Best Short Story
* Book, by Yuichi Yokoyama, in New Engineering (PictureBox)
* At Loose Ends, by Lewis Trondheim, in Mome #8 (Fantagraphics)
* Mr. Wonderful, by Dan Clowes, in New York Times Sunday Magazine
* Town of Evening Calm, by Fumiyo Kouno, in Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms (Last Gasp)
* Whatever Happened to Fletcher Hanks? by Paul Karasik, in I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! (Fantagraphics)
* Young Americans, by Emile Bravo, in Mome #8 (Fantagraphics)
[Mr. Wonderful just edges it over the, uh, abstract New Engineering, which was still less weird than Dan Clowes doing straight romantic comedy.]
Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
* Amelia Rules! #18: Things I Cannot Change, by Jimmy Gownley (Renaissance)
* Delilah Dirk and the Treasure of Constantinople, by Tony Cliff (self-published)
* Johnny Hiro #1, by Fred Chao (AdHouse)
* Justice League of America #11: Walls, by Brad Meltzer and Gene Ha (DC)
* Sensational Spider-Man Annual: To Have or to Hold, by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca (Marvel)
Best Continuing Series
* The Boys, by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson (Dynamite)
* Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, by Joss Whedon, Brian K. Vaughan, Georges Jeanty, and Andy Owens (Dark Horse)
* Naoki Urasawa's Monster, by Naoki Urasawa (Viz)
* The Spirit, by Darwyn Cooke (DC)
* Y: The Last Man, by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, and Jose Marzan, Jr. (Vertigo/DC)
[Ennis' Punisher really should be here in place of The Boys, essentially a Preacher retread with the vulgar comedy transmuted into tired schtick and the sentiment into goopy mawkishness. Nostalgia it is!]
Best Limited Series
* Atomic Robo, by Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegender (Red 5 Comics)
* Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born, by Peter David, Robin Furth, and Jae Lee (Marvel)
* Nightly News, by Jonathan Hickman (Image)
* Parade (with Fireworks), by Michael Cavallaro (Shadowline/Image)
* The Umbrella Academy, by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba (Dark Horse)
Best New Series
* Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, by Joss Whedon, Brian K. Vaughan, Georges Jeanty, and Andy Owens (Dark Horse)
* Immortal Iron Fist, by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, David Aja, and others (Marvel)
* Johnny Hiro, by Fred Chao (AdHouse)
* The Infinite Horizon, by Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto (Image)
* Scalped, by Jason Aaron and R. M. Guera (Vertigo/DC)
[Occasionally a tad too cute and photo-referenced for my liking, but this is still good pulp. It's too bad the creative team never got the chance to explore the full breadth of their chosen genre - the last couple of issues, for example, were just beginning to dig into its political implications (historical or otherwise). At least that non-annual one-shot united kung fu and Wild West for possibly the first time since The Stranger and the Gunfighter.]
Best Publication for Teens
* Laika, by Nick Abadzis (First Second)
* The Mighty Skullboy Army, by Jacob Chabot (Dark Horse)
* The Annotated Northwest Passage, by Scott Chantler (Oni)
* PX! Book One: A Girl and Her Panda, by Manny Trembley and Eric A. Anderson (Shadowline/Image)
* Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso (Center for Cartoon Studies/Hyperion)
[Kind of overlooked last year, I thought...]
Best Humor Publication
* Dwight T. Albatross's The Goon Noir, edited by Matt Dryer (Dark Horse)
* Johnny Hiro, by Fred Chao (AdHouse)
* Lucha Libre, by Jerry Frissen, Bill, Gobi, Fabien M., Nikola Witko, Herve Tanquelle et al. (Image)
* Perry Bible Fellowship: The Trial of Colonel Sweeto and Other Stories, by Nicholas Gurewitch (Dark Horse)
* Wonton Soup, by James Stokoe (Oni)
Best Anthology
* Best American Comics 2007, edited by Anne Elizabeth Moore and Chris Ware (Houghton Mifflin)
* 5, by Gabriel Ba, Becky Cloonan, Fabio Moon, Vasilis Lolos, and Rafael Grampa (self-published)
* Mome, edited by Gary Groth and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
* Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened, edited by Jason Rodriguez (Villard)
* 24Seven, vol. 2, edited by Ivan Brandon (Image)
Best Digital Comic
* The Abominable Charles Christopher, by Karl Kerschl
* Billy Dogma, Immortal, by Dean Haspiel
* The Process, by Joe Infurnari
* PX! By Manny Trembley and Eric A. Anderson
* Sugarshock!, by Joss Whedon and Fabio Moon
[I haven't read any of these. But at least none of them is PVP.]
Best Reality-Based Work
* Laika, by Nick Abadzis (First Second)
* The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam, by Ann Marie Fleming (Riverhead Books/Penguin Group)
* Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso (Center for Cartoon Studies/Hyperion)
* Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm, by Percy Carey and Ronald Wimberly (Vertigo/DC)
* White Rapids, by Pascal Blanchet (Drawn & Quarterly)
Best Graphic Album--New
* The Arrival, by Shaun Tan (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic)
* Bookhunter, by Jason Shiga (Sparkplug Books)
* Essex County, vols. 1-2: Tales from the Farm/Ghost Stories, by Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
* Exit Wounds, by Rutu Modan (Drawn & Quarterly)
* Percy Gloom, by Cathy Malkasian (Fantagraphics)
[I could improvise yet another half-assed rave for this, but I'll just say that Percy Gloom and Lemire's books are both worth a look as well (haven't gotten around to The Arrival)]
Best Graphic Album--Reprint
* Agents of Atlas Hardcover, by Jeff Parker, Leonard Kirk, and Kris Justice (Marvel)
* Godland Celestial Edition, by Joe Casey and Tom Scioli (Image)
* James Sturm's America: God, Gold, and Golems, by James Sturm (Drawn & Quarterly)
* Mouse Guard: Fall 1152, by David Petersen (Archaia)
* Super Spy, by Matt Kindt (Top Shelf)
[The revelation for me here was not "The Golem's Mighty Swing" but "The Revival", where Sturm's uncharacteristically loose lines give his God-haunted characters a starved physicality.]
Best Archival Collection/Project--Comic Strips
* (The Complete) Dream of the Rarebit Fiend, by Winsor McCay (Ulrich Merkl)
* Complete Terry and the Pirates, vol. 1, by Milton Caniff (IDW)
* Little Sammy Sneeze, by Winsor McCay (Sunday Press)
* Popeye, vol. 2: Well Blow Me Down, by E. C. Segar (Fantagraphics)
* Sundays with Walt and Skeezix, by Frank King (Sunday Press)
Best Archival Collection/Project--Comic Books
* Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus, vol. 1, by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (Marvel)
* Apollo's Song, by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)
* The Completely MAD Don Martin, by Don Martin (Running Press)
* Daredevil Omnibus, by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson (Marvel)
* I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! by Fletcher Hanks (Fantagraphics)
[I hate to choose anything over Hanks, whose book was a deserved, canon-prying phenomenon, but these are some of the greatest comics ever drawn.]
Best U.S. Edition of International Material
* The Arrival, by Shaun Tan (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic)
* Aya, by Marguerite Abouet and Clement Obrerie (Drawn & Quarterly)
* Garage Band, by Gipi (First Second)
* I Killed Adolf Hitler, by Jason (Fantagraphics)
* The Killer, by Matz and Luc Jacamon (Archaia)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material--Japan
* The Ice Wanderer and Other Stories, by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
* MW, by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)
* Naoki Urasawa's Monster, by Naoki Urasawa (Viz)
* New Engineering by Yuichi Yokoyama (PictureBox)
* Tekkonkinkreet: Black & White, by Taiyo Matsumoto (Viz)
* Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms, by Fumiyo Kouno (Last Gasp)
[A pound of my flesh for a three-sided coin! OK, as much as I love Matsumoto's punk rock shonen and seemingly everything Taniguchi draws, I will ultimately settle on the Yokoyama book. Who knew manga could be this delightfully alienating?]
Best Writer
* Ed Brubaker, Criminal (Marvel)
* James Sturm, Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow (Center for Cartoon Studies/Hyperion)
* Brian K. Vaughan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Dark Horse); Ex Machina (WildStorm/DC), Y: The Last Man (Vertigo/DC)
* Joss Whedon, Astonishing X-Men (Marvel); Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Dark Horse)
* Brian Wood, DMZ, Northlanders (Vertigo/DC); Local (Oni)
Best Writer/Artist
* Jeff Lemire, Essex County: Tales from the Farm/Ghost Stories (Top Shelf)
* Rutu Modan, Exit Wounds (Drawn & Quarterly)
* Shaun Tan, The Arrival (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic)
* Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #18 (Acme Novelty)
* Fumi Yoshinaga, Flower of Life; The Moon and Sandals (Digital Manga)
Best Writer/Artist--Humor
* Kyle Baker, The Bakers: Babies and Kittens (Image)
* Fred Chao, Johnny Hiro (AdHouse)
* Brandon Graham, King City (Tokyopop); Multiple Warheads (Oni)
* Eric Powell, The Goon (Dark Horse)
* James Stokoe, Wonton Soup (Oni)
Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
* Steve Epting/Butch Guice/Mike Perkins, Captain America (Marvel)
* Pia Guerra/Jose Marzan, Jr., Y: The Last Man (Vertical/DC)
* Jae Lee, Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (Marvel)
* Takeshi Obata, Death Note, Hikaru No Go (Viz)
* Ethan Van Sciver, Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps (DC)
Best Painter or Multimedia Artist (interior art)
* Ann-Marie Fleming, The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam (Riverhead Books/Penguin Group)
* Eric Powell, The Goon: Chinatown (Dark Horse)
* Bryan Talbot, Alice in Sunderland (Dark Horse)
* Ben Templesmith, Fell (Image); 30 Days of Night: Red Snow; Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse (IDW)
[The best thing that happened to my ancestral town since Kenwyne Jones.]
Best Cover Artist
* John Cassaday, Astonishing X-Men (Marvel); Lone Ranger (Dynamite)
* James Jean, Process Recess 2 (AdHouse)
* J. G. Jones, 52 (DC)
* Jae Lee, Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (Marvel)
* Jim Lee, All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder (DC); World of Warcraft (WildStorm/DC)
[Dude racks up more Eisner than a lazy New Yorker editor.]
Best Coloring
* Jimmy Gownley, Amelia Rules! (Renaissance)
* Steve Hamaker, Bone, vols. 5 and 6 (Scholastic); Shazam: Monster Society of Evil (DC)
* Richard Isanove, Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (Marvel)
* Ronda Pattison, Atomic Robo (Red 5 Comics)
* Dave Stewart, BPRD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cut, Hellboy, Lobster Johnson, The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse); The Spirit (DC)
* Alex Wald, Shaolin Cowboy (Burlyman)
Best Lettering
* Jared K. Fletcher, Catwoman, The Spirit (DC); Sentences: Life of MF Grimm (Vertigo/DC)
* Jimmy Gownley, Amelia Rules! (Renaissance)
* Todd Klein, Justice, Simon Dark (DC); Fables, Jack of Fables, Crossing Midnight (Vertigo/DC); League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier (WildStorm/DC); Nexus (Rude Dude)
* Lewis Trondheim, At Loose Ends, Mome 7 & 8 (Fantagraphics)
* Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #18 (Acme Novelty)
Special Recognition
* Chuck BB, Black Metal (artist, Oni)
* Matt Silady, The Homeless Channel (writer/artist, AiT/PlanetLar)
* Jamie Tanner, The Aviary (writer/artist, AdHouse)
* James Vining, First in Space (writer/artist, Oni)
[No "Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton", but a solid "Marduk T-Shirt Men's Room Incident".]
Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
* Comic Art #9, edited by Todd Hignite (Buenaventura Press)
* Comic Foundry, edited by Tim Leong (Comic Foundry)
* The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, Michael Dean, and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
* The Comics Reporter, produced by Tom Spurgeon and Jordan Raphael
* Newsarama, produced by Matt Brady and Michael Doran
[Thank god Comics Comics was snubbed. I mean, a four-way tie?]
Best Comics-Related Book
* The Art of P. Craig Russell, edited by Joe Pruett (Desperado)
* The Artist Within, by Greg Preston (Dark Horse)
* Manga: The Complete Guide, by Jason Thompson (Del Rey Manga)
* Meanwhile... A Biography of Milton Caniff, by R. C. Harvey (Fantagraphics)
* Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean, by Douglas Wolk (Da Capo Press)
* Understanding Manga and Anime, by Robin Brenner (Libraries Unlimited/Greenwood Publishing)
[That theoretical opening half is slightly underwhelming for various reasons, but the heartening one is that - as the remainder of essays demonstrates - Wolk is amongst the best critics writing about comics.]
Best Publication Design
* (The Complete) Dream of the Rarebit Fiend, designed by Ulrich Merkl (Ulrich Merkl)
* Complete Terry and the Pirates, designed by Dean Mullaney (IDW)
* Heroes, vol. 1, designed by John Roshell/Comicraft (WildStorm/DC)
* Little Sammy Sneeze, designed by Philippe Ghielmetti (Sunday Press)
* Process Recess 2, designed by James Jean and Chris Pitzer (AdHouse)
* Sundays with Walt and Skeezix, designed by Chris Ware (Sunday Press)
Hall of Fame
Judges' Choices
* R. F. Outcault
* Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
Nominees (4 will be selected by voters):
* Matt Baker
* John Broome
* Reed Crandall
* Rudolph Dirks
* Arnold Drake
* George Evans
* Creig Flessel
* Graham Ingels
* Mort Meskin
* Tarpe Mills
* Gilbert Shelton
* George Tuska
* Mort Weisinger
* Len Wein
* Barry Windsor-Smith
[The time has come for a Baker revival. 100% SERIOUS.]
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