GTFO 2023 - My Fave Comics of the Year, New Year's Wines, and Raising a Glass

Plus: EOY Spotify Playlist!

What a year! 2023 was a real struggle in terms of the personal and the political, and I know I’m not alone in that. But this Wine and Comics show and newsletter were absolute bright spots for me. I’ve loved putting this together, and meeting the comic creators and wine-world workers along the way, even when the workload was more than I could honestly manage. That’s how passion projects work, innit?

2023 was also the year my music tastes exploded/expanded. I listened to more new artists than I could ever list. So here’s an EOY Spotify Playlist, international artists across multiple genres and spectrums, to share a taste with you. This is not a Playlist meant to be paired with anything; it’s too ecclectic for that. But we have wine and music pairing episodes coming in 2024! So enjoy this playlist to wrap up your year and/or bring in the new one:

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Fave Comics of 2023

These are books that were released in 2023. I read a slew of comics from creators we featured on the show, but many of those haven’t technically been released yet! But for those that have, here’s a list of those books that defined 2023 for me:

Black Cloak

Hands down my favorite comic of 2023! Written by

Kelly Thompson

and art by

Meredith McClaren

BLACK CLOAK is a police procedural / murder mystery set in a gleefully dangerous fantasy world. It defies easy categorization, even though I just took at stab at it above. The writing is near flawless, the pacing, dialogue, plotting, characterization, all of it. And McClaren’s art is strangely beautiful and pitch perfect for the material. Issues 1-6 released in 2023 and comprise the first volume/story arc. The first trade collecting these issues was also released. READ THIS BOOK.

Waking Life

I’d been waiting years for the second volume of Ben Humeniak’s WAKING LIFE, which finally hit Kickstarter this year and arrived at my doorstep just in time in December. A phenomenal “becoming an adult” story that only comics can do, inspired by the classic Little Nemo in Slumberland. Highly Recommended.

Foul Mouth

The superhero that gets her powers from cursing! I truly impressive new book by Steve Urena, creator of the sloth-horror comic SLOW POKES. Foul Mouth is Steve taking his craft to another level. It’s witty, clever, elegantly paced, surprsingly heartfelt - it’s got the goods. Talk to the finger, er, I mean talk to Steve about nabbing yourself a copy!

Sacrimony Volume 1

We’ll be featuring creator

M Sorcier

and her book SACRIMONY on the show in January! I’m currently re-reading Volume one, which dropped earlier this year, and it is such a unique, one of a kind experience. Sacrimony is about family, death, the afterlife, finding oneself, coming of age, you name it, the story manages to naturally wrap up all the major themes of being human into one compelling, epic world-building story. And LOOK AT THAT ART. Everyone go buy Matta’s book. You won’t regret it, and it’ll look incredible on your book shelf.

Time Before Time

TBT Issues #1 and #29 (final issue)

Time Before Time was an ongoing Image Comics series that wrapped it’s run this year, ending with #29. If you love time travel yarns like I do, this is a MUST READ. From

Declan Shalvey

and

Rory McConville

with a cavalcade of artists, this is a series that will be covered in it’s own episode in 2024 you better believe! 29 issues or 5 TPBs, the whole shebang is now available.

Frankenrocker and the Jailbait Punks

The full 4 isue mini wrapped in 2023, the art and punk spirit blew me way, I adored this book. We covered it along with the WINE THAT WAS INPSIRED BY IT in this episode here:

Bird King Volumes 1-2

Wrapping up this list with

Daniel Freedman

’s BIRDKING with artist CROM. Volume 2 dropped in November, with two more volumes coming one per year until it wraps in a total of 4 volumes. It’s a wildly imaginative dark fantasy world, and Daniel tells the tale in his own, unique way that never spells too much out but equally never loses the reader. Daniel ouvre as a whole was one of the big revelations for me this year, which you can check out in full in episode he guested on:

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New Year’s Wines

I found some glorious bargain wine buys to celebrate, plus one normal priced wine buy:

2017 GRGICH HILLS MERLOT, Napa Valley

Mike Grgich is one of Napa’s greats, and he passed away this month at the legendary age of 100! (RIP). When I saw that news, I realized…I’d never tried a Grgich Hills wine. They always had that gorgeous grape label/etiquette, I knew of them, but had never taken the plunge. So I treated myself to this one. Black cherry and sage on the nose, but red currant, unripe strawberry, and bell pepper on the palate. If I’d sipped this blind I would have pegged it for a Cab Franc. The black cherry started to come through on the palate by day three, and tasted more like a traditional Merlot. But I really dug the complexity of this on days one and two. $45

2017 MARQUIS DU MURRIETA, Rioja Reserva

Mostly tempranillo, evened out by graciano, mazuelo, and garnacha (grenache), this was an excellent bargain buy, tasting of cherry and marinara sauce (tomato and basil) with just a dash of black pepper. Incredibly fine tannins. This was ready to drink right fromt he cork popping, but didn’t lose any of its verve in the ensuing days. $27 (I got it on sale at 25% off)

2016 HARAS DE PIRQUE CABERNET SAUVIGNON, Gran Reserva, Hussonet, Maipo Valley

96% Cab, 4% Carmenere, a nicely aged Cab from Chile, it tasted like a Cabs I’ve had from Clare Valley, Australia. Huge violet florals on the nose, with black plum and cherry on the front end, and light tobacco and woodsy flavors on the backend. Surprisingly light in color (ruby) and felt fresh on the palate. Defintiely not your Napa style Cab! $16 (I got it on sale for $10)

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And that wraps us up, folks! We’ll see you in 2024, and maybe on the show?