This was a tougher choice this year. There were some really solid kid performances this year, but none of them blew me away like Noah Jupe did last year in Honey Boy. There are several good choices.

Previous Winners:  Emjay Anthony (Chef), Jacob Trembley (Room), Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things), Dafne Keen (Logan), Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade), Noah Jupe (Honey Boy)

This year’s winner

McKenna Grace (Troop Zero)

Troop Zero was a great performance from Makenna Grace. She not only carried the film, she had to play off a couple of big time actors in Viola Davis and Allison Janney. Grace never once was overwhelmed. She brought such joy to the role, despite some of the difficult things she had to do. She was great and has a bright future in film. She should have starred in the new Ghostbuster film (which got pushed) among other roles.

Runners-Up: In no specific order…. Winslow Fegley was enjoyable in the quirky Disney + movie Timmy Failure. The new version of the Secret Garden featured two outstanding performances from Edan Hayhurst and Dixie Egerickx. Seth Carr led the WWE Netflix movie, The Main Event. He was fun and compelling in a silly film. Another Netflix movie, Jingle Jangle, featured the lead Madalen Mills and she was fantastic in the musical. Another silly movie this year that turned out to be a lot of fun was Vampires vs. The Bronx, led by Jaden Michael. Another lead actor, Chloe Coleman, faced off with Dave Bautista in the oft-delayed My Spy, which finally came out on Amazon Prime. Chloe had a lot of charisma and played well off the massive Bautista. There was a new attempt at telling the story of Peter Pan in the film Wendy with Devin France as the title character and the POV in the film. Jackson Robert Scott was a main protagonist in the Netflix series Locke & Key. He has some solid movie roles in a couple of poor movies. Millie Bobby Brown could have won this too for Enola Holmes, but I kept her off since she was getting old (16…oooh). We have not had a repeat winner in this category yet, and this may have been the top chance for that to happen.

Hey True Believers!

The 2020 movie season did not have the number of cameos that normally a year might have. For whatever reason, I struggled to find very many cameos. In fact, one of the choices here may actually be considered more of a role than just a cameo. Still, we will push on.

Maybe one of the big reasons was that this was the first year where we did not have a Stan Lee cameo. Of course, Stan passed away near the end of 2018 and his last cameos came in 2019. No one has stepped up into this position. Stan is the only man to have won this award more than once (and, of course, has it named after him)

Here are the previous winners of this award:

Previous winners:  Stan Lee (three times), John Cena, Chris Evans, Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman, Yoda, J.K. Simmons, Harrison Ford

This year’s winner:

Rudy Giuliani, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

To be fair, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani probably is not too pleased with winning this award. Sasha Baron Cohen made Rudy look foolish with this set up. Sending a young woman (actress Maria Bakalova) to pretend to interview Rudy is one thing, but luring him into the hotel room bedroom is another. The controversy of what exactly Rudy was doing with his hand in his pants became national news. Rudy claimed that he was simply tucking his shirt back in after removing the microphone, but…

Not sure that is what I saw.

Runners-Up: J.K. Simmons (Palm Springs), Ming-Na Wen (Mulan), June Squibb (Blow the Man Down), Michael Rooker (Love & Monsters)

J.K. Simmons could have won this for the second year in a row, but he came up just short. I really considered giving it to Ming-Na (who I love from Agents of Shield) but she did not make enough of an impact in the film. As the voice of the original Mulan, it was nice to see her make her appearance. Michael Rooker was a great cameo in the highly entertaining Love & Monsters. June Squibb is always a great time.

And there are SPOILERS in here for Schmoedown Spectacular 5 so don’t read this unless you have watched the event.

This is another tough list to make because there were so many AMAZING matches this year and I feel great that I got a chance to see them. With Covid-19 raging across the planet, the Movie Trivia Schmoedown could have fallen by the wayside, but the crew found a way to provide some brilliant performances in movie trivia in an uncomfortable and unfamiliar setting.

Of course, this is my list. Yours may be different and that is fine.

#30. Kevin Smith defeated ZaFlurtin Flaus at Spectacular 5. Just entertaining. The match itself may not be great, but the entertainment value is high.

#29. Video Drew defeated Jen Kempe. The emotion from Video Drew after her win and her perfect game was a highlight.

#28. Korruption defeated The Family. This led to the retirement of Drew McWeeney and the dissolution of the Family. It also put Korruption onto a path towards the titles.

#27. Chance Ellison defeated Robert Parker in IG Tournament. Everyone had dubbed “The Spider” Robert Parker the heir apparent in IG. Chance put an end to that.

#26. Final Exam defeated Deep 13. Deep 13 was a question away from knocking off Final Exam. Instead, Final Exam continued their solid streak.

#25. Horror Free-4-All. The Free-4-All fell victim to the pandemic, but that led to us getting the horror specific Free-4-All, won by the eventual singles champion Adam Collins. No Bibbiani though…Hm (Schmoeminati???)

#24. Brendan Meyer defeated Marc Andreyko in Singles Tournament. “The Kid” and “The Android” put on a top show between two of the greats in the MTS.

#23. Shazam defeated Final Exam. Shazam was on the shelf for a chunk of the season, but came off strong and defeated the powerful team of Final Exam.

#22. Who’s the Boss defeated The Odd Couple. Who’s the Boss set the team’s point record here and was certainly their highlight of the season.

#21. Ethan Erwin defeated Jeff Sneider. Jeff Sneider was really close to knocking off the powerhouse Erwin. It was down to the final question.

#20. William Bibbiani defeated The Barbarian in the Singles Tournament. Bibbs had a perfect game and he, again, showed his emotions. The Barbarian is a future superstar, but this one belonged to The Beast.

#19. The Odd Couple defeated Deception. The veteran team overcame the upstarts from Korruption. This was Adam Collins sole defeat of 2020.

#18. KOrruption defeated the Founding Fathers for the team championship. Filled with emotion and frustration, KOrruption came from behind and defeated the Founding Fathers at a Schmoedown Throwdown.

#17. Chance Ellison defeated Mike Kalinowski in IG Tournament finals. Chance came from behind to defeat his team partner for the right to go to Spectacular and face Chandru. Korruption showed how strong of a faction they were. No sign of cracks in their faction.

#16. Deep 13 defeated Tom & Paul. One of the early season (still in studio) matches that was an upset. Everyone thought Tom and Paul would roll through this match, but Deep 13 showed how strong they could be.

#15. Ethan Erwin defeated John “The Outlaw” Rocha in Sudden Death. Rocha played one of his best matches of the year, but came up just short from the juggernaut that is Ethan Erwin.

#14. Dan Murrell defeated William Bibbiani and Brendan Meyer in a #1 Contender Triple Threat Match. This was one of the few LIVE events of the year and this was an amazing performance from “Dangerous Dan.” Even when it seemed as if the Shazam partners were working together, Dan was able to hold them off.

#13. The Odd Couple defeated Final Exam in the Team Tournament finals. This may be the best performance of the year from The Odd Couple. They battled right to the end to earn a shot at Shazam.

#12. Stacy Howard defeated Eric Zipper. Stacy continued her magic pulls with a Sir Anthony Hopkins pull that led to her eventual victory. Eric Zipper was tough luck loser all year long.

#11. Andres Cabrera defeated Andrew Dimalanta in Star Wars finals. This tells you how great this year’s matches were when this does not reach the top 10. Ace completed his unlikely run through the Star Wars Tournament with a victory over the Finstock Exchange competitor.

#10. Kevin Smith defeated Chris Jericho. Two huge stars came in and had a thoroughly entertaining match that was not just a match with celebrities. It even went into Sudden Death.

#9. Chandru “The Chosen” Dhandapani defeated Kevin “The Smasher” Smets for the Innergeekdom Championship. This had a real grudge match feel to it and you can thank Chandru for his great heel work. You also saw Kevin Smets and the length of his respect. It was almost a double turn. Intense match.

#8. The Odd Couple defeated Shazam for the Team Championship at the Spectacular 5. The Odd Couple seemed defeated. The looked beat and down. Then, they won. The emotions after the match were as real as they get and they were well deserved.

#7. Dan Murrell defeated Ethan Erwin. Dan Murrell successfully defended his title against the powerhouse Ethan Erwin in a massively impressive trivia match.

#6. Andres Cabrera defeated Laura Kelly in Star Wars Tournament. Laura Kelly missed one question. That was all it took. Ace was on ire and overcame everybody’s belief that Laura was going to take this one. The energy on Twitch was off the charts.

#5. Shazam defeated Korruption for Team Titles. Again, I love the emotion after the match is over. It just helps punctuate what was a great match. Korruption did not give up and forced Shazam to answer their questions. The sight of Bibbs having to finally sit down was one of the top images of the year.

#4. Adam Collins defeated Dan Murrell for the Movie Trivia Schmoedown Championship in Sudden Death at Spectacular 5. Honestly, this should probably be higher on the list, but I was rooting for Dan and his loss put a bit of a damper on the results. Still, it was an amazing battle between the two competitors and went deep into sudden death.

#3. Andrew Dimalanta defeated Joseph Scrimshaw in Star Wars tournament. This was a first round match and set the tone like crazy. Both men were perfect and it came down to sudden death where Scrimshaw was just not quite as correct as Dimalanta. This was an insane match.

#2. Dan Murrell defeated Ben Bateman to defend his singles championship. Bateman was ahead by six points heading into the final round, but Lucas Black appeared and reared his head, leading to a shocking come from behind victory by Dan. Even Dan was shocked as he looked to his partner Mara and mouthed “I won”.

#1. Dan Murrell won the Movie Trivia Schmoedown Championship from Ben Bateman in Sudden Death. Their live event in Atlanta was one of the best title matches in history and set the standard for the year. This went into sudden death as well and was the first (and not the only) time this year that showed that you can never count out “Dangerous” Dan Murrell.

I can’t wait to see where season 8… “War” will go from here. If this season is any indication, the Movie Trivia Schmoedown will burn it down!

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE SCHMOEDOWN SPECTACULAR 5 INCLUDED BELOW!

The Movie Trivia Schmoedown faced some remarkably difficult challenges this year directly from Covid-19. The show lost the ability to present live shows and the studio matches had to be changed as well. However, Kristian Harloff, Mark Ellis and the remaining team from MTS did not just give up. They found solutions that, while maybe not perfect, was able to provide the best opportunity to continue the trivia contests, and the matches of the year exceeded all expectations. The show grew despite the issues and had one of its finest years yet.

This was the most difficult year for determining these awards for us at EYG. In fact, I can say that the winners of these awards changed several times, right up to the final decisions.

Player of the Year: Dan Murrell

Runners-Up: Adam Collins, Jeff Sneider, Chance Ellison

This was one that I changed a couple of times. I finally decided on Dan after completing the list of Top 30 matches (still to comer) and seeing Dan’s name in so many top 10 matches this year. While Adam Collins almost took this award, I decided since he was not here the whole year, his remarkable 7-0 run including a victory over Dan was just a tad short. Jeff Sneider had a fantastic run in both the singles and team tournaments and Chance Ellison made a big time run in Innergeekdom toruney along with success in teams.

Team of the Year: The Odd Couple

Runners-Up: Shazam, Founding Fathers, KOrruption, Final Exam

Another award that changed at least once. I almost gave this to Shazam, but their loss to The Odd Couple at the Spectacular was big. There is no debating that Shazam and the Odd Couple were the top two teams of the year. Founding Fathers and KOrruption were title holders this year and had one of the fiercest rivalries around. Final Exam helped to make Lon Harris and Paul Oyama stars again.

Manager of the Year: Shannon Barney.

Runners-Up: Winston Marshall, Roxy Striar, Coy Landreau

This one changed too after Spectacular. I was giving it to Winston Marshall because he was consistent the whole year and he did some great work, but Shannon’s faction won the year race and Collins’ victory over Dan, someone she had picked up in free agency, was just too much to over look. Yes, she started badly, but taking her team from last to first within the year was a huge feat. Roxy Striar made quite the run at the last quarter of the year, but she ended up in third. Roxy may be the best in-game manager there is.

Rookie of the Year: Adam Collins

Runners-Up: The Barbarian, Ben Goddard, Kevin Smith.

This was a questionable award, until Adam “The Coyote” Collins showed up and made it a runaway. 7-0 and the Movie Trivia Schmoedown Championship as a rookie kind of puts this away. The Barbarian, Ben Goddard are future superstars and Kevin Smith is a ton of fun and brought eyes to the Schmoedown, but this was not even close.

Faction of the Year: SWAG

Runners-Up: Korruption, Roxstars

Yes, I know that Korruption won the faction title, but I think SWAG had a more consistent year. Fact is most of Shannon’s points came from about two or three people. That is another reason she should be manager of the year, but SWAG spread it out more and that is why they get it. Roxstars put on a push at the end, but the first half was so weak that they did not have much chance.

Best Tournament of the Year: The Star Wars Tournament.

Runners-Up: Teams, Singles, Innergeekdom.

Taking nothing away from the other tournaments in the league this year, but the first ever Star Wars tournament was easily the most exciting, most energy filled and most unpredictable tourney we had. The biggest reason, I believe, was that the tournament was held LIVE on Twitch and the rest of them were pre-taped. There were great matches in the other tourneys, but the live aspect of the Star Wars Tournament was just so electric that you could feel the energy through the screen.

Face of the Year: Dan Murrell

Runners-Up: Shazam, Paul Oyama, Kevin Smith

Dan Murrell was the quintessential face this year, battling form behind in nearly every match he had. With a lot of the storylines cut back because of the virtual aspect, the face/heel dynamic was lesser than in past years but Dan clearly embodied the idea and he was constantly the most respectful. Oyama brought a new attitude this year and it did wonders for him.

Heel of the Year: Chandru Dhandapani.

Runners-Up: Shannon Barney, Brandon Hanna, Keiser

I almost gave this to Shannon, but as a manager, she could only do so much. When she broke up the Wildberries, she certainly took a step to this, but Chandru was just masterful at getting under the skin of everybody. He legitimately seemed to annoy and irritate everybody and he was so disrespectful that his character really became someone you wanted to see get his… and yet he is too good to have that happen. Brandon Hanna had a nice run for a while, but he faded after a loss.

Moment of the Year: Rocha turns on Dan

Runner-Up: Shannon breaks up the Wildberries, Rocha is chosen 4th, Drew Ghai tells us about the Schmoeminati.

Are you kidding me? This was so heartbreaking that, even though it just happened, it was memorable. Rocha was fire and you had to feel for poor Dan. Another reason Dan is the face of the year… he had to deal with his partner and manager turning on him. The other were fun, but none of them had the fierceness of this reveal.

Shock of the Year: Rocha turns on Dan

Runners-Up: Ace defeats Laura Kelly, Ace wins Star Wars Tournament, Dan defeats Ben Batemen second time

Who saw this coming? I guess we should have, but even when Dan cam back for his interview with Jen Sterger and Rocha wasn’t there, you may not have expected it. Even if you did, you could not have expected the absolute viciousness Rocha tossed at his friend. My jaw was on the ground and it was a devastating way to end a day’s length of programming.

Best Promo: Ken Napzok in Star Wars Tournament

Runners-Up: Drew Ghai and the Schmoeminati, Brandon Hanna’s long diatribe, Rocha spits fire on Dan.

Ken Napzok’s Star Wars promo was a thing of beauty. It was very wrestling-esque and it featured his character as much as the match itself. It was a master class in promo work and, despite its length, never felt dull. The original Schmoeminati promo was an amazing performance from Drew Ghai as he was incredibly convincing despite the silly premise. You knew something big was going to happen.

Best Character: Lon “The Delinquent” Harris.

Runners-Up: Andrew Ghai, Tom, Video Drew

The change of “The Professor” to “The Delinquent” was one of the year’s greatest character shifts. Lon Harris was totally committed to the character, even inside matches. Andrew Ghai‘s performance was golden, but the character was inconsistent. He may be a leading candidate for next year though after seeing the end cut scene of the Spectacular. Video Drew has been great every time and probably has a hand in with Lon. Tom suffered without Video Drew this year, but he was another character dedicated to his performance.

Best Innergeekdom Player of the Year: Chandru “The Chosen” Dhandapani.

Runners-Up: Chance Ellison, Mike Kalinowski, Alex Damon

Chandru was a force this year. Not only as an obnoxious heel, but also as a dominate trivia question answerer. His defeat of Kevin Smets was a brilliant head game and he defended the title, becoming the first IG champion since Jason Inman to do so. Chance Ellison won the IG Tournament over Mike Kalinowski, his KOrroption team mate. Alex Damon showed signs that he could develop into as dominate a IG player as he is a Star Wars player. All he needs is a little work on DC movies.

Star Wars Player of the Year: Andres “Ace” Cabrera.

Runners-Up: Andrew Dimalanta, Alex Damon, Laura Kelly

Andres Cabrera won the Star Wars Tournament in an unbelievably impressive manner. So impressive he was that he inspired Alex Damon to up his game. I know Alex Damon could have won this award, but he only had one Star Wars match this year. I know that is not his fault, but it does make it hard to give it too him even after he TKO’d Ace. Andrew Dimalanta had one of the great matches of the year, but his defeat to Ace was painful.

Exhibition Match of the Year: The Lord of the Rings Exhibition

Runners-Up: Battle of the Champions, Horror, MCU, Rocky Championship

They are supposed to be just exhibitions. Still, there were some amazing battles and intense matches anyway. None better than the LotR match, won by Robert Parker. It was also the match that showed that Alex Damon may have chops in more than just Star Wars. Marc Andreyko winning the horror exhibition was great and Sean Gerber flexing his MCU muscles was very impressive too. Kevin Smets winning the Battle of the Champions is great, especially with his terrible news later in the year.

Comeback of the Year: Andres Cabrera.

Ace was slaughtered early in the year by Robert Parker in an Innergeekdom match. That did not stop him and he took that inspiration and marched through his Star Wars tournament to grab an unexpected victory, which is included in the Upset of the Year. Andres was considered the underdog in every match he played in that tournament and he brought it home each time.

Every year, we give out the special Expendables Award for Acting Excellence because…. well, I am not sure why. The Expendables have a big cast and this gives us a chance to be funny.

Best Expendable Actor as Santa Claus. Kurt Russell (A Christmas Chronicle 2). This was actually a difficult category this year, since there were two Expendables playing Santa Claus (the other being Mel Gibson in Fatman). However, this is the second time Kurt Russell has played Santa and he (along with Goldie Hawn) was the best part of A Christmas Chronicle 2. And the other one was Mel Gibson.

Best Expendable Actor with a CGI Dog. Harrison Ford (Call of the Wild). Another one of the best parts of a poor movie, Harrison Ford played off the most ridiculous CGI dog that was totally distracting. Ford is always engaging though.

Best Expendables Voice Over Actor. Terry Crews (The Willoughbys). One of the more fun animated films on Netflix this year, Terry Crews voices the character Commander Melanoff, one of the standout characters in the film.

Television in 2020 saw the conclusion of one of the favorite TV show around EYG. Marvel’s Agents of Shield broadcast its seventh and final season of the superhero/spy drama and it was some of the best episodes of the series.

While initially, the cast believed that season 5, which saw a happily ever after ending for Philandra (Coulson and May), would be the final one. However, ABC surprised them with an order for two more shortened seasons.

Although season six was good, but not the best of the series, season 7 was unbelievable as the Agents of Shield went into the time stream and found themselves jumping around time.

We had spent so much time with these characters that this final stretch became remarkably emotional and, at times, painful.

Perhaps the best episode of the entire series was directed by our very own Simmons, Elizabeth Henstridge and was titled by “As I Have Always Been.” It saw the death of Enoch (Joel Stoffer), the Chronicon who had joined the group by befriending FitzSimmons.

Another amazing twist of the season was how the team wound up in the time with Daniel Sousa, a character from the Agent Carter ABC series. The inclusion of Sousa, along with the chemistry-filled relationship with Daisy, brought a new dynamic to the show. While I did not have a connection to Sousa in Agent Carter (although I know he was a hugely popular character there), it did not take long to fall in love with the fish out of water agent.

Then, the finale was so awesome too, but one of my personal favorite moment was when Melinda May embraced her past and admitted to her kick ass status as The Cavalry! She crashed through the ceiling in a perfect timed moment to crush villainous Sybil. I legitimately called out when it happened.

Agents of Shield was filled with action, adventure, humor, emotions and tears. The seventh season was the perfect way to wind the series up (even though I would absolutely watch more episodes if they would make them). That is even with the fact that Coulson and May did not end up together.

Thank you to Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennett, Elizabeth Henstridge, Iain De Caestecker, Henry Simmons, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, Joel Stoffer, Enver Gjokaj and Jeff Ward. This is one of my favorite shows of all time.

The Anna Devane Kick Ass Female Award had a lot of possible winners this year. Admittedly, Wonder Woman would probably have made this list had her WW84 film not been pushed because of Covid-19. Black Widow too might have made the list. Neither did though. Maybe Natasha makes it in 2021.

I typically try to keep this fictional women, but this year’s list actually has two real life people (sort of). It is not unprecedented though as the Shirewolves were former winners from the Movie Trivia Schmoedown.

Speaking of previous winners….

Previous winners:  Rey (Star Wars), Mockingbird (Marvel Comics), Wonder Woman (DCEU), The Shirewolves, Captain Marvel

Here we go…

#10. Crystal Creasy (The Hunt). This is the character played by Betty Gilpin in The Hunt. This was a star making performance in one of the last movies in the theaters this year. Gilpin was an awesome action star.

#9. Andy (The Old Guard). The Netflix film The Old Guard starred Charlize Theron as a warrior who could not die. Or at least, she would not stay dead. She lead a crew of the same type of individuals in an exciting action flick.

#8. Bo-Katan Kryze (The Mandalorian). The fan-favorite Bo-Katan arrived on the Disney + series, The Mandalorian played by Katee Sackhoff, who also voiced the character in the animation. Bo-Katan may be just starting her rise on this list.

#7. Enola Holmes (Enola Holmes). Millie Bobby Brown has been on this list before in her Stranger Things character, Eleven. Now, she is Sherlock Holmes’ sister and she was great. The Netflix movie was one of the surprises of the year and Millie was wonderful as the lead.

#6. Harley Quinn (Birds of Prey). Margot Robbie did a fantastic job reprising her role as Harley Quinn in the DC film, Birds of Prey. Robbie is perfectly cast as the Joker’s ex and she took another step improving upon her work from Suicide Squad.

#5. Ahsoka Tano (The Mandalorian). The excellent Rosario Dawson arrived on The Mandalorian as the lady who debuted in animation. People had been anticipating Ahsoka all year long and her episode did not disappoint. This is another character who may have her future ahead of her (Disney + series???)

#4. Asuka (WWE). The Empress of Tomorrow is the first of two real life women on the list. Asuka became one of the biggest stars in the WWE during the pandemic. Arguably, Asuka was the RAW MVP during the time. Her humorous color commentary turned her face and her kick ass in ring performances led her to become the RAW Women’s Champion.

#3. Cecilia “Cee” Kass (The Invisible Man). The main protagonist in the new The Invisible Man, Cee is played by Elizabeth Banks and she dominates the film. The way the film begins, you wouldn’t think that she belonged on this list, but The invisible Man was one of the best films of the year and that was mainly about Banks.

#2. Erica Slaughter (Something is Killing the Children). The first comic character (second if you count Harley Quinn) and Erica is one of the most original and epic characters in one of the best comic books in the industry with Something is Killing the Children.

#1. Kamala Harris. We tend to avoid politics here at EYG if we can, but Kamala Harris has created history as the first woman, first African American, first South Asian to be elected to the office of Vice President. Her background as a prosecutor influenced her reputation and, when Joe Biden selected her as his running mate, she solidified the ticket. No matter your politics, the history she brings should be appreciated.

2020 was a tough year for comic books and comic book retailers. The virus caused plenty of trouble for specialty shops and caused the comic companies to close down for a stretch in the early half of the year.

Still, there were some really great books out when they were able to be published.

I now have to make a list of both Top 10 Marvel books and Top 10 Non-Marvel books. I used to collect only Marvel, but I expanded my comic reading out more the last year or so.

Non-Marvel Top 10

#10. Batman/Superman (DC). This is one that I have currently stopped collecting, but I actually enjoyed in parts this year.

#9. Plunge (DC). A mini series that jumped into the new trend of horror comics. Plunge started really strong, but kind of weakened as the series continued. It was hurt by the time off.

#8. Lois Lane (DC). I enjoyed this series even though it did not feel as if it were telling one complete story. There were decent issues with the reporter and I liked the use of Superman here.

#7. Stillwater (Skybound). Chip Zdarsky is the reason I gave this comic a try. This is still newish, but the Twin Peaks vibe intrigues me.

#6. Family Tree (Image). This one is a really great story with some surprising moments. I did not expect teh book to go where it went but I was happily along for the ride.

#5. Strange Adventures (DC) Tom King has been amazing. Who would have guessed that a DC book featuring Adam Strange would make a list like this?

#4. The Department of Truth. (Image) I have really enjoyed the first few issues of this mind blowing series. This is the first of two books from writer James Tynion IV. One of the most creative comics of the year and it should only move up the list as it develops.

#3. The Death of Nancy Drew (Dynamite). Another surprise, this series, co-starring the Hardy Boys with Nancy Drew, brought back memories of reading these mystery stories as a kid. This was pulpy fun.

#2. Spy Island. (Dark Horse). I love Chelsea Cain. Her run on Mockingbird may be my favorite run of comics ever. Spy Island gave me feels of that comic. Plus, there was a bunch of wild adventures with Nora Freud and I wish it had been more than just 4 issues.

#1. Something is Killing the Children (Boom). Here is the second James Tynion IV book and it is the book that is the biggest reason I have expanded my comics collected out from just Marvel. This is consistently the best book I read every month. It is horror comics perfection.

Marvel

#10. The Magnificent Ms. Marvel. Another comic that was hurt by the lay off, Ms. Marvel was going to be vital in the Outlawed storyline which is only now picking up. However, Ms. Marvel is some of the best teen hero comics available.

#9. Atlantis Attacks. Another issue hurt by the layoff, but it came straight out of the Agents of Atlas series that I was enjoying and these new characters were fun to read. Plus, you can’t go wrong with Namor.

#8. Dr. Strange Surgeon Supreme. Marvel seems to have a tendency to cancel books I really enjoy. I was loving this new take on Stephen Strange. Unfortunately, it did not last very long.

#7. Miles Morales: Spider-Man. Miles has been very solid all year long and he has faced some serious trouble (especially in the most recent issue- no spoilers, but tragedy struck). Miles is beginning to take his place in the Marvel Universe.

#6. Thor. The God of Thunder got a bit of a reboot this year and spent the first part of the year messing around with Galactus in some of the best looking and most shocking issues of the year.

#5. Dr. Doom. Another Marvel book that is destined for cancellation, I have really found the political thriller aspect of Dr. Doom to be fascinating.

#4. Jessica Jones: Blind Spot. One of my favorite series from the very beginning of the year. Jessica Jones is such a well written and fantastic character developing book. Kelly Thompson brought the goods being the first writer besides Bendis to write a Jessica Jones series.

#3. The Amazing Spider-Man. Always near the top of this list for me, Amazing Spider-Man is currently as good as it can be with the Sin-Eater stuff, Amazing Spider-Man #850, Amazing Spider-Man #50 and the return of Harry Osborn as you have never seen him before. Plus, there is MJ. Love this book.

#2. The Immortal Hulk. Honestly, there was a stretch of issues early in the year that dropped the quality down a tad. That meant that it may not have been the absolutely best comic that week. The Immortal Hulk has reupped its awesomeness as the book builds toward the end of the run of Al Ewing in issue 50 in 2021.

#1. Daredevil. Chip Zdarsky has made Daredevil one of the greatest Marvel books every week. He tore down the character of Daredevil this year, and really looked at Matt Murdock and his internal struggle. And it was epic. Issue 25 was just released and was fabulous. I reviewed issues 18, 20, 21 this year (as well as 25). There is so much brilliance on display here that you never know what might be next.

Honorary Mention (Non-Marvel): Far Sector, We Only Find Them When They’re Dead, Undiscovered Country, Sea of Stars, Bang, James Bond

Honorary Mention (Marvel): Hawkeye: Freefall, Ghost-Spider, Maestro, Agents of Wakanda, Ravencroft, Empyre, Black Widow, Avengers, Star

Special Mention of individual issues:

Captain Marvel #17. Love this issue. It have Carol in a card game. It is a wonderful stand alone issue. Something we should do more often.

Immortal Hulk, Great Power #1. A team up with Immortal Hulk and Spidey written by Tom Taylor. I think Taylor is the perfect Spider-Man writer. This was awesome.