by Arpad Okay, Kate Kowalski, and Jarrod Jones. *Reading Watchmen upside-down* Oh, hello! I didn’t see you there. *Sets book down* Did you know that DoomRocket, your second- or possibly third-favorite review site, launched 10 years ago this month? 10 years! That’s a long time to do anything, let alone write opinions meant for strangers. We’ve sure reviewed a lot of things in that time — some we liked, some we didn’t, and some we loved. This feature is about the stuff we’ve loved, whether we’ve written about them previously, or not.
DOOMROCKET TOP 10 is how we’re going to celebrate 10 years of this site. Put simply, it’s our way of sharing with you all the things that gave us a charge of excitement and comfort — or, at the very least, kept us going for the last decade. To close out this minor event, DoomRocket is celebrating the people who inspired us, were awesome, and/or made something that changed us for the better over the last 10 years. It’s because of these folks, among so many others, that we do what we do.
OUR FAVORITE PEOPLE OF THE LAST 10 YEARS
Gene Ha. (Artist; Mae, Wonder Woman: Historia) I’ve been calling Gene “The Nicest Guy in Comics” since I met him in 2013 because it’s the truth. If you come across his booth at any convention, greet him. You won’t regret it. Gene’s a singular creator: he offers encouraging advice and techniques to aspiring artists, is genuinely fascinated by people, and is enthusiastic about his chosen medium in a way that’s rare and true. It’s rarer still for a comics creator to accumulate so many accolades without growing jaded. I’ve always been in awe of how he can have the bibliography he has, the experiences he has, and still tap a seemingly infinite wellspring of energy to explore that next great mountain — and the grace to invite you along for the ride. Also, I don’t know if you know this, but: Gene draws like a beast. — JJ
Annie Koyama. (Koyama Press, Koyama Provides) Koyama Press was Annie Koyama’s publishing house, a stylistic inspiration for the comics community as well as a home that fostered th/eir roster’s creative growth. Now post-Press, her arts grant Koyama Provides directly addresses the idea of helping artists get over while relieving them from a transactional expectation of production — maintaining their agency instead of trading for it. Koyama wields authority responsibly; she pushes the envelope on creativity and the medium’s scope but is vocal about when the industry violates boundaries. Comics have benefitted immeasurably from her influence. She’s just too damn cool, that’s all. — AOK
ND Stevenson. (Cartoonist; Nimona, Lumberjanes, She-Ra, I’m Fine I’m Fine Just Understand) I remember looking at early installments of Nimona and reblogging fanart from ND Stevenson’s Tumblr back in high school. It has been truly inspiring to see his career develop and blossom; Stevenson has not only created an incredibly fun and meaningful oeuvre of original work but has successfully rebooted a beloved character in Netflix’s She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Along the way, he openly discussed his journey with gender identity and published a comic about his experience with top surgery, “The Weight of Them,” a lovely and tender story that I’ve carried with me these past couple of years. Stevenson carved out a niche in comics and TV with his whimsical style and heartfelt writing, and through work and candor, has also facilitated important discussions. The youth of today are so, so lucky to grow up with his amazing stories. — KK
Scott Tobias and Keith Phipps. (Film critics; The Reveal) Long before I considered Chicago a place where I could live, let alone survive as a writer, I was an avid reader of Scott Tobias and Keith Phipps. Film writing was always something I was interested in — I remember reading Roger Ebert’s column when I was but a teenage spud. As I got older and became more aware of the people writing the reviews and features I gobbled up so voraciously, Scott and Keith were names I gravitated to more than most. In a sense, I’ve become something of a loser groupie of theirs, following them through all the various sites they’ve written for over the years; I even listen to their podcast with Tasha Robinson, The Next Picture Show, almost the second they drop a new episode. All I want to do in the world is write about movies and read other people’s thoughts on movies, which in no small part is Scott and Keith’s fault. They’re the ones to blame! Now go read them. — JJ
Brian Chankin. (Curator; Odd Obsession Movies, Deadly Prey Gallery) Deadly Prey Gallery grew out of Brian Chankin being a nerd: his Chicago video store Odd Obsession was an excuse to watch as many Z-grade action movies as possible. That led to the utterly bonkers world of hand-painted Ghana video club movie posters. Deadly Prey is about artists preserving their classic work and commissioning them to keep up their craft in a post-VHS world. The flood of even more surreal posters — non-video club titles done in the original style by the original artists — has saturated the internet. Brian’s made the world weirder! With authenticity, no less. — AOK
Jordan Peele. (Filmmaker; Nope, Us, Get Out) Peele’s work keeps ramping up, steadily getting better, grander, stranger, and more exciting. Get Out blew my socks off, Us scared the shit out of me, and Nope totally rocked my world. Peele shows us how thin the line is between humor and horror, how absurdity can delight us or make us feel pure terror. Get Out could have been a Key & Peele sketch, but Peele punched up the stakes, pushed it farther, and plunged the plot into the depths of societal horrors. Us strikes a nerve, showing us the truly depraved side of survivalism, human vs. human. Nope continues to ponder the dark side of our natural instincts on a grander scale — human vs. nature. After seeing it, I stayed up most of the night inspired, reflecting and contemplating on the themes in Peele’s latest sci-fi epic. As a writer and director, Jordan Peele is a master storyteller. I eagerly await his next project. — KK
Tom Spurgeon. (Critic, editor; The Comics Reporter, The Comics Journal) Writer, editor, historian, critic, advocate — Tom Spurgeon saw the value in a broad variety of comics and understood how their coexistence made the art of cartooning better. Wilder still, he knew how to make others feel that way, too. A name synonymous with both curiosity about and reverence for comics. If criticism can be thought of as a glue that holds together art and community, that was Tom Spurgeon. — AOK
Mariko Tamaki. (Writer; Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass, I am Not Starfire) Mariko Tamaki is doing it for the girls and the gays. Through her original takes on established characters like She-Hulk, Supergirl, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Willow, she gets to the heart of the turmoil of girlhood, queerness, and where they intersect. Tamaki broke new ground by exploring the identity of Starfire’s overlooked daughter in I Am Not Starfire, contributing significant texts to the teen girl experience in a medium originally ascribed to teenage boys. Her work with Jillian Tamaki (they’re cousins) is also gorgeous and seamless in their collaboration; their latest graphic novel, Roaming, digs deep into the complicated lives of teen girls with an emphasis on the Asian-American experience. Everything Tamaki touches is raw and teeming, powerful with feeling. — KK
Shelly Bond. (Editor, letterer; Black Crown, Off Register Press) Shelly is one of those people in comics who seems intimidating by the enormity of her resume alone. When I first met Shelly at Emerald City Comic Con in 2017, I was a nervous wreck. It turned out to be one of the most relaxed interviews I’d ever had; we talked about comics, yeah, but also music and movies and other things we enjoy. (I didn’t have any idea then, but that conversation would, somehow, eventually lead to my first — and, so far, only — comic book credit.) Shelly is a force to be reckoned with; she’s a monster at Kickstarter, a supportive presence for aspiring comics creators, and her editorial how-to/why-should tome, Filth & Grammar, is required reading for anyone who wants to broaden their view on how these funny books actually get made. And, not for nothing, she’s also one of the coolest people you’re like to meet in this business. — JJ
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