Itās a new year, and in true new yearās tradition, the ComicsXF team has set some New Yearās resolutions. Also in New Yearās tradition, itās almost the end of the first month of the year, and weāre just now getting to it, and, look, the beginning of the year was a lot OK?
So sit back and check out what geeky resolutions the ComicsXF staff has for 2025!
Build up a āSuperā collection
Iāve claimed to be a big Superman fan (and I am!), but Iām going to be real: I havenāt read a lot of older Superman comics. Really, itās a bad habit of mine in general. I just really havenāt read a lot of pre-1992 comics at all, and I didnāt actually start reading Superman regularly until 2004, so Iām even more behind there. This is the year Iām going to fix that. Iām not just going to go back and read them, though. 2025 is going to be the year that Iām going to go back and build up a LOT of my pre-2004 Superman collection. That means back issue diving, eBay shopping and convention trolling.
Iām going to start with the Triangle Era and work from there. But itās about time.
-Tony Thornley
Turtle Power!
Iām a relatively new toy collector. I mean Iāve always passively collected toys, but in the past two years, it sort of came to the forefront. In that time though, Iāve largely reached a point that my Star Wars, Masters of the Universe, G.I. Joe and Transformers collections are good. I have what brings me joy, and I donāt really need more. And frankly, Iāve gotten a few figures just out of FOMO and regretted it (that Strange Tales Dracula and retro card Iron Man are ending up on eBay sooner or later).
So yes, Iāll keep collecting DC and Marvel stuff (mostly Superman, Spider-Man and X-Men). But a fandom I love and would like more of is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. So my toy hunts and preorders this year are going to look decidedly green, as I catch up just a little bit on the heroes in a half shell.
-Tony Thornley
Take it on the road
Iāve been a lifelong geek, but I didnāt attend my first convention until I was in my 30s. Since that time, Iāve attended nearly all of FanX Salt Lakeās local events, missing their first, the first one after the height of the pandemic and a couple of smaller, off-cycle events. But this year, Iām finally going to try to head out of state for a convention. I donāt think itāll be one of the big ones back east, as much as Iād love to attend C2E2 or New York Comic Con with my CXF compatriots.
But Rose City, Emerald City or WonderCon? All very doable. Iām taking the geek show on the road.
-Tony Thornley
Make mine manga
I read a lot of comics. Like a LOT. Hosting two podcasts a week will do that to you. And so I buy a lot of books, both graphic novels and prose, that sit unread. My prose resolution is a whole other thing, but when it comes to reading comics outside of my weekly stack and podcast reading, this year I want to get through a big selection of unread manga that I have purchased. Iāve never been a big manga person, but I have wanted to broaden my horizons, so I bought some and it has just joined my to-read piles (yes, piles. Plural). I have over a year of the two series I do read on the regular (Detective Conan/Case Closed and Moriarty The Patriot), plus a full run of Monster and a bunch of Junji Ito horror manga. And once that is done, well, Iāll be looking for recommendations for where to go next.
-Matt Lazorwitz
Reading – for fun?!?
I have a terrible habit of wanting to turn everything I read into some kind of writing project. On the one hand, my intentions are good. Diving into a new-to-me series or creative run and then having to turn around and write about it in some capacity forces me to read it more closely and engage with the text more deeply. As a result, it is more likely to stay in my head longer and thus be a less ephemeral experience. On the other hand, sometimes it’s OK to read for the fun of it, you know? If something particularly strikes my fancy (or sparks some thoughts), I can always go back and reread it more closely. So one of the things I want to try to do this year is let go of the need to turn everything into CONTENT and just read some stuff for funsies – to be OK with that.Ā
-Austin Gorton
Catch up with Brand Echh
Once upon a time, the number of Marvel Comics and Detective Comics Comics I followed regularly was pretty even. That changed around the time of the New 52 (hey, every good jumping on point can be an equally good jumping off point!), and since then, the number of DC Comics I read on the reg is pretty much zero. A lot of that has to do with a very me, very “I Am An Old,” problem: I prefer to read my comics on my iPad. And while Marvel continues to offer a free digital copy with every floppy purchase, DC has never done so. While I certainly could purchase the digital editions of DC Comics to read on my iPad, I am old enough to still not really love the idea of paying the same price as the physical version for something digitally āĀ particularly when Marvel is right there, not forcing me to make that decision. I have a subscription to DC Infinite, and use that to follow some newer titles, but even the better-than-Marvel-Unlimited lag there makes me feel like I’m missing out on the conversation coming to a book a month or more later. This year, I intend to do some “me work,” get over these hurdles in some manner, and read DC more regularly.Ā
-Austin Gorton
Annihilate Annihilation
You might be thinking, wow, Adam, havenāt you read enough Vandermeer? Havenāt you seen Garlandās Annihilation enough times by now? And while the answer to both of those questions is a solid no, Iām actually thinking of the other Annihilation: The 2006 cosmic Marvel crossover where the creepy Negative Zone bug Annihilus invades and starts chewing up cosmic corners of the Marvel U. Iāve been told by both my partner, Dr. Anna Peppard, and my Battle of the Atom co-host, Zack Jenkins, that I should read this era of stories that arenāt normally in my wheelhouse, so Iām planning to dig in and get really into Nova, Drax and Silver Surfer instead of my typical X-Men fare. Iām hoping itāll be a bug-infested good time.Ā
-Adam Reck
Here there be dragons ā¦ or other things
Every year I make this list of goals to complete for the next year, with the number of goals matching the final two digits of the incoming year. It was fun a few years ago, but I wonāt be laughing as much when I have a list of 50 goals to complete in 2050. Anyway, one that graced the list every single year was to finally play Dungeons & Dragons or any other tabletop role playing game. Thanks to my girlfriend and a local game shop, I not only accomplished that in December, but Iām part of a regularly weekly campaign now and itās awesome. Since I canāt have that entry-level goal anymore, itās time to go bigger. I want to DM a game at some point this year, which is a huge step for my quiet, anxiety-ridden self. But I love storytelling and being the one delivering and creating a story, so this is right up my alley. That game shop offers a workshop about being a DM that Iām pondering doing. Iām ready to make my players roll for initiative and take them on a true journey of pure imagination!
ā Scott Redmond
Gamer’s gonna game
Gee golly, do I love games! From the days of NES to the various PlayStations to the Switch and everything in between, Iāve been there. Gaming away, making memories, having fun. Then I hit a point of adulthood where I never stopped collecting games (mostly the free PS Monthly ones) but I donāt actually play them, outside of repeatedly firing up MLB The Show (insert new year) and restarting No Manās Sky or Animal Crossing. So this year my goal is to crack open my backlog of games and not only play new ones but actually finish some games. I know, wild idea! Everything from open-world RPGs to point-and-clicks to platformers to boot. The world is a hot mess, so Iām gonna game my way through it. Iām sure thatās healthy in some capacity, Iāll ask my therapist once I get one this year.
ā Scott Redmond
Beating back my backlog
Last year, I wasted money on video games that I didn’t enjoy enough to finish. I also bought games I did enjoy but have yet to finish. I want to finish the enjoyable games I bought last year and beat at least two or three games before buying any more. Also, I want to stave off impulse buying new games when I feel emotional, because it’s not healthy. Moreover, I want to give myself permission to replay games that I really enjoyed but haven’t played in a while. I think doing so will prevent me from impulse buying newer games too often. Finally, I want to allow myself to play video games in a way that makes me happy. I shouldn’t have to play the hard way if I am not having fun.
ā Latonya “Penn” Pennington
The chaotic copycat
Itās funny. Iām writing this entry after many of my fellow ComicsXFers, and I recognize two of my goals for this year already listed: the first is to complete a readthrough of the Superman Triangle Era, which Iām making some good progress with (although the Babe the Vampire stuff has really tested my resolve). The second is to read more manga. More broadly, though, my resolution is to slow down a bit. As someone with ADHD and who got back into comics in 2017 after a decadeās hiatus, my appetite to āfill in the blanksā is voracious to the point of greedy. This year I want to just read comics purely for enjoyment (thereās another one Iāve copied), and be satisfied that not being au fait with ā80s Green Lantern comics is OK. Also, I am going to lean more into my love for Daredevil.Ā
ā Jake Murray
Somehow organize it all
I donāt purport to have a massive, end-of-Raiders of the Lost Ark-size comic collection, but itās sizable enough and inconsistently organized. I have a file cabinet that holds the core part of my collection ā the stuff Iāve had since I was 12, all those mid (no hyphen) ā90s X-Factor and X-Force comics whose sole value lies in nostalgia and occasional bursts of good art. I have long and short boxes for the single issues I collected from when I got back to monthly comics in 2017 and when my local shop stopped getting in new books last fall.
I have a fancy wood box my wife got me two Christmases ago that just holds my issues of Uncanny X-Men. And then I have piles of random stuff. Like a lot of people, I got into dollar bin diving during COVID because what else was I gonna do? So I have stacks of unorganized, random issues of X-Men Classic and Strikeforce Morituri and parts of āKnightfallā and books from the annual CXF gift exchange (Editor’s note: We go dollar bin diving for each other; itās fun, do it with your geek friends sometime).
Where do they go? Do I reorganize everything alphabetically? Some of these things need bags and boards. Where do I get them now that I donāt have a local shop? Do I have whoopsie doubles? Itās part of a larger project to reorganize our basement now that our kids are a little older and have outgrown some of their old toys, and to gather things together for a yard sale in the spring. Now, if only I can find the time.
ā Dan Grote
Connect my kid with comics
My 3-year-old has been obsessed with Spider-Man for about six months (which is forever in toddler time!). Iāve got to be honest though, Spider-Man has always been one super Iāve never been drawn to. I donāt not like him, I just donāt get it. Recently he read through the airplane emergency guide like a comic, so my geeky goal is to find some Spider-Man comics I can appreciate and introduce him to the world I love so very much!
–Cat Purcell
Read stuff I actually like
This past year, I reviewed a lot of comics I didnāt like. And because I have a similar problem to Austin, where I sometimes struggle to read things if itās not for something (a review, an article, a podcast, etc.), that means I read too many bad comics, and not enough good comics. So this year, I want to read some good comics. The kind that live with you through the mundane and melancholy moments of the day. The kind that make you imagine giants on the horizon, and make you look up at the night sky and imagine shooting stars are cosmic beings racing across it. The kind that remind you why you fell in love with comics in the first place. The kind that make you want to read more comics. Iāve started by knocking back five printed volumes of Rachelās Smytheās Lore Olympus, and Iām going to chase it with Box Brownās Tetris: The Games People Play. And I barely miss my mutants at all.Ā
āAnna Peppard
Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist, and all around awesome guy. Heās also very humble.
Matt Lazorwitz read his first comic at the age of 5. It was Who's Who in the DC Universe #2, featuring characters whose names begin with B, which explains so much about his Batman obsession. He writes about comics he loves, and co-hosts the podcasts BatChat with Matt & Will and The ComicsXF Interview Podcast.
Austin Gorton also reviews older issues of X-Men at the Real Gentlemen of Leisure website, co-hosts the A Very Special episode podcast, and likes Star Wars. He lives outside Minneapolis, where sometimes, it is not cold. Follow him on Twitter @AustinGorton
Adam Reck is the cartoonist behind Bish & Jubez as well as the co-host of Battle Of The Atom.
Scott Redmond
Scott Redmond is a freelance writer and educator fueled by coffee, sarcasm, his love for comic books and more "geeky" things than you can shake a lightsaber at. Probably seen around social media and remembered as "Oh yeah, that guy." An avid gamer, reader, photographer, amateur cook and solid human being.
Latonya Pennington is a freelance contributor whose comics criticism can be found at Women Write About Comics, Comic Book Herald, Newsarama and Shelfdust, among others.
Jake Murray spends far too much time wondering if the New Mutants are OK. When he's not doing that, he can be found talking and writing about comics with anyone who will listen.
Dan Grote is the editor and publisher of ComicsXF, having won the site by ritual combat. By day, heās a newspaper editor, and by night, heās ā¦ also an editor. He co-hosts The ComicsXF Interview Podcast with Matt Lazorwitz. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, two kids and two miniature dachshunds, and his third, fictional son, Peter Paul Winston Wisdom.
Cat Purcell is a career services librarian, cosplayer, artist and massive coffee consumer.
Anna Peppard
Anna is a PhD-haver who writes and talks a lot about representations of gender and sexuality in pop culture, for academic books and journals and places likeĀ Shelfdust,Ā The Middle Spaces, andĀ The Walrus. Sheās the editor of the award-winning anthologyĀ Supersex: Sexuality, Fantasy, and the SuperheroĀ and co-hosts the podcastsĀ Three Panel ContrastĀ andĀ Oh Gosh, Oh Golly, Oh Wow!
