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Countdown 2026

The first couple of weeks of 2026 have followed a similar rhythm that, I can only hope, will not be repeated throughout the rest of the year.

If I had to define this rhythm, it’s be that Monday is a day of low dread — a day where what needs to be done for the rest of the week slowly becomes clear and it’s more than I expected, with at least one surprise waiting for me that comes entirely out of left field and leaves me trying to work out what I need to do with it. Tuesday is then a day of feeling of feeling overwhelmed by the weight of expectation and/or deadlines and/or things that simply need to be done, and then Wednesday is that but more so, and with a side order of resentment that it’s quite so much. As I’ve said for the past two weeks, Tuesday evening feels like a Thursday, and Wednesday feels like a Friday is never going to arrive.

Then, on both weeks, Thursday proved to be surprisingly easy — a through line in whatever is lying ahead of me appears, or I figure out a solution to whatever the biggest problem facing me, or something similar. Thursday turned out to be a respite, this odd moment where everything feels better than the last three days and I have a moment at one point of thinking to myself, wow, I can’t believe tomorrow’s Friday, that’s so great, I’m so close to the weekend with no small sense of relief.

Where the two weeks did differ was the Friday. The first week, the Friday followed through on the easy feeling of the day before, and I just slid into the weekend was gratitude and relief. And last week, it was just the opposite: Friday was a fight, and I struggled through the entire day like it was quicksand, wondering if there was something worse waiting for me that I couldn’t see just yet. All things being equal, I preferred the week before.

And yet, the two weeks felt the same, by the time the weekend arrived. The shape of them, the to-and-fro of it all. It felt like something, somewhere, had decided this was the calendar of events and I was just learning about my new schedule. The second week had a surreal Groundhog Day feel to it that made me nervous. Surely, I thought, this isn’t what it’s going to be like the entire time. This can’t be right.

I said something similar at this time last year, that I hoped January didn’t set the tone of the year to follow; in the year’s defense, it didn’t. It was arguably far worse. Here’s hoping that doesn’t repeat itself, either. We’ll see. 50 weeks to go.

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The Never-Ending Relax

I’ve been thinking a bunch lately about the concept of a comfort read, in large part because I’m working my way through Superman: The Triangle Era Omnibus Volume 1, which feels like the platonic ideal of a comfort read for me specifically. I don’t mean that purely in the sense of, “I feel nostalgic for these comics, which I first read as they were coming out 35 years ago,” although, yes, there’s obviously the comfort of familiarity and nostalgia at play here.

Even when I was first buying them as a teenager, though, these were comfort reads to me. There were American comics that I bought at the comic store, and ones that I’d buy in the local grocery stores and newsagents; the distinction was that ones from the comic store were (a) two to three months newer than the ones in newsagents, (b) more reliably available, as newsagent hauls were based entirely on what backstock they had available, and (c) twice as expensive, if not more so, if my memory is reliable. That said, the cost was more than worth it for the comics I was truly passionate about, the ones I self-consciously told myself I “collected,” as opposed to the other ones, which I just… read, I guess…?

All of the Superman comics fell into that latter category, but I bought them every month without fail, and read them and re-read them. They were reliably entertaining, if rarely thrilling, with a mix of relatively low-key stakes and soap opera that made them simultaneously essential and inessential reads: something that I wanted to keep up with, without question, but not to the point where I felt like I had to rush the experience or, for that matter, pay extra for it. They were just solid, enjoyable, reads. The very definition of a comfort read, even back then.

I say that not as faint praise, but as praise, entirely: reading the stories today, I’m finding myself charmed by how low intensity they are, but perfect popcorn reading even now. More superhero comics should remember that not every story needs to save the world, and not eery story needs to be top of the stack reading, as long as it’s in the stack somewhere.

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The Movies of December 2025

As is traditional, so much of my December 2025 viewing was holiday related, although I snuck in a couple of movies that people were talking about in “Best of the Year” terms, just because; of those, F1 felt like the ideal Dad Movie — leaning into every single cliche and relying on the allure of “cars go fast, broom broom” to win the audience over… and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t work; I was less won over by One Battle After Another, which felt too cartoonish and weightless to land with me, while Die My Love — a Christmas Day watch, inexplicably! — was harrowing and beautiful in all the right ways. What lies ahead for movies in 2026? Well, more of them, I’m sure… beyond that, I’m not even going to pretend to predict anything.

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The Comics of December 2025

Yes, we’re doing this later than usual. I wanted to complain about Stranger Things, so sue me.

Anyway, by the time the end of December has rolled around, I’d finished the collected works of Milestone Media, which felt like something of an accomplishment — and, by the end of the month, also started on the first of the Superman Triangle Era omnibii, because I am reliving some kind of nostalgia, it seems. (I’ll come back to that at some point, I feel.)

Perhaps the most notable thing of my month’s reading was (again!) the Spirit Christmas stories, and in particular the ones from 1946 and 1947, which felt so particularly evocative of post-WWII trauma and optimism that I was stopped short in my tracks upon reading. It made me wonder what Will Eisner would be doing were he working today, and also what comics we’ll get when we eventually leave the current fascist dystopia. (Sooner rather than later on that last one, I hope.)

Anyway: here’s what I read in the last month of 2025.

  1. Kobalt #s 3-6
  2. Hardware (1993) #25
  3. Deathwish #s 1-4
  4. Batman (2016) #136
  5. Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War – Battle Lines #1
  6. Hardware (1993) #s 26-28
  7. Static (1993) #21
  8. X-Men (2024) #1
  9. Static (1993) #s 22-24
  10. Shadow Cabinet (1994) #s 11-12
  11. Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) #87
  12. Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #s 20-22
  13. Batman (2016) #s 137-138
  14. Catwoman (2018) #s 57-58
  15. Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War – Scorched Earth #1
  16. Shadow Cabinet (1994) #13
  17. DC K.O. #2
  18. Blood Syndicate (1993) #s 24-25
  19. G.I. Joe (1982) #s 81-82
  20. Batman and Robin: Year One #9
  21. Batman (2016) #139
  22. Batman: The Knight #1
  23. The Thing (2025) #1
  24. Static Shock: Rebirth of the Cool #s 3-4
  25. Justice League of America (2006) #s 27-30
  26. G.I. Joe (1982) #s 83-86
  27. DC K.O.: Red Hood vs. The Joker #1
  28. Hardware (2021) #s 3-6
  29. Icon and Rocket: Season One #s 3-6
  30. Ultimate Universe: Two Years In #1
  31. Fantastic Four (2025) #6
  32. Blood Syndicate (1993) #s 26-27
  33. Static (1993) #25
  34. Kobalt #s 7-14
  35. DC K.O.: Batman – Knightfight #2
  36. Batman (2025) #4
  37. Batman: The Knight #2
  38. Batman (2016) #140
  39. Batman and Robin: Year One #10
  40. Blood Syndicate: Season One #s 1-4
  41. Icon (1993) #s 22-24
  42. Blood Syndicate: Season One #s 5-6
  43. Icon vs. Hardware #s 1-2
  44. Milestone 30th Anniversary Special #1 (Blood Syndicate epilogue story)
  45. Icon vs. Hardware #3
  46. Batman (2016) #141
  47. Batman: The Knight #3
  48. Icon (1993) #s 25-26
  49. Amazing X-Men (2025) #3
  50. Batman and Robin: Year One #s 11-12
  51. Steel (1994) #48
  52. G.I. Joe (1982) #s 87-88
  53. Icon (1993) #27
  54. Venom (2025) #252
  55. My Name is Holocaust #s 1-2
  56. Phoenix (2024) #1
  57. Immortal X-Men #1
  58. Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League #6
  59. DC K.O.: Batman – Knightfight #3
  60. G.I. Joe (1982) #s 89-90
  61. Batman (2025) #5
  62. Absolute Green Lantern #s 9-10
  63. JSA (2024) #s 13-15
  64. G.I. Joe (1982) #s 91-92
  65. G.I. Joe Special Missions #s 10-12
  66. Steel (1994) #s 49-50
  67. X-Men (2024) #s 2-3
  68. My Name is Holocaust #s 3-4
  69. Transformers (2023) #27
  70. Judge Dredd Megazine #487 (Christmas issue)
  71. X-Men (2024) #4
  72. New Warriors (1990) #1
  73. Nova (1976) #1
  74. My Name is Holocaust #5
  75. Shadow Cabinet (1994) #14
  76. Blood Syndicate (1993) #28
  77. Hardware (1993) #29
  78. Icon vs. Hardware #s 4-5
  79. Milestone Universe: Shadow Cabinet #1
  80. The Long, Hot Summer #1
  81. Icon (1993) #28
  82. Milestone Universe: Shadow Cabinet #2
  83. The Long, Hot Summer #2
  84. Static (1993) #26
  85. Milestone Universe: Shadow Cabinet #s 3-4
  86. Steel (1994) #s 51-52
  87. X-Men (2024) #s 5-6
  88. X-Men Red (2022) #1
  89. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #1
  90. Mr. & Mrs. X #1
  91. Rogue & Gambit #s 1-3
  92. Hardware (1993) #30
  93. Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #23
  94. Hardware (1993) #31
  95. Blood Syndicate (1993) #29
  96. 2000 AD Prog 44 (Judge Dredd story only)
  97. Batman: The Knight #4
  98. G.I. Joe (1982) #93
  99. Rogue & Gambit #4
  100. X-Men (2024) #7
  101. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #2
  102. Batman: The Knight #5
  103. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #3
  104. G.I. Joe (1982) #94
  105. G.I. Joe Special Missions #13
  106. Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight #1
  107. Blood Syndicate (1993) #30
  108. Static (1993) #27
  109. Rogue & Gambit #5
  110. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #s 4-5
  111. Xombi (1994) #12
  112. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #6
  113. X-Men (2024) #8
  114. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #7
  115. X-Men (2024) #9
  116. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #8
  117. X-Men (2024) #10
  118. Wolverine (2024) #s 1-2
  119. Exceptional X-Men #1
  120. Batman (2016) #158 (H2SH part 1)
  121. DC Special Series (1977) #21
  122. Batman (2016) #142
  123. Xombi (1994) #s 13-15
  124. Dan Dare Annual 1980 (Judge Dredd story only)
  125. Xombi (1994) #16
  126. Battleworld (2025) #1
  127. Sinister’s Six #1
  128. World of Revelation #1
  129. X-Men: Age of Revelation – Overture #1
  130. X-Men: Book of Revelation #1
  131. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #9
  132. Exceptional X-Men #s 2-3
  133. The New Warriors (1990) #2
  134. 2000 AD Prog 2464 (Judge Dredd story only)
  135. The Power Fantasy #14
  136. Shadow Cabinet (1994) #s 15-16
  137. Icon (1993) #29
  138. Kobalt #s 15-16
  139. The Long, Hot Summer #3
  140. Hardware (1993) #32
  141. Icon (1993) #30
  142. Exceptional X-Men #s 4-6
  143. X-Men (2024) #s 11-12
  144. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #10
  145. X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse #1
  146. Batman (2016) #s 143-144
  147. Batman: The Knight #s 6-7
  148. Teen Titans (1966) #13
  149. Jonah Hex (2006) #s 1-3
  150. Shadow Cabinet (1994) #17
  151. Swamp Thing Winter Special #1
  152. DC Universe Holiday Special ‘09 #1
  153. DC Universe Holiday Special 2010 #1
  154. DC World’s Greatest Super-Heroes Holiday Special #1
  155. DC Rebirth Holiday Special #1
  156. Xombi (1994) #s 17-19
  157. G.I. Joe (2024) #16
  158. Xombi (1994) #s 20-21
  159. Exceptional X-Men #s 7-10
  160. Jonah Hex (2006) #s 4-6
  161. Icon (1993) #s 31-37
  162. Batman: The Knight #8
  163. Jonah Hex (2006) #7
  164. Exceptional X-Men #11
  165. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #11
  166. NYX (2024) #9
  167. Storm (2024) #6
  168. X-Men (2024) #13
  169. X-Factor (2024) #8
  170. X-Force (2024) #9
  171. Blood Syndicate (1993) #31
  172. Avengers (2023) #33
  173. Black Panther: Intergalactic #1
  174. The Mortal Thor #5
  175. Blood Syndicate (1993) #32
  176. Static (1993) #28
  177. X-Manhunt #1
  178. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #12
  179. X-Men (2024) #14
  180. G.I. Joe (1982) #95
  181. Planet She-Hulk #2
  182. Static (1993) #29
  183. 2000 AD Prog 144 (Judge Dredd story only), 450 (Judge Dredd story only)
  184. Static (1993) #30
  185. Exceptional X-Men #12
  186. Static (1993) #31
  187. Exceptional X-Men #13
  188. X-Men (2024) #s 15-18
  189. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #13
  190. X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse #2
  191. G.I. Joe (1982) #96
  192. Jonah Hex (2006) #s 8-9
  193. 2000 AD Prog 502 (Judge Dredd story only)
  194. Spider-Man Holiday Spectacular (2025) #1
  195. Nova: Centurion #1
  196. Hardware (1993) #33 
  197. G.I. Joe (1982) #97
  198. Superman Unlimited #8
  199. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #14
  200. X-Men (2024) #19
  201. Solo Avengers (1987) #s 1-2 (Hawkeye stories only)
  202. The Mighty Thor (1966) #383
  203. Battleworld (2025) #2
  204. X-Men: Book of Revelation #2
  205. Amazing X-Men (2025) #s 1-3
  206. Binary (2025) #s 1-3
  207. Iron & Frost #s 1-3
  208. Unbreakable X-Men #s 1-3
  209. Sinister’s Six #2
  210. X-Men: Book of Revelation #3
  211. Hardware (1993) #34
  212. The Mighty Thor (1966) #384
  213. Solo Avengers (1987) #3 (Hawkeye story only)
  214. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #15
  215. 2000 AD Prog 658 (Judge Dredd story only)
  216. 2000 AD Winter Special 1989 (Judge Dredd story only)
  217. G.I. Joe (1982) #98
  218. Archie’s Christmas Spectacular 2025 #1
  219. Battleworld (2025) #3
  220. X-Factor (1986) #6
  221. Hardware (1993) #35
  222. Wrestle Heist #1
  223. Hardware (1993) #s 36-38
  224. The Christmas Spirit of 1940: Black Henry and Simple Simon
  225. DC K.O.: Green Lantern Galactic Slam #1
  226. Titans (2023) #31
  227. The Flash (2023) #29
  228. Superman (2023) #34
  229. DC K.O.: The Kids Are All Fight #1
  230. Justice League Unlimited (2024) #15
  231. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #16
  232. X-Men: Hellfire Vigil #1
  233. The Mighty Thor (1966) #386
  234. Solo Avengers (1987) #s 4-5 (Hawkeye stories only)
  235. Blood Syndicate (1993) #33
  236. Icon (1993) #38
  237. Static (1993) #32
  238. Blood Syndicate (1993) #s 34-35 (Series cancelled)
  239. Static (1993) #s 33-34
  240. Daredevil (2011) #7
  241. Green Lantern: Larfleeze Christmas Special #1
  242. Power Man and Iron Fist: Sweet Christmas Annual #1
  243. Moon Knight: Silent Knight #1
  244. Avengers Annual (2013) #1
  245. Hero for Hire (1972) #7
  246. Daredevil (1964) #241
  247. Action Comics (1938) #93
  248. The Christmas Spirit of 1941: A Trilogy
  249. Static (1993) #s 35-36
  250. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #17
  251. Solo Avengers (1987) #6
  252. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #18
  253. Static (1993) #s 37-39
  254. Valor #s 17-19
  255. The Christmas Spirit of 1945: Horton J. Winklenod
  256. Legionnaires #17
  257. Valor #s 20-22
  258. Legion of Super-Heroes (1989) #60
  259. Hardware (1993) #39
  260. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #19
  261. 2000 AD Winter Special 1990 (Judge Dredd story only)
  262. The New Gods (2024) #12
  263. Superman’s Christmas Adventure #1
  264. DC Comics Presents (1978) #67
  265. The Christmas Spirit of 1946: A Fable
  266. The Christmas Spirit of 1947: Joy
  267. 2000 AD Prog 271 (Tharg’s Future Shocks story only)
  268. Monster Fun (2022) #5
  269. Uncanny X-Men (2024) #s 20-21
  270. X-Men (2024) #s 20-21
  271. Legionnaires #18
  272. Valor #23
  273. Legion of Super-Heroes (1989) #61
  274. Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight #2
  275. Comic Cavalcade #9
  276. Icon (1993) #s 39-42 (Series cancelled)
  277. Static (1993) #s 37-42
  278. Hardware (1993) #40
  279. Heroes (1996) #s 1-2
  280. Superman Unlimited #10
  281. G.I. Joe (1982) #s 99-100
  282. The Christmas Spirit of 1948: Basher Bains
  283. The Christmas Spirit of 1949: S. Kringle Klaus
  284. The Christmas Spirit of 1950: Darling’s First Christmas
  285. Static (1993) #s 43-45 (Series cancelled)
  286. G.I. Joe (1982) #s 101-103
  287. The Mighty Thor (1966) #387
  288. Solo Avengers (1987) #s 7-9
  289. Hardware (1993) #41
  290. G.I. Joe (1982) #s 104-106
  291. Hardware (1993) #s 42-44
  292. Solo Avengers (1987) #10
  293. Batman: The Knight #s 9-10
  294. Superman (1986) #165
  295. Batman: Gotham Nights #22
  296. Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (1989) #79
  297. Supergirl (2025) #8
  298. Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual (2013) #2
  299. Green Arrow Annual (2017) #1
  300. Hardware (1993) #45
  301. Justice League Red #6
  302. The Christmas Spirit of 1951: Joe Fix
  303. Solo Avengers (1987) #s 11-13
  304. The Will of Doom #1
  305. Expatriate X-Men #s 1-3
  306. The Amazing Spider-Man (2025) #18
  307. X-Men (2024) #22
  308. Hardware (1993) #s 46-47
  309. G.I. Joe (1982) #107
  310. Batman (1940) #247
  311. G.I. Joe (1982) #s 108-110
  312. Hardware (1993) #s 48-50 (Series cancelled)
  313. X-Terminators (2022) #1
  314. Static Shock: Rebirth of the Cool #s 1-4
  315. Milestone Forever #s 1-2
  316. Static Shock Special (2011) #1
  317. Static Shock (2011) #s 1-2
  318. G.I. Joe (1982) #s 111-112
  319. End of Life #1
  320. New History of the DC Universe #1
  321. Solo Avengers (1987) #s 14-16
  322. X-Terminators (2022) #2
  323. The Brave and the Bold (2007) #s 27-30
  324. Black Cat (2025) #s 1-4
  325. Doctor Strange (2025) #1
  326. The End 2099 #1
  327. Longshots #3
  328. Wha… Huh? #1 
  329. Tyranny Rex: Deus Ex Machina Vol. 1
  330. 2000 AD Progs 1395-1396 (Tyranny Rex stories only)
  331. New History of the DC Universe #s 2-4
  332. Batman (2016) #s 145-149
  333. Solo Avengers (1987) #s 17-20
  334. Avengers Spotlight (1989) #s 21-25
  335. Indestructible Hulk #s 1-2
  336. SHIELD (2015) #1
  337. Static Shock (2011) #3
  338. Avengers Spotlight (1989) #s 26-29
  339. Indestructible Hulk #3
  340. Brightest Day #0
  341. SHIELD (2015) #2
  342. Avengers Spotlight (1989) #s 26-36
  343. Millennium Fever #s 1-2 (Forgotten 1990s Vertigo book)
  344. Avengers Spotlight (1989) #s 37-40
  345. SHIELD (2015) #3
  346. Indestructible Hulk #s 4-7
  347. Static Shock (2011) #s 4-6
  348. Underworld Unleashed #1
  349. Green Arrow: Rebirth #1
  350. G.I. Joe (1982) #s 113-115
  351. Star or Swan OGN
  352. Ultimate Endgame #1
  353. The Ultimates (2024) #19
  354. X-Men: Age of Revelation Finale #1
  355. Millennium Fever #3
  356. G.I. Joe (1982) #s 116-120
  357. Millennium Fever #4
  358. DC K.O. #3
  359. Green Lantern (2023) #31
  360. Underworld Unleashed #2
  361. Absolute Batman #1
  362. Superman (1987) #49
  363. Justice, Inc. (2016) #1
  364. Underworld Unleashed: Patterns of Fear #1
  365. Underworld Unleashed #3
  366. Adventures of Superman (1987) #479
  367. Starman (1988) #28
  368. Action Comics #659
  369. SHIELD (2015) #4
  370. Indestructible Hulk #8
  371. The Mighty Thor (1966) #388
  372. Batman (1940) #s 402-403
  373. Fringe #0,1
  374. The Flash (1987) #66
  375. G.I. Joe (1982) #s 121-123
  376. Superman (1987) #50
  377. Adventures of Superman (1987) #480
  378. Action Comics #660
  379. Batman (1940) #s 408-409
  380. G.I. Joe (1982) #s 124-126
  381. Star Wars (2014) #38
  382. SHIELD (2015) #s 5-6
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Five Thoughts on the End of Stranger Things

  1. I could not tell you why, but watching the final season, and especially the final episode, I kept thinking to myself Avengers: Endgame has ruined pop culture. Again, I am not entirely sure where this thought came from other than how exhausting the whole thing felt, and how familiar that was to the way I felt about Endgame — and perhaps also the way that both narratives went from a cliffhanger of “this is an unbeatable, existential threat” to “if we just hit these bad guys with sticks, everything will be solved” in a way that felt utterly unearned — but I’m standing by it.
  2. My God, but the final season of Stranger Things was a slog to get through. It’s a good thing it was on Netflix, because that allowed me to continually walk away from episodes and return to them when I’d regained the strength to go on. It took me three days to watch the finale, all told, including watching three full other movies in between. (Each of which was more entertaining.)
  3. Why, exactly, was Linda Hamilton there, aside from the paycheck? What purpose did her character serve? (For that matter, what was her character’s motivation? That was never explained, beyond other character’s guesses. Isn’t that kind of thing important?) I think back to her giving interviews where she’d say things like, “I’d more or less retired, but Stranger Things made me believe in acting again,” and all I can imagine is that she’s being polite about an experience that feels like it must have been someone saying, “Can you frown again, but do so while looking in this direction?” and then she went back to her trailer and looked up her bank balance again.
  4. If you told me that the writers room knew what they wanted the last hour of the show to be, and basically went, “Eh, we’ll wing it until we get there,” I’d believe you; the epilogue/last half of the finale felt more concrete than any of the eight-or-so hours that preceded it.
  5. I wanted to walk away from this show before this final season, having lost interest in it… somewhere at the start of the fourth season, maybe? Perhaps not, I remember getting to the cliffhanger and going, I wonder how they’ll pull this off. But I stuck with the entire final season out of a sense of obligation because it was so big culturally that it felt like work, and in part because I was hate-watching by the second half. All things considered, I should have listened to that initial impulse and stayed away; there wasn’t anything here worth the investment in time, and I feel like I could have done so much better with those hours even if I’d just laid on the couch and did nothing. A lesson to bear in mind throughout 2026, perhaps.
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This isn’t a Pessimistic House

It struck me the other day that we were collectively at the 10 year mark of ending a year/starting a new one by going, “Well, the last 12 months have been fucking rough, here’s hoping the next year is going to be better.”

By that, I don’t mean that everything has been getting progressively worse since 2016 — thankfully not; just imagine! — but that, by the time the end of the year eventually rolled around each and every year for the last decade, I found myself thinking what so many people in my social circle were saying out loud: the last year has felt like it’s been trying to grind me into paste, and I just want the next year to be a little easier.

It felt like everything was on a downhill slope from, what, 2016 through 2020, 2021, perhaps…? Perhaps that whole “global pandemic that up-ends life as we knew it” was enough of a downer to leave us in such a space that almost anything would have seemed like an improvement, but sure enough, 2022 felt a little better than what came before, and every year since then has had highlights as well as crushing disappointments and difficult moments. (Those last two have seemed to be a permanent fixture for the past decade, at least.; maybe it’s getting older, maybe it’s just that things really did seem to turn to shit at some point.)

That said, 2025 felt like one of the rougher years I’ve had for awhile, and I found myself glad to leave it when January 1 rolled around, as much as I continually tell myself that New Year doesn’t really mean anything and it’s all entirely arbitrary. The placebo effect of thinking I could package that period away in my memory as “another of the shit ones” and move on is a permanently attractive one even if I know better, and I’ll grab onto any straws in the hopes of things turning around soon.

All of which is to say: 2026, I might be asking a lot, but let’s try to not metaphorically kick me in the balls as much as 2025 did. I know that history and experience haven’t particularly demonstrated such a request will be successful, but if there’s one thing the last 10 years of new years have taught us, it’s that hope springs eternal. After all, what’s the alternative?