Continuing with our annual “Looking Forward, Looking Back," we asked creators and other industry figures what they liked in 2014, what they’re looking forward to in 2015, and what projects they have planned for the coming year.

In this installment, we hear from G. Willow Wilson, Tom Spurgeon, Paul Maybury, Chris Roberson, Carla Speed McNeil, Claire Connelly, Patrick Dean, Michael Allred, Amy Chu, Jamie S. Rich, David Lopez and Jeff Loveness!

Be sure to check out Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3, and then come back Friday for even more.


G. Willow Wilson

Ms. Marvel, X-Men

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What was your favorite comic of 2014?

For me, it's probably a tie between She-Hulk and Saga. Saga just keeps hitting it out of the park -- BKV is doing his best work since Y: The Last Man. It's fresh, it's fast, it keeps surprising you, and like everything BKV does, it's breathtakingly humane. A joy. She-Hulk is a fantastic reboot of an underutilized character. I mean, they put her in a wrestling singlet and dropped her into some courtroom drama. Hilarious, awesome. Oh! And also Kelly Sue DeConnick's Pretty Deadly, which is garnering well-deserved comparisons to Sandman. That is saying something.

Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?

Let me just say … I was in the writers' room at Marvel for the first time a few weeks ago, and there are some books in the pipeline that will blow your socks off. I'm going to have to be that vague.

GRANT EFFING MORRISON has a book called Nameless coming out from Image next year that looks amazing. (He's working with Nathan Fairbain, who is the most talented colorist in the business. I say that with complete confidence. His work is transformative.) Really excited for that one.

What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?

I'm developing a brand-new series with Marvel that is shaping up to be one of the most fun and challenging things I've ever written. And there are huge things in store for Ms. Marvel. Stay tuned.


Tom Spurgeon

The Comics Reporter, Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (cXc)

WebsiteTwitter | Tumblr | cXc Tumblr



What was your favorite comic of 2014?

The best new comic I read last year was Arsene Schrauwen, and the best collected comic I read was The Love Bunglers, but my favorite was The Bungle Family, a presentation of one year -- 1930 -- in the life of the nearly forgotten Harry J. Tuthill newspaper comic strip released by the Library of American Comics through IDW.

There are many reasons it's my favorite. It's extremely good, for one, mean and funny -- if it were on TV now it would be a Netflix offering -- and specifically delightful in its portrayal of marriage as an island for two people who distrust the rest of the world they need to mark their territory and have enough space away from others to complain 19 hours a day. I know a lot of couples like the Bungles. Just the fact that this is a complete run of 1930 comic strips from a feature as obscure as The Bungle Family, in glorious hardcover, testifies to the amazing age of comics in which we now live. The last couple of months I've been reveling in the fact that the biggest difference between now and when I was a kid is that great comics can hit you from a dozen different places: newspapers, mainstream comic books, alt comics books, minis, online, editorial cartooning, the BD album format, graphic novels, hybrid books, your local kids' library, general-interest magazines, on your tablet ... Great comics are everywhere. This is a well-presented edition, too, with a great few runs of storylines, and even looks great on the shelf. I love this book.

Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?

The first issue of Peter Bagge's comic Hate came out in 1990, which makes 2015 its 25th-anniversary year. I hope that we'll all be able to pay Bagge his due throughout the year. Hate is a monster comic book, funny every issue, and so dead-on accurate of its portrayal of the early 1990s that through that specificity remains universal and funny now because of the truth on display. His characters are amazing. I think Peter's not just an important figure in comics but a key player in American comedy. So I hope the anniversary will get us to pay some attention to Peter Bagge's astounding career, both with Hate and with other characters and comics. I just read his "Studs Kirby" collection, and I swear to you if that was the only comics he ever did he would have been a top five comics-maker from the key 1980s decade for the development of the art form. I look forward to writing about him.

What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?

We're having a launch party on Oct. 2-3 in Columbus, Ohio, for Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, so that's probably the one thing I'm definitely looking forward to in a packed year: I also have to move to Columbus, which is personally meaningful, and I'm changing a bunch of stuff about The Comics Reporter. But the CXC Launch Festival trumps them all.

This is a miniaturized version of the eventually four-day festival launching in fall 2016 -- where we take a few, key elements of our show and present them as a kind of welcome to the city. We'll spend Friday, Oct. 2 up on campus at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum presenting a few directed panels, having an awards program/cocktail party that will become part of the big festival in '16 and hopefully some solid evening-focused programming featuring one of our guests. On Saturday, Oct. 3 we head downtown to the Cultural Arts Center for a one-day comic book show of the classic tables and exhibitors variety, like TCAF or SPX, and some on-site programming related to the making of comics. I hope people will come and enjoy what should be a very good time, or let us at least try to convince you to pay us a visit in the announcements for the show that should hit the next 10 weeks. Columbus is a great city for comics, and we hope to launch a show where everybody leaves with something: the attendees, the exhibitors, the city, its institutions, and comics itself. I can't wait to give this a try.


Paul Maybury

Valhalla Mad, BOOMBOX!

Website Twitter | Tumblr



What was your favorite comic of 2014?

The little five-page Maxx story from Hero Comics that IDW put out. It was like seeing old friends.

Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?

Space Riders by Alexis Ziritt and Fabian Rangel Jr. I have no idea what it’s about, but I know it’s going to be good.

What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?

I’m working on Valhalla Mad with Joe Casey at Image Comics. I also have a story in BOOMBOX!, which will be released from BOOM! later this month.




Chris Roberson

Aliens: Fire and Stone, Sovereign, Edison Rex, Monkeybrain Comics

Website Twitter | Tumblr



What was your favorite comic of 2014?

I continue to be amazed by Michel Fiffe’s Copra, Colleen Coover and Paul Tobin’s Bandette is a continual delight, and I always count myself lucky to exist in the same world as Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson and Alex Ross’ Astro City, but if I had to point at a single comic that I enjoyed the most in 2014, it would probably have to be Grant Morrison and company’s Multiversity series from DC. The Pax Americana issue with Frank Quitely in particular blew the top of my head off, and the Thunderworld Adventures issue with Cameron Stewart helpfully put my head back together again in an entirely charming way. (And I’d be remiss not to point out the amazing color work of Nathan Fairbairn on both those issues, which shows just what an incredible range he has.) Chris Sprouse’s work on Society of Super-Heroes was aimed squarely at me as a reader, and overall the series has been exactly what I was hoping it would be.

Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?

Probably the next installment of Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Nemo: River of Ghosts, due out in March from Top Shelf in the United States and Knockabout in the United Kingdom. I enjoy watching two creators at the height of their powers just let go and tell solid adventure stories (with the additional fun of the “Spot the Reference” game that the reader can play along the way).

What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?

I’m afraid I’m not allowed to say which project I’m especially pumped about that. There is one in particular that I’m positively vibrating with excitement about, a chance to work in a fictional universe that has brought me a great deal of enjoyment over the years, but the project hasn’t been announced yet and I don’t want to get in trouble! Suffice it to say that this was something that I hadn’t even considered putting on my bucket list because I hadn’t thought it was even feasible, and I put it on the list and crossed it off on the same day once I got the job.


Carla Speed McNeil

FCBD: Avatar, Dark Horse Presents/Finder

Twitter | Tumblr



What was your favorite comic of 2014?

Thing that nobody will argue with: Saga. Saga Saga Saga. Cool thing that far fewer people have heard of: Blindsprings, a frighteningly pretty webcomic.

Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?

I was just looking at the article on Spider-Woman's new duds. What with Batgirl's makeover, I am really excited about real-world costumes for superheroes -- not because I think sexy Spandex is bad, just that I find stuff like this more fun to draw, and adds a note of verisimilitude to superheroes that I like quite a lot. Hyper-realistic art styles are a thing many superhero fans love, I'm assuming simply because it makes your favorite spandex god or goddess seem closer; I get more of that from "costumeless" costumes.

What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?

A whole bunch of stuff I'm not supposed to talk about! Weeeep ... only my Avatar comic (in Dark Horse's FCBD offering) has been announced! But I've got a lot of amazing stuff coming out next year. Along with my own new Finder storyline, which will run in Dark Horse Presents (though when it will start has not yet been announced either).




Claire Connelly

The Unauthorized Biography of Winston Churchill, Animals

WebsiteTwitter



What was your favorite comic of 2014?

I was definitely most excited to read Jeff Lemire’s Trillium. I was so happy to see Lemire drawing another project again and knowing is was sci-fi made it all the sweeter. I was really impressed with the juxtaposition of time and style. The coloring was a cool mix between digital and watercolors. In 2014 was the explosion of science fiction in comics, so I was also reading Black Science, Prophet and Manifest Destiny.

Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?

In 2015 I’m really looking to Kickstarter for the newest, greatest and most cutting-edge indie titles. I’m excited to get my hands on Tara O’Connor’s book Roots. It’s about her journey going to Ireland trying to figure out her family's past. I’m also looking forward to backing Shawn Daley’s Kickstarter for his book TerraQuill. It’s a series of stories taking place in a world named Terraquill. Each story is unique -- full of fantasy and mystery. Daley’s loose lifework and watercolors really draw me in as a reader.

What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?

I think I’m most excited to be working with Eric Grissom (Dead Horse, Planet Gigantic) on another issue of Animals and working with Erica Shultz (M3, Revenge: The Secret Origin of Emily Thorne) on another project. Eric and Erica are pretty much the foundation of my comics career. Erica and I recently worked on The Unauthorized Biography of Winston Churchill. It’s an insane story about a time-traveling Winston Churchill … and dinosaur. Do I need to say more? Eric and I have been working on our series Animals, about a small rural town and the farm animals that inhabit the town. Each issue is about a different person in town, but all the stories are connected. It’s really great to work with such talented people, who I also get along with really well. I’m also planning two of my own graphic novels and another Kickstarter … because I like to be busy.




Patrick Dean

Cold Crew

WebsiteTwitter | Tumblr | Underwhelming Lovecraft Monsters Tumblr | My Half Assed Cosplay Ideas Tumblr



What was your favorite comic of 2014?

Hands down, I'd have to say Eleanor Davis's How to be Happy. I'd been a fan of hers since she and Drew Weing starting coming to FLUKE and moved to Athens [Georgia], so it's neat to see a collection of her short comics that appeared in various anthologies and online. She's a solid storyteller.

Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?

I have a couple of friends who have some comic projects in the pipeline and I'm happy as hell for them, but I have to clam up until they're official. Aside from seeing my pals' firsthand penciled previews, I'm excited by whatever 2015 surprises us with. There's so much left out there to be reprinted that I never know what out-of-print books are going to pop up again. Maybe that Trump collection will see the light of day, maybe the McGregor/Graham Black Panther stories too. Who knows? Sky's the limit.

What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?

This year Rich Tommaso published a one-shot horror/crime I did called Cold Crew under his wonderful Recoil Comics imprint. I'm tooling around with a sequel that picks up where the last one left off. Slowly but surely, I'm still working on a longer comics story and shaping up another comics pitch idea that I hope goes somewhere. Cross your fingers.


Michael Allred

Silver Surfer, All-New Miracleman Annual

WebsiteTwitter



What was your favorite comic of 2014?

If I'm going to say just one, I'd wanna give a plug for Nightworld. This was a wonderfully weirdly beautiful series from Paolo Leandri and Adam McGovern. If anyone is looking for a comic that seems to have come from another dimension ...

Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?

I have very high hopes for the second Avengers movie. And generally speaking, lots of great comics came out in 2014, excited to see what 2015 brings.

What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?

I couldn't be happier with what we've been doing with Silver Surfer. We love working with Dan Slott and Tom Brevoort. "Pumped" is a great way to describe I much fun I'm having with this.


Amy Chu

Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, Vertigo Anthology

Twitter | Tumblr



What was your favorite comic of 2014?

That's like picking your favorite child, but, OK, if I must: Ed Piskor's Hip Hop Family Tree. At Small Press Expo, I bought the last two-volume box set at the Fantagraphics table and had Ed sign it. It chronicles the birth and growth of hip hop in the '70s and '80s. Wonderfully researched and well told. I love everything about it down to the rough texture of the paper, and the retro looking ink colors. Aside from being a beautiful book, it's also an important one in music history. (Somebody do Iggy Azalea a favor and send her a copy ASAP)

Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?

Star Wars #1. How can one not be at least a little excited? I mean, Jason Aaron and John Cassaday. And 1 million copies? That's quite a number. If these books doesn't bring in new and lapsed comics readers this year, I don't know what will.

What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?

Unfortunately the one I'm most excited about hasn't been announced  yet, but I will tell you I'll have a crazy little story in a new Vertigo anthology. It's a reboot of DC's Strange Sports Stories that came out in the early '70s. I found some of the originals in a store downtown and they're just great.


Jamie S. Rich

Lady Killer, Double Life of Miranda Turner, Madame Frankenstein

Twitter | Tumblr



What was your favorite comic of 2014?

There's a lot to choose from, it's a hell of a year, but I think I have to go with The Fade Out by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips and Elizabeth Breitweiser. The first three issues are so assured and clear in their intent, and the subject matter of McCarthey-era Hollywood is so up my alley.

Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?

Russian Olive to Red King by Kathryn & Stuart Immonen (AdHouse Books). I'll buy anything these two do separately, so when they work together, it's just the best possible scenario.

What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?

Lady Killer over at Dark Horse is the most immediate and exciting thing. It kicks off Jan. 7, and so Joëlle Jones and I are knee deep in it -- her more so than me, she's the one doing the heavy lifting. It's been a long time coming and we're very proud of how it's turned out.




David Lopez

Captain Marvel

Spanish Website | English Website | Twitter | Tumblr



What was your favorite comic of 2014?

I liked a lot Murderabilia (Astiberrieditor), a book by Spanish artist Álvaro Ortiz.

Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?

I'm very interested in what does Naoki Urasawa have in mind for Billy Bat.

What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?

I'm very proud of what's to come from Captain Marvel; it's a kick-ass book.




Jeff Loveness

Jimmy Kimmel Live! writer, Marvel Team-Up: Captain America, Medusa & Spider-Man

Twitter | Tumblr



What was your favorite comic of 2014?

Annihilator by Grant Morrison. Just when you think you know all of Morrison's tricks, he unleashes a plot so clever you can't help but feel dwarfed by his mastery.

Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?

I'm sometimes skeptical of events, but I'm excited to see Hickman unleash his Secret Wars opus. He's been building towards it since his Fantastic Four run, and I truly cannot wait to see what his master-work will be.

What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?

I'll be writing a three-part Marvel special with Amazing Spider-Man, Inhumans and Captain America. Should be out around March or April. Hopefully people like it.