The first post I ever did for this website was a defense of Spawn as an animated series, despite the personal problems I have with it. Showing that good or bad does not equal like or don’t like has been one of many goals I’ve had since starting BW Media Spotlight. I’ve been doing it for just past seven years now (because I usually miss my anniversaries–see also Jake & Leon), which is the most time I have spent on any one project. I’m not sure what draws me to this. I’ve made a few friends online and gotten to do cool things at ConnectiCon thanks to this site, but I must just really like giving my opinions or something.
Of course this year has been hit with tragedy. 2015 has easily been the worst year of my life. Yes, losing my mom was worse than losing my job or being stuck in a hospital, that time off being responsible for me coming into the blogosphere. Nothing good has come out of losing my mother and grandfather this year, my cousin-in-law the year before that or my job, grandmother, and uncle the year before that. I’m really hoping 2016 is when things finally improve, but that’s still months away.
This does mean that I don’t have as many posts, having given up a month because being in mourning makes worrying about how DC is ruining Superman or how Hollywood has screwed up and over another piece of nostalgia seem unimportant in comparison. If this surprises you, seek help or a better family. However, I’m sure I managed to create some longform reviews that even I thought I did a good job on. As I do (late) every anniversary of this site, let’s check out some of my favorites:
- The Sony Hackers And You: Remember when the self-proclaimed “Guardians Of Peace” hacked and distributed private information about Sony AND their employees to protect The Interview, and all the fans did was make fun of Sony or get mad about certain information? Well, I saw something more dangerous than which character was going to get killed in some video game.
- Why Star Wars Fans Scare Me: As we get buried in scattered information about The Force Awakens. let me take you back to a time when Lucas had just had his franchise forced out of his hands…and the fans were mad that he wasn’t happy about it.
- Did Anything Good Happen In 2014: While 2015 has been bad for me, 2014 was bad for everybody to the point that I tracked down some good stories from last year.
- Scanning My Collection: Armageddon 2001 #1 and #2: Armageddon: 2001 was the first crossover event I was privy to, and despite the flaws I liked it. However, those flaws show that editorial meddling ruining a story wasn’t something recent. However, there were also some positive ideas to take away from this.
- BW VS. ICv2: Geek Culture’s Future: I read an op-ed wondering if the advancement of geek culture into the “mainstream” was a good or bad thing. I chose the side of good thing.
- Trope Shark: Chekhov’s Gun: No connection to Star Trek directly. Trope Watch is one of my favorite article series and I wish I did it more often.
- 6 Black Superheroes That Need A Comeback: Instead of altering the races of classic character to make up for the lack of heroes of color, here are six series featuring black superheroes that should get their day.
- The Great Secret Identity Debate: While this one is mostly a debate between two different comic book opinion shows, it’s a fascinating debate and I do note where I stand on the issue.
- Secret Wars II: The Leastest Generation: I often joke about how stupid the citizens of the Marvel universe can be when it comes to its heroes, but to see the heroes themselves act that way with the Beyonder was my biggest, but not only, issue with this miniseries.
- G3: The Gigantor That Wasn’t: I reviewed the concept of an updated version of the first among giant robots.
- Batman: The Animated Bible: I actually got this series started and ended this year as I reviewed a show bible. How many people do that?
- Blip Purges…Itself: It was the go-to hosting service for reviews, documentaries, and some original comedies and dramas. So what happened?
- Is Breast Size The Problem With Women In Media: Are women drawn with larger breasts than necessary in video games just for fanservice? Yes. Is the solution to never have a large breasted woman in a story? No.
- Gaston Meets His Match: I had nothing to do with this video, but it’s just too darn cute.
- The Restrictions Of “Should”: There is a difference as to what something SHOULD be and what it CAN be.
And those are my favorites of the articles I’ve made this year. And now we begin the eighth year of BW Media Spotlight. Hopefully it will be a better year both personally and professionally.
