What’s Geeky in January 2023?

Welcome to the New Year, Geeks!

And what better way to ring in the new year than with a new What’s Geeky article?

This month’s article is really special, and not because of the premiere of HBO’s The Last of Us, or the remake of the classic horror-survival game Dead Space, or the new book by Leigh Bardugo (hallowed be her name) but because we have now been writing these articles—and you’ve been reading them—for over a whole year now!

Not too bad, huh?

There’s a lot of great Geeky stuff coming your way in the new year, so let’s dive right in, shall we?

Movies/TV Shows:

January 1^st:

The Way of the Househusband, season 2

Netflix’s hit anime is back with Tatsu the househusband, his working wife Miku, and all their friends for some new adventures of a perfectly normal and devoted househusband… who used to be an extremely ruthless killer for the yakuza named “the Immortal Dragon” and now spends his days cleaning, cooking, and getting into epic mic-dropping rap battles and other shenanigans with his former gang’s nemeses.

January 4^th:

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

Disney+’s sequel to the award-winning Clone Wars is back for a second season. Having narrowly evaded the destruction of Kamino, five rogue clones take mercenary work and try to blend in a slowly shrinking universe under the Empire. But while they look for freedom, their old squad mate, Crosshair, tries to hunt them down.

All while the Emperor takes an entirely different interest in clones.

January 8^th:

Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches

From the mind that brought Interview with a Vampire comes AMC’s new series about power, magic, and the literal demons in the family tree. When Dr. Rowan Fielding’s estranged biological mother passes, she inherits her family’s immense fortune and her mother’s magical abilities. But causing aneurysms and bringing the dead back to life is nothing compared to the power offered by the mysterious shape-shifter known as Lasher.

January 9^th:

Koala Man

Hulu, the same streaming service that brought us shows like The Handmaid’s Tale, now dares to ask the important question: what would an Australian superhero look like? The answer: real funny! Michael Cusack and Hugh Jackman lead the voice cast of this Aussie superhero spoof about a middle-class dad and his not-so-secret identity of Koala Man, whose solemn vow is to protect the streets from petty crime.

Vinland Saga, season 2

Picking up where the first season left off, the story of Thorfinn takes on the Slave-arc, commonly known as Ketil’s Farm Arc, in the manga as the hero is sold into slavery as punishment for denying King Canute the right to take revenge against Askeladd, the man who killed Thorfinn’s father. But as Thorfinn loses faith in the world, a new slave on the farm, Einar, seeks to restore it.

Thorfinn’s redemption and his quest to find his place in the world, the plentiful land of Vinland, will be streaming on both Netflix and Crunchyroll.

January 12^th:

Vikings: Valhalla, season 2

If Vinland Saga wasn’t enough of a Viking fix, don’t worry because Netflix is ready to give you another dose with another second season of a show about Vikings.

Harald Sigurdsson, having lost the kingdom of Norway, teams up with the wily Leif Eriksson and his sister Freydis on a road trip on the Dnieper River. Dodging anti-pagan bounty hunters, meeting up with the hardline pagans in Jomsbourg, wooing Arabic astrologers, and navigating the original Byzantine politics in Constantinople are all in a day’s work for this trio of Vikings on the run in this globe-trotting adventure that takes the Viking warriors outside of Scandinavia and the North Sea world.

January 15^th:

The Last of Us

This post-apocalyptic show on HBO based on the award-winning and critically acclaimed videogame series, starring some of our favorite actors from The Mandalorian and Game of Thrones, needs no introduction. But we’re going to give one anyway.

The show follows the hardened smuggler Joel, who is tasked with bringing the teenage Ellie across the apocalyptic United States. Evading totalitarian soldiers, crazed nomads, and the cannibalistic humans infected with a mutated fungus, Joel and Ellie try to make it to a militia stronghold where they hope to develop a cure for the infected. But not everything is as it seems.

January 20^th:

The Legend of Vox Machina, season 2

Amazon Prime’s animated DnD show by Critical Role is back!

Having just kicked some major vampire butt, the adventuring team of Vox Machina, easily the worst group of adventuring misfits out there, are back… just as the kingdom is invaded by dragons. Long-time fans of the original series will instantly recognize the return of the Chroma Conclave and hints of the epic battle soon to come against the ancient black dragon Umbrasyl.

Kids vs. Aliens

With their parents away, Gary and Samantha decide to host a raging Halloween party at their place in this movie directed by Jason Eisener and set to be released on Shudder. But the night of underage drinking and loud music turns into one of screams and blood as aliens attack and begin brutally killing everyone in sight. These two warring siblings will have to work together in order to survive the night.

New Gods: Yang Jian

The once-powerful god, Yang Jian, was forced to imprison his own sister underneath a mountain. Now powerless with the blinding of his third eye, Yang Jian works as a bounty hunter. But when a mysterious woman hires him for a job, Yang Jian finds himself tracking down Chenxiang, his own nephew, who is bound and determined to free his mother… even if it destroys the world.

This latest entry into the New Gods universe (White Snake and New Gods: Nezha Reborn) will be available in theaters.

Blaze

12-year-old Blaze is left in a Catatonic shock after witnessing a brutal assault. Retreating into her imagination, and still trying to process the horror she witnessed, Blaze meets the paper mâché dragon, Zephyr, who will help her deal with her grief and grow into a woman in this Australian movie set for a limited release in theaters and a streaming release on AppleTV.

January 26^th:

Teen Wolf: The Movie

It’s been over five years since the end of MTV’s spinoff of the Teen Wolf franchise, but now the Pack is back, this time on Paramount+. Scott McCall, still the Alpha Werewolf but no longer a teenager, must unite the various shapeshifters of Beacon Hills to fight against a new and terrifying evil. An evil that is receiving help from an old friend long thought dead: Allison Argent.

Wolf Pack

Not to be confused with Teen Wolf: The Movie, even though it does have the same producer (Jeff Davis) and is being released on the same streaming platform (Paramount+) on the same day, Wolf Pack is a series about two teenagers who survive a California wildfire only to discover that, in the chaos, they were bitten by a werewolf.

Together, they team up with the adoptive children of a park ranger, also werewolves, who also survived a suspiciously similar wildfire sixteen years ago.

Record of Ragnarok, season 2, part 1

The Netflix anime where the gods allow humanity to prove their worth in gladiatorial combat is back for its second season. With the first three of thirteen fights for the survival of humankind covered, season 2 looks to start with the fourth fight: a match between Hercules, the strongest human ever, now fighting for the gods, and someone no one ever thought would fight for the survival of humanity—Jack the Ripper.

Video Games:

January 12^th:

Lone Ruin

Switch, PC

Lone Ruin is a spell-based roguelike twin-stick shooter that sees you as a spellcasting adventurer off to discover why a magical civilization was corrupted into an eldritch horror by the very magic that helped sustain it.

Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider

PS 5, PS 4, Switch, PC

This side-scrolling action platformer sees the player take control of Moonrider, a ninja warrior brought online by the authoritarians who now seek its creators’ destruction. This high-octane game channels the golden age of 16-bit action games with a killer soundtrack.

January 13^th:

One Piece Odyssey

PS 5, PS 4, Xbox X/S, Xbox One, PC

The hugely popular manga and anime are back with a new adventure for Straw Hat Luffy and his Straw Hat pirate crew. Play as various members of the Straw Hat Crew as you try to reunite the band after being shipwrecked on a strange island in this classic RPG based on the hit anime.

January 19^th:

A Space for the Unbound

PS 5, PS 4, Xbox X/S, Xbox One, Switch, PC

Set in the late 90s in rural Indonesia, this pixel slice-of-life game follows two high school sweethearts as their world is slowly turned upside down as supernatural forces are unleashed. Together they must investigate their small town to learn hidden secrets, stop the world’s end, and maybe learn something about each other in the process.

Colossal Cave

PS 5, Xbox series X/S, Switch, PC

From the mind of the brilliant Roberta Williams, the designer behind King’s Quest, Phantasmagoria and the founder of Sierra Online comes a reimagined look at the classic computing text adventure game Colossal Cave Adventure, which helped define the genre of non-linear adventure games.

January 20^th:

Fire Emblem Engage

Switch

After a thousand years, the seal that imprisoned the Fell Dragon is weakening. Now new heroes must rise to fight the forces of the Fell Dragon and summon heroes from past Fire Emblem games like Marth and Celia by collecting the powerful Emblem Rings.

January 23^rd:

KartRider: Drift

PC, iOS, Android

Cross-platform kart racing meets vehicle and character customization in this free-to-play racing game. Challenge your friends and top the leaderboards with no pay-to-win, no paywalls, and no barriers in this latest title in the famous KartRider franchise.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake

PS 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC

Return to Bikini Bottom as SpongeBob and Patrick is given a vial of the powerful Mermaid’s Tears, which legend says can grant any wish. But when the duo gets too excited and their wishing starts to unravel the fabric of the universe and open up several Wishworlds that trap their friends inside, it will be up to them to save the day.

January 24^th:

Forspoken

PS 5, PC

In this highly anticipated fantasy game, you play as Frey Holland from New York City, who has been mysteriously sucked through a portal to another world full of dragons and monsters where a mysterious corruption, and an evil tyrant, threaten the land of Athia. 

January 27^th:

Dead Space (Remake)

PS 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

The classic sci-fi survival-horror game is back with remade visuals for a more immersive experience. You are Isaac Clarke, an engineer on the mining ship USG Ishimura, which is now crawling with Necromorphs, and your partner, Nicole, is lost somewhere onboard.

January 31^st:

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition

Xbox series X/S, Xbox One

One of the most beloved historical strategy franchises is now available on Xbox. Spanning over a thousand years of human history, take command of one of 35 different civilizations in several different campaigns. Build mighty civilizations and lead your armies to conquer the world.

Season: A Letter to the Future

PS 5, PS 4, PC

Hop on your bicycle and ride into the world as you write down and record the world around you. Write down observations, interview people, and listen to and record music, all as you write a letter to the future to describe your world on the brink of some unknown cataclysmic change.

Books:

January 1^st:

• Bloodstone by Ari Marmell—Dark Fantasy and Horror

January 4^th:

• Ablaze by Christopher Krovatin—Kids Horror and Fantasy
• Poor Man’s Sky by Wil McCarthy—Hard Science Fiction
• Rebel of Fire and Flight by Aneesa Marufu—YA Dark Fantasy
• Breakup from Hell by Ann Davila Cardinal—YA Comedic Fantasy
• Return to Atlantis by Kate O’Hearn—Book 2 of Atlantis, Kids Fantasy
• Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman—YA Fantasy
• The Stranded by Sarah Daniels—YA Dystopian Sci-Fi
• Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amelie Wen Zhao—YA Fantasy
• The Scarab Mission by James Cambias—Sci-Fi Space Opera
• A Ruinous Fate by Kaylie Smith—YA Dark Fantasy, LGBTQ
• Mission Critical by Charles E. Gannon—Military Sci-Fi, Space Opera
• Chicks in Tank Tops by Jason Cordova—Military Sci-Fi, Comedy
• The Unforgettable Logan Foster and the Shadow of Doubt by Shawn Peters—Kids Sci-Fi, Superheroes
• VAMPS: Fresh Blood by Nicole Arend—YA Dark Fantasy, Romance
• Forbidden by Davis Bunn—Urban Fantasy, Magical Realism
• The Stolen Heir: A Novel of Elfhame by Holly Black—Book 1 of The Stolen Heir duology, YA Dark Fantasy, Romance

January 11^th:

• Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo—Book 2 of Alex Stern, Urban Dark Fantasy
• The Wicked Ones by Robin Benway—Book 1 of Disney Villains: Dark Ascension, Kids Dark Fantasy
• Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire—Book 8 of Wayward Children, Urban Dark Fantasy
• The Sapphire Altar by David Dalglish—Book 2 of Vagrant Gods, Epic Fantasy
• Son of the Poison Rose by Jonathan Maberry—Book 2 of A Kagen the Damned Novel, Dark Fantasy
• City of Nightmares by Rebecca Schaeffer—YA Dark Fantasy
• A Tale of Two Princes by Eric Geron—YA Fantasy, Comedy, LGBTQ
• Rebel, Brave and Brutal by Shannon Dittemore—Book 2 of Winter, White and Wicked, YA Epic Fantasy
• The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai—Book 1 of The Alamaxa Duology, Military Fantasy, LGBTQ
• Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett—Romantic Fantasy, Fairy Tales
• Waking Fire by Jean Louise—YA Fantasy, Zombie Horror
• Riven by Mindee Arnett—YA Fantasy

January 18^th:

• Swift the Storm, Fierce the Flame by Meg Long—YA Fantasy and Sci-Fi
• The Mysteries of Thorn Manor by Margaret Rogerson—YA Dark Fantasy, Romance
• The Enchanted Bridge by Zetta Elliott—Book 4 of Dragons in a Bag, Kids Fantasy, African American
• Manifest by Brittany Cavallara—YA Sci-Fi and Fantasy, Steampunk

January 25^th:

• The Heroes of Havensong: Dragonboy by Megan Reyes—Book 1 of The Heroes of Havensong, Kids Fantasy
• Princess of the Wild Sea by Megan Frazer Blakemore—Kids Fantasy
• Mira and Flameteller by Alastair Chisholm—Book 4 of Dragon Storm, Kids Fantasy
• Notorious by Olivia Hayfield—Historical Fantasy, Romance
• The Endless Song by Joshua Phillip Johnson—Book 2 of Tales of the Forever Sea, Epic Fantasy

That’s January!

That’s January, Geeks!

We’ve got a lot of stuff to look forward to this month and even more stuff to look forward to next month. Sign up for Geek Alerts to be the first one to hear all about it.

Keep it Geeky!