Eisner's Announced & Man, Do I Love Comics!

 

Welcome back! Oh my god, so much has happened in comics!  I can honestly say that I have never had more fun reading or collecting comics than I am right now. And honestly, DC Comics and Vault comics are fueling most of that. Okay, maybe Marvel's movies & TV shows as well. A little.

DC Comics, in my humble opinion, is the best it has ever been. They are truly embracing what it means to be a comics publisher and they seem to finally be getting a real grasp on who they want their heroes to be and where they are going. Let me tell you, I am enjoying the ride. 

The introduction of new characters has been done so well and even the old characters seem to be more solidified. The art, holy bajebus! The art! The art in comics right now is the absolute best it has ever been. Cover artists like Artgerm, Jen Bartel, Adam Hughes, and a new personal favorite of mine, Julian Totino Tedesco.

Then, on top of that you've got the actual book artists. Mitch Gerads, Clay Mann, Doc Shaner, Bruno Redondo, Greg Smallwood, Bilquis Every, Yasmine Putri, Phil Jimenez and so many more. I mean, these artists are just...wow!

Then these writers! Veterans and fresh blood. Guys like Busiek are at the top of their game, and guys like Tom King and Tom Taylor are really giving us fresh new perspectives. Filling in holes, bringing characters to the fore-front that have been overlooked & evolving characters we love in interesting directions. Some writers, like Cody Ziglar (Spider-Punk) are giving me comics that are insanely fun with a solid anti-fascist message. It's freaking delightful. 

The Eisner Award Nominations just dropped and most of the people I just mentioned are on that list. I would 100% not want to have to vote, but let's just say that I did.  I'm going to give you a run-down on who & why.

Best Short Story. I read two of the stories nominated. 

"Generations", by Daniel Warren Johnson, in Superman: Red & Blue #5 (DC)

&

"Tap, Tap, Tap," by Larry O'Neil and Jorge Fornés, in Green Arrow 80th Anniversary (DC)

My choice? 

Next up, Best Single Issue/One-Shot

I read 3 of these. 

Marvel's Voices: Identity #1 edited by Darren Shan (Marvel)

Nightwing #87: "Get Grayson," by Tom Taylor & Bruno Redondo (DC)

Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazon, by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Phil Jimenez (DC)

As much as I appreciate Marvel's attempt it was MEH for me. Marvel really feels like its art & storytelling is aimed at the 12 to 25 crowd, while DC is aiming for the 25 & up crowd. I'm glad they are trying to expand their diversity & storytelling but they are so far behind everyone else. 

Nightwing is amazing. So amazing guys. I've told you this 100 times already, but...and I hate to say this, Wonder Woman wins this one. If you did not pick up Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazon, you really are missing out on an amazing piece of comic book history. The art, the style of storytelling, the absolute need for this book to exist. Right now. It's so important.

Best Continuing Series

I have only read one. 

Nightwing, by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo (DC)

So, because I can't speak to the other books, I pick this one. Let me tell you though, this series, so full of heart. So full of growth. So full of amazing art. The way that Redondo captures emotions on a 2D surface, panel by panel is just...wow. This team totally deserves it. 

I will say, I have heard tons of buzz over "Something is Killing the Children" by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell'Edera (BOOM! Studios) and they are nominated in this category, too. People have been raving about it. 

Best Limited Series

Here are the nominees I am familiar with:

The Good Asian, by Pornsak Pichetshote and Alexandre Tefenkgi (Image)

& 

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, by Tom King & Bilquis Evely (DC)

Whew. This is...really tough and I only read two of the six nominees. Before I pick my winner, I want to mention that The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, by Ram V and Filipe Andrade (BOOM! Studios) has made a ton of noise. I've heard really good things & I have loved everything I have read by Ram V. If these guys win, they totally deserve it. 

Also, "The Good Asian" is amazing. Please, go pick it up. Read it. Be in awe of it, but I cannot help but vote for the book that spoke to me. Not only the story, but the art.

And that story was Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Not only did it speak to me but it was so flippin' nice to see someone take all of Kara Zor-El's history & finally flesh out who she really is. What she really means. You guys that follow along know I am a HUGE Supergirl fan & even though this is a recent (2015) development, I poured myself into the comics. Reading every issue, every story I could get my hands on & it was extremely apparent to me that Tom King had done the same thing. I was happy we saw the same person at the end. Bilquis, the artist on the book, created a timeless look for Kara. It was a nod to her early incarnations but new and fresh. Not a child anymore, but a young woman. You could feel the pain behind her smile. The trauma behind her eyes and the sadness in her tired soul but she still stood tall and strong & beautiful. It truly was my favorite run of any Supergirl ever and something I wished for. Is it profound and life changing? No. More life affirming. It's a book about Hope and holding onto it. And it was beautiful. 

Best New Series

I'm embarrassed to say I haven't read any of the books nominated. I do have the full run of The Human Target, by Tom King and Greg Smallwood (DC) but I haven't gotten to it yet. There's so many good comics!!! 

Best Publication for Early Readers (Up to age 8)

Also, nope. Haven't read. 

Sorry. I'll add a link to the list of nominees at the bottom if you are interested in finding out who is nominated.

Best Publication for Kids (Ages 9 - 12)

I don't have kids, so, yeah, not really in my wheel house. 

Best Publication for Teens

Best Humour Publication

Best Anthology

Best Reality-Based Work

Best Graphic Memoir

Best Graphic Album - New

Best Graphic Album - Reprint

Best Adaptation From Another Medium

Best US Edition of International Material

OMG...there are so many categories. Okay, let's skip all this & just list the one's I have read at least one thing in. 

Best Writer

Kelly Sue DeConnick, Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons Book One (DC)

Ram V, The Many Deaths of Laila Starr (BOOM! Studios), The Swamp Thing (DC), Carnage: Black, White & Blood, Venom (Marvel)

James Tynion IV, House of Slaughter, Something is Killing the Children, Wynd (BOOM! Studios); The Nice House on the Lake, The Joker, Batman, DC PRIDE 2021 (DC); The Department of Truth (Image); Blue Book, Razorblades (Tiny Onion Studios)

Ugh. So hard. Ram V's Swamp Thing was sooooooo good. James did great on Batman & PRIDE. However, Wonder Woman Historia is just something else. Something completely different & elevated, yet primal. So, Kelly Sue get my vote.

And with that, We're going to take a break from this novel length post. I'd like to say I will be back to finish out the list, but let's be honest...

Good luck to all the nominees!