Happy New Year! 2022 was a jam-packed year full of various trips, weddings, and surprises. As I reflect on all the memories made in 2022, I can safely say that 2022 was a great year.

Movies I Watched:

• Shang Chi
• Black Widow
• Licorice Pizza
• The Batman
• Doctor Strange Multiverse of Madness
• Top Gun Maverick
• Black Adam
• Morbius

If there was a film that would be “the movie” of 2022, it would easily be Top Gun Maverick. I went to see Top Gun twice in theaters. My mom saw Top Gun 6 times in theaters. Top Gun was pivotal as it made going to see a movie in theaters so fun especially after the lull of the pandemic. I wouldn’t be surprised if I rewatched Top Gun in 2023 as my husband hasn’t seen it yet.

Besides Top Gun, I loved The Batman. Robert Pattinson knocked it out of the park and I liked how this movie felt like a “Detective Batman” adaptation.

TV Shows I Watched:

• Dopesick
• Euphoria
• Castle
• Peacemaker
• Moon Knight
• Kenobi
• The Kardashians
• Bridgerton
• Critical Role
• She-Hulk
• Ms. Marvel

I think if I had to choose my favorite TV show that I watched this year, I think it would be Moon Knight. Moon Knight was grittier and I loved Layla El-Faouly (played by May Calamawy) as Scarlet Scarab. I’d love to see her pop up in other Marvel adaptations. Besides Moon Knight, I liked Peacemaker a lot which is interesting because Peacemaker was one of my least favorite characters in The Suicide Squad movie. I think Vigilante (played by Freddie Stroma) stole the show with his dark humor and one-liners.

One surprise for me was how much I enjoyed Bridgerton. I’m not normally a big Victorian-era TV show person, but I found myself truly invested in the show. I’m looking forward to Penelope’s (played by Nicola Coughlan) season even though I’m not a fan of Penelope and Colin together because he seems toxic.

The last show I wanted to mention was Dopesick. Dopesick was a Hulu miniseries that focused on the Opioid epidemic. The acting in this is superb and finishing the show left me frustrated since the Purdue family will more than likely not face repercussions for what they started.

Video Games I Played:

• Nancy Drew Secrets of the Old Clock
• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
• Donut Country
• LEGO The Skywalker Saga
• Backbone
• Disney’s Dreamlight Valley
• Hidden Through Time DLC
• Overwatch 2
• The Quarry
• LEGO DC Supervillains
• Nancy Drew: The Final Scene

My favorite game of 2022 was The Quarry. I like Supermassive’s games because they have just enough horror and jump scares where I can play them without having to cover my eyes too much. I played The Quarry Halloween weekend with the lights off and it was perfect.

I didn’t play as many Steam games this year as I did in previous years, but I want to get that going again. With the Steam sale, I plan on picking up a few games on my wishlist. I have a few Nancy Drew games still left to play.

I played a lot of Overwatch 2 which I have to admit, I was expecting more from the game. I’m trying to play new characters as I usually always play as either Zarya or D.Va. I recently discovered Brigitte and she might be my new go-to character.

Gaming in 2022:

• Taught my mom how to play Exploding Kittens
• Curse of Strahd campaign
• Adventurer’s League with Zehiri
• Doctor Who Fluxx
• Star Wars Villainous
• Hunt a Killer – Motel
• Goodcritters

One highlight in 2022 was playing Curse of Strahd every other Thursday. Our campaign is still ongoing since we haven’t gone after Strahd yet. It’s been fun to meet new people and see my character shine. If this campaign wraps, I will be joining another new campaign. Besides Curse of Strahd, I am still playing in Adventurer’s League sessions. I usually play in a session every few months due to monthly obligations. I am planning on playing in a session later this month.

If I had to pick, I think Star Wars Villainous was my favorite new game I played in 2022. I love Star Wars board games to begin with and I liked how easy this was to learn.

Graphic Novels / Comics I Read This Year:

• Moon Knight Vol #1 – Jed Mackay
• Star Wars Doctor Aphra Vol #1 – Alyssa Wong
• The Weatherman Vol #1 – Jody LeHeup
• Star Wars Doctor Aphra Vol #2 – Alyssa Wong
• Star Wars Doctor Aphra Vol #3 – Alyssa Wong
• Peacemaker – Garth Ennis
• Teen Titans Beast Boy – Kami Garcia & Gabriel Picolo
• Hawkeye Issues #1 – #3 – Marieke Nijkamp
• Vampire Emmy & Garbage Girl – Pat Shand
• The Last Session #1 – Jasmine Walls
• The Death of Doctor Strange Blade – Danny Lore
• Birds of Prey Manhunt – Chuck Dixon
• Plume Vol #1 – K Lynn Smith
• Batman Year One – Frank Miller
• Daredevil Woman Without Fear Issues #1 & #2 – Chip Zdarsky
• Batman Killing Time #1 & #2 Tom King
• Critical Role Vox Machina III #1 – #5 – Jody Houser
• Aquamen #1 – Chuck Brown
• World of Darkness: Crimson Thaw #1 – #3 – Danny Lore
• Ms. Marvel #1 – #5 – Samira Ahmed
• She-Hulk #1 – #7 – Rainbow Rowell
• Manhattan Projects Vol #3 – Jonathan Hickman
• Star Wars Princess Leia Vol #1 – Mark Waid
• Star Wars Obi-Wan #1 – Christopher Cantwell
• Star Wars Poe Dameron Vol #2 – #4 – Charles Soule
• Han Solo & Chewbacca #1 – #5 – Marc Guggenheim
• I Am Not Starfire – Mariko Tamaki
• Star Wars Crimson Reign #1 , #2 & #4 – Charles Soule
• DC Pride 2022
• March Book #1 – John Lewis
• Miskatonic High #1 – Mike Shea
• Ice Cream Man Vol #1 – W. Maxwell Prince
• Bettie Page #1 – #4 – Ani-Mia
• For Goodness Sake Vol #3 – K Lynn Smith
• Preacher Vol #1 Garth Ennis
• Star Wars The High Republic Vol #1 – Daniel Jose Older
• Stake #1 – David Byrne
• Captain Carter #2 – #4 – Jamie McKelvie
• Constantine – Kami Garcia
• Delicious in Dungeon Vol #1 – Ryoko Kui
• The Ridler #1 Paul Dano
• Deadpool #1 – Alyssa Wong
• Blade Vampire Nation #1 – Mark Russell
• Ms. Marvel & Venom #1 – Jody Houser
• Batgirls #1 2022 Annual – Becky Cloonan
• Teen Titans Beast Boy Loves Raven – Kami Garcia
• Nightmare of the Living Cat – Hawkman

It took me a long time to fully type out this list. When I skim through the list, there are a few comics that stand out to me. I started reading Moon Knight in anticipation of the show. I’m seeing some repetitions such as Alyssa Wong as they wrote Doctor Aphra and Deadpool along with Kami Garcia’s YA DC graphic novels. My favorite new series that I read was The Last Session which is about college friends getting together to finish their DnD campaign. Other memorable series include Captain Carter, Plume, She-Hulk, and Nightmare of the Living Cat.

2022 Pop Culture Moments

• Don’t Worry Darling Drama.
• Lizzo playing James Madison’s old flute
• James Gunn & Peter Safran reorganizing DC

Podcasts:

• Three Black Halflings
• Force Toast

I split my time between working from home and working in the office. When I work in the office, I listen to podcasts. The two podcasts that I discovered this year have kept me entertained throughout the workday. Three Black Halflings is a podcast that focuses on diversity within role-playing games. Force Toast is a Star Wars podcast that I listen to. It’s one of the few podcasts that I have found that focuses on Star Wars books and comics.

Catchiest Song in 2022:

I was looking through my Top Songs in 2022 playlist on Spotify and I know for a fact that I listened to I Ain’t Worried by OneRepublic so many times throughout the year. It’s so catchy.

Conventions I Attended in 2022:

The only convention I attended this year was Twin Cities Con in November. I hope to attend more conventions in 2023.

Personal Memories

Top Three Memories of 2022:

Road Trips

Buying a House

Weddings!