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5 Things That Make Me Excited About Being a Comic Book Nerd in 2013

I thought I’d quickly touch on the top five comic book related things I’m looking forward to in 2013.

So with no further ado, let’s get to it:

5. Marvel HeroClix: Amazing Spider-man.

It’s no secret I’m a Clix nut. I love playing with little plastic models of my favourite superheroes and trying to out-strategize my friends. With almost back-to-back Batman sets (Dark Knight Rises and Batman) I didn’t think anything Wizkids/NECA produced in 2013 could top that.

Well, top it they have.

With Marvel HeroClix: Amazing Spider-man being released this month, I feel as if they’ve given me a personal nod by including a good portion of the supernatural characters I grew up on.

I’ve wanted characters like Werewolf by Night, Dracula, Frank Drake, and Hannibal King in HeroClix for many years, and I’m more than happy to get updated versions of Morbius, Blade, and Ghost Rider.

Hopefully the supernatural theme will spill over into further Marvel sets, and I’ll get even more of the mystical monsters I grew up on.

4. Victor Gischler’s Creator Owned comic.

Victor Gischler first caught my eye with his X-Men vs. Dracula work. Over his two year run on X-Men, he took small squads of the X-Men and bravely had them interact with other, non-mutant characters of the Marvel Universe like Spider-man, the Fantastic Four, and War Machine.

Since then, Gischler has taken on the Buffy-verse again – taking one of its most recognisable characters and throwing him into unfamiliar territory.

My point is Gischler isn’t afraid to take characters and have them explore corners of their world they’ve never seen or been to before.

Well, Gischler’s next comic book work is a creator-owned comic called Titanium Star for GrayHaven Comics and the first issue is due to hit shelves this month.

What can we expect? Well-rounded characters in a fleshed out universe. That’s what I’ve learned to expect from Gischler’s writing. Over the last few years, I’ve learned he’s a comic book writer I can trust.

I don’t think there are enough space-western genre comics in the market right now. Especially space-westerns written by Gishler.

3. Killeroo: Gangwars Anthology.

2012 opened up a whole new world of comics to me when I stumbled upon an Australian comic created by a man called Darren Close. That comic was called Killeroo. Through Killeroo, I discovered more high quality comics being published in Australia.

Killeroo specifically captured my imagination. 1979-Australian-bikie-culture is something I’ve never seen explored in comics before, and when the lead character is a mysterious mutant kangaroo-man? You better believe I’m sold.

Not only did Killroo take my world by storm as a reader by being such a unique and original character and comic, but the Killeroo: Gangwars Anthology will publish the first ever story written by yours truly.

That’s right. I submitted a story to the anthology that was picked up and should see print this year.

So watch this space for Killeroo: Gangwars. Trust me, I’ll keep you posted (self-serving, I know, but I’m pretty excited about it).

2. Superheroes at the movies.

We have had an incredible few years of great movies based on comic book properties, and 2013 is going to be no exception.

Must-see movies for me this year include Iron Man 3, Kick-Ass 2, and The Wolverine (most of which was shot three hours drive from where I live).

But there are a couple flicks I’m really looking forward to:

1. I’ve been waiting for a great Superman movie for most of my life. Superman and Superman 2 are great for their time, but since then there hasn’t really been a great one. Enter Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel.

Snyder is another artist that’s earned my trust, and I couldn’t be happier with him taking the reins of a Superman flick as I’ve loved (almost) every single movie this man has made.

I got my theories about Snyder’s approach to the character and it looks to me that we’re going to see a Superman movie unlike we’ve ever seen before. Bring. It. On.

2. Thor is my single favourite superhero movie so far. I’ve never been a fan of the comics or the character, but that movie was such a well-crafted piece of work, it stands head and shoulder above everything else for me.

So it’s probably no surprise that Thor: The Dark World is on the top of my list (despite them taking a different direction to what I was hoping for).

The first one was almost flawless and thoroughly enjoyable. Throw in Christopher Eccleston as the new villain and get the Game of Thrones guy to direct it? What’s not to like?

As far as movies are concerned, in 2013 the geek has inherited the earth.

1. More surprises from Jeff Lemire.

I think more than any other writer in 2011-12, Jeff Lemire has captured my imagination.

I never knew who he was before I picked up Animal Man #1 out of DC Comics, and found I held in my hands the most unique and original superhero comic book I’ve read in my whole life.

From there I noticed his name on Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. in where he took the best known monster in the world and made him a secret agent.

Currently, he’s still the best writer in the DC stables and is still writing Animal Man and co-writing Justice League Dark (with Ray Fawkes) with two more exciting monthly projects on the horizon.

In 2013 Lemire takes over one of my previous favourite DC characters, the emerald archer, Green Arrow. I’ve read his book for a couple years but dropped it after the New 52 reboot.

But, hearing that Lemire will be picking up regular writing duties has me really looking forward to reading the adventures of the Emerald Archer again.

Co-written again with Fawkes, the second new project that Lemire will be taking on in 2013 is Constantine.

I never read Hellblazer and my only real exposure to John Constantine is the few issues I’ve read of Justice League Dark and the Keanu Reeves movie.

I like the character. I want to know more about him. I can’t wait to see what happens in his solo book.

So, that’s the what I’m looking forward to in 2013.

But before I wrap, I’m going to leave you with my number #1 comic book wish for 2013:

Black and Blue ongoing comic.

Late 2012 DC Universe Presents #13 dropped its strangest team-up yet with Black Lightning and Blue Devil.

Black and Blue was a four issue arc written by Marc Andreyko, and saw one hell of a superhero, buddy-cop flick. Black Lightning and Blue Devil butt heads as they find themselves on the same case and getting in each other’s way.

Blue Devil has been a favourite of mine since childhood, so I was excited about Black and Blue. But it was such a well-crafted story that anyone could enjoy it regardless of their previous familiarity of the characters.

There were rumours that if Black and Blue sold well enough there was a chance it could be picked up as an ongoing comic.

So, my personal hope or wish for 2013 is that the four-issue run sold well enough that we can see this miss-matched superhero duo on a monthly basis.

Well, that turned out to be a lot longer than I had expected. I hope you’re as excited about 2013 as I am.