2012 was an interesting year personally with the world of pop culture - I consumed more media digitally than physically, I found my interest in video games fall off, and was surprised by some of the movies which I fell in love with.

However, instead of adding to the pile of top 10 lists, I figured I’d point out everything this year that made my year in media consumption great, and hopefully point you in the direction of some things you missed.

The iPad

This March brought me my first tablet, as I picked up the 3rd Generation iPad.  Sure, I like many others was miffed when the 4th Generation model popped up so close to the end of the year, but I honestly don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything.  I love the retina display, I love consuming content on this device, getting web content in some of its best form in a hand-held tablet, playing games (although there are still some games which I don’t feel right playing on a touch screen), and most importantly, reading full color comics.  Which brings me to my next point…

Digital Comics

After about a five year stint of being a trade only reader, the world of digital comics grabbed me hard as soon as I got a tablet, and since then, I’ve been a single issue reader again.  With DC’s New 52, Marvel NOW!, Avengers vs. X-Men and an astonishing variety of amazing indie titles hitting the “shelves” this year, I’ve become a regular Wednesday reader again. And with no longboxes taking up space in my apartment (something I’m sure my girlfriend appreciates), it’s easier than ever to be a comics reader, not collector.

Spotify

As someone with a 90GB music library on his computer, you can imagine that I really love my music. And with Spotify, it’s never been easier to try it out literally everywhere. I pull up longtime favorites, new albums which sound interesting, bands I’ve been meaning to check out, and playlists of my pals literally anywhere I can go.  While there’s still much to be decided from an artist payment standpoint, I can honestly say that the “stream anything, everywhere” concept of Spotify has truly changed the way I listen to music, and more importantly, how I store it.  I really love this damn program, and hope it benefits all parties sooner rather than later - as it progresses though, they have my $10 a month.

Looper

As anyone following the updates we posted here on Blast-O-Rama may have noticed, I had very high expectations for Rian Johnson’s latest movie, and when Looper hit the theaters in September, it not only hit the expectations I had, but exceeded them. Brilliant time travel logic mixed with a Blade Runner-esq realized version of the future, matched by great performances, Looper is probably my favorite movie of 2012.

Saga

The amazing creation of Y The Last Man writer Brian K. Vaughn and artist Fiona Staples, this pseudo Romeo & Juliet spanning many planets and alien races has grabbed my attention from the first issue and quickly became one of my favorite reads. Consistently imaginative with beautiful art, it’s a true lynchpin of the Image Comics rebirth this year.

The Avengers

I have to admit it - I really had a bad feeling in my stomach that this movie was going to fail. While I’m a Joss Whedon fan, I’m hardly a full on browncoat, and the earliest trailers made the movie look small in scope and scale. How wrong I was. Whether in theaters in May or on blu-ray at home since it’s release, The Avengers completely delighted me with it’s sense of interpersonal humor and eye-popping action. I’m not sure how well the movie would have worked without the brilliantly orchestrated five films before it, but Marvel Studios nailed the landing. Bring on Phase Two!

Hawkeye

With The Immortal Iron Fist, writer Matt Fraction and David Aja reinvented a classic C-list Marvel Comics character, mixing superheroics with a Hong Kong action flick feel. The team finally got back together this August for Hawkeye (or Hawkguy as the fans know it), and they may have completely outdone themselves. Giving a street-level heart to the longtime Avenger, Hawkeye has mixed brilliant characterization, ridiculous villains, car chases, women and everything great into one comic package. It’s like if 70’s filmmakers got to make modern-day comics, but with beautifully minimalist artwork. If you aren’t reading it, go to your store (or jump on your tablet) and fix this immediately. SO GOOD!

The Dark Knight Rises

Ok, so it’s not as good as The Dark Knight, but Nolan really made arguably the best third installment in any franchise ever here. Also, it doesn’t hurt that I’m in it. (I was one of the many extras in the football game scene). Oh, and screw what anyone says, Bane’s voice ruled.

21 Jump Street

The biggest surprise of the year for me, I went into the preview screening expecting to tear the movie apart. Instead, I found myself seeing one of the funniest big studio comedies since the rise of Apatow. This is the movie that made me fall in love with Channing Tatum as a concept, as opposed to (as I always joked) glorified set dressing. If you haven’t seen this yet, fix it. Brilliant stuff.

As a last bit - every year, my friends and I like to make best of mixtapes for the year. In turn, here’s my playlist for 2012, available on Spotify. I hope you enjoy!