To pause for a moment from looking backwards over the months of not blogging, I wanted to take a quick look forwards at things I’m anticipating (and will probably blog about in the future).
Lego Harry Potter
I love the Harry Potter books and films. I love the Lego video games. This is a match made in heaven. My girlfriend and I are going to enjoy the hell out of this when it comes out (as long as it doesn’t have as many glitches as Lego Indiana Jones 2).
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Super Mario Galaxy is just sublime. It is a joy, pure, unadulterated glee in video game form. Jumping, spinning, being a bee, flying, ice-skating – we recently re-explored all the worlds again, and it was just as much fun the second time around. With all new worlds, I can’t wait for this.
Going to the cinema – a lot
The preview sections of film on various magazines/websites are always a shiny treasure trove of potential gold; the end result may not match the anticipation, but I’m always optimistic (unfortunately) despite evidence to the contrary. This year has a nice selection of films that appeal, with comic books providing the source material: The Losers, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Kick Ass and Iron Man 2, and the new Christopher Nolan film Inception providing the top five in my list of things to see.
Steve Moffat on Doctor Who
I mentioned my anticipation of Steve Moffat’s tenure as showrunner of Doctor Who when I talked about the final Russell T Davies/David Tennant episode. Not only did Moffat write some of the best individual episodes in the previous series, but he is also funny, which is something that’s important. I was a big fan of his Coupling sitcom – it was not only genuinely funny but it was also heartfelt and poignant when it needed to be; he was also playing with fractured storytelling even in a sitcom (I remember the episode where the story was moving back and forth in time around a moment, witnessing it from the perspective of different characters; it was amazing for a sitcom). I’m still to be convinced by the haircut of Matt Smith, the new Doctor, but good writing will easily distract me from that.
A new era of comic books?
Siege is supposed to be bringing an end to the umbrella crossovers dominating Marvel, and Blackest Night is leading into Brightest Day at DC – can we be witnessing a time when good comic books can shine without company-wide events? Some really good books have blossomed from these crossovers (Incredible Hercules, the unfortunately cancelled Captain Britain and MI:13, Matt Fraction’s Invincible Iron Man), so it will be nice to see them flourish on their own with the weight of their companies behind them, rather than hyping their bloated events. If not, well, there will always be good books in their own right: I’m looking forward to more of The Unwritten, more Stumptown, and potentially a new Batwoman ongoing series by Rucka and Williams (their Detective Comics run of the origin of Batwoman has been amazing), to name but a few.
That’s enough positivity for now. Back to looking at the past tomorrow.