Jim Lemoine (Did I Think That Out Loud?! writer)
-BEST PUBLISHER: MarvelÂ
They have to get my vote, they’re the only publisher to publish more than two titles that keep me interested on a consistent basis (that’s why most of my votes below will be Marvel oriented).
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-BEST ONGOING SERIES: THORÂ
Yup, Thor. Jurgens is breaking the whole mythological superhero paradigm wide open with the type of story I’d usually expect to find in indy comics or Vertigo… it’s amazing to me that Jurgens, of all people, is the author of this fascinating saga. The art has been consistently great as well. This went from a standard superhero book that bordered on boring (due to the sheer power of its protagonist) to a fantastic exploration of how the public perceives metahumans.
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-BEST WRITER: Brian K. Vaughan (Y-The Last Man, Mystique, Runaways)
This guy blew us all away with Y, and it looks like his new series are going to keep wowing us.
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-BEST PENCILLER: Mike McKone (EXILES, SUPERMAN VS DARKSEID)Â
This guy’s the next Alan Davis. One heck of a visual storyteller.
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-BEST CREATIVE TEAM: Tie-Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon (THE PUNISHER)/Peter Milligan & Mike Allred (X-STATIX)Â
Almost a loaded question, and I really, really want to say Busiek and Perez, even though they haven’t done anything together in the first half of 2003. I’d say it’s a toss-up between the classic, twisted Ennis and Dillon, or the newer, twisted Milligan and Allred.
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-BEST MALE CHARACTER:Â MorphÂ
Wolverine. No, no, that was a joke. Please, for God’s sake, don’t count that as my vote. Seriously, the ones I might normally vote for don’t actually appear in their own books that often (i.e. Daredevil, Thor), so I’m kinda undecided. I’m going to go with Morph from Exiles. The guy’s got depth and humor, and very few characters get both. I always enjoy reading Morph, because you’re never quite sure where he’s going to go next.
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-BEST FEMALE CHARACTER:Â Jessica Jones
Easily, without doubt, Jessica Jones from Alias. At last, we’re blessed with a contemporary look at how the average girl gets by in a world with superheroes. And yes, I know she has superpowers… but she chooses to ignore them. This is one of the strongest, most realistic female characters I’ve ever seen in a funny book. Alias is always one of my most eagerly anticipated releases.
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-BEST VILLAIN:Â DoomÂ
Doom should always win this, because he is the greatest villain ever… but in the first half of 2003, he certainly earned it with the prequel tale to Fantastic Four‘s Unthinkable arc.
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-BEST SUPPORTING CHARACTER: OutlawÂ
Can I vote Outlaw? Technically she’s not been seen much in 2003, since Simone left Agent X, but there’s another fantastic and realistic female character in comics.
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-BEST TEAM:Â X-StatixÂ
Milligan’s quirky, oft-surreal satire on… well… just about everything… was and is EXACTLY what “mainstream” comics needs. As if that wasn’t enough, the dynamics within the team itself are also fantastic.
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-BEST MOMENT: Y’know, nothing really jumps out at me for this one. No, wait… I’ve got it… Frank Castle asks Elektra out for dinner. It makes perfect sense, but I never would have expected it. I was rolling after I read that… perfect.
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-BEST FIGHT: I don’t really get into fights, so I don’t have anything for this one. There was no Avengers/Ultron type moment so far this year.
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-BEST PUBLISHING INITIATIVE: EpicÂ
EPIC, without a doubt. Back in the eighties, Marvel’s EPIC line put out some of the most thought-provoking and progressive comics on the market… and Groo, too, of course. It’s about time Marvel made a move to broaden their publishing scope and to court new, up-and-coming creators.
Manolis Vamvounis (Leave Your Spandex At The Door, Leave It To The Greek writer)
-BEST PUBLISHER: DC Comics
Although their “mainstream” universe fails to grab my attention, with two shining exceptions, I admire the variety of product that comes out of their office: Homage, Wildstorm, Vertigo, Cartoon books, and of course ABC!
-BEST ONGOING SERIES: CATWOMAN
The most consistently excellent title in my pull list. Month in, month out, I’ve come to expect gritty crime stories, film noir-style escapades, solid characterisation, fast-paced action and a consistent art style. This title proves comics are dubbed the 9th art for a reason, and I hope this cat doesn’t use up her nine lives any time soon…
-BEST WRITER: Peter Milligan (X-STATIX, VERTIGO POP: LONDON) I consider this man my “ideal” comics writer, as he manages to capture my interest with every single one of his projects. These past 6 months are no different, with excellent offerings from the X-Statix spotlight on Venus and Edie, Vertigo Pop’s quirky rock n roll take on Faust and Wolverine and Doop’s pursuit of the seductive Pink Minc. Make Mine Milligan!
-BEST PENCILLER: Peter Gross (LUCIFER)
Lean and bold character designs. Breath-taking backgrounds. Intricate splash pages. A flawless sense of perspective. Masterful joining of mythological, ethereal, demonic and mechanical elements. Peter Gross keeps surpassing himself every month with even more impressive and grandiose settings. I suspect it’s done on purpose. The truth is out there…
-BEST CREATIVE TEAM: Ed Brubaker & Cameron Stewart (CATWOMAN):
Cameron Stewart came on board this title following the artistic trend set up by Darwyn Cooke and followed by Brad Rader. Brubaker’s script and Cameron’s layouts fit together in perfectly structured panel-heavy pages that help the action flow smoothly and transfer the story on the page in the best manner. This cat’s in the right hands…
-BEST MALE CHARACTER: Rocky Lamont
An aging rock star who reminisces his past glories and fails to come to terms with his current station in life in Vertigo Pop: London. When he discovers the means to switch bodies with a 20-year old and reboot his life and his carreer, he will embark on his own personal odyssey that will help him see his life clearly for the first time and reassess his choices. Rocky’s foul mood, his insecurities and his knack for making the wrong choices don’t leave the reader much choice but to become emotionally attached to him. We still remember that night in the Marquee Club, ‘sixty-nine, when the Idle Hands blew the Stones off the stage…
-BEST FEMALE CHARACTER: U-Go Girl
A character I had loved during her adventures in X-Force and cried for her death, recently came back for a one-issue performance in X-StatiX, and reminded me what a wonderfully flawed and nastily charming person she is. Edie, you will always live on in our hearts! You GO, girl!
-BEST VILLAIN: The Black Mask
When you’re a writer trying to find a villain suitable for a reluctant heroine trapped forever in the moral gray area between black and white, you have to strive for pitch black. Such a specimen is the Black Mask. Driven by his desire to exact revenge on Catwoman for foiling a big drug sell, he set out to destroy her life, by hitting her where it hurts: her loved ones. A skilled torturer, he sealed his act of villainy the moment he forcefed Catwoman’s sister her husband’s eyeball in the most gruesome scene of the year. Even if in the end he fell, he didn’t fail, and the following arc, “No Easy Way Down” is a testament to the amount of damage one man’s twisted actions can cause on so many lives.
-BEST SUPPORTING CHARACTER: Slam Bradley
A character plucked directly out of a film noir, Slam Bradley was meant to be the best and worst love interest Catwoman could have. His emotionally charged narrative through “No Easy Way Down” guided us through his turmoiled thoughts and the decision he made in the end of that storyline made him more real and more tragic. The spirit of Bogie lives on in him. “Here’s lookin’ at you, kid”
-BEST NEW CHARACTER: Gus Beezer
Gail Simone and Jason Lethcoe put a modern-day urban legend on paper: the 8 year old comics fan! Gus Beezer is what Stan Lee today might have dubbed the “Ultimate True Believer”, a hardcore superhero enthusiast living in a world brimming with spandex-clad heroes and oddities. He’s a character ideal to reach out to both the old-time fans and the elusive kid audience, something today’s industry oh-so-desperately needs. Simply Marvelous!
-BEST TEAM: X-Statix
Everyone who knows me knows my near-ill obsession with this team. The X-Statix are a mirror of today’s fame-obsessed “pop” culture, a team of morally ambiguous characters righting wrongs on prime-time and struggling to make their most of their 15 minutes of fame, since they know in all probability they’ll be their last…
-BEST LIMITED SERIES OR ONE SHOT: MANY WORLDS OF TESLA STRONG
As the ad blurb boasts: “A spectacular romp throuh a dozen dizzying dimensions by the best artists in the world.”. When Solomon is ape-napped in another dimension, Yesla sets off to rescue him, and meets 9 parallel dimension Teslas, ranging from the camp superman homage, to the naughty nudist nymphomaniac and the cutesy cartoon rabbit! Alan Moore revisits some of the most memorable storylines from Tom Strong and pokes fun at pre-Crisis DC continuity. The artist roll-call is indeed formidable, with talents like Adams, Hughes, Cho, Campbell and Castellini! The most fun you could possibly cram in 64 pages!
-BEST MOMENT: Snow White gets shot in the head (FABLES)
From a rifle… by Goldilocks… inside the Animal Farm. Need I really say more? Snow White! Shot! In the brain! Oh, the pretty colours, how they twirl…
-BEST FIGHT: Catwoman vs The Black Mask & Sylvia (CATWOMAN) Fast-paced, beautifully choreographed and masterfully presented in sequential art form, “Relentless” ended with a climactic battle between the wounded cat and her captors, on the terrace, under a blanket of heavy rain, as all good fight-scenes oughta be played out!
-BEST GUEST APPEARANCE: Bishop & Sage (“Murder At The Mansion”, NEW X-MEN): And suddenly… Lucas Bishop and Tessa took over NXM. The duo seems the ideal focus point for Morrison’s little Agatha Christie homage, putting their detective skills to better use than their regular writer. Upload the fingerprints analysis, my dear Watson…
-BEST PUBLISHING INITIATIVE/DECISION: Epic
Marvel does the unthinkable and opens its doors to the hordes of aspiring writers and artists across the world, giving everyone fair chances (?) to have their “big break” in the comics industry! Qudos Mr. Quemas!
Daron Kauppauff (411 Assistant Editor-In-Chief, Missing The Boat writer)
-BEST PUBLISHER: CrossGen
Since CrossGen launched 3 years ago, they have taken some of the most innovative steps the comic industry has seen in years. Their list of accolades includes but is not limited to:
1. Refusing to publish Superhero comics. With the market being saturated with spandex clad heroes and villains, it’s refreshing to have a variety of genres to choose from at CrossGen.
2. Shipping schedules. CrossGen actually has them and is never late.
3. Comics on the Web. As far as I know the only company that collects all of its comics on the web and allows readers to access them for a very minimal fee…($2 a month at this point I believe.)
4. The CG trade program. CrossGen trades everything. This is particularly nice considering the recent trend of people who seem to be leaning to just collecting trades.
5. Code 6. There’s been a lot of talk about Marvel’s new Creator owned line, Epic, but it was CG with their creator owned Code 6 line that got the industry buzzing with a new way for creators to break into the industry.
6. The unbelievable art. Have you looked at any CG title? CrossGen produces the best consistent art across the board, no crappy fill-in art here…
7. The Bridges program. How can you not be thrilled with any company that not only gets comics into school libraries, but also into their teaching curriculum?
-BEST ONGOING SERIES: Y-THE LAST MAN
The most talked about new series from last year continues to prove that it only takes one man and his monkey to tell a truly entertaining story. Many people speculated that this title would fizzle out after it’s opening arc, or not long after. But heading into it’s third, Y-The Last Man shows no signs of becoming extinct.
-BEST WRITER: Barbara Kesel (MERIDIAN)
Barbara Kesel has been penning comics for a long time, but she has hit a career high with her work on Meridian. In an industry dominated by muscle bound heroes and unrealistically disproportioned heroines, Barbara has created a wonderful tale about a young girl coming to grips with life and her role in it. Meridian is easily the most accessible title on the market for children and adults alike, plus it’s demographic splitting ability has captured the interest of males and females across the board. On top of this, Barbara is also the scribe of the often hard to follow but still intriguing political drama that is The First. Many people jumped off this title too early. It was a little hard to follow in the beginning, but if you stuck with it it was well worth the effort. Also more recently she’s teamed up with George Perez on the title making the biggest waves over at CrossGen: Solus. It seems that Solus is the title to watch because all your questions about the CG Universe will be answered therein. A definite don’t miss for CG fans.
-BEST PENCILER: Tie-Greg Land (SOJOURN)/ Steve McNiven (MERIDIAN)
This was easily the hardest category to nail down. There are so many wonderful artists in the industry now; picking one is next to impossible. With that in mind I’ve chosen the two artists who have blown me away month after month with the most beautiful work I’ve ever seen.
Greg Land’s “photo-realistic” work (as some have called it) on Sojourn is breathtaking to behold. Without a doubt Greg is producing the best work of his career here, and it’s no surprise that Sojourn is CrossGen’s best selling title month after month.
Steve McNiven was a relative newcomer when he took over the penciling reigns on Meridian when Josh Middleton left early in the series, but his work has perceptibly improved with each passing month. And though his style looks nothing like his esteemed colleague’s whom he shares this honor with, Josh’s wonderfully expressive pencils have helped make Meridian CrossGen’s most compelling title.
-BEST CREATIVE TEAM: Geoff Johns & Scott Kolins (THE FLASH)
What can you say about these two that hasn’t already been said? Ever since they came aboard The Flash it’s been the best superhero title on the stands bar none. Due to Geoff’s ability to take seemingly uninteresting and forgotten characters and make them interesting, and Scott’s innovative and energetic pencils, The Flash has become a series like no other. And with Scott leaving after issue 200 you only have a few months left to enjoy the work of this dynamic duo.
-BEST MALE CHARACTER: Matt Murdock
For the past 2 years or so, Matt has proved that he’s just as influential a force in the world of comics as is his alter ego. Easily one of the most defined characters in the industry, Matt has demonstrated that a superhero title needs not necessarily be about said hero to keep the stories intriguing and the series consecutively in the top 20 of all comics sold. Who needs superpowers when you’re the most renowned & notorious lawyer in the world?
-BEST FEMALE CHARACTER: Sephie
Considering Meridian’s writer and artist both one their categories, it should come as no surprise that Sephie wins best female character (Meridian almost won best ongoing as well but was barely nudged out by Y.) Sephie is easily the best-written female character in comics. The story of this innocent girl becoming a powerful woman and leader has captivated men, women, and children alike; an astounding accomplishment considering the predominantly 20-40 year old male demographically driven nature of the industry.
-BEST VILLIAN: ZOOM!
If the last issue of The Flash hadn’t come out the other week, this category would have been much harder to decide on. But as it stands, Zoom is hands down the badest of the bad, and with super speed powers that rival if not surpass those of Wally West (the Flash himself) you can understand how he claimed the top spot so quickly. Having only just appeared (in costume) in the latest issue of the series, Zoom’s first appearance was both freighting and awe-inspiring at the same time. Never before have I found myself so concerned about the well being of any character or characters of a given series, but after only one issue, Zoom has shown that as of now all bets are off!
-BEST SUPPORTING CHARACTER: Catwoman
Though many might argue that Catwoman deserves the best female character award…I don’t read her title and therefore can’t comment. I do however read Jeph Loeb & Jim Lee’s Batman and over in that title Selina Kyle is doing some great things. Though there may not be a lot of character development centered around her, she herself has been at the epicenter of some intriguing developments in the Dark Knight’s life. Considering he’s one of comicdom’s oldest characters, it’s not too surprising that Batman’s life hasn’t had too many drastic changes lately. Sure he was a fugitive a few years ago, and of course he lost a Robin and almost a Batgirl, but when was the last time something really good happened to him or came into his life? Enter Catwoman. In the span of just a few short issues, she’s gone a long way in showing that on top of being the “World’s Greatest Detective” and a millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne is also a man.
-BEST NEW CHARACTER: Lady Death
Ok, yeah I know she’s not really a new character…but she is. The only thing that’s really carried over from her early T&A infested title is the name and the white skin (though her breasts of course are larger than your average female’s.) This new version and vision of Lady Death has met with much success and has completely sold out of its first few issues. Unlike her predecessor, this new Lady Death has her feet solidly planted in a plot, and a fairly good one at that. So although the name may be the same, the character is nothing if not brand new.
-BEST TEAM: Uncanny X-Men
Now even though I’m giving the Uncanny X-Men the nod as my favorite team it isn’t necessarily my favorite team book. Instead, my reasons are based on the makeup of the team itself. The cast of characters in this book now is one I’ve been waiting to see for a long time.
1. Warren Worthington III (Angel). Easily my favorite and most underused mutant of all time. I understand that he’s probably a little harder to write due to his lack of powers (and probably why he was given a healing factor as a secondary mutation) but if Hawkman can carry his own book, why can’t Angel share the spotlight more often. My hat’s off to Chuck Austen for not only using Warren, but for trying to make him a more interesting character all around.
2. Alex Summers (Havok). Again thank you Mr. Austen for pulling this great character out of limbo. How long has it been since Mutant X (or whatever it was called) ended? And no one thought to bring back Havok?
3. Bobby Drake (Iceman). Probably the second most underused mutant in history. Sure he gets a spotlight every once in a while, but come on the man is cool! Sorry couldn’t resist.
4. Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler). Of the whole Uncanny team, besides Wolverine, Kurt is probably the character with the most exposure, and I have to give credit where credit is due, he’s an intriguing character.
5. Cain Marko (Juggernaut). In his place I’d rather have Colossus, but since he’s dead, Cain is a nice replacement, seeing as how the X-Men are in short supply of strong guys. It’s been interesting watching Cain transition from villain to hero, even if his power levels were lowered in the process.
-BEST LIMITED SERIES OR ONE SHOT: Hellboy: Weird Tales
If Mr. Mignola wasn’t busy working on the Hellboy movie and had actually produced a new series this year, I’m sure it would have won easily. In its place though we are getting a limited series produced by a plethora of creators telling a wide variety of stories. From strange stories of the occult to hilarious scenes of Hellboy as a boy, this series should appeal to all tastes.
-BEST MOMENT: Doom’s new armor (FANTASTIC FOUR #67)
Even though the complete surprise was ruined for, because someone told me that something major happened at the end of the issue, the shock of seeing Doom sacrifice the love of his life to gain new wisdom of the occult as well as some not so snazzy armor completely blew me away. I was completely taken aback and enthralled all at once. “Unthinkable” is gearing up to be the best FF story in a long time.
-BEST FIGHT: Ethan vs. Mai Shen (Scion 36)
Now here’s a title that would have easily claimed the top spot if this survey had been done during the series first year. Unfortunately, the series hit a lull after the first year or so and has slowly been trying to regain its momentum. Well Scion 36 delivered and promises to put the book back on track. The visually stunning battle between Ethan and Mai Shen rivals any of the 3 major battles between Ethan and Bron. (The first in the first issue where Ethan scarred Bron. The second when Ethan broke into Bron’s castle and Bron seemingly killed Ethan. And the third, last year when Ethan and Bron fought to the death…Bron’s or so it seemed.) Hopefully this time the seemingly dead loser of the battle will remain dead. Mai Shen was cool and all, but Bron is interesting enough not to need her. Plus considering that she went out with such a bang (see actual issue for the inside joke there) it would be a shame to demean it.
-BEST GUEST APPEARANCE: Daredevil (DAREDEVIL)
Since Matt Murdock has been busy taking up all of the page space in Daredevil, he hasn’t left much room for his alter ego Daredevil. In fact, I could probably count on two hands the number of panels DD has actually appeared in throughout the last 3 issues. With that said, it’s always nice when we actually do get to see DD in costume and you savor the limited time you get to watch him kick ass. Not many titles can boast that their title character is little more than a guest star and be proud of the fact, or pull it off for that matter.
-BEST PUBLISHING INITIATIVE/DECISION: DC keeping Loeb & Lee on BATMAN
The stellar creative team of Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee not only rocketed Batman into the top 10 of comics sold, they thoroughly entrenched it in the number 1 spot with no signs of letting go. The frenzy that this title has caused in and out of the comics world alone should land DC with the Best Publishing Decision award, but to solidify the decision even more, DC recently announced that they had signed Loeb & Lee to at least another 6-issue arc. Talk about smart business deals. Now if they can only find away to recreate this type of magic with some of their other titles.
And now…the moment you’ve all been waiting for…the big winners! Here are the respective highest vote-getters in each category (except the ones in which we all voted for different stuff…and there were quite a few…we’re wacky like that…)
-BEST PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics
-BEST WRITER: Tie-Geoff Johns (JSA, THE FLASH, HAWKMAN, AVENGERS)/Brian K. Vaughan (Y-THE LAST MAN, MYSTIQUE, RUNAWAYS)
-BEST PENCILLER: Jim Lee (BATMAN)
-BEST CREATIVE TEAM: Jeph Loeb & Jim Lee (BATMAN)
-BEST MALE CHARACTER: Spider-Man
-BEST VILLAIN: Dr. Doom
-BEST SUPPORTING CHARACTER: Catwoman (BATMAN)
-BEST TEAM: Tie-X-StatiX/Uncanny X-Men
-BEST MOMENT: Goldilocks shoots Snow White in the head (FABLES #9)
-BEST FIGHT: Batman vs Superman (BATMAN #612)
-BEST PUBLISHING INITIATIVE:Marvel relaunches Epic
Hope you enjoyed the 411 Half Year Awards. Want to tell us who would have won your awards? Visit the 411 Forum and you can, plus you’ll get a chance to be up here on the main page.
