2016 Comic Book A-Z

It's that time of the year again where I recount the biggest event happened in comic book for 2016 in alphabetical order. Hit the jump to check out which news have been selected.


To be honest, there are a lot of think happening in comic book world. Too many that I either forget or missed some of it. But at last I did manage to compile my Comic Book A-Z this year that consist of weird revelation, to surprises changes and disappointing results. So lets get to it. Oh, also spoiler for some of this, k ?

A- Agent of SHIELD

I never watched Agent of SHIELD (AoS) since its debut was followed with mediocre review and episodes. However, this year changes everything when they bring in Ghost Rider. Sure, I wish they could do more with ( or show him more), but the freedom of having the character not tied to MCU benefits them to one of the best story arc yet. That being said, I don't know if I'm gonna jump back to its LMD arc and will this reflect to MCU later down the line.

B-Brie Larson

Brie Larson shook SDCC last July when she was announced to reprise the role of Carol Danver aka Captain Marvel. She is expected to appear in some sort of capacity in the upcoming Infinity War before headlining her own movie. That being said, the characteristic of the Captain Marvel has been shaky recently due to Civil War 2, so hopefully they fix the damage before the movie came out.

C-Civil War

Speaking of Civil War, Marvel had to Civil War this year. The first one, is the critically and financial acclaimed Captain America: Civil War which raise the benchmark of superhero brawl for the coming movie. The second one is the disappointingly ended nobody care Civil War 2. Short review here, it was the most baffling and disappointing ending for an event read on comic. It didn't help that the rest of the universe had already move on since.

D-Darwyn Cooke RIP
2016 took so many people and one of them was Darwyn Cooke. He died at the age of 53 due to cancer.He is well known as the storyboard artist for Batman:The Animated Series and Justice League. His art was so recognizable that even if you don't know him, you've seen his artwork somewhere. May you rest in peace.

E-Ego The Living Planet.
Another big reveal during SDCC is that Kurt Russel will be playing Star-Lord's father in the form of Ego the Living Planet. It is still unsure whether gonna see a planet with a face, despite been denied by James Gunn himself. Knowing him, it is still possible considering we did get Howard the Duck last time.

F- Flashpoint of the Flarrowverse.
The Flash kicks off its season 3 with a single episode of Flashpoint. That being said, the effect has been seen throughout the Flarrowverse including gender swapping Diggle's child (smart move,I'd say). It is still though a bit disappointing as the actual Flashpoint was only seen for an episode. Could use a little bit more to be honest.

G- Gwen Stacy lives (again ?)

Spiderman newest event; The Clone Conspiracy was set up with a big reveal of the return of Gwen Stacy. That being said, instead of facing the two love birds together, Marvel chickened out and bring in Spider Gwen for a team up instead which immediately lessen the effect considerably. Lets hope they deliver with their latest cliffhanger.

H-Hail Hydra

This is has been the biggest reveal of the year. Last March, Marvel decided to deage Steve Roger in time for Civil War with one added twist. He's a Hydra agent now. The ramification has been seen throughout Marvel Universe especially hinted in the end of Civil War. It is unknown how far this will go on, but we might be seeing him back as the normal Steve Roger in time for Infinity War.

I-In Ryan We Trust
Deadpool was one of the biggest surprise this year and the sequel was immediately fast-tracked until the director, Tim Miller decided to leave the project after a disagreement with Ryan Reynold. They've got a replacement since, however with the director gone, we are left with Reynold to give us a sequel we deserve, but then again he hasn't had a pretty track record in movie as well.

J-Justice League

In trying to catch up with Marvel, DC has released its first teaser (?) to the upcoming Justice League and it looks spectacular. Despite the poor reception of BvS and Suicide Squad, many still hope that this movie will be turn the tide for the not so lucky DCEU. In the meantime, I suggest everyone to check out Justice League Action which happened to be a great family friendly cartoon as well.

K-Kurohime

After an arc that feels forever, Bleach finally concluded in a slightly odd way. It left us with many questions unanswered and plotholes. It is one of those time when you glad it is finish but you wish there is still more chapter to answer all those plotholes. It also left us with a live action movie announcement due in 2018.

L-Left the MCU, to join the TV
In a shocking news, the whole Inhuman is coming to TV. It has been confirmed the TV series will focus on Black Bolt and Medusa and Vin Diesel will not in it. Inhuman has been prominent in AoS tv series and Marvel comic but never get the same level of popularities as the X-Men did. No casting has been done, but expect to hear it early next year.

M-Marvel NOW !! 2.0
Post Civil War 2, the Marvel Comic Universe was semi-rebooted (again). No big retconned is yet to happen (though The Defenders might be coming ) but it sets to pitch the younger version of the hero with the original, more popular status quo version. We know that Odinson (the male Thor) has return and might get his hammer back in time for his movie (it was already hinted in this week Civil War) and Logan (the younger one , not the old one) is set to take back the Wolverine mantel.

N-Netflix Marvel Universe

The Netflix Marvel Universe had several big news this year. First off, Sigourney Weaver has been cast as the principal villain in The Defenders. We got our first look of Iron Fist (I found my new crush in the face of Jessica Henwick), and The Punisher got its own series. That being said, it has not been a good run for the series as both Daredevil season 2, despite the renewal, suffered a fatigue and Luke Cage didn't get a highly acclaimed review. Lets hope Iron Fast turn the tides.

O-Oracle's Origin
No, not the one running on the current Birds of Prey. This is instead the adaptation of Batman:The Killing Joke which end up pretty badly. Jarring shift of tonnes, unnecessary additional scenes, and not to forget a very unnecessary sex scenes hurt what should be a great movie.

P-Power Rangers
Power Rangers is not a comic book property, you say. That's true but it current run has been nothing but amazing. It still has the flavor the original series, but has the courage to explore deeper into the mythology including introducing us with a new villainous ranger !! I haven't catch up with it, but if you looking to fill your Power Rangers void in time for the movie, then I suggest you check out the comic( it even got a Justice League crossover next year)

Q-Queerfirmation

Sometime this year, Greg Rucka; the writer of the current run of Wonder Woman confirm that the character is a queer. It has actually been hinted in his run, and was blatantly shown in the Earth One series. Both Gal Gadot and Lynda Carter supported the statement, making the character as the biggest one who comes out (?) this year.

R-Rebirth

DC Comic was reaching the end of its New 52 run, and the followed up was nothing sort of spectacular. Rebirth proved to be the turning point DC needed for its comic. It immediately rejuvenates some of the League who has been poorly treated or lacking in interest for the past year. All the member trinity now currently has some of the best run in DC and followed closely behind by the rest of the Leaguer. If you want some of the best superhero storytelling in the recent year, check out the DC Rebirth titles.

S-Steve Dillon RIP
Darwyn Cooke is not the only comic book talents that we lost this year. Dillon, known for as part of the team that comes up with Preacher died on October 22, due to a complication of appendix ruptured. He is also of of those people who have recognizable style of art and will be missed by all of us.

T-Tyler Hoachlin

Tyler of Hoachlin broke the news early this year when he was announced to be taking the role of Clark Kent/Superman in the CW Supergirl series. His portrayal was well received by fans and it is reminisce of the Christopher Reeves/Dean Cain era. It is unknown if he will returns in the series, but the creator has been teasing Batman for quite a while, so finger crossed.

U-Uncancelled !!

Fan of Young Justice rejoiced as the animated series will return with its season 3 next year on Netflix. All the talent behind the series set to returns and it will continue where we left off in season 2. Young Justice season two suffers from long delay, so with it goes to Netflix, it might fare better as seen with the new Voltron animated series.

V- Valiant Live Action Universe

Valiant finally attempt to catch up with the two giant by launching their own live action movie universe. Not cinematic universe, mind you as they are going online for their first attempt; Ninjak. Micheal Rowe, famous for playing Deadshot from Arrow will be taking the mantle. I honestly don't remember when it will come out, but from the trailer, it doesn't seem that far off different from you guess it, Arrow.

W- Welcome to Riverdale

CW adds another comic adaptation to its schedule with Riverdale. Riverdale is the dark and gritty adaptation of Archie in the vein of Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill. The trailer was super odd considering that Archie has always been this bright and happy. Early review mentioned that it has a very odd tonnes as it mixes Archie and the dark gritty very well at some level, so it is unknown whether this will attract the fans of either the old times and recently rebooted Archie to watch it.

X-X-Mentravaganza
X-Men has been all over the place recently. X-Men:Apocalypse makes what considered a very good start for an X-Men reboot into a very another mediocre trilogy. Logan gives us this weird post-apocalypse western take of X-Men universe. Legion is set to debut some time soon, making it the next attempt to create an X-Men TV series after Mutant X (?), and lets not forget the poor lead up to IvX in Death of X

Y-Young Animal (DC)

If you want a more unorthodox take of DC superheroes, then I guess DC Young Animal is for you. Lead by Gerard Way, this is a very different beast in term of superhero story telling. I drop the all the title after two issues, not because it wasn't good, but it was super weird. It seems like Doom Patrol is getting a very response considering its director cut is set to release next year. If you want something totally different, that I guess this is definitely for you.

Z- Zounds, Ayer's back ?
Did I pushing it ? Yes I did. But it was a great surprise when it was announced that David Ayer is set to return for a Gotham Siren movie with Poison Ivy and Catwoman. It was a bit worried that this will just be butt shot after butt shot, but considering Margot Robbie is producing this and she hated every single butt shot in Suicide Squad, so there's a chance we are seeing less of it. Casting rumor ? Megan Fox as Poison Ivy. Yup, that should be every nerds dream and right in Ayer's alley.

So, do you agree with my choices ? Or do you think there is other big news befitting the alphabet, I would interested to hear for the letter Z actually. Sound off your thought in the comment section. I'll try to review Civil War 2 tomorrow if I had a chance, so to keep up with the updates, be sure to follow and like Comikrew Studio right here or on Facebook. Don't forget to subscribe to my comic on Tapastic and finally follow and hit me up on Twitter.