Nerdage NewsOK.com Blogging Community

DC Comics was a big winner at the 2008 Harvey Awards over the weekend, with “All-Star Superman” taking home three awards.  “All-Star Superman” won best single issue, for issue No. 8, and best series.  Frank Quietly, the “All-Star Superman” artist, won the best artist award. 

Also for DC, Darwyn Cooke was named “Best Cartoonist” for “The Spirit” and Brian K. Vaughan won for “Y: The Last Man.”  

Oni Press’ “Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together” was named best original graphic album.

Newsarama has the complete list of winners.

– Matt Price

This is an expanded version of the article from today’s The Oklahoman: 

Comic-Con International, the largest comic book and popular arts event in the United States, has announced that Archie Goodwin will receive the 2008 Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing. The choice was made unanimously by a committee chaired by writer and historian Mark Evanier.

Goodwin attended Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, and considered himself a Tulsan, though he was born in Kansas City, Missouri.  Goodwin was an influential  comic-book writer and editor. He was briefly Marvel Comics’ editor-in-chief in 1976. As an editor at DC Comics, he shepherded James Robinson’s acclaimed “Starman” and the award-winning “Batman: The Long Halloween.” As a writer, he created the Paul Kirk “Manhunter” character with artist Walter Simonson. He was named best writer (dramatic division) in the industry in 1973 and 1974 by the Academy of Comic Book Arts. Goodwin died in 1998. 

Tulsa writer R.A. Jones, who also attended Will Rogers High School, shared some thoughts about Goodwin with The Oklahoman:

 ”I was delighted to hear about the award Archie will be receiving.  One of the great things about working in comics today is that the creators receive at least a portion of the credit they are due for their work — something that, as I’m sure you well know, was not the case in poor Bill Finger’s day,” he said.

 ”I first discovered Archie’s writing in the 1960s, first in such magazines as Creepy and Eerie, where he helped keep alive the tradition of the venerable EC style of storytelling, and later in the pages of such Marvel comics as Iron Man. Professionally, I never knew Archie to deliver anything less than stellar scripting.  Personally, he was always friendly and a true gentleman, a pleasure to sit and have a chat with.”

The Bill Finger Award was instituted in 2005 under the supervision of comic book legend Jerry Robinson. The awards committee is charged each year with selecting two recipients, one living and one deceased. 

“With all the writers who seem worthy of this award, you’d think it would be an impossible decision,” Evanier said in a release. “But this year, two names just jumped off the list of candidates. Much like the late Bill Finger, Larry Lieber and Archie Goodwin did important, groundbreaking work in our field that has not received the recognition it deserves. We’re hoping to rectify that a little with these awards.”

Archie Goodwin began in comics in the late 1950s, writing mystery comics for Harvey and assisting Leonard Starr on the newspaper strip “On Stage.”   Later, he was the writer/editor of “Creepy” and “Eerie,” and is credited with creating the backstory for Vampirella.

In addition to Evanier, the selection committee consists of Charles Kochman (executive editor at Harry N. Abrams), comics and animation writer Paul Dini, writer Tony Isabella, and writer/editor Marv Wolfman.

The Bill Finger Award will be presented during the 2008 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards ceremony at this summer’s Comic-Con International on Friday, July 25.

For more information on the Finger Award, visit www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_finger.shtml.

– Matt Price

The Beat has this year’s inductees into the Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame, as administered by the Shuster Awards.  Honorees are  Stanley Berneche, John Byrne, Pierre Fournier and Edwin R. “Ted” McCall.  Lots more about the honorees in the link.  The Byrne Forum discusses the award here.

– Matt Price

Pop on over to The Beat to see a complete list of this year’s Eisner nominees.   With 148 nominations in 29 categories, this is going to be one looooong Eisner ceremony. 

Good to see some love for longtime Nerdage faves Matt Fraction and Matt Silady.

And since I’m on a Caniff kick, it’s gratifying to see IDW’s “Terry and the Pirates” reprints getting some love as well.

– Matt Price

Fans can vote for their favorites for the past year in a number of categories, including writer, artist, story, character and more at Comics Buyer’s Guide.

The long-running magazine has been awarding comic-book favorite awards for 25 years; an archive of winners can be found here.

– Matt Price 

Publishers Weekly names its critics choices for graphic novels for 2007: The magazine’s top two choices, Exit Wounds and Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together, will be familiar to Nerdage readers.

Tekkon Kinkreet: Black and White tops PW’s list of manga.  (Somewhat oddly, Jeffrey Brown’s “Incredible Change-Bots” from Top Shelf makes the list. Most would consider this, well, not manga, but perhaps the term is broadening.)

From outer-space adventure to destructive romantic relationships, comic books in graphic novel format continued to push the medium forward. The following are the best graphic novels for 2007:

1.       Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together by Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni Press)

Scott Pilgrim, the slacker twentysomething musician, must still battle his new girlfriend Ramona’s ex-lovers in this fourth volume of the “Scott Pilgrim” series.  This pioneering “arcade logic” series is the perfect hybrid of action and romance in a post-videogame, post-manga world.

2.       Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan (Drawn and Quarterly)

Israeli cab driver Koby Franco is drawn into a mystery when his father’s ex-girlfriend Nuni contacts him. She wants to search for Koby’s father, who she says may have been killed in a terrorist attack. Koby’s search for his father becomes a search for himself, as Motan examines modern
Israel in this evocative graphic novel. 

3.       First in Space by James Vining (Oni Press)

“First in Space” is based on the true story of Ham, a chimpanzee trained by NASA to make the first sub-orbital space flight.  Well-researched and compelling, “First in Space” is suitable for all ages.

4.       All-Star Superman vol. 1 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC Comics)

Morrison and Quitely capture the charm of comics’ Silver Age with their take on Superman, a Man of Steel who creates Superman robots, and whose best pal Jimmy Olsen finds himself gaining strange powers.  Several story tropes from the 1960s come full circle, as Morrison boils them down to their essence and represents them with modern flair.

5.       The Homeless Channel by Matt Silady (AiT-Planet Lar)

Network exec Darcy Shaw thinks “The Homeless Channel” will both draw attention to the homeless plight, and be a good way to make some money, taking reality television to the next level.

Aaron Sorkin-like dialogue and art reminiscent of an early Brian Michael Bendis make “The Homeless Channel” a noteworthy debut.

6.       Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine (Drawn and Quarterly)
Ben Tanaka is an abrasive
San Francisco theater owner who obsesses over white girls; this doesn’t help his relationship with his Asian-American activist girlfriend Miko.  An interesting look at race and sex through the lens of an intimate graphic novel. 

7.       League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill (DC Comics/WildStorm/ABC)

Something of a sourcebook gone mad,
Moore explores the history of his “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” concept, featuring heroes and villains from throughout literature.

8.       Shazam: Monster Society of Evil by Jeff Smith (DC Comics)

Jeff Smith captures the charm and wit of the 1940s Captain Marvel stories, recaptured for modern audiences.

9.       Astronaut Dad vol. 1 by David Hopkins and Brent Schoonover (Silent Devil)

David Hopkins looks at the children of astronaut reservists in the 1960s, making the space race more personal. 

10.    Nothing Better: No Place Like Home by Tyler Page (Dementian)Tyler Page (“Stylish Vittles”) takes his Web comic to graphic novel format in “Nothing Better,” which examines two mismatched roommates at a Lutheran college. “Nothing Better” is reminiscent of “Strangers in Paradise” and “Blankets,” with engaging characters and fresh art.

Greg and I discuss the lists you can see below on this week’s podcast!

Listen to Greg and me expound on the qualities of “Captain America” and “Buffy.” Listen to Greg mispronounce “mythos.”  There’s not a more fun way to spend about 12 minutes.

– Matt Price

Matt and I have been working on our lists for the best of 2007 and with the New Year rapidly approaching, here’s a look at my uninformed opinions on the matter.

Note: I cheated, as you can clearly see, by grouping a few titles together. But this ain’t rocket surgery, folks. I can do what I want. You’re not the boss of me!

1. Trials of Shazam!

Judd Winick breathes life into a character (Captain Marvel Jr.) that most people couldn’t care less about, making his three-dimensional and captivating.

2. DMZ

In the midst of the Iraq War, this comic book brings war home literally, and the adventures of Matty Roth have as much to do with the world we live in as the fictional world of a New York split apart by civil war.

3. Blue Beetle/ Booster Gold/ Checkmate

Spinning out of Infinite Crisis are three exceptional relaunches of three previously canceled series. These are the little engines that could and desperately must if only to prove that books without Superman or Batman can deliver big on story.

4. Stormwatch PHD

In the WildStorm Universe, heroes aren’t really heroes, so it’s up to normal folks like the Stormwatch Post Human Division to put them in their place. A spiritual successor to “Stormwatch: Team Achilles,” this book is entertaining from whole cloth, creating true characters out of a poorly defined world.

5. X-Factor

While the rest of the X-universe is mired in awful, dreadful continuity, only Peter David’s “X-Factor” enjoys the mutant community. Centered around Jamie Madrox’s detective agency, this book is consistently a source of big laughs and shocking twists.

6. Captain America

Captain America is dead! Long live Captain America! What could have been an unmitigated disaster (a book in which the lead character is dead) was given wings by Ed Brubaker. Add in a character many thought was a huge mistake (Bucky aka The Winter Soldier) and you’ve got a bona fide miracle.

7. Fables/ Jack of Fables

All bow down to Bill Willingham, who took one of the most simple ideas ever (What if storybook characters were real and living in New York?) and created a giant world from it. This year in “Fables” we’ve seen Flycatcher, a joke character, turned into a warrior king. Meanwhile, with Matt Sturges, “Jack of Fables” has become one of the funniest books on the shelves while adding a new layer to an already rich world.

8. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Holy God, do I love this series. Picking up where the TV show left off with creator Joss Whedon at the helm, “Buffy: Season 8″ is a wild ride that goes far beyond the budget of any movie. Dawn is a giant! The army hates Buffy! Next issue right now please!

9. Incredible Hulk

The genius of “Planet Hulk” and the follow-up “World War Hulk” is how much sense it makes. Of course The Illuminati would try to send Hulk somewhere that he would kill anybody. Of course something would go wrong and he’d end up a gladiator. Of course he’d come back, madder than ever before. The results by Greg Pak were astounding.

10. Nova

Much like Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, if you’d told me a couple years back that I’d be reading and loving Nova comics, I’d have called you a moron and questioned your human lineage. Now I have the luxury of reading Abnett and Lanning’s monthly space opera, starring a character who has really come into his own.

Deadlines are coming in for everything today — Oklahoma Film Critics’ Circle voting, top 10 movies for the Oklahoman, top 10 comics and videogames for my weekly columns in the Oklahoman.   It’s enjoyable in some ways, but it does make me wish that Hollywood and the video game industry spaced out their releases a little better. Video games will go weeks with no major releases, then slam everything out near the end of the year.  And Hollywood tends to cluster potential award-winners in December.

Fortunately, comics don’t cluster their potential award-winners as badly. That said, Friday will be a madhouse of a release day, as everyone tries to push out inventory before the end of the year.

– Matt Price