A few of my favorite cultural experiences of 2018. The featured image is from my son’s kindergarten class performance of Arrow to the Sun (which was my favorite cultural experience of 2018)

Here are the runner ups in no particular order:

Words and Pictures

• The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S./Perla La Loca/Penny Century/Esperanza/The Love Bunglers – Jaime Hernandez
• Dept. H – Pressure/After the Flood – Sharlene and Matt Kindt
• Green Lantern Earth One Vol. One – Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Sara Bechko
• Mister Miracle – Tom King and Mitch Gerads
• Rise of the Black Panther – Evan Narcisse, Paul Renaud, Javier Pina
• All New Wolverine – Tom Taylor, David Lopez
• The Mighty Thor – Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman
• Beneath the Dead Oak Tree – Emily Carroll
• Did You See Me? – Sophia Foster-Dimino
• Berlin – Jason Lutes

Words

• The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration – Isabel Wilkerson
• The Birthday of the World and Other Stories – Ursula K. LeGuin
• Giovanni’s Room – James Baldwin
• Feast: True Love In and Out of the Kitchen – Hannah Howard
• Without Blood – Alessandro Barrico

Moving Pictures

• The Phantom Thread
• Black Panther
• Sorry to Bother You
• Widows
• Moana

Radio with Pictures

• The Mind of a Chef Season 3
• The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
• Salt Fat Acid Heat
• Ugly Delicious
• Random Acts of Flyness

Food

• Steamed, New Haven, CT
• Abe Fisher, Philadelphia, PA

Music

• Room 25, Noname
• Streams of Thought Vol. 2 – Black Thought & Salaam Remi
• J Period Presents the Live Mixtape (#Top5 MCs Edition) – J. Period ft. Rakim, Black Thought and Pharaoh Monche
• Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star – Shabazz Palaces
• K.T.S.E. – Teyana Taylor
• Piano & A Microphone 1983 – Prince
• KIDS SEE GHOSTS – Kanye West & Kid Cudi
• Streams of Thought Vol. 1 – Black Thought
• Dirty Computer – Janelle Monae
• Cocoa Sugar – Young Fathers
• Whack World – Tierra Whack

Music + Video

• Aretha Franklin, Full Concert, Filmore West, 3/7/71
• Erykah Badu, NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert