BSP Round Table: Best And Worst Of Comics And Super Heroes In 2014

The Guardians of The Galaxy in Prison

It’s the very end of 2014, our first full year here at Bam Smack Pow. Along the way, we went from a tiny site about comics and super heroes that wasn’t even indexed by Google, to … well, at least a site that some people and search engines know exists. And that’s something.

Since everyone on the staff here shares a love of comics and super heroes and the way they influence so many different facets of pop culture, I figured for our final round table of 2014, all of the writers could sound off on what they enjoyed most and what turned into their most bitter disappointments of the year we’re wrapping up.

Two simple questions with a variety of different answers. Let’s get to it, and thanks for reading what we wrote in 2014.

Question: What was your favorite comic or super hero-related thing from 2014, and why?

Steve Lam, staff writer:

Three simple words … okay, six simple words if you want to get technical — Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

The trailer that was shown at Comic-Con was brief, but awesome. Action was all that was needed. If our usual readers can’t tell, I’m the resident DC fanboy at Bam Smack Pow. Dawn of Justice will be the main event for me in 2016, and it can’t come any sooner. With Chris Terrio (the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Argo) being brought on board to rewrite Dawn of Justice and its follow-up, Justice League, I have extremely high hopes for this film. Like its characters, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will be powerful and mythic!

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Frankie Koelle, staff writer:

This year has been full of such amazing super hero stuff! I had a big love for both Marvel films this year but I also loved the Marvel NOW Black Widow run, the Marvel NOW Amazing Spider-Man run bringing Pete back to readers. And I grew a love for the Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes edition, where I can officially free-roam around the city as any Marvel character I like. I just hope this goes far and they keep up the good work with tons of figures. As for the comics, I hope they keep up the good work and not change characters too much.

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Roger Lee, staff writer:

My favorite comic arc in 2014 was probably Original Sin. I know a lot of people were critical of yet another big Marvel crossover event, but I feel that this one was done well, and that while it unveiled some surprising changes (most particularly around Nick Fury and SHIELD), I do feel that Marvel put a lot of thought into it. The results were pretty earth-shattering, and the big secret reveals set the stage for a lot of good storytelling to come. I mean, the Winter Soldier is now the “Man on the Wall?” YES!

A close runner-up would be the whole Death of Wolverine arc, which I thought was generally very well done — especially the art in the main Death of Wolverine four-issue mini series. And the follow-up Death of Wolverine: Weapon X Program is also quite good, and the characters introduced in that series hold a ton of potential.

A third runner-up would be the new Invaders series. I love the Golden Age heroes and teams set in the modern era, and the art and stories in this series really grabbed me.

Okay, I will stop now.

Also, Mike Allred’s run on Silver Surfer is really great.

Now I will shut up … no, really!

Oh, and the Captain America: The Winter Soldier movie rocked!

Can I keep going … ?

Hail Hydra!

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Matt Conner, staff writer:

On a personal note, 2014 was my first trip to Atlanta’s Dragon Con and my third time coordinating panels for the North Carolina Comicon, both spaces to celebrate comics, fandom, and inclusion.

For comics, I think the build up to, and opening chapters of, Spider-Verse have shown more creativity and fun than we’ve seen in the last few big crossovers. Dan Slott’s tenure on Spider-Man has been incredible throughout, and this is even better than that.

For comics movies, the number of my friends who still don’t read comics but love Rocket and Groot show how well Marvel executed the gamble of a Guardians of the Galaxy comedy.

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Aaron Speight, staff writer:

My favourite thing from 2104 has to be the Age Of Ultron trailer. I watched it again earlier, and it still gives me goosebumps.

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John McArthur, staff writer:

First off, an honorable mention for how Scott Snyder and Jim Lee finished the Superman Unchained series. Other than that, I think my favorite super hero-related aspect of 2014 was Guardians of the Galaxy. Overall, I feel as if Guardians is Marvel’s best movie to date, which is saying a lot because Captain America: The Winter Solider was fantastic.

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Nick Tylwalk, editor:

It’s really difficult not to give the nod to Guardians of the Galaxy, which I enjoyed immensely. Plenty of comics were great reading as well.

But the Flash was one of my favorite super heroes growing up, behind only Green Lantern and Iron Man in my personal pecking order, and seeing him on TV was a thrill. There were multiple reasons to be skeptical: the series is on The CW, which likes to play up the soap opera stuff, spinning off from Arrow meant it might skimp on the flashy super powers, and a young Barry Allen was a bit of a risk. Instead, we got a show packed with DC Comics references, plenty of Rogues and just the right tone (and yeah, the love triangles are still in there too). Incredibly fun, and something I never dreamed we’d see this early in the “super heroes dominate all media” era.

Next: What didn't the BSP crew like in 2014?