Top 3 Picks of the Last Year of Posts.
Hurray!
It is officially the first anniversary of my blog! Today I will be tossing out a few of my favourite posts from the past year. I've split them into two categories: obscure picks and nostalgic picks. Although some posts don't fit into either category, I think most of what I write about generally goes into one of the two.
Top 3: Obscure
#3 - Podgy Panda
Choosing an artist for this category was really tough. I love all of the art that I've been posting up, so none really outshine the others. In the end, I decided on Podgy Panda for a few reasons. First off, he's an amazing artist, and I think more people should be aware of his work. More specifically, I think that his art best represents the type of art I am naturally drawn to. Podgy Panda (or Richard Kuoch) has finished products with that are cute with clean lines. He is a person that unapologetically puts out work that touches on his interests and nostalgia. His passion for the material shows through.
#2 - Black Science
Black Science is a book that was released recently by Image comics, and quickly became one of my favourites. There are three reasons this book deserves a bigger following. The first is the most obvious, the book is gorgeous. Matteo Scalera is consistently incredible. Second, the book is full of pulpy craziness in a way that only comics can pull off. Last is that the book's story is actually pretty good despite the high action and incredible art. With such focus on creating weird worlds, it's hard to flesh out a deep narrative the ties everything together. Hickman shows his experience with pulp science fiction by sneaking in surprisingly rich character moments between beautiful splash pages.
#1 - Flume
© Flume
Flume holds the title as the only interest that I've posted twice. Technically, one was an album, and the other was a single with another artist. With bizarre sounds, great sampling, and a touch of hip hop beats, Flume found a unique voice in a flooded market. Also, Flume will always be the inspiration for my comic, which was the real birth of all of this.
Top 3: Nostalgic
#3 - Turtles in Time
© Konami
When I took a glance at my old posts, I was convinced that it would easily be my #1 pick. Turtles in Time is is fun. Really, really, fun. I have extremely fond memories playing this game with friends in the golden age of SNES and it will always hold a special place in my heart. I honestly think that the only reason this game ISN'T number one, is because I never technically owned it. I played it a lot when I rented it or when I was at the houses of friends/family that had it.
#2 - Dexter's Laboratory
It's very tempting for me to say "they don't make cartoons like THIS anymore", but I realize that every generation has their own golden memories. What I can say is that Dexter's Laboratory was, and is, great. The weird and offbeat humor was so drastically different than anything else on TV, and the show's creativity was only surpassed by the quality of the show. It's no wonder that so many huge names in animation have come from this show.
#1 Zelda: Ocarina of Time
© Nintendo
I really didn't want to put two games on the top 3 list, but it would have been dishonest. When I was a kid, I did pretty much three things: play at the park, watch cartoons, and play video games. Ocarina of Time took the top spot for me because I was so fanatically excited for this game. Looking back now, the game holds up, but the mechanics and RPG elements have been honed over the years. Remembering back, I remember the sense of wonder and exploration as I went through the different zones and dungeons. I spent many hours on this game, and enjoyed them thoroughly.
And that's it! I hope my picks either get you find new cool things or drum up some happy memories. Really, that's what I aim to do with my blog for the most part. I have tons of really great post ideas floating around, and haven't hit some of my favourite interests by far, so keep checking back for more and better posts. I haven't missed a post yet, but it's bound to happen eventually. Let's hope I can keep another year-long streak.
