Eisner Award nominations announced!

The prestigious Eisner Award nominations have been announced for 2014 and Marvel finds its name strewn all about the list. As this is a Marvel based blog, I'm only going to really talk about the Marvel nominations, though I may use very loose pretenses to talk about other people too (fair warning). The full list of the nominations can be seen here.

Marvel saw nominations in a number of categories particularly for Fraction and Aja's HAWKEYE. I'm going to list off the categories and say who is competing in them with a particularly highlight on the Marvel nominee and likely some running commentary on my thoughts on the nomination.

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
-DEMETER, by Becky Cloonan (self-published) (Cloonan could be seen at Marvel last year as one of the guest artists on the two-part finale of YOUNG AVENGERS. Check her work out, it's continually strong stuff)
-HAWKEYE 11: "Pizza Is My Business," by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Marvel) (the infamous dog issue is highlighted here because it's GREAT)
-LOVE AND ROCKETS: NEW STORIES 6, by Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez (Fantagraphics)
-VIEWOTRON 2, by Sam Sharpe (self-published)
-WATSON AND HOLMES 6, by Brandon Easton, and N. Steven Harris (New Paradigm Studios)

Very excited to see HAWKEYE 11 on the list of nominees. HAWKEYE is a great book with a number of incredible single issues and it seems hard to pick just one but it's hard to go against this choice. Also cool to see Marvel on here at all alongside a number of indie titles; Marvel typically doesn't write for single issues so the idea that one issue from a meaningful run would be chosen is pretty neat.

Best Continuing Series
-EAST OF WEST, by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta (Image) (Hickman, obviously, is a big part of Marvel over the last several years and EAST OF WEST is one of those books I keep telling myself I'll get around to reading at some point. His other non-Marvel work is often just as heady, if not more so, than his Marvel titles, like the incredibly interesting THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS)
-HAWKEYE, by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Marvel) (I believe this is the second nomination for HAWKEYE as best continuing series in two years but I'm certainly not about to do any research)
-NOWHERE MEN, by Eric Stephenson and Nate Bellegarde (Image)
-SAGA (by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples) (I believe SAGA won this category last year but, again, saying so definitively would require more research than I'm willing to do right now. Marvel fans will know Vaughan from legendary runs on books like ULTIMATE X-MEN and, most notably, RUNAWAYS)
-SEX CRIMINALS, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky (Image) (Fraction makes a second appearance on the list here for the Mature Readers Only title SEX CRIMINALS, probably one of the most fun books out there right now)

I'm disappointed in myself for only really reading two of the series on this list. SAGA is another one I keep telling myself I'll read and I really should read NOWHERE MEN as it's one of the big staples of Image comics. Nice again to see a superhero series cracking through the incredible lineup of entire genre-encompassing work that Image is putting out. It's a testament to how good and how inventive HAWKEYE is that it's considered here.

Best Writer
-Kelly Sue DeConnick, PRETTY DEADLY (Image); CAPTAIN MARVEL (Marvel) (Kelly Sue DeConnick gets the nomination everyone agrees she deserves for her incredible series with Emma Rios, also nominated, PRETTY DEADLY as well as the fantastic CAPTAIN MARVEL)
-Matt Fraction, SEX CRIMINALS (Image); HAWKEYE, FANTASTIC FOUR, FF (Marvel) (Fraction is at the absolute top of his game just a couple years removed from his own fear that he was on his way out of comics. Hard to vote against this guy. Also a little surprised that his work with Howard Chaykin on SATELLITE SAM isn't recognized here)
-Jonathan Hickman, EAST OF WEST, THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS (Image); AVENGERS, INFINITY (Marvel) (Similarly surprised that NEW AVENGERS isn't mentioned here. Hickman too is seeing a lot of payoff for his story-driven epics that all deserve a lot of credit)
-Scott Snyder, BATMAN (DC); AMERICAN VAMPIRE, THE WAKE (DC/Vertigo) (I kind of fell off of BATMAN as it started to feel like it was requiring too much universe reading to truly keep up but there's no doubt that Snyder can write a great story. I've been interested in AMERICAN VAMPIRE and THE WAKE but, if this post proves nothing else, it should prove that I have a whole bunch of comics I'd like to read. Did I tell you guys I'm all caught up on INVINCIBLE? Pretty cool, huh?)
-Eric Stepenson, NOWHERE MEN (Image)
-Brian K. Vaughan, SAGA (Image)

Geez, hard to pick a winner out of this bunch. Like I said above, Fraction's on the absolute top of his game and his great work on HAWKEYE rocketed him to great books like SEX CRIMINALS and SATELLITE SAM. Hard to go against that, though he has worthy adversaries here including Hickman and DeConnick. I would be a little sad to see a non-Marvel writer win this but it's hard to argue that the nomination committee (or whoever it is that does this) pretty much nailed this category.

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (Interior art)
-Andrew C. Robinson, THE FIFTH BEATLE (Dark Horse)
-Sonia Sanchez, HERE I AM (Capstone)
-Fiona Staples, SAGA (Image)
-Ive Svorcina, THOR (Marvel) (Svorcina gets a well-deserved look here for his run of art in the THOR books, though I guess I didn't realize Svorcina was the one responsible for the painting-like feel of Ribic's work. This is why colorists deserve more attention)
-Marguerite Van Cook, 7 MILES A SECOND (Fantagraphics)
-Judith Vanistendael, WHEN DAVID LOST HIS VOICE (SelfMadeHero)

Best Cover Artist
-David Aja, HAWKEYE (Marvel)
-Mike Del Mundo, X-MEN LEGACY (Marvel)
-Sean Murphy/Jordie Bellaire, THE WAKE (DC/Vertigo) (Jordie Bellaire, colorist extraordinaire, makes her first but not last appearance on the nomination list)
-Emma Rios, PRETTY DEADLY (Image) (She's an incredible artist; everyone should check out PRETTY DEADLY. DeConnick herself said on a recent Nerdist Writer's Panel that she feels she took maybe a little too long to start clearing up some confusions in the plot but that Emma Rios' art kept people onboard long enough to keep them interested and to get them to some of the reveals - I'd say DeConnick isn't wrong, it's very easy just to look at the book)
-Chris Samnee, DAREDEVIL (Marvel)
-Fiona Staples, SAGA (Image)

Really packed house with Marvel artists here, so it's hard to make a pick, not to mention Rios on PRETTY DEADLY. Okay, it's not too hard. I've adored all of Mike Del Mundo's covers on my much beloved X-MEN LEGACY so obviously that's what I'm picking. Very excited that he's getting attention for said covers. A little sad not to see Jamie McKelvie on here for the stunning YOUNG AVENGERS covers but I guess you can't fit everyone.

Best Coloring
-Jordie Bellaire, THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS, NOWHERE MEN, PRETTY DEADLY, ZERO (Image); THE MASSIVE (Dark Horse); TOM STRONG (DC); X-FILES SEASON 10 (IDW); CAPTAIN MARVEL, JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY (Marvel); NUMBERCRUNCHER (Titan); QUANTUM AND WOODY (Valiant) (Geez, Bellaire is just ALL OVER THE PLACE on a slew of amazing books. Again, colorists deserve tons of respect and it's nice to see Bellaire getting a good deal of it here. She, along with fellow nominee Matt Hollingsworth, does a great job keeping the tone and feel of a book the same even as the artist switches from issue to issue while still letting the art shine through in its own unique way)
-Steve Hamaker, MYLO XYLOTO (Bongo); STRANGERS IN PARADISE 20TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 1 (Abstract Studio); RASL (Cartoon Books)
-Matt Hollingsworth, HAWKEYE, DAREDEVIL: END OF DAYS (Marvel); THE WAKE (DC/VERTIGO)
-Frank Martin, EAST OF WEST (Image) (Martin is also a great Marvel colorist, though his work isn't referenced here)
-Dave Stewart, ABE SAPIEN, BALTIMORE: THE INFERNAL TRAIN, BPRD: HELL ON EARTH, CONAN THE BARBARIAN, HELLBOY: HELL ON EARTH, THE MASSIVE, THE SHAOLIN COWBOY, SLEDGEHAMMER 44 (Dark Horse)



Lot of really good nominees on this list and just another reminder that I have to read more comics. Also nominated for various categories include names people familiar with Marvel will recognize like Francisco Francavilla (Best Limited Series for THE BLACK BEETLE: NO WAY OUT), Christopher Sebela (nominated for Best New Series for HIGH CRIMES), Greg Rucka (also nominated for Best New Series for the fantastic LAZARUS), Ben Acker and Ben Blacker (Best Anthology for the amazing and much recommended THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR graphic novel from Archaia), and, of course, Jack Kirby (Best Archival Collection/Project - Comic Books for IN THE DAYS OF THE MOB at DC - good luck voting against Jack Kirby).

Eisner Awards

I was out of state last week (as I said pretty often) which meant that I had to push reviews through Mondays, which is usually my free day. As a result, I didn't have a chance to really talk about Eisner Award nominees in Marvel. I don't have a ton to add, but let's go over it as it pertains to Marvel, which is what pertains to this blog.

Best Continuing Series
Hawkeye, by Matt Fraction and David Aja

Since this blog is called "Marvels" and its URL is readmarvel, I can only really offer my input on Eisner nominees from Marvel. That leaves us pretty limited in terms of what I can talk about here, as there are only a handful of Marvel titles sprinkled through the awards. Hawkeye cleaned up nominations, as far as cleaning up goes with the big two right now (DC had nothing nominated). Hawkeye has been an absolutely phenomenal series and has changed the way that superhero comics can act. I read a blurb in the Nerdist newsletter saying that Hawkeye is one of the heroes who should get a movie in Marvel's Phase III. They cited Fraction and Aja's series as how to make the movie. I have a little trouble seeing that, at least in the tone that the Marvel movies are coming out now. It reads more like an indie movie than anything else. It would be hard to make it a major blockbuster. That doesn't matter for this though, I just found it interesting and it's an example of how different this series is as a whole.
(I feel it's important to note that both Ed Brubaker's Fatale series and Jonathan Hickman's The Manhattan Projects were nominated for this category. Though Brubaker doesn't have a spot in Marvel any more, it's hard for me to separate him out, and obviously Hickman is doing great stuff with Marvel right now)

Best New Series
Hawkeye, by Matt Fraction and David Aja

Not much more to add here. Great series. I wouldn't be surprised to see more Marvel titles pop up on this list next year with the strength of their books right now. Indies rule the Eisners though, so we'll have to see. I'm admittedly disappointed by how little mention of books like Captain Marvel there is right now. This was a weird year for Marvel, with Marvel NOW! starting in the middle/end of the year, so a transition year finds fewer nominees, I would say. However, Captain Marvel and Hawkeye have both been around about the same amount of time. Both are great (Fraction and Kelly Sue DeConnick are totally Marvel's power couple right now, I think they could do anything they wanted and the fans would love it).
(Brubaker's Fatale was also nominated for this category, as was Ryan North's Adventure Time series. I'm not a big Adventure Time fan as far as the cartoon goes. I haven't read the comic but I am all for Ryan North being nominated for stuff, largely because of his fantastic Dinosaur Comics webcomic. He's one of my favorite people)

Best Publication for Kids (age 8-12)
Road to Oz, by L. Frank Baum, adapted by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young

I pretty much only review main Marvel superhero stuff on this blog because that's where my heart's at. As a result, I've left out a few books like Road to Oz and Powers and things like that. I've only read a couple issues of Road to Oz but it seems really compelling. An adaptation of The Wizard of Oz series, obviously, it reads well and, most importantly, features Skottie Young's incredible art. One of the things that's saddest about only reviewing mainstream Marvel is that Skottie Young so infrequently comes up. His baby variants throughout Marvel NOW! have been phenomenal and he's just an incredibly talented guy.









Best Adaptation from Another Medium
Road to Oz, by L. Frank Baum, adapted by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young

Road to Oz appears again on the nominee list and again is deserving. Another thing I like about it, especially as it appears in best publication for kids, is that it doesn't ever seem to talk down to its audience. The best children's material seems to be the type that respects its audience enough to give them a chance to get behind it. I always loved Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events books for exactly that reason. It defines words for kids (sometimes a little too specifically for the situation) but it never comes across as talking down to children. From what I've read of this series, it's much the same way.
(A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle, adapted by Hope Larson is also on this list. I always liked that book when I was younger and I like Hope Larson and her husband Bryan Lee O'Malley a lot. Just a note there)





Best Writer
Matt Fraction, Hawkeye; Casanova: Avaritia

Fraction again comes up and he totally deserves to be on this list. Hawkeye is a great book and, as I've said before in reviews, is a character who almost never sustains a book. Everybody likes Hawkeye as a character (he graces many "favorite Avengers" lists) but nobody wants to read about what he's doing on his days off. Almost as if that was a challenge, Fraction has written a book that touts itself as what Clint is doing on his days off. Casanova's another fun title (published under Marvel's creator-owned wing Icon) that is...well, it's hard to define. I'm not willing to try. It's worth checking in on, but don't necessarily be surprised if it's not to your liking. I think, as with most creator-owned works, it's more a niche comic than a superhero book is. Still, Fraction is clearly a great writer and he understands the medium and what he can do with it like few others.
(Also on this list are Brubaker and Hickman, which continues to be worth noting for the purposes of this blog)

Best Penciller/Inker
David Aja, Hawkeye

I've already talked at length about how great Hawkeye is, but I guess I'll say some more. Aja's art on this book make it what it is. There's no other way around it. The art is gorgeous but deceptively simplistic. It matches the tone of the book perfectly in that respect. It's hard not to look at this book and instantly fall in love with it. I think that Aja has revolutionized the way Clint Barton will be portrayed for years to come. He's also already clearly had an effect on the look of Kate Bishop, as she carries something more similar to her Hawkeye look into McKelvie's portrayal in Young Avengers. Their art styles are completely different but she looks exactly right in both. It's incredible to watch.








Chris Samnee, Daredevil

Samnee, who switched from Captain America and Bucky over to Daredevil, seemed a perfect fit. I remember when they were teasing a new artist for Daredevil (hard to try to figure out, as Paolo Rivera and company had done such a great job when Waid initially took the book over) and then revealed it would be Samnee. I had been reading Cap and Bucky and loving the art and understood what a good fit it could be. Samnee has been everything fans could have asked for Daredevil. Good choices here.











Best Cover Artist
David Aja, Hawkeye

Not a lot more to say (not that I won't still say it). The Hawkeye covers are phenomenal. Again, deceptively simplistic and they lay out a perfect feel for the book before you even dive in. Aja has such a feel for Fraction's writing and what this book should be and he seemed to have it from page one (cover one, even). It makes such a difference to have that understanding of what the book will be. Fantastic.













So that's all of the nominees directly linked to Marvel this year. It would seem, also, that that's all the blabbing I can do about Hawkeye right now, but I'm sure I'll find an excuse to talk about the series more (especially as Hawkeye 10 comes out this week). GOOD TALK, GUYS.