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 Faith Erin Hicks, Kevin Colden, Ben Towle, Gabriel Hardman, Jeff Parker, Jennie Wood, Blake Northcott, Irene Koh, Gus Storms, Janelle Asselin, Nolan Woodard and Janet K. Lee!
Be sure to check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4, and then come back Saturday as ROBOT 6's sixth-anniversary celebration continues.
Faith Erin Hicks
The Nameless City, Unnamed graphic novel collaboration with Rainbow Rowell
What was your favorite comic of 2014?
Ugh, I can't pick just one! (I'm also going by what I read in 2014, not necessarily what was published.) I read a bunch of manga, really enjoying Master Keaton, Blue Exorcist, Vinland Saga and The Heroic Legend of Arslan. I also liked Strong Female Protagonist, How to Be Happy, Pretty Deadly and This One Summer.
Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?
My brain isn't working very well at the moment due to deadline madness, so I honestly can't think of any one thing in particular that I'm really excited about. I'm just excited for comics as a whole, really. It seems like every year I'm surprised by creative and challenging new books. There's an abundance of great comics being published, and as a reader I feel really excited to see what 2015 will bring.
What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?
I'm finishing up the first book in my trilogy with First Second Books, called The Nameless City. I'm so excited about this series, it's pretty much everything I want to draw and write right now. It's a middle-grade fantasy book about two kids who live in a city that's a constant source of conflict in their world. One kid is a member of the ruling elite, the other is a street kid orphaned by the conflict. They meet, and stuff happens, most of which involves a lot of running and jumping. I'm also going to be drawing a graphic novel written by one of my favourite writers, Rainbow Rowell. Really excited about that. And I have a couple other things that haven't been announced yet. I'm looking forward to burrowing into 2015 and working my butt off.
Below are some panels from The Nameless City.
Kevin Colden
Antioch, Corso Dram
What was your favorite comic of 2014?
I spent a good chunk of 2014 reading new editions of both European and older, out-of-print material – my favorites of those were Sergio Toppi's The Collector and Milligan and Fegredo's Enigma. Sandman Overture is an easy call, but a deserving one. Michel Fiffe's COPRA continues to be stellar. Box Brown's Andre the Giant was really sweet and tender. And I still have a giant stack that I'm still working through right now as well, so I'll have to follow up in 2015!
Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?
IDW has at least two things on the slate that I'm super-anxious for: Their new Corto Maltese editions and Troy Little's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas adaptation. I'm a huge fan of Fantagraphics' Jacques Tardi translations, and they've slowed to a crawl lately, but there's at least one still in the cannon, I think. Cameron Stewart's Fight Club sequel is on my list as well. I'm sure there's a bunch I'm forgetting – I need to write these things down. Other than that, I'm planning to be at WonderCon for the first time, and I'll be hitting the con circuit a bit more in '15 than in the last two years, so I'm looking forward to that!
What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?
The first issue of my new serial Antioch will be out in early February on digital platforms (previewed by ROBOT 6), and I have a limited run of black-and-white, old-school 80's newsprint copies that will see limited distribution. Both will be published through my tiny imprint Dyclops. This book has been in the works for almost two years so I'm very excited about it starting to see the light of day. I'm also working on a uniquely large-format comic with Ron Perazza called Corso Dram which may be ready later in the year. The original artwork is massive and each page takes days to finish so it's hard to know when it will be ready. While it's not actually my book, as frontline editor and lettering assistant I can't dissociate myself entirely – Henni by Miss Lasko-Gross, which will be out on January 6. As always, there are other things on the horizon but they'll come to light as they need to.
Ben Towle
Oyster War
What was your favorite comic of 2014?
Hands down, for me this is Beautiful Darkness by Kerascoët. It came out in the spring, as I recall, but I haven't ready anything since that's really affected me the way this book has. It manages to convey such a strange and unique mix of tones throughout: horrifying at times, but also innocent -- and even funny -- at others. Also: As is to be expected from Kerascoët, the artwork is gorgeous.
Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?
Off the top of my head, I guess I'll go with another translated book: Girl in Dior by Annie Goetzinger. I saw a copy of the French edition of this at the NBM table at SPX and it looks like really beautiful stuff. We need more comics about high fashion!
What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?
I'm really excited that my webcomic Oyster War that I've been working on for the last few years will be coming out as a hardcover collection in the second half of 2015. I've signed on the dotted line with a great publisher, but I don't think there'll be an official announcement until Spring. Be on the lookout!
Gabriel Hardman
Invisible Republic
What was your favorite comic of 2014?
Charles Burns' Sugar Skull. I think Burns really stuck the landing with the bizarre, surreal and affecting finale to this trilogy of books. I've been a Burns fan for a long time and really admire his ability to go out on a phantasmagorical narrative limb but still connect emotionally.
Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?
The Complete Corto Maltese by Hugo Pratt. I'm a big admirer of Pratt's art, I have many of his books, but the fact that these will all be properly translated into English that's the big draw. Comics are storytelling, not just art. They need to be read.
What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?
Invisible Republic. It's the new ongoing sci-fi series that I'm writing with Corinna Bechko and drawing. Colors are by Jordan Boyd, and he's doing an amazing job. It's a gritty sci-fi story chronicling the rise and fall of Arthur McBride, a freedom fighter turned dictator on an isolated moon a few hundred years in the future. It's a secret history told from the point of view of his cousin Maia, who's been wiped from history. IR lets Corinna and I get back to the character driven political sci-fi that we love to do. Yeah, there'll be intrigue and big action too. It's still pulpy sci-fi!
Jeff Parker
Flash Gordon, Aquaman, Convergence: SHAZAM!
What was your favorite comic of 2014?
That’s tough, but I sure enjoyed Southern Bastards by The Jasons, Aaron and Latour. It got a story with a different feel out there, informed by creators’ personal experience.
Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?
Now that Autumnlands: Tooth and Claw is up and running by Kurt Busiek and Ben Dewey, I’m pretty excited to see how that plays out. Another book that’s like nothing else on the shelves, that stands up to re-readings.
What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?
At the moment I’m delighted with the two part Convergence story I’m doing with Evan Shaner and Jordie Bellaire, SHAZAM! with the original Captain Marvel cast. It’s the story Doc Shaner was born to draw, and as Flash Gordon has proved, Jordie is the right artist to color it. One of those magical jobs that feels effortless and doesn’t happen all the time.
Jennie Wood
Flutter
What was your favorite comic of 2014?
The best thing I came across in 2014 was M3, an ongoing series by Erica Schultz and Vicente Alcázar. The writing and art are a perfect marriage. And the series features a female protagonist who is unlike anyone else in comics. She’s both extremely strong and extremely flawed; she’s unapologetic for her actions, for who she is. It’s a kick-ass series. Every issue, every page is consistent, top-notch storytelling.
Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?
I’m most excited about two new LGBTQ events. Both are happening for the first time during the spring of 2015 in NYC. First, there’s Queers & Comics, an LGBTQ Cartoonists and Comics Conference. That’s happening at CUNY, May 7-8. The other event is FLAME CON, an LGBTQ comic con being organized by Geeks OUT. The exact location and dates are to be announced.
What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?
I’m most excited about releasing Flutter, Volume Two: Don’t Let Me Die Nervous in 2015. It continues to build on the story that Jeff McComsey and I began in volume one. We get to explore some of the things that we only started to tap into with the first volume, like how Lily feels about living as a boy versus living as a girl. Lily also has to face up to living a lie and the damage she's done. Lily grows up in volume two and, I think, the series does as well.
Blake Northcott
Final Empire, contributor to CBR, CBS Man Cave
What was your favorite comic of 2014?
Sex Criminals
Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?
Mark Millar's Chrononauts. Sean Murphy is doing the artwork, and it looks incredible.
What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?
The final book in the Arena Mode Saga, Final Empire, comes out in digital and print formats in the spring.
Irene Koh
Secret Origins, XOXO (a comics pitch with Paul Allor)
Website | Twitter | Tumblr | Patreon
What was your favorite comic of 2014?
The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie. There's a certain flavor of wit that is so undeniably enjoyable from this team; combined with the absurdly wonderful concept of pop star gods, just thinking of this comic makes me weak at the knees.
Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?
Halogen by Josh Tierney, Afu Chan and Giannis Milonogiannis. I love everything Josh makes, and the core Spera team is gold. It'll be great to see them do sci-fi. Also, Allison Strejlau's fantasy sports comic FT!
What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?
I'm currently working on Batgirl's origin story for Secret Origins #10 with Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher, which I am of course thrilled about! As well, collaborative comics about video games with Rock Paper Shotgun writer Cara Ellison, and then my monthly one-shot releases for my Patreon. It's going to be a good year!
Gus Storms
EGOs
What was your favorite comic of 2014?
I'd have to say Ant Colony by the ineluctable indie-phenom Michael DeForge. Ant Colony is the printed collection of DeForge's Ant Comic (published online 2012-2013), a phantasmagorical serial-saga following the lives of a colony of black-ants. Starts off a little shaky but fills out fast; becoming a silly, strange and above all poignant masterwork of psychedelic magical-realism. Super great.
Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?
Um, lots. But maybe the new Image title Rumble by Arcudi and Harren. I'm only on Issue 1 so far, but without a doubt Harren is one of the most novel and pornographically talented artists working today. In my top five for sure, and while he's always always a pleasure to see work Arcudi (B.P.R.D. master) really lets him rip on this one. Not to mention chromato-god Dave Stewart turning out his finest color-work to date, each page is really something to get lost in. Sumptuous!
What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?
Absolutely the next arc of the my Image book: EGOs (Issue 5 to drop on Feb. 4) Stuart Moore has turned out such a complex, jam-packed and gripping story it's been a real pleasure to work on; I can't wait to start reading the next script as it's coming in. This next chunk of story is called "Crunched," and is a little more terrestrial, a little more hard boiled then the first arc. More of a twisting mystery with heaps of weird new characters thrown in. Pick it up and stuff!
Janelle Asselin
Freelance writer/editor
What was your favorite comic of 2014?
This is really hard to choose, as there were a lot of good things that came out this year, but I think my favorite was Hilda and the Black Hound by Luke Pearson from Flying Eye Books. There’s something so delightful about the Hilda books, and I think at this point Pearson has really hit his stride as far as the storytelling and general look of them. Other things I loved included In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang; Lumberjanes by Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson and Brooke Allen; and Photobooth: A Biography by Meags Fitzgerald.
Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?
I believe the Hope Larson/Rebecca Mock graphic novel Four Points is supposed to come out in 2015 and I’m super-excited about that. I love historical fiction and everything I’ve heard about the book has me extremely interested.
What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?
I literally can’t talk about anything I have lined up for 2015 yet, but I’ll be writing for more outlets, editing some comics and generally being a pain in the ass online still.
Nolan Woodard
Insufferable, Grindhouse: Bee Vixens From Mars, exclusive Marvel colorist
What was your favorite comic of 2014?
Southern Bastards, hands down! We moved to Alabama in 2014 so my wife could be near her side of the family so I now have first-hand knowledge of this state. Aaron communicates the culture so precisely, if not darkly, it's like I'm reading about a happening just a county or two away from my new home. Latour's work is sincerely inspiring too. So simple yet so lush and expressive. The book recently took a truly unexpected turn and I cannot wait to see where it goes.
Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?
More Southern Bastards, for sure. Excited about seeing more Punisher from Edmondson and Gerads. Really cannot wait to see more Shawn Crystal on Arkham Manor too. It's off to a strong start! Always fascinated to see what personal projects people are working on too.
What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?
We will be wrapping up Insufferable at Thrillbent in 2015, but IDW will be collecting and printing it! Going to be sad to not work with Waid, Krause, and Peteri on a regular basis anymore but we are proud of what we've done in the past three years.
Alex de Campi, Chris Peterson and myself will be revisiting characters from Dark Horse's Grindhouse: Bee Vixens From Mars in Blood Lagoon! We are working on it right now.
With the above as exceptions, 2015 is my first year as an exclusive Marvel colorist. I'll be coloring new projects for the year but cannot say anything about them yet. Stay tuned!
Janet K. Lee
No 2015 projects to announce (yet)
What was your favorite comic of 2014?
Such a great year for comics, it's almost impossible to pick. I'm going to go with This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki, but Pretty Deadly, GAST and Through the Woods were so amazing they deserve special mention.
Comic-wise, what are you most excited about for 2015?
I'm late to the ballgame, but this year I finally discovered the joy of podcasts! SO many amazing shows out there right now, and one of my favorites is Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men.
What personal project are you working on for 2015 that you're especially pumped about?
I will be busy in 2015, but contractually it is too early for me to reveal anything yet!