Obella's 2024 Replay

Looking back on the year (even though I really didn't want to 🙃)

I have been SO resistant to reflection recently. This is not like me (as you might imagine given the whole ~public reflection-based newsletter~ 🥴). This year was a rough one for me for a host of reasons. I feel like I have so much on my plate and, while I don’t know if that’s ever not felt true, this is the first time I have zero desire to really look at what is on that plate so that I can be intentional with how I eat it all. What’s even more frustrating is that when I have finally gotten over myself enough to do the reflections— like, yes, there was some shit that REALLY sucked… but there was also sooooo much to enjoy!!!! For example, this was one of the best years musically (for me) that I’ve had in I can’t even imagine (and that’s not looking down on some past years of music). My audiophiliac heart has been FULL, the grinch could never. I also read so many comic books that I deeply enjoyed. I’ve had my mind transformed by some exceptional media that managed to make it’s way to me despite my stir-crazy adhd-fueled nature. And honestly, despite some of the more mental/emotional/physical hardships; there is some internal clarity guiding my compass of energetic engagement with the world and my own wants that I think is gonna roll quiiiiiitttteeeee well into 2025 (if I can be so bold as to do a little manifestation here with y’all abeg abeg).

In honour of that, I’m gonna spend some time highlighting the good(tm) before I drop a deeper reflection soon after (presuming the anti-reflection avoidance-bug has genuinely been overcome 😅). Since y’all spotify [b-words] love to talk about your Spotify Wrapped 🙄 — me, an Apple Music [b-word] myself, I will be titling this reflection my 2024 Replay. I’m gonna run through music projects & tracks, comic book series & issues, and a few other things that really won me over this year, in hopes that you might enjoy them with me (and we can share in the delight of the synchronicitous serotonin… you get me?).

Unrelated but related: I am very intentionally releasing this and other New Year reflection-based pieces after the lunar new year because - much like how I feel about all of the wrapped-adjacent tools out there… they release too early!!!! The year needs to fully complete. Lemme get all the way over the hump before I begin my review. So I’ll be honoring the lunar new year as my new year transition (and have been doing so for a while now). Okay now we can begin lol…

2024 Replay in Music

Okay so I should talk a little bit about my process here. Like I said, there was a LOT of good music today. I might still change my mind as I write this into the draft (update: I did lol). So, I had to have some rules:

1. The music had to be RELEASED in 2024 (I’m SO SORRY Rachel Chinouriri, JMSN, Nourished by Time, & Kindness 😭 you lot deserved better).

2. It also had to have shown up in one of my actual ‘Replay’ lists on Apple Music (be it for a month or for the year), if it wasn’t actually remarkable enough to be replayed then was it really as good as I recognized it to be, idkkkkkkk.

3. The music is broken into projects & tracks. The language behind album/mixtape/ep/record/single??? Too much to be thinking about. Any compilation of songs is a project. Any singular song is a track. There will be 10 top projects (with some (5 🙈 (it was a lot of good music, okay?!)) honorable mentions) and 20(!!! I was really struggling to reduce) top tracks. Thank you.

4. There cannot be repeat artists between projects & tracks, I liked too much music to have any one artist taking up too much space lol.

& finally, 5. they will be written Arist first — then title [Artist — Title].

Okay lets get into it —

Top 10 Projects

*link takes you to an apple music playlist if you want

#1: Doechii — Alligator Bites Never Heal

Standout track: NISSAN ALTIMA

remarks: …Doechii the Don!

Doechii the Dean!!!

Doechii Supreme!!!!

The Swamp RUlaaaahhhhhh RULED my playlists after the drop of her mixtape this past September. If it wasn’t obvious I am indeed a Doechii Stan™️ (minus the creepy letters… and partner violence). I’ve been waiting for this (or really any) project from her for quite a while, and not only did she deliver musically, but the press has only further enthralled me with my new icon. A self described rockstar, Doechii balances a(n honestly nerdy and) powerful fascination with her own craft and being an absolute baddie while remaining incredibly charming in and outside of her sound. An icon, honestly!

Slight divergence — in 2024 largely, one of my top played artists was Azaelia Banks; her discography made a return for me this year and, in many ways, kept me sonically/somatically anchored through my various states of overwhelm this past year. None of the Azaelia projects I was belaboring were released this year, so she doesn’t qualify for the list… and that would have felt more worrisome were not it for Doechii. There are very few artist who I think can touch Ms. Banks’ musicality (which I mean as something beyond just lyricism or sounds). Doechii has become the artist who has filled that void. There’s actually some classic-Azaelia mess connected to that reality and I’m going to keep a buck-fitty with y’all when I say very plainly that: I really don’t care too much about it other than it has sometimes been funny 🥴😂 At the end of the day what I care about is the music 😤

Doechii has diversity in sound, flows, aesthetics, and content. Every time I wear one song out a new one has taken its place or an old one has returned with a vengeance. ‘Nissan Altima’ is still going to be my standout track but at any point in the last 4 months it’s been BULLFROG, CATFISH, SKIPP, WAIT, BOOM BAP, HUH!, SLIDE, i’m about to name the whole damn project song for song do you not get it?! Doechii the Don Diva!!!!! Get hip!!!!

#2: Kaytranada — TIMELESS

Standout track: Weird (ft. Durand Bernarr)

remarks: One day I will be the next Shay Lia aka Boiler Room Girl at a function with my baby Kaytra and all will be right in the world. So, I mentioned the various states of overwhelm I felt in 2024 in my intro. One thing about me? I’mma dance it out. And so a dancey album full of dancey music is all I could ask for. Especially one that pulls in all kinds of artists that feel uniquely suited to my vibes. This album has features from Durand Bernarr (who also dropped a great project this year), Don Toliver (who also dropped a great project this year), Ravyn Lenae (who also dropped a great project this year), Channel Tres (who ALSO dropped a great project this year), Tinashe (who ALSO dropped a great project this year), Anderson.Paak (who ALSO dropped a great project this year), Childish Gambino (who ALSO dropped a great project this year (tbf not all the features dropped projects this year but I need you to understand the immaculate synergy of this musical moment!)), and many more(!!!)… like do you understand the power of this?!?!?!?!

The project has also been speaking to my college self in this healing way? I went to a very white liberal arts college in bumblefuck. The overall vibes musically were never fully leaning my way, so there was a large portion of my life where electronic dance music was kind of the musical middle ground wherein that, even if the music was very white 🫥, there was always something for me to grab. Don’t get me wrong, I have always had and still very much have eclectic tastes (as you will soon see), but the music definitely was not FOR me, you know? And the artists making projects like TIMELESS were the Calvin Harris types. At best, Disclosure, but I was on my way out of college when they really started picking up steam. There’s something so healing about listening to dance music that feels like it was made for ME (at all of the glorious intersections of my identity).

#3: Rema - HEIS

Standout track: HEHEHE

remarks: Rema said REAL afrobeats is back!!!! I actually really enjoyed listening to Rema talk about genuinely trying to take his sound back to its root. To separate it from the more ‘Afro-fusion’ sound (which, let me be clear - BANGS!) that has been infused with so many other global and popular musical elements (which, again, is also a testament to how fluid and impactful Black music is), this album feels veryyyyyy como se dice… continental?? My standout track is HEHEHE which feels like the type of music your white friends would almost instinctively say something racist about??? And I mean that iconically lol. There’s this very tribal sound to it - and the whole album. It feels communal. Homegrown. Witchy, even? And if this description feels like it is lacking substance, it might be my niche positionality as a listener?? Like being a second-generation ugandan on my dad’s side with familial attachments to both my homes, there’s this way that the Rema album felt like an inside joke I understand but still kinda from the outside? I don’t have as rich of a vocabulary to explain to you why it feels so different from the afrobeats music that has gained popular notoriety in the last few years, but it does and it tickles the exact correct jimmies on ya boi.

#4: Tinashe - Quantum Baby

Standout track: No Broke Boys

remarks: One thing about my Zimbabwean sisterrrrrr????? She’s gon make a lil bippity bop for the girls. I’m glad that Tinashe is finally having her moment. This has been happening for so many Black pop-girlies recently but for me, personally? I gotta give to my girl for her perseverance. Post ‘Needs’ she’s been on the up but as soon as she released this project (just a year after her last (and she’s BEEN producing records non-stop since her come up tbh (shout out ‘Ain’t Ready’ from soundcloud))) and I heard ‘No Broke Boys’ and I said oh my sister has another HIT on her hands! The entire album gives ethereal quirky hot anime girl and I absolutely love to see it!!!!

#5: Remi Wolf - Big Ideas

Standout track: Soup

remarks: Weirdos are uuuupppp in 2024. I absolutely love Remi Wolf. I got to see her in concert this year in Philly and she puts on a SHOW, it’s so energetic and her vocals are A1. One of the things she mentioned during the show that feels very poignant to her musical stylings is that ‘Cars’ is one of her favorite movies 💀LOL. Tbchhhhhh, I didn’t know that people actually liked Cars in a real way…? But when you listen to her music, you’ll immediately understand the classic rock vibes rooted through an absolute lunatic that feels very Cars-adjacent 😂 There’s something to a young tomboy hippie who plays in a primarily boy band that scratches the right quirky-kid-itch — no matter the type of quirky kid you were.

There’s a separate rant I could go on about how I think genres are obsolete (I won’t). To be fair though, I also don’t listen to white-adjacent music enough anymore to have nuances to define the specifics within an Alt-genre. But a theme across a lot of the projects on this list is that they are somewhat genre-bending (holistically or within their musical lane) and I would say that where it shows up (to me) from Remi is this theatre-like aspect to the sound that elevates it beyond classic Rock or classic Alt or classic pop-punk. Fun stuff!!!

#6: BINA - Chaos is Her Name

Standout track: Bossy

remarks: So before I dive into this one. I should talk about the way that I listen to music. I have two main playlists that are in operation at all times: 1. Rinse & Repeat. 2. Quick Wash. If I hear a song and like it, I throw it into the Rinse & Repeat. It stays there until I get sick of it and remove it. If I really enjoy a song, it’ll go into the Quick Wash. Ones that I will play over and over and over ad nauseum (often well beyond that point lol). Typically any project that makes it on this top projects list (and any song on the next top tracks list) has at least one (often many) song(s) that spends some time on the Quick Wash playlist. This BINA project was the exception.

It was a sleeper for me. A short EP that was suggested to me by my younger cousin (he’ll come again later!). I liked all of the tracks and they all went to the Rinse & Repeat playlist but none ever made their way into the Quick Wash. It ended up on the top projects list because despite no seemingly huge stand out tracks for me, the entire album was in the Rinse & Repeat playlist from inception of my listen unto the end of the year (and they’re still on there as we speak). None of the songs ever got old and often they either were good leads into or out of other songs in the playlist, enriching the listening experience overall! I made ‘Bossy’ my standout track because I am a SUCKER for a Bossa Nova rip but honestly, it’s just a good project to put on loop and let it carry you through a vibey day of whatever you’re getting into around the house or moving throughout the world. It’s not an big beat type of sound but it does still seem to be very versatile in its appropriateness for whatever the vibe it tends to meet.

#7: Amber Mark - Loosies

Standout track: Sink In

remarks: I love a ‘quiet-as-it’s-kept’ type of project. I don’t follow Amber Mark and I feel like I don’t see her pop up very much in the popular audiophile accounts but I’ve enjoyed every project from her, and I almost missed this one. A friend told me it came out and it ended up in a very similar place as the BINA project where every song seemed to bang and make its way into the Rinse & Repeat playlist. For me there were a few more standouts though.

Whereas I might say BINA was a holistic-genre-bender. Amber was definitely genre-bending within that R&B lane — but she was doing it!!!! And gave us bops. ‘Sink In’ my standout track had some afrobeats undertones and would blend super well into any amapiano set or a house mix. She put a lil’ oontsz-oontsz electric dance bop in there. Some classic pop songs. And some classic R&B hits. She titled one of her tracks Destiny’s Child. FLO did a similar motif. I’d say these babies are growing uuuuppp! We thank God. A very enjoyable project. Something cute something for the girls.

#8: Smino - Maybe in Nirvana

Standout track: Dear Fren

remarks: I was very anxious stepping into this album. The internet was saying that it wasn’t good or wasn’t what they expected maybe? I loooove Smino so that was devastating to hear. And I’d felt very hot & cold with the singles that had been dropped between his last project and this. ‘Polynesian’ was a favorite but some of the others I didn’t love as much. So, I was nervous. I went to listen and… I loved it? Like a lot? I was so confused as to what people didn’t like? It felt like a natural progression of his sound. Experimental? Sure but only kind of. It felt very on par for me. It felt honest and authentic. It felt less about the performance of lyricism and instead an intentional expression of self through creative lyrics. And it was another one where every song ended up on the playlist. Maybe this is my Smino blinders but that didn’t extend to the singles he’s released over the past years so I’m going to stand by it being one of my favorite projects.

#9: Tyler, the Creator - Chromakopia

Standout track: Take Your Mask Off

remarks: Here’s the thing… this is not my favorite Tyler project. And I’m not even entirely sure that I think it’s an especially evolved sound for him in the way I felt like Smino’s album was representative of growth. But damn, I have such a soft spot for Tyler loooool I think it’s my savior complex? 😅 The therapist in me? And this project didn’t help because I don’t know if y’all have ever heard of emotional incest but the clip from his mom at the beginning of ‘Like Him’??? Sigh… I should not be pathologizing but I simply cannot help but dig into Tyler’s psychology in whatever ways I can through his music (am I just falling for the queer-baiting??) and for that, I will always be invested in his art. I do hope that he takes some TIME between this album and the next and lives out some of these truths he is confronting in songs like ‘Take Your Mask Off’ my standout track. I want to see genuine growth in personality through lyrics and sound next time. But it is what it is. I do want to call attention to ‘Sticky’ and ‘Balloon (ft. my girl Doechii)’ as some absolute BANGERS we got out of this album but in general there’s just something about Tyler that does it for me.

#10: Peggy Gou - I Hear You

Standout track: I Believe In Love Again

remarks: This year was clearly ruled by dance music. I love that for me. I hope my audiophile compass keeps me moving in this direction. And keeps me connected to people who bring more of this music into my life. I wouldn’t have Peggy Gou without Cory. She became obsessed with the song ‘Starry Night’ back during COVID and thank God because otherwise we wouldn’t have happened upon apparently one of Korea’s hottest DJs (as we found out after the fact) and then been welcomed into one of the best dancey records of the year, one of which includes a Lenny Kravitz feature which is such a delight? He’s so cool! Her music is so cool! Shout out to ‘Seoulsi Peggygou’ as well. It gives like video game OST in such a great way. Again, it’s always about vibes so I don’t always have the exact language to unpack these records (I really wish I had like a Fader article writing lens) but I really enjoyed it.

Honorable Mentions:

1. Asake - Lungu Boy

2. Audrey Nuna - TRENCH

3. SiR - Heavy

4. ScHoolboy Q - Blue Lips

5. Lucky Daye - Algorithm

Top 20 Tracks

*link takes you to an apple music playlist if you want

**only the first 10 are going to get remarks because I extended the list to cheat 😂

#1: Hozier - Hymn to Virgil

remarks: none of the R&B men made it to the full list despite me enjoying men in R&B this year for the first time in a little while. And that’s because I am still yearning to here men open heart BLEED poetry pon di track. They not outside crying in the rain no mo’! But at least I have my BABY who’s-here; the world’s most elite white man (I’ve done the research). To flip the story of Dante’s Inferno (which technically the entire album is connected to themes from those epic poems but it released last year so it couldn’t make the project list) to show love, respect, and appreciation for Virgil? The man Dante left behind in hell/pergatory because of some bullshit about him not being baptised after he’d carried him on his damn back through the worst experience of their lives!!! And for it to be feel so honorific, so brotherly, and so… gay* (y’all don’t hear it?)?? Oooohhhhh I love that man. And I love this song. I hardly listen to music lyrics-first these days. I am a vibes-leaning audiophile. But poetry is gonna catch me everytime. Bless him.

*note: to my knowledge, Hozier is not queer but the song still reads queer asf idc idc idc

#2: Chappell Roan - Good Luck, Babe

remarks: I’m glad I could still get Chappell on this list since her album technically came out last year. Baby girl did her BIG one with this sapphic queer anthem (the queers are up this year!)! She’s the Lady Gaga the queers truly deserved back in 2010!!!! 🌈

#3: Billie Eilish - Chihiro

remarks: I sometimes hate how much I love Billford but her appropriative dressin’ ass really be making some songs! ✨ Chihiro has such a beautifully dissociative mystical vibe to it which makes sense as it’s a call to Spirited Away. This was definitely my standout track to that project and deserves a spot on the list.

#4: Creepy Nuts - Otonoke

remarks: Dan-da-Dan is the new ‘It Girl’ of anime these days and the show itself has some elements that I really enjoy and makes me very hopeful (specifically for the women characters not to be nerfed or taken out of the story because there’s a lot to suggest that won’t be the case but WE’LL SEE I felt that about JJK and I lost (even though I also won)). The season ended in a very poor spot that also calls out some of the shortcomings of the show overall (re: too much SA… odd). But one thing that will remain true is that the theme song SLAPS! I haven’t felt this good about an anime intro since…. what was that? JJK S2? It’s been a lil while since I have had a non-skipper that actually made it onto the playlist? Come to find out, Creepy Nuts is a tag team duo of Japan’s best battle rapper and their best DJ? Incredible.

#5: Yseult - Bitch You Could Never

remarks: I love a screaming ass track and a screaming ass bitch. Yseult is a big fine chocolatey alt-sounding Black woman who has such a energetic sound. I’m excited to see where it goes and how it grows but for now y’all should dance like them people at the Cybergoth Death Party to this song.

#6: Kendrick Lamar - Peekaboo ft. AzChike

remarks: I’m not a Kendrick stan in the same way most rap-centric fans are but that would also look like a lie when you consider how much of his music I play and enjoy. I loved to see Drake fail this year and the musical fallout but this is my absolute favorite Kendrick track this year. gnx actually inspired me to finally listen to Mister Morale & The Big Steppers which I had put off for a lot of reasons that I won’t go into here but I am happy I waited to listen because it made it easier for me to enjoy it and I did!

Anyhow, my favorite part of the peak cultural moment of gnx and me listening to Peekaboo non-stop? Cory walking around our house and just randomly blurted out ‘heyheyheyHeyHEyHEY that’s my bitch.’ Non-stop. An underrated classic.

…bing-bop-boom-boom-bing-bop-BAM!

#7: Wizkid - Bad For You ft. Jazmine Sullivan

remarks: As my cousin, Vanessa, said ‘ever since Essence ft. Tems, Wizkid has never exited his bag’ and it’s true! He also figured something out that day too. Put a beautiful chocolatey baddie with an incredible singing voice on a song and it’s a guaranteed banger!!!! I didn’t even know we NEEDED Jazmine Sullivan on an afrobeats song but my king, Wizard Kizard saw the vision!!!!

#8: Kito - Take Your Vibes & Go

remarks: this is a song that was shown to me by a friend off of a instagram reel and I neeeeeeeeeded to find it, I found it, and I was right to look for it, because… yes. DANCE.

#9: Jungle - Let’s Go Back

remarks: THEM JUNGLE BOYS KNOW HOW TO MAKE A HIT!!!!! Jungle songs make me want to break out into a pony down the street and be joined in a flash mob by my community. The show choir kid in me is always fulfilled by their music and videos. I MUST see them in concert the next time they’re near. Go, listen, now! DANCE!

#10: Tems - Love Me Jeje

remarks: The song itself is great. But LISTEN TO TEM’S TINY DESK PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! The version of this song on there??? Unmatched!!!!

#11: Kelela - Closure (Flexulant x BAMBII Remix ft. Rarah Gabor & Crazy)

#12: Mysie - Kitty On Top

#13: Amaarae - sweeeet

#14: Flo Milli - Never Lose Me Remix ft. SZA & Cardi B

#15: Omar Apollo - Spite

#16: Moses Sumney - Gold Coast

#17: Channel Tres - Cactus Water

#18: KYLE - Neva Beta

#19: Money B, Guapdad 4000, & Xcelence - Sit Next To Me

#20: Tommy Richman - Million Dollar Baby

Okay one more thing!!! So I have a lot of friends who made music this year (or who I found out about their music this year) and that feels like something special to highlight and too special to reduce to this ranking system so I’m just going to put them here in no particular order

Special Mentions:

Gunna - Treesh

remarks: okay I am NOT friends with Gunna 💀 that would be dope but he doesn’t know me. However (comma), my good friend from college, Luke aka DunkRockProductions produced this song and it’s a slapperrrrrrr and I got to see Gunna perform it at Roots Picnic this year! Love to see my people win!

JustPlainJones - Lonely People

remarks: this song genuinely came to me at the right time and to know that it was made by someone I know felt so special. A friend of mine heard it and referred to it as praise music. I’m not churchy (though in so many ways I kinda am? spiritually) but I understand how it reads as a call for community and that speaks to me.

Kotic Couture - Future Soul

remarks: Ky has such an amazing spirit and has contributed to me finding some amazing community in both Baltimore and DC just from following her DJ and host events and connecting with the community that has formed around her. Then her music???? Please!!!! You can really tell she had a time making this album. If you know or have been around her, you can feel how it’s an embodiment of who she is. The music she plays and makes are so synchronized it’s unbelievable she doesn’t have more of a following. Regardless, I do love to see her win

Kotic Couture - Celebration

remarks: I couldn’t pick just one song off of the album (and I wanted all the special mentions to be together so it didn’t go in the projects section despite it deserving to be there so I chose two of my favorite tracks but you should absolutely check out PROTOTYPE)

KT - Molasses

remarks: this is the ONLY song I’m allowing to break the rule of needing to be released in 2024 because I made this friend and found out about this song this summer and it deserves a spot. However (comma), she ran into some issues so it needs to be re-released on streaming services (I’ll try to update when it has and she has another song coming in mid February so check her out). But KT has an amazing voice and I was midway through listening to the song talking about how good it is before I realized that it was the person I was going to meet (and the met and LOVED) so you should check it out.

And mind you this the just the music I boiled this all down to. I wish y’all could have seen my draft document 😭 SO MUCH GOOD MUSIC MY GOD we gotta give it to Miss Twenty Four for that aLONE 🙏🏿 Please let me know what you think of what you’ve already heard or what you feel inspired to listen to.

2024 Replay in Comics

Okay, on to comic books but first bringing this back around to the process. For this one I did have to get a little creative.

The breakdown will be the top series and the top issues of the year (there will be less honorable mentions this time, I had some self-control lol).

Serial comics can go on for years, it can be hard to decide how to center your decisions around ‘released in 2024’ with that kind of structure. And there’s so many comic books out there that I didn’t get to, I know I’ll be mad next year lol. Anyhow, I decided to go with this: the bulk of the series needed to have run in 2024 or my evaluation of the series needed to be anchored in 2024.

I’ll talk about this in more detail for some of my decisions but I, for example, have two issues of the same comic in my singles decision list; but the series itself is not because while those issues as a function of the FULL story (not all being released in 2024) were exceptional, the arc that primarily was released in 2024 I don’t think deserved a series rank… does that make sense? I hope so.

Also I have to have bought at least one issue of the series for it to qualify for a series rank; if it’s not worth my money it can’t have been that good, no?

Finally, the books will be listed Writer(s), then Artist(s), the Colorist(s), then Letterer(s) [W - / A - / C - / L -]. I love that comics are inherently a collaborative art piece, and so I really don’t want to short change any piece of it (you could argue I still am ignoring editors and designers but let’s start small(er)).

Once more into the breach!

Top 10 Comic Book Series

#1: Resurrection of Magneto 1-4

W - Al Ewing / A - Luciano Vecchio / C - David Curiel & Jesus Aburtov / L - VC’s Joe Sabino

remarks: If you’ve kept up with my quarterly newsletters for the last year and a half you know how much I love the X-men. The Krakoan-era of X-men especially meant a lot to me and to a lot of Black and Queer readers who were looking for interesting storytelling. At the end of it all, I don’t know that that’s what we actually got wholesale but there were some really good finds throughout it all. Especially for these two characters, Storm & Magneto. And it was even more special to have them written by one of my favorite comic book writers, who does an amazing job with character work and really unpacking these characters paving the way for what we could only hope is more development (things are looking good for Storm… less so for Erik…); but they’ll both be fine regardless, if this series did nothing else it cemented their impact as X-characters (and Marvel characters overall). The art was stupendous. There’s a decent amount of backstory that would be required to get the full picture of it but honestly having re-read it a few times, I think the character work speaks for itself without the context. A truly incredible short 4-issue banger story of resurrection and reckoning with the self.

#2: Dawnrunner 1-5

W - Ram V / A - Evan Cagle / C - Dave Stewart, Francesco Segala, Gloria Martinelli / L - Aditya Bidikar

remarks: Ram V is another one of my favorite writers. Very esoteric and mystical in his storytelling. Also has a knack for partnering with incredible artists perfect for the kinds of stories he likes to tell. This was my first introduction to Evan Cagle and WOW was I dumbfounded by the wonder of his pages. The story itself is a self-contained 5-issue kaiju-sci-fi about the love a parent has for their child and the ways that it can transform you and push you (and I’m sure many other things that I missed in my initial reading). What I know for sure is that this storytelling pair is not one to miss (which is great because they’re partnered together for another book in the single issues that is also something I would say run don’t walk to pick-up (I suspect it’ll be in the best series list next year but who can say))!

#3: The Power Fantasy 1-5

W - Kieron Gillen / A - Caspar Wijngaard / C - NL (Not Listed) / L - Clayton Cowles

remarks: Y’all wanna talk about the new ‘It Girl’???

One thing about the big 2 comics (DC & Marvel) is there can be a lot of resistance to real sustainable change because the landscape of the story needs to remain intact. If the world order shifts, it needs to shift back. If a character changes sides, they’ll eventually need to change back. If a character dies, they’ll eventually need to return. If we introduce a legacy, age scaling is guaranteed to warp substantially. Power Fantasy was a comic book bourne of that frustration. Of saying let’s take these concepts of truly super-powered individuals and tell a somewhat realistic story about what that could mean. Let’s flip these narratives of Prof X & Magneto. Of Angels and Demons. Of Magic. Let’s really see what we can do to cook up a story of conflict (or not-conflict as it were) that is truly gripping.

Y’all need to come get you one of these. The first volume (which is 5 issues) just ended and they created a publically available live magazine to guide people to understanding as they prepare for the next volume.

#4: Absolute Wonder Woman 1-3

W - Kelly Thompson / A - Hayden Sherman / C - Jordie Bellaire / L - Becca Carey

remarks: You know, DC books are never the ones that really scream at me (meanwhile there are quite a few on these lists, who would’ve thunk? It’s a new day!). But this year, DC started an alt-universe line called Absolute and it’s one created by Darkseid where the moral arc of it does not bend toward justice… though somehow heroes still emerge. From it, we’ve been witness to unique, rich, and even campy takes on classic characters with many more to come. But none have shone like Absolute Wonder Woman.

The Diana from Hell raised by Circe without her Amazons yet still one at her core. A Wonder Woman that does magic and rides a dead pegasus and uses a magic sword of Athena and three different lassos. I have been a big fan of Kelly Thompson but she’s outdone herself with this one. Her Diana is reverent. The art is perfectly suited to the story. She understands Wonder Woman, the entity, at its core and it’s so thrilling to see storytelling with that kind of clarity. Because it’s an alternate universe it’s an easy book to pick-up without context and I couldn’t recommend it more. Assuming this runs for a while and keeps the quality it has now, you’ll be seeing a lot more of it from me.

#5: Batgirl 1-3

W - Tate Brombal / A - Takeshi Miyazawa / C - Miek Spicer / L - Tom Napolitano

remarks: What makes this book especially unique is how it displays Cassandra Cain’s internal thought processing while telling a very classic mother-daughter tale using two skilled warriors. It’s a balance that actually feels akin to Everything, Everywhere, All At Once (and not just because the mom and daughter are asian lol); there’s violence, there’s action, but there’s an emotional story at the core of it that is holding you to the book. It’s gonna be a quintessential for Cass moving forward I have no doubt but again the real magic is in the way it honors her character by shaping her internal thoughts around how her relationship to speech has been represented in comics.

#6: Tin Can Society 1-4

W - Peter Warren (& Rick Remender) / A - Francesco Mobili / C - Chris Chuckry / L - Rus Wooton & Jackie Marzan

remarks: A who-dunnit with INCREDIBLE art and the focal character is a Black Genius (though he IS dead as a central tenant to the story buuuuut… still)??? Sign me up!!! What always sells me about comic book storytelling is the layered pacing. You have the narration, the dialogue, and the art. All 3 separate story-delivery mediums which when used intentionally take a regular story and make it an amazing story. The concept overall is pretty simple like I already said but there’s something about this book that feels like there’s more to it and whatever that thing is has me hooked, I’m very excited to see where it goes. Peter Warren and Rick Remender are both big names in comics. I have engaged with a few of Remender’s works (he shows up in the single issues) and enjoyed a majority of them but this is actually my first Peter Warren project. Thus far I’m gonna give that he’s worth the hype for how he handles that 3-tiered storytelling piece but I will keep you up to date

#7: The Ultimates 1-9

W - Deniz Camp / A - Juan Frigeri & Phil Noto / C - Federico Blee / L - VC’s Travis Lanham

remarks: Alt-universe storylines are really in right now. There’s been some interesting dialogue about the entry point being more accessible and I’m sure that’s part of it but I really think it’s the freedom of unique storytelling within the big named comics that tend to be so resistant to change or variety. The Ultimates is the perfect example of this. So many familiar characters and yet all of them unique in ways that are so captivating and even like envy-striking??? Like damn, some people are really thinking in 12-dimensions. I want my own imagination to be that limitless. I wonder what they could do if they were let loose forreal (we have indie comics for that; see #3)? The Ultimates is fun and cool and action-packed and has a steady pace to it despite there being so many new people you’re introduced to every issue. It’s impressive Marvel-storytelling. I would highly recommend.

#8: The Whisper Queen 1-2

W - Chip Zdarsky / A - Kris Anka / C - Matt Wilson / L - Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

remarks: Chip Zdarsky has to have some kinda medal for balancing being one of the most nonsensical human beings who can somehow tell some of the most emotionally gripping stories to ever exist? His Daredevil Omnibus will absolutely go down in history. The Whisper Queen is second installment from a previous book he’s done with the same incredible artist called The White Trees. I would give both a read but it’s just a great fantasy adventure story with great art. I don’t have much more to say beyond that and sometimes that’s enough. Like I said, there are emotional bits in there that hit like a freight train in just two issues. But even if that’s not true for you, there’s no denying that it’s just good! Kris Anka, the artist, did a lot of the spider designs for Across the Spider-verse. So if you enjoy those movies you might enjoy this book, visually, if nothing else.

#9: Black Panther: Blood Hunt 1-3

W - Cheryl Lynn Eaton / A - Farid Karami / C - Andrew Dalhouse / L - VC’s Joe Sabino

remarks: So ‘Blood Hunt’ was an event (it does come up later in the single issues but regardless) that was about Vampires taking over the world. During the event Black Panther was turned into a vampire and needed to do some secret work with the Gods in Wakanda to both heal himself and help rid the world of the Vampire problem. This introduced his spinoff book, Black Panther: Blood Hunt. Cheryl Lynn Eaton, I was not familiar with her game prior to this, but the way she chose to play out the Gods’ side-plot in the background of this story and her writing of T’Challa mixed with Farid Karami’s art??? Wheeeeewwwww I think I read this through like 4 times as soon as it was fully complete. A great short Black Panther story that came at a time where we’d been feeling a bit parched for a T’Challa narrative to feel epic and gripping.

#10: Vengeance of the Moon Knight 1-9; Moon Knight Fist of Khonshu 1-3

W - Jed McKay / A - Alessandro Cappuccio, Devmalya Pramanik, & Domenico Carbone / C - Rachelle Rosenberg / L - VC’s Cory Petit

remarks: Jed McKay is the king of the long run with your favorite obscure character and it being the bees knees. He once did like 3 back-to-back Black Cat books and he’s also doing an Avengers and an X-men book right now that he’ll probably have a lot of breathing room to see some plots through. All of them have been good. All great writing. And all nothing compared to his Moon Knight run. These are books 3 & 4 of his Moon Knight serieses. Vengeance of the Moon Knight was took the story onward after Marc Spector died and his team had to pick up the pieces of his mission. Fist of Khonshu is him, back alive (his return spun out of ‘Blood Hunt’ but also swings back to my point in #3 about characters needing to go back to their status quo). Both handle Moon Knight’s mental illness and how that connects him with others in such intentional and beautifully interpreted ways. I mentioned Daredevil during the Whisper Queen remarks. I think Jed’s Moon Knight Omnibus will end with the same acclaim that Chip’s Daredevil run did and I love that for me.

Honorable Mentions

1. Akogun, Brutalizer of the Gods 1-3

   1. W - Murewa Ayodele / A - Dotun Akande / C - Dee Cunniffe / L - Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

2. Ultimate Black Panther 1-11

   1. W - Bryan Edward Hill / A - Stefano Caselli / C - David Curiel / L - VC’s Cory Petit

3. X-Force 1-7

   1. W - Geoffrey Thorne / A - Marcus To / C - Erick Arciniega / L - VC’s Joe Caramagna

Top 10 Comic Book Single Issues

#1: New Gods 1

W Ram V / A - Evan Cagle / C - Francesco Segala / L - Tom Napolitano

remarks: This is the same dynamic duo from ‘Dawnrunner’ telling a story that spins right out of the background that I gave about ‘Absolute Wonder Woman’ (but in the main DC universe) about the New Gods from whom Darkseid spawns. It’s BEAUTIFUL visually and metaphorically and it’s thick with lore. I imagine in a year we’ll have a lot to say about what it has to say. I can’t wait.

#2: Saga 70

W - Brian K. Vaughan / A - Fiona Staples / C - NL / L - Fonografiks

remarks: BKV’s exploration of the mental health of his characters that he’s put through an absolutely insane years and galaxy spanning interstellar space opera is what sets him apart from the rest. This issue says ‘goodbye’ to Squire, the adopted son of the late-Prince of the empire behind the entirety of the galactic war at the root of the plot, as he goes to a camp for kids with trauma. There’s just such a tenderness to the storytelling here that I absolutely adored and read twice over.

#3: Sacrificers 13

W - Rick Remender / A - André Lima Araújo / C - Dave McCaig / L - Rus Wooton

remarks: A lot of times when books convince the ‘bad guy’ to join the side of ‘good’ it feels forced. Sacrificers has put us through it and we already understand that there are no winners here. There are only losers and the future that’s made in response to the loss. The reckoning of this issue and how it built to changing a characters’ mind at the end felt really well earned — throughout the series but even within the issue. It didn’t feel quick, it felt precise.

#4: Precious Metals 3

W - Ian Bertram & Darcy Van Poelgeest / A - Ian Bertram/ C - Matt Hollingsworth / L - Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

remarks: Making comic book community has been so good because now I get to share in the love of comics and also share in the collective memory of good comic book stories. Some years back I read a great series called ‘Little Bird’ and really enjoyed it and because this was before my reviewing and recording era I forgot about it. I was reminded of that this year when a new comic book friend told me about ‘Precious Metals’ which was a prequel to that story. An absolutely stellar story overall but especially issue 3 which, in my opinion, brought everything home from the original series. I suggest both series but this issue is beautiful and eerie and impactful.

#5: Blood Hunt 1

W - Jed McKay / A - Pepe Larraz / C - Marte Garcia / L - VC’s Cory Petit

remarks: The first issue of this event where Vampires takeover was INCREDIBLE. GREAT ACTION. GREAT VILLAINS. GREAT TWISTS. OOOOOOHHHHHHHH WE LIVED!!!! It also came at a very opportunistic time. A lot of the aforementioned Black & Queer comic book readers were feeling the downfall of the Krakoan-era and reaching for popular content that was fulfilling and we FOUND IT in Blood Hunt; or ‘Blerd Hunt’ as it was so lovingly called.

#6: Outsiders 4

W - Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly / A - Robert Carey / C - Valentina Taddeo / L - Tom Napolitano

remarks: This book was filled with meta-references and meta-imagery but this particular issue introduced the ‘spirit of the century’ and her name was ‘Jenny Crisis’ and I said oooohhhh yes. I loved that build. And she’s Black. And it felt like it fit. I really enjoyed that interpretation of the era and that expression of it.

#7: Guardians of the Galaxy 10

W - Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing / A - Kev Walker / C - Matt Hollingsworth / L - VC’s Cory Petit

remarks: Lanzing & Kelly/Kelly & Lanzing are a duo who unfortunately have been hitting me in all the right spots (Outsiders is also them). I say unfortunately because I hate to laud white men and because sometimes I think the types of stories (especially story endings) I like speak to some kind of naivety in me and I have a tendency project a little judgement onto that 🙈 but I digress. I believe I heard in an interview them talking about how this Guardians of the Galaxy run was all about one of them losing everything they own in a fire and processing that on the pages. The final issue dropped at the beginning of the year and it was a perfect wrap up to the overall plot hitting all the emotional beats of processing loss and beginning anew from it. They ate that one (actually several) thing(s (un(fortunately))).

#8: The Cull 5

W - Kelly Thompson / A - Mattia De Iulis / C - Mattia De Iulis / L - Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

remarks: This is another one of those ones that’s about the duo. Kelly Thompson (the writer from ‘Absolute Wonder Woman’) works well with Mattia De Iulis (they did an amazing Jessica Jones book way back when and this came right after that) and she gave him some amazing ideas to draw in this story (which he took way further than I would have previously even known was possible?). A story that in itself balances the perfect amount of character work with beautiful scenes. The plot is very slow-paced as a result, but because of the level of mysticism it doesn’t need to be super-fast moving to remain gripping. There’s a lot to build upon. I hope it gets to continue.

#9: Rare Flavours 6

W - Ram V / A - Filipe Andrade / C - Filipe Andrade & Inês Amaro / L - Andworld Design

remarks: I still intend to host a party featuring all of the dishes in this series but this is the final issue wrapping up a beautiful tale of food, culture, and south east asian mysticism. Each issue details a specific recipe related to the main character and his journey. Ram V once again is featured, this time with an artist he’s partnered with before on one of my all time favorite comic books ‘The Many Deaths of Laila Starr’. This is a duo worth reading no matter what they do. And this is a cozy story for the combination of their artistic powers.

#10: Sensational She-Hulk 10

W - Rainbow Rowell / A - Andrés Genolet / C - Dee Cunniffe / L - VC’s Joe Caramagna

remarks: Rainbow Rowell quietly released some of the best She-Hulk comics over the last few years that never got the heat they deserved. It was hard to pick one to really encapsulate it all but the last one ended up being perfect because Rainbow perfectly shows us that the real appeal of She-Hulk is her groundedness. There was romance. There was still action. There was comedy. There was drama. There was legal mess that didn’t seem to egregiously unrealistic. Stupendous! If you’re a shulkie fan, check it out.

Honorable Mentions

1. Phoenix 5

   1. W - Stephanie Phillips / A - Alessandro Miracolo & Marco Renna / C - David Curiel / L - VC’s Cory Petit

2. Sacrificers 6

   1. W - Rick Remender / A - Max Fiumara / C - Dave McCaig / L - Rus Wooton / D - Erika Schnatz

3. Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver 2

   1. W - Steve Orlando / A - Lorenzo Tammetta / C - Frank William / L - VC’s Joe Caramagna

There was some grief in goodbye to comics this year but that didn’t take away from the joy of reading and I am so grateful for good escapism lol.

2024 Replay in Media

Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t… watch things. The ADHD does not allow me to keep my attention (and presence on a couch) for an entire series and I just don’t go to the movies enough (despite enjoying the experience)… or maybe it’s that I don’t feel called to the movies that are out. I could go on a whole side-tangent about how I am so underwhelmed by storytelling these days (and while I don’t believe in originality, the types of stories we see and the nostalgia bait is TIRED) but that is a digression. Moral of the story is — I didn’t watch enough shows or television to give you a top 10. Additionally, if I were to do top books it would just be the books I read rather than having enough that I could pick a top amount of favorites. And while I do read other substacks, I don’t know why it felt weird to create a ‘top’ list for that one (especially when this platform shows you who I follow anyway). So instead I’m doing ONE for each of those categories (and one special mention at the end that is really important to me ☺️)

Top TV Series

Scavenger’s Reign

remarks: I’m plotting on a longer piece about this show. I’m not much of a show watcher. Everyone who I’ve told about it was like ‘you watched a show?!?!’ I mean I watch anime if anything and this is incredibly animated. It gives if Adventure Time were animated by Miyazaki. They were going DUMMY in that storyroom, I genuinely wish I could’ve been there or could speak with someone who was a part of it. There are these incredible themes in there about life/death, ego, grief/love, our relationship to technology, adaptation, intention, abolitionist community, oooohhhhh I NEED to talk about it. I need to THINK about it. It has consumed me since I finished it in the new year and honestly since I started it back in October (I committed to watching it with a friend and I’m glad I did because the space in between lead to a rewatch of the first episodes that further enthralled me (I’m plotting on a rewatch of the last episodes for the same reason)). 12 episodes. Less than 30 minute each. So much story across three main character-pairing scenes in each episode. The plot is about those characters trying to survive/make it home after crash landing on a terrifying and mystifying planet, abandoned by their capitalist homeworld who won’t expend the resources to save them. There is something the people behind this show were trying to teach us. I think we deserve to listen.

Top Film

The Wild Robot

remarks: Similarly to Scavengers Reign, there’s something very ‘everything that is on the earth is of the earth and is meant to be free’ about Robots finding life in storytelling that is just absolutely unmatched. Add in the loving care of a mother and fighting the machine of capitalism as a machine of liberation??? Oooohhhhh go watch this damn movie!!! I wept MULTIPLE times. Truly amazing.

Top Literature Book

Transcendent Kingdom

remarks: Cory and I started reading this book back and forth to each other in 2023 and then we finished it in 2024. A. books that have short chapters were made for me. B. Yaa Gyasi knows how to capture all the important small moments so precisely that, as a therapist, is so captivating to read. C. She also does a good job of not giving books a *point* while giving them a glaring point. I want to master that in my own writing.

Top Substack

Malachi Lily from The Magick Artist

remarks: I went through this period of time where, other than weekly comics, I couldn’t commit to reading ANYTHING. Substacks, books, articles, backlog comics, anything. It was actually very troubling. When that season finally came to pass, one of the first substacks I read was

Malachi Lily they/them

’s. That their substack is called The Magick Artist is not serendipity. I immediately just found that all of the backlog of theirs came to me exactly when I needed it and was incredibly transformative. It was recommended by a friend and I found myself in love with the way they structure their content or ‘offerings’: they do readings, they share the media they engage with in a way that feels very natural, and they speak very honestly - yet abstractly - which is a style of expression that I admire; I feel like I give way too much or not enough for it to make sense and I never know how to strike that balance the right way. Their writing feels so clear to me and I adore it. I would highly recommend you check them out. The first one I read that came at the right time was ‘A Rebirth for Babylon, for Me.’

Special Mention:

Kemi from Kemi’s Substack

remarks: okay so honestly honestly honestly? One of my genuinely favorite substacks this past year was that of my younger cousin (actually, the one who suggested the BINA project)!!! He primarily writes short stories. And as a poet and non-fiction writer aspiring to write more fiction stories, it’s really inspiring to see someone I know and love crank out genuinely compelling storytelling like clockwork??? We’ve connected a bit in the last year and it’s been a true joy to share energies with this kid 🥹 My favorite of his was ‘Gravity Swallows the Light’ give it a read!

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Okay, I have been writing soooo much I don’t even know how to wrap this up. I have some cool pieces in the work for this year in addition to bringing back the quarterly newsletters. I have something on death & dying (a theme you’ve seen me be a bit pressed about if you’ve been paying attention), I have something on social media psychology culture, I have something that I’m hoping to drop on my birthday that I’ve been thinking about forever, yeah I’m ready to release and create and give offering. Like I said, 2024 was hard. So hard that I kicked off this year feeling a little hopeless. It led me to shrinking away from myself and everyone else. In challenging that by doing more intentional self-reflection around my wellness while balancing creating fun projects out of my reflection like this Replay — I’m feeling the engine of Hope get it’s jump. And now we need to ride it around to make sure it charges by continuing to express ourselves and that feels clear and good and right. I hope it feels that way for y’all as it comes.

Looking forward to sharing more with you all. Happy New Year!

♥️🙏🏿

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