; evidences start to pile up against the husband.  But did the husband really murder his wife, or was he merely set up?

4.) FURY

This movie, about an American tank crew (their tank is the one nicknamed “Fury”, hence, the title) during the Allied invasion of Germany in WW2, could be the greatest war movie I’ve ever seen since Saving Private Ryan.   The action scenes were grippingly terrific – completely capturing both the awful brutality and stirring animation of war.  The narrative is well-layered, emotionally rich, and dynamic.  These two – the great action and narrative – kept me completely engrossed all throughout the movie.         

There was stellar acting all around – from Brad Pitt to Logan Lerman – making the characters all easy to invest on.  But the surprise is Shia LaBeouf.  He was genuinely fantastic here.  I never liked the man this much ever since his goofy days in Even Stevens.          

3.) THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES

The Desolation of Smaug is still my most favorite movie in the trilogy, but The Battle of the Five Armies is nonetheless a pleasurable and satisfying conclusion.  I appreciate the beautiful and intense battle scenes, the strong character moments, and the usual spectacular visuals.  I never had any dull moment at all.               

The Hobbit trilogy isn’t as good as the LOTR trilogy, but I’m glad it happened.  Seriously, I don’t understand the hate on Peter Jackson’s decision to expand The Hobbitinto three movies.  It’s not as if the padding done on the story has been sloppy work, nor did it compromise the theme and general plot of its source material.  In fact, the additions of Jackson – despite the needlessness of some details and subplots – have been awesome.  Yes, stretching it was a clear cash-grab tactic.  But, on the other hand, we get to have a delightful, enjoyable piece of epic fantasy three times in the past three years – one for each year.  I, for one, am thankful. 

2.) BIG HERO 6

Big Hero 6’s plot makes an effort to be unpredictable, but, because of this, actually ends up being predictable instead.  Moreover, it feels that this has been meticulously engineered, down to the last detail, to become a perfectly charming, adorable animated movie that would have both critical and commercial success.  And it worked!  Despite being sort of “artificial”, everybody – including yours truly – loved it.   

I believe that Disney will make more animated movies based on Marvel Comics properties (I hope I’m right).  Big Hero 6 has been a great start.  Shared Marvel animated universe, anyone?         

1.) GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

I wrote during the first-half that Captain America: The Winter Soldier was the “Best. Marvel. Movie. Ever.”  Months later, GotG handily took that title.  (It’s awesome.  Marvel Studios’ movies are getting better and better.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Age of Ultronends up taking the title from GotG, and then Ant-Man takes the title from AoU, and so on...) Though it doesn’t have the depth and thoughtfulness of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, GotG is still the better film for being a delightfully perfect mix of wackiness, fun, humor, heart, and charm; nostalgic music; remarkable characters; fantastic visuals; engaging action; and an exciting, light-hearted comic book narrative.    

Back in February 2014, I already called for it being terrific:  

Guardians of the Galaxycould likely turn out to be Marvel Studios’ greatest hit.  I’m not just optimistic about it, I’ll even dare say that GotG could even become a bigger thing than Star Trek and Star Wars…
The potential is there… I’m predicting that it’s going to be bizarre, dynamic, funny, action-packed, and thrilling.

It’s almost scary how accurate I was.  Okay, it’s probably not yet close of becoming a bigger thing than Star Trek and Star Wars.  But I believe that GotG has brought the same sense of awed enjoyability as these two.   Nonetheless, Guardians of the Galaxy, for me, is the greatest thing that ever came out of the big screen in 2014.  

*   *   *

TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2014

10.) THE RAID 2: BERANDAL

9.) GONE GIRL

8.) VERONICA MARS

7.) FURY

6.) THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES

5.) THE LEGO MOVIE

4.) BIG HERO 6

3.) CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

2.) HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2

1.) GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

Read More

Top 20 Comics of 2014

  

Without further ado…

20.) X-MEN: NO MORE HUMANS

 

Same as last year, the X-books failed to impress me, even with the whole “Death of Wolverine” event happening.  But I totally dig the No More Humans graphic novel.  It had an epic premise: every human mysteriously disappears, living the earth to mutants.  More than that, mutants from other realities started popping in as the humanless Earth-616 world is now a perfect place for mutant refuge.   The X-Men struggle whether to accept this new world or to bring back the status quo – and how?        

19.) MS. MARVEL

People are saying that Kamala Khan a.k.a. the new Ms. Marvel is this generation’s Spider-Man.  Though I wouldn’t go that far, I understand where that perception is coming from as Kamala, like early Peter Parker, also has to deal with the daily drama of being a teenager while fulfilling her superhero duty.  I’m not yet really jumping into the bandwagon, but I appreciate the uniqueness of the character as well as her massive potential.  But, seriously, the book’s first storyline isn’t that great.      

18.) SUPERIOR IRON MAN

This is a new series, so there are only three issues so far.  Nonetheless, this series has already hooked me, since among the dramatic rebranding of the Avengers’ Big 3 (Cap, Iron Man, Thor), what was done on Iron Man was the only thing that really worked well.  As a result of the psyche inversion in “Axis”, Tony Stark is now more scheming, egotistic, and irrepressible – hence, more intriguing.        

17.) SECRET AVENGERS

The third volume of the title has been rebranded into something lighter and funnier – with good results.  It has the down-to-earth wit that Hawkeye and Superior Foes of Spider-Man have.  In fact, this title has been my substitute for Hawkeye, which didn’t even make this list because of its irregular release in 2014 (if I get it right, there had only been four issues of Hawkeye last year).  Moreover, the addition of M.O.D.O.K. as a regular has definitely worked magic for the series.       

16.) THE WAKE

The latter parts and conclusion of this great piece of sci-fi/horror doesn’t quite measure up to the fantastic build up that its early issues were able to accomplish.   Nonetheless, overall, Scott Snyder delivered a gripping, thought-provoking mini-series that was well worth my reading time. 

15.) THE MULTIVERSITY

I have to admit that my lack of deep familiarity with the DC multiverse (compared to my Marvel knowledge) doesn’t make me fully appreciate and comprehend the sophistication of this epic project by Grant Morrison.  I find it confusing and even tedious at times.  But, of course, I definitely also found a couple of enjoyable and interesting parts – that’s why it’s on this list.  My most favorite is the Pax Americanaone-shot, in which the characters acquired by DC from Charlton Comics were given a “Watchmen” treatment – it was awesome.              

14.) ELRIC THE RUBY THRONE

 

I’ve never been a fan of the novels, hence, this was my first encounter with the character, premise, and setting, and I was completely blown away by the richness of its fantasy world.  Now, if I get the chance, I will definitely devour as much Elric books as I can (but I doubt that, given that I have at least 15 books in “The Pile” – my stack of unread/unfinished books).  However, I think Elric works best in comics format, so I hope there are more follow ups to this.      

13.) BATMAN AND SUPERMAN

It made quite a drop from its 2013 standing, but it’s just that the 2014 storylines – like their team-up with Power Girl and Huntress, and undergoing an “amnesia” arc – aren’t as great as 2013’s.  However, the last issue, which kicked-off the present storyline, has been intriguingly promising as a mysterious Joker-like villain is targeting Superman.  This is a tale to watch out for in 2015.     

12.) MOON KNIGHT

 

I didn’t dig Moon Knight’s new look at first.  But realizing that this “new look” is merely an alternate look, and he still reverts to his old, iconic costume once in a while, it grew on me.  Besides, the new series is excellently well-written and totally gives justice to the gritty noir-charm of the character.  

11.) THE SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN

 

This was the most hilarious comic book series in 2014 (and 2013, for that matter, the year it first came out, and which I had missed then).   The series succeeded in giving Spidey’s supervillains tons of personality at the cost of making them more pathetic and ridiculous.  Too bad it ended this year.   

10.) THUNDERBOLTS

This line-up has become my most favorite incarnation of the team that I’m sad to see this series end this year.  This unconventional team of bad-guy killers – who are as ready to kill each other as their criminal targets – managed to produce good-quality “black comedy” in a consistent basis.  Its final arc, “Punisher vs. Thunderbolts”, was pretty badass and funny, and the kind of imploding end we could expect from such team.   

9.) JUSTICE LEAGUE

I had already dropped this book from my readings after “Trinity of Sin” but the peculiar addition of Lex Luthor and Captain Cold to the team made me curious enough top pick up the book again.  I love how Lex Luthor maneuvered himself into the team, and his sparring of wits with Batman was so entertaining. 

8.) BATMAN

It was a good story, but I wasn’t particularly crazy about the book’s “Zero Year” continuation wherein the Riddler was able to completely take Gotham City hostage and be its despot for a couple of months (as Bane did in The Dark Knight Rises).  However, after that, we get to see another “Batman is an extremely competent, meticulous planner” moment as he take on an entire Justice League which was drugged and controlled by the Joker.  It was truly the most thrilling Batman action sequence that I’ve seen for some time.     

7.) THE SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN

My love-hate relationship with this book continued during the early part of the year, but, in its conclusion, since it resulted into the return of Peter Parker, I was able to comfortably accept the whole “Superior Spider-Man” storyline as an important part of the Spider-Man mythos.   After its issue 31 finale, there were also two extra issues that came out later in the year which served as whetting appetizers for Spider-Verse (more of this later on). 

6.) AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE

It’s definitely one the greatest zombie stories ever.  Not only in comics, but of any medium.  I kind of held this mini-series off in 2013, for the premise seems pretty ludicrous.  But I read a lot of praise about it, that in 2014, I picked it up and learned that the hype is all true.  This is not at all your ludicrously wacky “Archie’s Weird Mysteries” plot, but a legitimate horror drama that could give “The Walking Dead” a run for its money.        

  

5.) AVENGERS/NEW AVENGERS

I will just put Avengers (my number one comics last year) and New Avengers together in one spot since the Jonathan Hickman’s narrative is running alternatively between the two books anyway, as if it’s a bi-weekly book.  Post-Infinity, both series felt kind of sluggish and weren’t as fun as they were in 2013.  Then it started became intriguingly awesome again when both books time-skipped eight months ahead of the rest of Marvel’s current ongoing comics.  In the two series’ pages, there is still no answer in stopping the impending destruction of the multiverse, but despite of this dire reality, the Avengers still managed to find the time to split into three factions and fight among themselves.  Fun!         

4.) AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: FAMILY BUSINESS

The gorgeous art itself is reason enough to make this graphic novel a winner, but the cloak-and-dagger plot is pretty special, too.  I’ve always thought that it would be fun if Spidey would follow his parents’ footsteps and go on some espionage adventures in his black costume (that’s why I loved “Secret War” – wherein Nick Fury secretly led a group of heroes to invade Larveria – years ago).  Hence, I love how this story forced Spidey into such situation, and proved once and for all that a “Spider-Man as a secret-agent” plot will have enjoyable results.   

  

3.) INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US

Injustice is, hands down, the greatest “Elseworld”-style comic book series ever.  Seriously.  In this alternate reality, Superman has taken the world under his totalitarian rule, allied himself with Sinestro and his yellow lanterns, and brutally and callously crushes those that go against him.  Unfortunately, it’s revealed that most superheroes lack their own personal convictions as they remain firmly by Superman’s side, believing that Superman is always right.  Only Batman and his handful of allies chose to stand against the now tyrannical Superman.  The series details the ongoing war between the two sides in a narrative that is consistently intense, thought-provoking, and engaging – filled with exciting twists, strong character performances, epic battles and deaths, and absorbing drama.    

2.) SPIDER-VERSE

“Spider-Verse” (this slot is for the event itself and not just the two-issue limited series of the same title) is my most favorite mega-event this year.  Ever since its announcement, I had been excitedly waiting for this.  And now that it’s currently ongoing, it’s everything I was hoping for – a heavy-staked, no-holds-barred Spiderfest.  The event promises the team up of every Spider-Man ever, and though I doubt that it has truly done that, it has, nevertheless, entertainingly utilized every Spider character featured so far.  I really derive so much pleasure from seeing all these different Spider-Men together in one epic story.         

1.) SAGA

The best ongoing comic book series right now is Saga, and it was only this 2014 that I got into it.  I’m glad I finally did since it’s an awesome piece of science fiction fantasy property, packed with sharp humor, delightful insanity, and innate charisma.   It’s brilliantly well-written and beautifully drawn – the most perfectcomics around right now.      

Read More