17 Pop Culture Things for 2017

With the New Year here we all have our hopes and dreams of projects, products, and changes that we would love to see become a reality. The world of possibilities within the world of geekdom is endless, and I could list 100 things I would like to see. In the interest of time and sanity I paired the list down, some of them are serious, some of them are fun, and none are in any particular order.  So without further delay here are 17 things that I would like to see happen within pop culture in 2017.

Netflix and HBO to continue to put out great original series

Be it a superhero series, a original series such as Stranger Things or Westworld, and even documentaries such as Making of a Murderer, both companies put out some great content the past few years. This needs to continue!

Batman: Hush Movie

One of the best Batman stories ever told was the Hush story line. I do not care if it is a animated movie or live action, but by the end of 2017 it needs to be announced that this movie has been greenlit.

The Wonder Woman movie to be great

Speaking of DC movies… Greg Rucka has already done a great job elevating Wonder Women within the pages of DC universe, now it is time that the character is not only elevated within the DC movie universe, but for the movie to be the great DC movie that we have all been hoping for.

Super NES classic

Earthworm Jim, Starfox, Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Kart, Super Metroid just to name a few. With the success of the NES classic in 2016, the next logical step is to put out all the classic games from the Super NES.

Saved by the Bell again?

With shows like Fuller House, and Gilmore Girls re-visiting old favorites, you can not tell me a show about Zac, Kelly, Lisa, and Slater’s kids all attending the same high school would not be a ratings boom for some network or company.

He-Man to Netflix

Voltron, Danger Mouse, and Inspector Gadget. He-Man should be the next 80’s cartoon that Netflix reboots.

More Localized Fan Friendly Creator Driven Cons

Everyone knows about the big two Cons and more and more those feel like they are focused on the business side with fans starting to be priced out. We need more Cons that are driven by the creators while allowing access to the fans who can not make it to New York or San Diego.

New Writers and Artists

There are many great writers and artists throughout the comic book industry, but the more writers and artist that we have coming into the industry from other genres, the better.

Matthew Rosenberg writes everything

Rosenberg is killing it with his 4 Kids and a Bank, and issue one of Rocket Raccoon was brilliant, so he should just write all the books (yes, this goes directly against the last point of needing tons of new artist and writers).

Shop Local

We need to see a resurgence of the local comic book shops. Sure you can download them, or order them, but comics are better when you have a local shop to go to where you can get great recommendations and have a community of readers. The companies need to work with local comic shops in order to get more books in the hands of the people.

No More Marvel Events

Two major events in a row fell behind schedule and disrupted regular distribution of several Marvel series. 2017 needs to be the year of no Marvel events so that readers can once again enjoy regular series without interruption.

DC Rebirth Expanded

We know that a Batwoman series is in the works, but how about people like Elongated Man, Firestorm, Dr. Fate, etc.

X-men become relevant again

We know that the Inhumans vs X-Men crossover has a effect on where the X-Men stand in the Marvel Universe and it seems that death is not as close at it seemed at some point for them. However, I argue that Marvel needs to go one step farther and the X-men not only need to be brought back from the brink of extinction, but they need to have a prominent role in this new post Civil War II world. Marvel is better when the X-Men are at their best.

Image Becomes a Household Name

Those of us that are fans of comics know Image and know the quality of the comics that they are putting out on a weekly basis. With more and more books being picked up for movies and TV, Image needs to become a company that is mentioned in the same breath as DC and Marvel.

Less Deadpool

Yes I know he is a money making machine, but Marvel is very close to burning people out on him. In addition to his regular series, we had the Merc for Money, Spider-Man, and Gambit team-ups, Back in Black, Gwenpool, Uncanny Avengers, and he was shoehorned into the Dr. Strange magic event. Deadpool needs to return to being what made him what he is and we need to see him in two series at the most. In addition to that, we don’t need special issues every three months that cost ten bucks a piece.

More Diversity

2016 continued to move in the right direction in general when it comes to diversity. However there is still work to be done. I want to see more diverse characters, creators, artists, and even executives in comics, TV, and movies. Everyone should be able to find someone like themselves that they can look up to and idolize and the best way to do that is to encourage diversity. There are literally hundreds of books, shows, and movies coming out on a weekly basis, it should be easy to find someone like you, you shouldn’t have to search high and low for it. Besides the characters, 2017 needs to bring us more diversity in the creative process. More writers of color, of different sexuality, and genders need to be filling the halls of the publishers, writing rooms, and movie studios.

More Kindness

2016 became known for some of the social media attacks on several writers and artists and that extended into attacks on users of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. 2017 needs to be better. I am not saying that everything that comes out needs to be heaped with praise, in fact criticism allows for a better product to be made. However, blindly saying that something is horrible because it features four women in the starring roles, or attacking a writer on Twitter because you do not like her story, is not needed and is counter productive and hurtful. Be thoughtful in your criticism of works that many times people have spent months to years creating for your consumption. You might not like a piece of work, but someone else might love it. That’s what makes entertainment great! We can all find something we love. So debate, review, evaluate, and even criticize, but if it is done with kindness and respect than 2017 will be a better place.