Hello! 👋
This post is part of my Best of 2023 series, in which I tell you about the coolest art I experienced last year to give you some ideas for your own book shelf, watch list, and gaming collection.
Today's topic: comics.
The rules are the same as last time: 5 entries in reverse awesomeness order, plus some honorable mentions at the end. Let's go!
Welcome back to one of our regular segments here on the blog: I read, watch, and play way too much stuff and now I'm telling you to do the same!
Kidding aside, in 2023, I was once again fortunate to experience a lot of great media, and I want to tell you about it because good art is one of the things that makes life worth living.
However, this year we're doing things a bit differently. Instead of writing one gargantuan post containing all of the books, movies, games, etc., I'll create a separate post for each category.
First up: books.
In 2006, a man named John Lasseter walked onto the lot of the Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, California.
Tall and somewhat on the heavier side, Lasseter liked to dress in colorful shirts with bold patterns on them. The classic Hawaiian was a conservative choice for him compared to some of the more extravagant pieces in his wardrobe. Combined with his signature, round wireframe glasses, the end result made him look somewhat goofy, whimsical — even when he had a jacket on.
I assure you, he was nothing of the sort. As he strode toward the front door, an air of confidence followed the man.
After all, this was a triumphant day for him: he was just announced as the newly appointed head of Disney Animation. And an outside hire, no less.
See, John wasn't a Disney man. At least not anymore. Not since he was unceremoniously fired from the House of Mouse, 23 years earlier.
For the past few months, I've been looking for a job.
Kobe Bryant was undeniably one of the best basketball players who ever lived.
It's January, which means, it's the best time to take stock of the past twelve months and plan a little for the next twelve.
I've read 21 books, enjoyed 333 comic books, watched 24 movies, and binged 17 TV shows in 2022. Below, I collected the ones that stayed with me all throughout the year, the best of the best that I would recommend to my own friends.
On April 26th, 1986, at approximately 1:30 a.m., a call ran into one of the fire stations in Pripyat.
"Fire Department"
"Hello, Ivankov?"
"Yes. Yes?"
"You've been called to Pripyat... Hello?"
"Yes. Yes, I can hear you."
"At the nuclear plant over there, in the third and fourth blocks. The roof is on fire."
For me, books are the most fascinating objects that our species have ever created. I regularly marvel at the fact that a piece of wood can safely contain a slice of a person’s mind and transfer it into someone else’s brain.
Amoral is a word that I started to deeply dislike lately.
People say it all the time. We use it to describe the jerk who jumps the line, the political candidate we haven't voted for, or our friend's friend who's doing something we would never do. When someone doesn't act according to our own set of values, we label them amoral. Valueless.