2012 Harvey Awards Name "Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand" Best Graphic Novel

by Leroy Douresseaux

The Harvey Awards are awards given for achievement in comic books. The Harvey Award is named for the late comics writer-artist, editor, and publisher, Harvey Kurtzman (1924-1993). Gary Groth, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, founded the Harvey Awards as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards, which were discontinued after 1987, the other being successor being the Eisner Awards.

The Harvey Awards are nominated by an open vote among comic-book professionals. The winners are selected from the top five nominees in each category by a final round of voting.

Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand was named “Best Original Graphic Album” and “Best Single Issue or Story” at the 25th Annual Harvey Awards.

The 25th Annual Harvey Awards were held Saturday, September 8, 2012 at the 2012 Baltimore Comic-Con. Actor and comedian, Phil LaMarr was the host.

2012 Harvey Award winners:

BEST ORIGINAL GRAPHIC ALBUM - “JIM HENSON’S TALE OF SAND”, published by Archaia Entertainment

BEST CONTINUING OR LIMITED SERIES - “DAREDEVIL” published by Marvel Comics

BEST SINGLE ISSUE OR STORY - “JIM HENSON’S TALE OF SAND” published by Archaia Entertainment

BEST NEW SERIES - “DAREDEVIL” published by Marvel Comics

BEST WRITER - Mark Waid for “DAREDEVIL” published by Marvel Comics

BEST ARTIST - J. H. Williams for “BATWOMAN” published by DC Comics

BEST CARTOONIST - Kate Beaton for “HARK! A VAGRANT”, harkavagrant.com; printed edition published by Drawn and Quarterly

BEST LETTERER - Chris Eliopoulos for “FEAR ITSELF” published by Marvel Comics

BEST COLORIST - Dave Stewart for “HELLBOY: THE FURY” published by Dark Horse Comics

BEST SYNDICATED STRIP - “CUL DE SAC”, by Richard Thompson, syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate

BEST ONLINE COMICS WORK - “HARK! A VAGRANT”, by Kate Beaton, harkavagrant.com; print edition published by Drawn and Quarterly

BEST AMERICAN EDITION OF FOREIGN MATERIAL - “THE MANARA LIBRARY, VOLUME 1: INDIAN SUMMER AND OTHER STORIES” published by Dark Horse Comics

BEST INKER - Joe Rivera for “DAREDEVIL” published by Marvel Comics

MOST PROMISING NEW TALENT - Sara Pichelli, for “ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN”, published by Marvel Comics

SPECIAL AWARD FOR HUMOR IN COMICS - Kate Beaton for “HARK! A VAGRANT” harkavagrant.com; printed edition published by Drawn and Quarterly

BEST ORIGINAL GRAPHIC PUBLICATION FOR YOUNGER READERS - “ANYA’S GHOST” published by First Second

BEST ANTHOLOGY - “DARK HORSE PRESENTS” published by Dark Horse Comics

BEST DOMESTIC REPRINT PROJECT - “WALT SIMONSON’S THE MIGHTY THOR, ARTIST’S EDITION” published by IDW

BEST COVER ARTIST - J. H. WILLIAMS for “BATWOMAN” published by DC Comics

SPECIAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRESENTATION - “WALT SIMONSON’S THE MIGHTY THOR, ARTIST’S EDITION” published by IDW

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL OR JOURNALISTIC PRESENTATION – “GENIUS ISOLATED: THE LIFE AND ART OF ALEX TOTH” published by IDW

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED – “THE DEATH RAY” published by Drawn and Quarterly

Albert Avilla Reviews: Avengers Vs. X-Men Round 11

Avengers Vs. X-Men Round 11 (Avengers vs. X-Men #11)
Marvel Comics

Reviewed by Albert Avilla

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis with Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman, Matt Fraction
Pencils: Olivier Coipel
Inks: Mark Morales
Colors: Laura DePuy
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Covers: Jim Cheung, Sara Pichelli, Justin Ponsor

It's not issue 11. It's round 11, because a real Marvel throw-down is about to start. If you're going to have about a million characters in a story, then you better deliver the action. This was accomplished big time. Xavier was cool hands in his pockets while holy hell was being unleashed around him. This was an intervention on the cosmic level, and Cyclops wasn't having any of it. The moral compass of the mutant race has become a power mad tyrant willing to do whatever it takes to remake the world in his own image. He's saving the mutant race if he has to kill every one of them to do it. Does he remember that Jean sacrificed herself to stop the Phoenix Force? He basks in the power that he has fought to prevent. He's doing a great job of getting mutants and humans to work together. Olay, I'm going off on a tangent. This has been the best round in the match so far.

Just the art in this round was worth the $3.99. Majestic is the word that comes to mind. The landscapes add to the immensity of the story. The pages are not large enough to contain the action; you can feel the power exploding from the pages. My copy is nowhere near mint, because I've thumbed through it so many times enjoying the art.

I rate this round Recommend It to a Friend.

I Reads You Review: SUMMER OF SPIDER-MAN SAMPLER #1

SUMMER OF SPIDER-MAN SAMPLER #1
MARVEL COMICS

WRITERS: Dan Slott, Brian Michael Bendis, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Jeph Loeb
ART: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Sara Pichelli, Terry Dodson, Simone Bianchi
ADDITIONAL ART: Rachel Dodson, Simone Peruzzi
28pp, Color, Free

Of course you know that Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures is just a little more than a week away (as of this writing) from releasing their latest Spider-Man movie, The Amazing Spider-Man, in movie theatres across the globe. As it did around the release of the earlier Spider-Man movies, Marvel Comics is also releasing multiple Spider-Man comic books and book collections.

Enter the Summer of Spider-Man Sampler #1. This is a free comic book that is available at comic book shops. It offers 5-page samples from upcoming Spider-Man comic books. We get five pages of The Amazing Spider-Man #688 (by Dan Slott and Giuseppe Camuncoli), in which Spider-Man takes on The Lizard (also the villain in the upcoming movie).

There are five pages from Spider-Men #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli. This is the five-issue miniseries that unites Peter Parker-Spider-Man with Ultimate Spider-Man-Miles Morales. The sample ends before Miles’ appearance in the story, but the first issue is already available at comic book shops.

Marvel’s recently launched Spider-Man team-up book makes an appearance with pages from Avenging Spider-Man #9 (by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Terry Dodson). Captain Marvel makes her debut in her new costume, which is a redesign of the one worn by Marvelman, the British comic book superhero whose rights Marvel acquired recently.

Summer of Spider-Man Sampler #1 is also a flip book. Turn to the back cover and flip this comic book, and you have a five-page preview of Wolverine #310 from writer Jeph Loeb and artist Simone Bianchi. This is the beginning of a new story arc that sees the return of Sabertooth, although the stars of the sample are Wolverine and Cloak (of Cloak and Dagger). I am not a fan of Loeb’s, but I have to admit that this is my favorite sample.

If the point of Summer of Spider-Man Sampler #1 is to whet comic book reading appetites, then, it is successful. I am hankering to purchase Wolverine #310 and Spider-Men #1. The Summer of Spider-Man Sampler #1 free. If you can still find it, get it if you don’t already have it.

A-

I Reads You Review: ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #4

"With great power..."

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #4
MARVEL COMICS

WRITER: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTIST: Sara Pichelli
COLORS: Justin Ponsor
LETTERS: VC’s Cory Petit
COVER: Kaare Andrews
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.
Rated T+

As it was revealed previously, the new Ultimate Spider-Man series takes place before the “Death of Spider-Man” storyline that took place in Marvel Comics’ Ultimate line a few months ago. With Ultimate Spider-Man #4 (AKA Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #4), the new series finally catches up with events as Miles Morales witnesses Peter Parker’s final moments.

Like Parker, Miles was bitten (just recently) by a spider and the result is arachnid-like powers. After witnessing the death of hero, Miles can no longer ignore his strange new powers. With the help of his best friend, Ganke, Miles is ready to suit up, even if everyone else isn’t ready for the new (Spider) kid in town.

This fourth issue of the new Ultimate Spider-Man series is a nice change of pace as writer Brian Michael Bendis has Miles deal with things new to him – the responsibility that having powers brings, the how-to of being a superhero, and the difficulty of replacing a legend. So far, Bendis is gradually revealing Miles to us, but he is also delving into the African-American teen, as if Miles were also new to him.

The art by Sara Pichelli features a clean, almost classical line work. It’s the wonky coloring that sometimes distorts that cleanness. Colorist Justin Ponsor over does it on the gradation when he doesn’t have to. There are times when Ponsor wants to suggest light reflected off Miles’ face, and it instead resembles an albino-like skin condition.

A

[This comic book includes a preview of Avengers: X-Sanction #1 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness.]

I Reads You Review: ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #3

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #3
MARVEL COMICS

WRITER: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTIST: Sara Pichelli
COLORS: Justin Ponsor
LETTERS: VC’s Cory Petit
COVER: Kaare Andrews
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.
Rated T+

In Ultimate Spider-Man #3 (AKA Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #3), Miles Morales has decided to ignore the powers he got after the strange spider bit him, but his best friend Ganke won’t let him. Even after a heroic act, Miles chooses normal because he is happy to let Spider-Man (who is still alive at this point) be Spider-Man. As Miles settles into his new school, Brooklyn Visions Academy, fate deals him a blow.

At this point in the new Ultimate Spider-Man series, writer Brian Michael Bendis is telling a story driven by characters not living or doing the superhero thing. This is a recognizable story: a teen boy wants to go to school and be normal. Circumstances exist, however, which means that regardless of how hard he tries or works, normalcy simply is not. This issue reminds me of the early issues of The Amazing Spider-Man which featured scenes of Peter Parker finding his way in the world in which his powers placed him, but wanting to be just one of the guys.

The clean drawing style of artist Sara Pichelli deftly visualizes Bendis’ character drama-style story in a way that makes it as exciting as a depiction of super powers. Perhaps, that is why the scenes in which Miles uses his powers seem so fresh, new, and exciting. It’s as if both Miles and the readers were seeing superhero supernatural for the first time.

A

I Reads You Review: ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #2

"Part Two"

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #2
MARVEL COMICS

WRITER: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTIST: Sara Pichelli
COLORS: Justin Ponsor
LETTERS: VC’s Cory Petit
COVER: Kaare Andrews
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.
Rated T+

The result of the “Death of Spider-Man” Ultimate Comics storyline was that Peter Parker was killed. Miles Morales, a teenager of African-American and Latino heritage, is the new Spider-Man (or Ultimate Spider-Man II).

As Ultimate Spider-Man #2 (AKA Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #2) begins, Miles is testing his new powers, but he needs answers. What is happening to him? Can his pal Ganke help him? Meanwhile, Miles’ father reveals his and his brother’s (Miles’ uncle) troubled past.

Perhaps, I over-praised writer Brian Michael Bendis in my review of the first issue of Ultimate Spider-Man #1, and did so at the expense of artist Sara Pichelli. Bendis is good in this series, but so is Pichelli. First of all, she draws some of the most convincing looking Black people I’ve ever seen in American comic books. Secondly, she is perfect for Bendis’ character-heavy stories with their sometimes exceeding sense verisimilitude and realism.

Pichelli is also a master of drawing facial expressions and subtle gestures. The way she can shift, from panel to panel, the emotion or tone via a look, expression, or gesture from a character is uncanny. During Miles’ conversation with his father, the reader will understand exactly when Miles is shocked, confused, hurt, or when he wants to exclaim, “Say what?!” to his father.

Sara Pichelli is as important as Bendis in making Ultimate Spider-Man one of the top five superhero comic books currently being published (in my estimation, of course).

A

Ultimate Spider-Man #1 includes a backup feature that reprints pages from “A Moment of Silence” and “Heroes,” two of Marvel Comics’ 9/11 publications. These are pin-ups from Sam Keith, Richard Corben, Adam Kubert with Richard Isanove, Michael Avon Oeming, and Tom Raney and Scott Hanna with Hi-Fi

I Reads You Review: ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #1

"Everybody's talking 'bout the new kid in town"

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #1
MARVEL COMICS

WRITER: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTIST: Sara Pichelli
COLORS: Justin Ponsor
LETTERS: VC’s Cory Petit
COVER: Kaare Andrews (Variant covers by Sara Pichelli and Justin Ponsor)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.

I don’t read many titles from Marvel Comics, and it has been that way for the past seven years, at least. During the last decade, I’ve occasionally read titles from Marvel’s Ultimate line and, for the most part, enjoyed them. However, I had ignored the “Death of Spider-Man” Ultimate storyline which ran through most of this year. Peter Parker was killed, and Miles Morales, a teenager of African-American and Latino descent, is the new Spider-Man (or Ultimate Spider-Man II).

Ultimate Spider-Man #1 (AKA Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #1) begins 11 months prior to the main story and is set at an Osborn Industries laboratory on Long Island. Norman Osborn is demanding that his latest hire, Doctor Markus, reverse calculate the specifications of a genetically altered spider. What spider? That would be the spider that bit Peter Parker and gave him his special powers; the spider’s genetic alterations were the result of Osborn Industries.

Eleven months later, Miles Morales and his parents are attending a lottery that will decide which Brooklyn, New York students get to attend the charter school, Brooklyn Visions Academy. Miles’ life, however, is about to take an even bigger turn because young Mr. Morales has a date with a special spider.

A few years ago, I started reading back issues of Static, one of the titles published by the comics publishing wing of Milestone Media, a company dedicated to bringing diversity in terms of race and ethnicity to comic book superheroes. Reading those early issues of Static, I was struck by how much they reminded me of the early issues of The Amazing Spider-Man by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

Now, I’m struck by how much this Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man reads like an early issue of Static. Spider-Man writer Brian Michael Bendis has adapted, updated, and reworked the stories of many of the Spider-Man comic book writers that came before him, notably Lee and Ditko. Now, it seems as if he has taken the fresh style and urban tone of Static writers, the late Dwayne McDuffie and Robert L. Washington, III, and fashioned that for Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man. I kid you not; this Spider-Man comic book is an early issue of Static.

I don’t have a problem with that because (1) this is a good opening issue and (2) the story looks, reads, and feels right for a contemporary story of superhero fantasy in which the star is a person of color. This is an auspicious beginning, and I hope Miles Morales welcomes in new readers the way Peter Parker did 50 years ago.

A

Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #1 includes a backup feature that reprints pages from “A Moment of Silence” and “Heroes,” two of Marvel Comics’ 9/11 publications: Bill Jemas (story), Mark Bagley (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Hi-Fi (colors), Sharpefont’s PT (letters); and Joe Quesada and Alex Ross (cover illustration)

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux