Fred Shahadi
FOG! Contributor
Instagram / @FredShahadi
Best Movies: Wonder Woman,Get Out, The Florida Project, The Disaster Artist, The Shape of Water, Logan, Wind River
Best TV Shows: The Handmaid’s Tale, Game of Thrones, The Crown, Master of None, Mindhunter
Best Books (fiction): Loving Day by Mat Johnson, The New Chronicles of Robinson Crusoe: The Complete Trilogy by E.J. Robinson, Shoot the Moon by Fred Shahadi
Best Books (non-fiction): Blood in the Water by Heather Ann Thompson, Hue 1968 by Mark Bowden
Best Albums: Hamilton Mix Tape, Hamilton Original Cast Recording
Best Music Video: “Immigrants (We get the job done)” from Hamilton Mix Tape album
Best Comic Books / Graphic Novels: Lady Killer by Joelle Jones, Doctor Who: The Third Doctor by Christopher Jones
Best Blu-ray/DVD Release: Kong Skull Island
Most underrated thing about 2017? Master of None Season 2
Thing that you were most excited about in 2017? Hamilton, Hamlet at the Public Theatre with Oscar Issac, and Meteor Shower on Broadway
Thing that disappointed you most in 2017? Losing Harry Dean Stanton and Sam Shepherd, watching people defend Nazi’s and child molesters.
Thing that you’re most looking forward to in 2018? Super Troopers 2
Marvin C. Pittman
FOG! Contributor
Best Movies:Get Out, Girls Trip, Wonder Woman, Mudbound
Best TV Shows:DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Good Place, Nathan For You, The Americans, Last Man on Earth
Best Video Game:Injustice 2
Best Songs: “Plain Jane (Remix)” by A$SAP Ferg featuring Nicki Minaj, “That’s What I Like” by Bruno Mars, “DNA.” by Kendrick Lamar, “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)” by Cardi B, “Bad and Boujee” by Migos and Lil Uzi Vert, “Stay” by Zedd and Alessia Car, “Attention” by Charlie Puth, “Sorry Not Sorry” by Demi Lovato, “Reverse Faults” by Sampha, “Drowning” by A Boogie With da Hoodie featuring Kodak Black, “Subenstein (My Sub IV)” by Big K.R.I.T., “Change” by Lana Del Rey, “Lightning Fire Magic Prayer” by N.E.R.D.
Best Albums:4eva Is A Mighty Long Time by Big K.R.I.T., DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar, Silver Eye by Goldfrapp, Native Invader by Tori Amos, Utopia by Bjork, Process by Sampha, The Chief by Jidenna, Lust For Life by Lana Del Rey, NO ONE EVER REALLY DIES by N.E.R.D.
Best Music Video: “HUMBLE.” by Kendrick Lamar
Best Comic Books / Graphic Novels:Hulk, Bitch Planet, Kill or Be Killed, Lazarus, Mister Miracle, Wonder Woman
Most overrated thing about 2017? Dave Chappelle’s first two Netflix comedy specials, The Age of Spin and Deep in the Heart of Texas
Most underrated thing about 2017?DC’s Legends of Tomorrow may be the best live-action superhero project going, and who knows that?
Thing that you were most excited about in 2017?Wonder Woman the movie
Thing that disappointed you most in 2017?Batman and Harley Quinn
Thing that you’re most looking forward to in 2018?Black Panther the movie!
Dean Galanis
FOG! Contributor
Best Movies:Blade Runner 2049, Colossal, Wonder Woman, A Ghost Story, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2
Best TV Shows:The Good Place, Black Mirror “USS Callister”
Best Books (non-fiction):House of Psychotic Women by Kier-La Janisse (a few years old but finally got to it this year)
Best Blu-ray/DVD Release:George A. Romero: Between Night and Dawn
Most overrated thing about 2017?Dunkirk and Get Out — both of which I liked but have been surprised by the “classic” label most people have applied to them
Thing that you were most excited about in 2017?Blade Runner 2049
Thing that you’re most looking forward to in 2017?Suspira and Opera on Blu-ray, Annihilation
Jon Mattingly
FOG! Contributor
Best Movies:Wonder Woman, Thor: Ragnarok, Darkest Hour, The Shape of Water, Loving Vincent
Best TV Shows:Game of Thrones, Insecure, The Crown
Best Books (fiction):The Peripheral, William Gibson; Norse Mythology, Neil Gaiman; The Language of Thorns, Leigh Bardugo
Best Books (non-fiction):No Is Not Enough, Naomi Klein; The Ascent of Money, Niall Ferguson
Best Songs: “Feel it Still”: Portugal the Man, “Trip Switch”: Nothing But Thieves, “Cold Little Heart“: Michael Kiwanuka
Best Albums:Southern Gothic: Dan Tyminski, Nothing Feels Natural: Priest, After Laughter: Paramore
Best Music Video:Up All Night: Beck
Best Comic Books / Graphic Novels:Mister Miracle, Shade the Changing Girl, Ultimates 2, Beowulf
Most overrated thing about 2017? Facebook
Most underrated thing about 2017? Local Food Movements and Urban Gardens
Thing that you were most excited about in 2017? Blockchain Revolution
Thing that disappointed you most in 2017? U.S. Governance
Thing that you’re most looking forward to in 2018? November
Josh Hadley
FOG! Contributor
1201beyond.com / @Beyond1201
Best Movies:Kong: Skull Island, Atomic Blonde, The Bad Batch, Sequence Break
Best TV Shows:Blood Drive (first 5 episodes, after that it turned to shit), Black Mirror
Most overrated thing about 2017?Blade Runner 2049. What a bloated self important piece of pseudo-arthouse shit.
Most underrated thing about 2017? Some cool old style practical FX scifi movies making a comeback. These things never get enough press.
Thing that you were most excited about in 2017?Kong. Seeing a Nam era giant monster flick took far too long to happen.
Thing that disappointed you most in 2017? People fawning over the shallow corpse of Blade Runner. It’s like critics think calling it a deep and multilayered film (when it is no such thing) earns them “geek cred”. The reviews for that insult honestly hurt me.
Thing that you’re most looking forward to in 2018? Finally getting to see if Meg (a novel I have read cover to cover 3 times) is both as awesome as I hope it will be and as disastrous as I fear it will be.
Sara Hanley
FOG! Contributor
Calendar to benefit CBLDF which I contributed to
Best Movies: I saw 3 of them, Kingsman: The Golden Circle was fun, but Thor: Ragnarok was the best. (to be picky, could’ve used one less funny sidekick…)
Best Book (fiction) – Only read one non-comic book this year (guess I could work on that), but it’s one I forgot how much I really enjoyed. So my book of both 1993 and 2017 is Stephen King’s The Eyes of the Dragon a great yarn (ha ha, see what I did there – oh wait you didn’t because it’s a joke that’s a reference and nobody’s read this book to get it) that people who like fantasy should really give a chance to.
Best Comic Book – Eugenic. 3 issues, each issue was a chapter that dipped into a specific time in a larger story but it tells you everything you need to know to be satisfied.
Best Video Game – Persona 5. I played the hell out of P4 Golden, so you know I dove into this one. The music the characters, the play experience were all tuned up. But when there are so many parts improved it makes the small shadows more apparent, for the next game (that I’ll pre-order when announced) I hope they’re more deft with the character interactions, ex. we no longer need predatory older woman NPCs trying to get in your pants played for laughs.
Best Song – Foo Fighters/Rick Astley’s impromptu “Never Gonna Give You Up” That’s on my list of videos for when I need to find my happy place
Best thing about 2017– Other than some personal awesomeness (I started writing for this site in 2017) The best thing about this last year was that as a country (U.S. for international readers) we didn’t give up. When it looked like the present and future were nothing but horror shows of poop we got bright spots like the elections of Danica Roem, Andrea Jenkins and Doug Jones (admittedly on the last one we were just grateful the other candidate lost).
Most Disappointing thing about 2017 – Siiiiiiiiiiigh… (please just extrapolate specifics from my best thing answer) people with power hurting the defenseless are still able to do so.
Most Looking Forward to in 2018 – Humanity getting it’s —- together, but barring that Bloodstained coming out on Vita (please Vita still be alive for this game to come out on!)
Jess Nevins
Writer; Pop Culture Encyclopedist
My survey on sexual harassment in SFF / @jessnevins
Best Movies: Outside of genre, Moonlight; in genre, Shape of Water
Best TV Shows: Outside of genre, Atlanta; in genre, Rick and Morty
Best Books (fiction): Ruthanna Emrys’ Winter Tide
Best Comic Books / Graphic Novels: Kelly Sue DeConnick & Val De Landro’s Bitch Planet
Most overrated thing about 2017? Anything having to do with Ready Player One
Most underrated thing about 2017? The surge in writing of women & POC in sffh
Thing that you were most excited about in 2017? reading sffh writing by women & POC coming at sffh from untraditional viewpoints
Thing that disappointed you most in 2017? DC movies
Thing that you’re most looking forward to in 2018? Nick Harkaway’s Gnomon
Dirk Manning
Comic Book Writer of The Macabre / Ice Cream Enthusiast
DirkManning.com / @DirkManning
Best Movies: Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Get Out
Best TV Shows: Black Mirror, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Best Books (fiction): Strange Weather by Joe Hill, Mad Black Wheel by Josh Malerman
Best Albums: Dead Cross by Dead Cross and The Continuous Evilution of Life’s ?’s by Twiztid
Best Comic Books: Hillbilly by Eric Powell and The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard
Most overrated thing about 2017? People’s sense of self-importance on Twitter
Most underrated thing about 2017? The amazing conclusion of Plume by K Lynn Smith
Thing that you were most excited about in 2017? The release of the debut one-shot of Twiztid: Haunted High-Ons by myself, Marianna Pescosta, and Alessandro de Fornasari at New York Comic Con (and getting to meet Mari and Ale – who flew into the show from Italy – for the first time)
Thing that disappointed you most in 2017? People’s sense of self-importance on Twitter
Thing that you’re most looking forward to in 2018? My slate of creator-owned comic books with several of my favorite creators, including Tales of Mr. Rhee Volume 4 with Seth Damoose and Anthony D. Lee, Hope with K Lynn Smith, Cosa Nostra with Dan Dougherty, and The Adventures of Cthulu Jr. and Dastardly Dirk with Scoot McMahon… for starters. It’s going to be a great year.
Whitney Matheson
Pop Cultural Critic
@whitneymatheson
Best Movies: Baby Driver, Get Out, The Trip to Spain, Gilbert
Best TV Shows: The Leftovers, Twin Peaks, Riverdale, I Love Dick, BoJack Horseman
Best Books (non-fiction): Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002) by David Sedaris, Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process by John McPhee, Devotion by Patti Smith
Best Songs: “New York,” St. Vincent; “Hot Thoughts” by Spoon, “Blue Cheese” by Kurt Vile & Courtney Barnett
Best Comic Books/Graphic Novels: You & A Bike & A Road by Eleanor Davis, My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris, NOW 1, Tenements, Towers and Trash by Julia Wertz (and many more!)
Most overrated thing about 2017? superheroes (with a couple exceptions)
Most underrated thing about 2017? The Leftovers (such a stunning show) and The Best Show, which had an outstanding year
Thing that you were most excited about in 2017? The return of Twin Peaks, of course 🙂
Thing that disappointed you most in 2017? Hmm … Twitter?
Thing that you’re most looking forward to in 2018? More Emil Ferris!
Bill Machon
Former FOG! Contributor
Best Movies: Get Out, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Blade Runner 2049, Logan, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Best TV Shows: Twin Peaks: The Return, The Young Pope, Game of Thrones, Star Trek: Discovery, Mr. Robot, Preacher
Best Video Game: Star Wars Battlefront 2
Best Albums: Kendrick Lamar – Damn, Bjork – Utopia, Forest Swords – Compassion, Lee Gamble – Mnestic Pressure, Children of Alice – Children of Alice
Best Comic Books / Graphic Novels: The Flintstones, Batman/Elmer Fudd, Thanos
Most underrated thing about 2017? Dungeons and Dragons
Thing that you were most excited about in 2017? Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Star Trek Discovery, Twin Peaks: The Return, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Thing that you’re most looking forward to in 2018? Black Panther, Avengers Infinity War, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Ghost of Tsushima
Elizabeth Weitz
Former FOG! Managing Editor
Best TV Shows: Stranger Things 2, Mindhunter, Alias Grace…I’m seeing a Netflix theme here.
Best Books (fiction): The Hate You Give – Angie Thomas
Best Books (non-fiction): Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders – Dylan Thuras, Ella Morton, and Joshua Foer
Best Video Game: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Best Songs: “Parasite” – The Coathangers
Best Albums: The Regrettes – Feel Your Feelings Fool!
Best Comic Books / Graphic Novels: My Favorite Thing Is Monsters– Emil Ferris, Deathstroke– Christopher Priest
Most overrated thing about 2017? The Instapot…you’d think it was the Second Coming of Christ the way people talk about it.
Most underrated thing about 2017? The movie Ingrid Goes West. Absolutely brilliant performance from Aubrey Plaza
Thing that you were most excited about in 2017? The movies: Three Billboards, Patty Cake$, Ingrid Goes West…and I wasn’t disappointed.
Thing that disappointed you most in 2017? Trump
Thing that you’re most looking forward to in 2018? The implosion of the GOP
Carol Pinchefsky
Geek Culture Journalist / Editor
carolpinchefsky.com / @carolpinchefsky
Best Movies:Get Out, IT, Thor: Ragnarok, Logan, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Wonder Woman
Best TV Shows:The Handmaid’s Tale, Doctor Who, American Gods, Game of Thrones
Best Books (fiction):Artemis by Andy Weir
Best Books (non-fiction):Star Wars: The Last Jedi Visual Dictionary
Best Video Game:Guild Wars 2’s expansion Path of Fire, Legends of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Best Songs: “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran
Best Blu-ray/DVD Release:Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (3D version is just spectacular)
Most overrated thing about 2017? Hating Justice League. It was a perfectly fine film, yet bashing it was many fans’ version of cardio. Someday in the near future, DC will stop putting out movies, and I’ll point to the negativity over Justice League and say, “This is why we can’t have nice things.”
Most underrated thing about 2017?Game of Thrones had a mediocre episode in Season 7. Wrap your brain around that” In over six years, Game of Thrones had never had a single episode that flagged until “Beyond the Wall.” Yes, the episode was flawed. But it was the show’s first real misstep. I’m agog over this. You should be too.
Thing that you were most excited about in 2017? I loved Stephen King’s IT, and I was thrilled to see it soar at the box office. The children were extremely well-cast, and Bill Skarsgard’s Pennywise was perfect and perfectly evil. I consider it comparable to the incomparable Stephen King novel.
Thing that disappointed you most in 2017? Luke Skywalker’s death in Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, as well as the real-world death of Carrie Fisher, means that Star Wars is no longer the Skywalker Saga. Unless Ben Solo is redeemed. But the idea of no Skywalkers in the last episode is a profound disappointment to me.
Thing that you’re most looking forward to in 2018? I’ve seen the first few episodes of the Starz show Counterpart, starring J.K. Simmons. It’s a spy-fy series, set in Berlin and a Berlin with a different past. It’s absorbing as hell, particularly for those of us who enjoy Cold War stories. I need every episode in my brain right now.
