2017 was a year full of fandom, friendship, and fun! From the moments that made us laugh to the moments that made us cry, here's our reaction to everything 2017 brought us. In addition, join us as we assemble our wishlists for 2018! Major spoilers must be highlighted to read. Like this: Happy 2018!
KELLY CHAPLIN
Best of 2017
- Finishing the Shades of Magic series and finally reading the wonder that is A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab.
- Playing (and owning) Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 and 2.8. They were as magical as I had hoped. New content in 2.8 as well, where you get to play as Aqua on the Unreal Engine (used to make Kingdom Hearts 3).
- Listening to the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra and experiencing all the joy and sadness threaded through the KH soundtrack. I also listened to Yoko Shimomura play a piano solo and even saw Tetsuya Nomura come out on the stage to thank everyone for coming.
- Tried my hand at Persona 5. It was truly involved, truly magnificent.
- Watching Beauty and the Beast AND Power Rangers in theaters.
- Reading The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy! It was something different from anything else I had ever read.
- Finally reading The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer and realizing it’s as good as everyone has been saying.
- Reading The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden and HOLY COW, it was as darkly beautiful as any fairy tale I’ve ever read.
- Gaming on the Switch for the first time. I was able to play Nine Parchments (fun to play with friends) and Skyrim (I had never played it before!).
- Watching the Netflix original Marvel series Jessica Jones, Daredevil, and Luke Cage.
- Attending Colossalcon (convention in Ohio!) AND Kupocon (Final Fantasy convention in Canada).
Hopes for 2018
- Reading Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir! I’ve been waiting quite some time for this.
- Reading Legendary by Stephanie Garber. I enjoyed Caraval and intend to continue the story.
- Picking up Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu (Batman is my favorite superhero! I’m sure it will be good!)
- Read something about The Cruel Prince by Holly Black this past year. It sounded intriguing, so I'm sure I'll pick it up.
- Finally playing KINGDOM HEARTS 3, GOSH DARN IT. It’s coming out this year!!!
- Replaying Final Fantasy XV and all the downloadable content that’s been added. Everything new that they want to add will be ending in 2018, so I’ll be able to play everything intended to go into the game.
- Reading ALL the Rick Riordan series. I’m so very close.
- Once again, going to Colossalcon.
- New Pokemon game on the Switch?? Maybe?
- Final Fantasy VII remake?? Even more maybe??
- There’s a rumor that one of my all-time favorite books, All the Bright Places, is being made into a movie and that it might be released this year.
- Seeing Han Solo, A Wrinkle in Time, The Incredibles 2, the new Fantastic Beasts movie, and Wreck It Ralph 2.
GABRIELLE GOLD
Best of 2017
⦁ Seeing The Last Jedi and being delighted that it was actually very good. I was a little worried about it, but my fears were laid to rest. I heart grumpy old man Luke.
⦁ Going to Confluence, a sci-fi/fantasy convention in Pittsburgh, for the second time. I got to see Cheshire Moon perform live again. It had been too long. There were also awesome roommates and an unexpected $100 bill involved. Good times.
⦁ Guillermo del Toro’s comeback with The Shape of Water. It has already won several awards, and it had the good old fairy tale-style ambiance to it, just like Pan’s Labyrinth did. I missed that.
⦁ Finally seeing Moana on New Year’s Eve. It’s just barely a 2017 moment, and it took me way too long in the first place. Tamatoa is the Disney monster I didn’t know I needed.
⦁ Being invited as a guest to a filk convention in Boston…in the middle of watching someone else’s filk concert at Marcon. There was much rejoicing, thankfully out in the hall, not in the concert space.
Hopes for 2018
⦁ That Avengers: Infinity War is worth the hype. I was kind of disappointed with Avengers: Age of Ultron, but I loved the first movie. I almost didn’t recognize Cap in the new trailers with that beard, but it’s not a bad look. As a side note, I am also looking forward to Black Panther a lot. It will be nice to have a completely different cultural setting.
⦁ That I can attend a convention in the Toronto area, Filk Ontario (FKO), for the first time. It’s coming up soon in April, and it would be super sweet if I can pull it off. More Canadian content! Also, the guest of honor is Leslie Hudson, and she is awesome.
⦁ That I fall back in love with my Kindle. I read more in 2017 than I had the previous years, but my reading frequency tapered off during the winter months. There are so many fantasy books to choose from, and I’m hoping I strike gold the way I did in 2016. Six of Crows and A Darker Shade of Magic for the win.
HAYLA R.
Best of 2017
- Stranger Things Season 2
I binged the season twice when it came out. I loved the first season, but I think I love the second even more. I loved the introduction of the new characters: Bob, Max, and Billy, and also getting to know more about Eleven’s past.
- BoJack Horseman Season 4
Dealing with issues of sexual identity, parental abuse, and fatherhood (to name only a few), this season continued the show’s depth and dark humor.
- The Walking Dead Seasons 7b and 8a
I know I am in the minority, but the last few seasons of the show have been my favorite. I just whole-heartedly love Negan and the conflicts that he and the Saviors bring to Rick’s gang.
- Gotham Season 3b
Seeing the Riddler grapple with his feelings for Oswald in the second half of season 3 was a personal highlight (Nygmobblepot is my OTP). Also amazing was having Jerome and Bruce going head to head and setting up the future Joker/Batman conflicts.
- Alien Covenant
The continuation of the Alien prequel series is my personal favorite of the franchise. The gothic overtones and attention to scenery details (such as the drawings in David’s laboratory) were particularly breathtaking.
- Get Out
A truly original horror film is rare in our current age of reboots and sequels. But this one was brilliant. I don’t want to give anything away. Do yourself a favor and see it.
- Maplecroft
Discovering the author Cherie Priest was a huge highlight. This book was a Lovecraftian spin on the Lizzie Borden story. I will be reading all her other books, as well.
Wishlist for 2018
- The Walking Dead comics
I want to read through The Walking Dead comics this year. I hope they are as good (or better) as the show.
- Aquaman film
I am pleased with the casting of Jason Momoa but, as a long-time fan of the hero, I have a little bit of anxiety about the script, and I hope it does the character justice.
- Deadpool 2
...will be amazing. I’m just stoked to see it!
- Gotham Season 4b
A Nygmobblepot happy ending. They’re my OTP, and this has been my Gotham wish since Season 3a.
- The Walking Dead
More Negan please! He is a fascinating character, and his stupid lines make me laugh out loud.
JANA RUTH
Best moments of Gotham in 2017
- Bruce defeats a resurrected Jerome Valeska and declares "I will not kill."
- Ed Nygma officially becomes the Riddler, bowler hat and all.
- Selina uses her whip once and for all.
- Bruce saves a family of three from a mugger (just like the one who killed his parents) and dons his vigilante persona for the first time.
- Bruce acts like a brat at Penguin's auction and basically plays everyone.
SCOTT MITCHELL
Best of 2017
⦁ Seeing Your Name in theaters. It's a really really good movie and not just Freaky Friday in Japan like the trailer suggests.⦁ Game of Thrones finally confirming what fans had hoped for a very very long time. We still need the book to come out, but hey, show endgame incoming... in 2019.
⦁ Thank you Intelligent Systems for making Fire Emblem Echoes as good as it was. It was an excellent callback to the past and an apology letter for Camilla's existence in Fates.
⦁ Seeing Adam Savage live in Brain Candy at Playhouse Square armed with a ping pong ball machine gun was a childhood dream come true for me.
Disappointments of 2017
⦁ Valerian and the City of 1000 Planets. Box office bomb with a main actor who keeps trying to sound like Batman and a main actress who is the female equivalent of Derek Zoolander.
⦁ Now that the initial shock of Attack on Titan's premise has worn off, season 2 shows that the only place to go is down. This season was like 70% flashbacks, 20% sitting in trees and 10% Armin angrily eating D-rations.
⦁ Sherlock Season 4, specifically the last episode. I'm sure plenty will disagree, but I just feel like they've run out of ideas at this point. The Norbury scene was excellent though.
Hopes for 2018
⦁ Hoping that season 2 of Westworld lives up to the hype as season 1 is one of a very small number of shows that I've actually truly binged.
⦁ I hope I finally get through the rather embarrassing book backlog I've accumulated at this point. Curse you, library sales and your low prices...
⦁ I still can't believe that Spice and Wolf got a sequel series as adventure, romantic comedy and medieval economics usually don't mix. Somehow it did happen and I'm going to enjoy every moment of it.
SKY DESTRIAN
Best of 2017
- This was the first year I got to watch the Harry Potter films, and I also received Gryffindor pajama pants for Christmas, wrote about being a Gryffindor, and just sank deeper into the Harry Potter fandom in general. I absolutely loved it.
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was one of the best movies of the year and one of the best movies of all time. That soundtrack colored the entirety of my year, and I don't regret a second.
- But that's not to say that was the only great movie of 2017... there were so many other fantastic films. Logan, Baby Driver, Spider-man: Homecoming, and Wonder Woman, just to name a few.
- I also finally watched some movies I hadn't gotten a chance to see: Moana, Mad Max: Fury Road, Lion, Arrival, Gifted, Top Gun... and they were all amazing.
- My mom, sister, and I watched all six seasons of Parenthood, and it was an incredible roller coaster.
- The Last Jedi was a highlight and brought a sense of wonder to the galaxy in a way that I hadn't sensed before. I loved it.
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 4 was its best one yet, in my opinion. Absolutely mindblowing.
- Reading Radio Silence by Alice Oseman and Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia: two books that made me cry, found me where I was, and offered a light in the darkness to show me I wasn't alone.
- Stranger Things was just as good as I hoped it would be. Honestly amazing. I'm in love with Steve Harrington now, thank you.
- In the last month or two of 2017, I discovered the joy of podcasts for myself. The Adventure Zone (and all of the McElroy productions), Alice Isn't Dead, The Bright Sessions... there's a whole world of stories out there, and it's exceptional.
- THERE. IS. FINALLY. A. BLACK. WIDOW. MOVIE. IN. PRODUCTION. It's not 100% guaranteed, and it's long overdue, but I'm taking it!
Worst of 2017
- Jane the Virgin: Losing Michael Cordero... I'm still not over it. Jane the Virgin hasn't been the same again, and neither have I.
- Logan: Seeing Professer X aka my childhood hero Patrick Stewart die on screen was really rough. Then to have Logan himself die a little later... that movie was so much to handle.
- The Last Jedi: It's bittersweet and difficult knowing this will be Carrie Fisher's last Star Wars movie. That said, I was happy with the final product.
Hopes for 2017
- I hope that I can get back into reading again--it's been one of the highlights of the past few years for me. I kind of got out of the habit recently, but I miss it.
- More development on the Black Widow movie (this will go on my list until we get it. Fingers crossed!).
- A Kamala Khan movie or TV show.
- A Kate Bishop Netflix show based off the Hawkeye comics. Please! We've been wanting this for years!
- Representation within Marvel for people of color, women of color, disabled characters, LGBTQ characters, and characters of any background. Runaways is one amazing example, but we can always do better.
- More representation, period.
- Black Panther and Deadpool 2!!! I can't wait.
- May Infinity War not be awful.
- May The Incredibles 2 live up to fifteen years of desperate waiting.
- May Tony Stark and Steve Rogers not die (and if they must, let it be a worthy death).
- May 2018 be a fantastic, fabulous fandom year.
What are your fandom hopes and dreams for 2018? Let us know in the comments!
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