MLD’s Most Popular Posts of 2011

Happy New Year from everyone at MyLatestDistraction! The start of a new year is typically a time when people look back at the one that’s ending, and 2011 was a big year for MLD. That has everything to do with our readers, so rather than make a “best of” we’ve decided to take a look back at our most popular posts from 2011. These were determined based on the number of people who came to read them throughout the year. In some cases, our highest traffic posts of 2011 were actually originally published in 2010, but that didn’t mean they’ve collected any dust since they were published.

Also be sure to check out what’s recently gotten a lot of attention on MyLatestDistraction (including a recent review of Marvel’s Uncanny X-Force #19 (part of X-Men Regenesis) and one of our weekly WWE Monday Night Raw Warm Ups). What’s currently “trending” can always be accessed in the sidebar under “Popular Posts.”

#5 – Marvel’s Age of X

Clay Mann and Jay Leistein's promotional image for Mike Carey's Age of X.

PTB: This post actually went up near the end of 2010 but the series it was discussing didn’t hit shelves until January 2011. A lot of promotion surrounded the book and part of that was a fun viral QR based campaign highlighting the altered history of the Age of X. The six-issue crossover stands out as one of the best stories in Mike Carey’s historic run on X-Men / X-Men: Legacy (be sure to check out MLD’s archive reviewing the entire Age of X series). It was sad reading the final issue of his X-Men work on Wednesday in X-Men: Legacy #260.

#4 – Marvel App vs. Digital Unlimited

Marvel's Invincible Iron Man #1 on multiple digital reading platforms.

PTB: Another post from 2010 that has only gained relevance with the growing popularity of digital comics. Unfortunately there has been no change since it was published well over a year ago and Marvel’s Digital Comics Unlimited service is still not available on mobile devices.

KevinMLD: The state of officially issued digital comics entering 2012 is still pretty sad. Comixology pretty much rules the market, however, when you purchase a Comixology comic you get access to the file seemingly temporarily. When Comixology updates their app, your files disappear and you need to redownload any comics to which you want immediate access. Yes you can redownload at any time, but should Comixology go out of business (and nothing would surprise me in the comics business) it looks to me like consumers will seemingly lose any purchased files that are not currently saved on their device.

PTB: That’s a real issue and part of what has kept from purchasing many books through their apps. Same “day and date” digital and print release is a big step from the major publishers, but my Comixology library is limited to DC’s New 52 Justice League Combo packs and Marvel’s free digital copies bundled with their books including Avenging Spider-Man. Meanwhile, I just renewed my Marvel digital subscription this week.

#3 – NYCC 2011 Preview Night – DC Toys on Parade

A Batman statue included with the Arkham City Collector's Edition on display at New York Comic Con 2011.

PTB: I’d go back for NYCC Preview Night every year that they’d have us. This was a great night and I’m glad a lot of people came to see what we had to say about it (both the toys and everything else). We took a lot of pictures but there were still so many things we didn’t get to!

KevinMLD: Since this post was issued we’ve learned that the Larfleeze figure that I raved about will be part of Mattel’s new 6 inch DC Allstars line. The first wave will also include Superboy Prime, Elongated Man from Flashpoint and what seems to be a reissue of an older DC Universe Classics Batman Beyond.

We’ve also since learned the second wave will include a New 52 Superman and Flash, a disappointingly buff and old-looking Red Robin, and yet another repaint of the old DC Universe Classics Supergirl. As far as I’m concerned the Larfleeze still looks like the best of the bunch and the DC Direct New 52 figures look far better than Mattel’s output.

#2 – Panorama X

A digitally recolored image Jim Lee's 1990 X-Men triptych poster set.

PTB: A long standing favorite from 2010 that seems to strike many people’s interest. I’d hoped this post would be something of a resource, but I’m always shocked at the traffic it gets. Jim Lee working on the New 52 Justice League probably contributed to the Panorama X hits since it heavily refers to his ’90s X-Men work.

KevinMLD: It freaks me out a little thinking about this old X-Men stuff. It’s particularly frightening that Jim Lee’s X-Men run was about 20 years ago and even Grant Morrison’s run was roughly ten years ago.

PTB: The post could probably stand an update with this Fall’s interlocking X-Men: Regenesis variant cover images.

#1 – Doctor Who: The Girl Who Waited

BBC America's Doctor Who: The Girl Who Waited wallpaper.

PTB: Our most read post came back in September as part of our weekly reviews of BBC’s Doctor Who (an archive of all of our Doctor Who coverage can be found here). This was one of my favorite episodes of the season (The Neil Gaiman episode, The Doctor’s Wife, was the only one I enjoyed more) and certainly one that drew a lot of attention from fans.

KevinMLD: I remember thinking this episode sounded quirky and British. Maybe if Neil Gaiman had written it I would have watched.

PTB: I’ve avoided writing up the Doctor Who season finale, The Wedding of River Song, and this year’s Christmas episode because I think I was a little disappointed in them. Expect those early in 2012.

Again, be sure to check out what’s currently getting a lot of attention here on MyLatestDistraction in the sidebar under “Popular Posts.”

Also thanks go out to the WordPress.com “Jetpack” team for helping us  compile all our vital statistics.