Entertainment Roundup for 2018

As I do every year, here is a list of the films, books, television and streamed shows, plays, live performance, etc., I took in for the year just ending. My usual caveat is that while I strive to be exhaustive, I am sure there are some items that slip through the cracks. (I just noticed I'm missing a lot of comics here for example).

Among my favorite films this year were Mission: Impossible 6, which surprisingly seems to get stronger with each entry, Avengers: Infinity War, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse. In terms of television/streaming, the highlights for me were binge-watching the complete seven seasons of Call the Midwife, the second seasons of GLOW and Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and the third and final season of Love on Netflix. A delightful end-of-year discovery was the Derry Girls on Netflix. Other highlights included visiting the offices of DC Comics/Mad Magazine and seeing cartoonist Howard Chaykin speak live at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena.

Anyway, without any further ado:

Films:
Marie Antoinette - Netflix (1/1/2018)
The Polka King - Netflix (1/13/2018)
The Post (1/15/2018)
A Serious Man (2/10/2018)
Something About Mary (2/10/2018)
War Machine - Netflix (2/11/2018) - N
Carol - Netflix (2/11/2018)*
Black Panther (2/18/2018)
Isle of Dogs (3/07/2018)
King of Comedy (03/08/2018)
Game Over, Man - Netflix (04/08/2018)
The Clapper - Netflix (5/12/18)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (05/27/2018)
The Conspirator - Netflix (05/30/2018)
Avengers: Infinity War (4/29/2018)
Dead Again (7/16/2018)
A Very English Scandal - Amazon (7/2018)
Yellow Submarine (7/23/2018)
Larry Crowne - Netflix (7/27/18)
Mission: Impossible 6: Fallout (7/29/2018)
Up in the Air - Netflix (8/3/2018)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Netflix (8/12/2018)
Like Father - Netflix (8/16/2018)
Death of Stalin - Amazon (9/1/2018)
Hysteria - Amazon (9/14/2018)
Disobedience – Amazon Prime (11/2018)
I’m Sorry, Season 1, Episode 1 – Netflix (11/4/2018)
Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Season 1 (11/4/2018)
They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead - Netflix (11/4/2018)
The Madness of King George – Amazon Prime (11/2018)
Monty Python’s Life of Brian (11/22/2018)
Creed - Amazon (12/2/2018)
Mary Poppins Returns (12/25/2018)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (12/24/2018)

Television/Series:
Derry Girls - Netflix (12/27/2018)
Jim Gaffigan: Noble Ape (12/19/2018)
The Kominsky Method: Season 1, Episode 1 - Netflix (11/29/2018)
Romanoffs - Season 1, Episode 1 – Amazon Prime (11/2018)
Call the Midwife (Seasons 1-7) - Netflix (10/82018)
Jack Ryan - Netflix (9/8/2018)
Kim's Convenience (Seasons 1-2) - Netflix (8/19/2018)
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee: New 2018: - Netflix (7/24/18)
GLOW: Season 2 – Netflix (7/17/18)
6/29/18 The King's Speech
6/24/18 Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story
Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life - Netflix (05/25/2018)
The Drifters - Amazon Prime (05/2018)
Family Tree - Amazon Prime (05/2018)
Mister Rogers & Me- Amazon Prime (04/2018)
American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story - Amazon Prime (04/2018)
One Night Stand 59: Flight of the Conchords (04/2018)
Love - Season 3 (03/30/2018)
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman: George Clooney - Netflix (3/1/18)
Jerry Seinfeld: I'm Telling You for the Last TimeThe Keepers - Netflix (2/26/18)
Eagle vs. Shark - Netflix (2/23/18)
The Toys that Made Us - Netflix (2/10/2018)
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee - Netflix (1/2018)
Tenacious D - Amazon (HBO show) (1/2018)
Vicious - Amazon (1/2018)
Victoria: Season 2 (1/2018)
The L Word: Season 1 - Netflix (1/2018)
Jim Gaffigan - Cinco - Netflix (1/13/2018)

Exhibitions/Plays/Live Performance:
Body Works Exhibit (1/14/2018)
Space Shuttle Endeavor (1/14/2018)
C3 Conference, Long Beach (1/16/2018)
Long Beach Comics Convention (1/17/2018)
Visit to DC Comics/Mad Magazine (6/2/2018)
2018 Emmy’s Costume Exhibit at FIDM Museum (9/9/2018)
The Ralph Report - The Improv (9/15/2018)
Howard Chaykin at ArtCenter College of Design (9/17/2018)
She Loves Me (9/30/2018)

Books:
Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs (6/2018)
Tarzan Returns by Edgar Rice Burroughs (6/2018)
We Told you So: Comics as Art by Michael Dean and Tom Spurgeon (12/2018)

2018 Recap: A Look Back and Looking Ahead....

2018 was a banner year for WCG Comics—I was honored to be featured as a Special Guest at the San Diego Comic-Con in July, which included a scheduled Spotlight Panel on my work at the show! I was surprised and humbled by how well attended the panel was, which was great fun and, I hope, entertaining, thanks in large part to Barry Gregory, CEO of Ka-Blam Digital Printing, who at my invitation graciously joined me and moderated the panel. (Ka-Blam also has a webstore that sells print-on-demand and digital comics, IndyPlanet.)

And then, of course, to top it off, during the spotlight panel, I was shocked but honored to be presented with an Inkpot Award for Contributions to Comic Art! (Filmmaker Kevin Smith, actress Nichelle Nichols, and cartoonists Jason Lutes and Shannon Wheeler were also among this year’s recipients; many of my cartoonist idols, including Milton Caniff and Alex Toth, are among the illustrious list of past recipients, as are others like George Lucas and Steven Spielberg for their achievements in the broader popular arts.)

This past year, I also released issue 19 of Rob Hanes Adventures, featuring a story entitled, “Enemy of the State." In the story, in keeping with the often topical nature of the series, Justice International is nationalized by the Federal government as the new investigative arm of a new White House administration, in a story that reflects the country’s current turbulent political climate.

Expect issue 20 of the series to be released in 2019, continuing the above storyline with “Citizen Humbert." The landmark issue is expected to debut at next year's San Diego Comic-Con, scheduled July 18–21, 2019—and with that said, I'm pleased to confirm that I'll indeed have a booth at the show at my usual location. This year's Comic-Con promises to be memorable since it marks the event's 50th anniversary! More details to come as we get closer to the event.

Scroll down to see some photo highlights!

Social Media

This past year, I made it a goal to be more active and engaged on social media—it has been great fun interacting directly with friends, fans, fellow pros and others! If you're on any of the platforms below, feel free to follow (and I'll likely follow back!)

Twitter: @randywcgcomics
Facebook/personal page: https://www.facebook.com/randy.reynaldo
Facebook/company page: https://www.facebook.com/rhadventures/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/randywcg (though not quite so active here yet)

Consider the Gift of Comics for the Holidays!

As the holidays approach, consider sharing a Rob Hanes Adventures comic-book series collection as a holiday gift for a friend or loved one! Visit our online store for options!

Volumes 0, 1 and 2 are each separately available at a special holiday price of $10.99 (regularly $14.99), collecting the series through issue 8 of the series (volume 0 collects an earlier run of the series). You can also purchase the entire run of the series for as low as $49.99, encompassing two trade paperbacks and 19 full issues!

2018 truly was a banner year for WCG Comics—I was honored to be featured as a Special Guest at the San Diego Comic-Con in July and, to top it off, was surprised with an Inkpot Award for Contributions to Comic Art during my panel!

In addition, at the show, issue 19 of the series was released, featuring a story entitled, “Enemy of the State." In keeping with the often topical nature of the series, Justice International is nationalized by the Federal government as the new investigative arm of a new White House administration, in a story that reflects the country’s current turbulent political climate.

Milestone issue 20 of Rob Hanes Adventures continues the storyline with “Citizen Humbert” that will feature a shock ending, which is targeted for release at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con. As this suggests, I'm pleased to announce that I'll have a booth at the 2019 show, which promises to be memorable since it marks Comic-Con’s 50th anniversary! More details to come, of course, as we get closer to the event.

Once again, enjoy the happiest of holidays and warmest wishes for a memorable and exciting 2019!