"Love and Rockets" Creators Finally Among Eisner Award Winners; Image and IDW Also Win Big

[Yeah, I'm late.  Forgot to post this after losing track of time... - Editor/Leroy]

Saga, IDW Publishing Are Top Winners at 2014 Eisner Awards

Shorter Ceremony a Big Hit with Attendees

The big winners at the 2014 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, held Friday, July 25, 2014 at the Bayfront San Diego Hilton and sponsored by SHOWTIME, were Image Comics’ Saga—which received the awards for Best Continuing Series, Best Painter (Fiona Staples), and Best Writer (Brian K. Vaughan)—and publisher IDW, which took home six awards, including three for editor/designer Dean Mullaney (Genius, Illustrated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth, Tarzan: The Complete Russ Manning Newspaper Strips) and two for Darwyn Cooke’s Richard Stark’s Parker: Slayground.

Other projects receiving multiple awards were DC/Vertigo’s The Wake (Best Limited Series, Best Penciler/Inker for Sean Murphy), Marvel’s Hawkeye (Best Single Issue, Best Cover Artist for David Aja), and Fantagraphics’ Love and Rockets New Stories #6, which brought home first-time wins for brothers Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez. Matt Fraction was on the stage multiple to times to accept for Hawkeye as well as for Sex Criminals (with Chip Zdarsky) for Best New Series.

Besides IDW, other publishers with multiple wins included Dark Horse and Image with four, Fantagraphics with three, and both DC and Marvel with two. Many of these publishers also shared in the win for Jordie Bellaire as Best Colorist.

The coveted Best Graphic Album—New Award went to Rutu Modan’s The Property, published by Drawn & Quarterly, while Best Reality-Based Work was awarded to the five-years-in the-making The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story by Vivek J. Tiwary, Andrew C. Robinson, and Kyle Baker (published by Dark Horse).

The audience at the awards was entertained by presenters who included actor/comedian Orlando Jones (Sleepy Hollow, MADtv), actress Kelly Hu ((Arrow, Warehouse 13), actor/screenwriter/comedian Thomas Lennon (Reno 911, Balls of Fury), nominee Reginald Hudlin (writer, Black Panther; producer, Django Unchained), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman, Belgian graphic novelists Benoît Peeters and François Schuiten (Obscure Cities series), writer nominees Matt Fraction (Hawkeye, Sex Criminals) and Kelly Sue DeConnick (Pretty Deadly, Captain Marvel), Hall of Fame cartoonist Sergio Aragonés (Groo, MAD), writer/artist nominee Terry Moore (Rachel Rising, Strangers in Paradise), writer/artist Bill Morrison (Bongo Comics), voice actors Phil LaMarr (Samurai Jack, Justice League Unlimited, MADtv) and Vanessa Marshall (Young Justice, Spectacular Spider-Man), and British talk show host/comics writer Jonathan Ross, who was assisted onstage by Comic-Con special guest Batton Lash (cartoonist of Supernatural Law).

Sergio Aragonés presented the Hall of Fame Awards. The seven inductees were black comics pioneer Orrin C. Evans (All-Negro Comics), cartoonist Irwin Hasen (Wild Cat, Green Lantern, Dondi), Golden Age artist Sheldon Moldoff (Batman), manga giant Hayao Miyazaki (Nausicäa), writer Alan Moore (Watchmen, V for Vendetta, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), DC comics writer/editor Dennis O’Neil (Batman, Green Lantern/Green Arrow), and legendary comics artist Bernie Wrightson (Swamp Thing, Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein).

Among the other awards given out over the evening were the Comic-Con’s Clampett and Manning awards. The Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award, presented by Bob’s daughter Ruth, went to retailer Joe Field, for founding Free Comic Book Day. The Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award went to Aaron Conley (artist of Sabretooth Swordsman, published by Dark Horse) and was presented by past Russ Manning Award winner Jeff Smith.

The tenth annual Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing was presented by Mark Evanier and Bill Finger’s granddaughter, Athena, to three recipients: Jack Mendelsohn (Panic, Jacky’s Diary); Robert Kanigher (Sgt. Rock, Enemy Ace, Metal Men), accepted by Paul Levitz; and Bill Mantlo (Rocket Raccoon, Micronauts, Rom), accepted by Marv Wolfman. Maggie Thompson (editor of Comics Buyers Guide) introduced the special In Memoriam video salute.

The Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award, given to a store that has done an outstanding job of supporting the comics art medium both in the community and within the industry at large, went to Legends Comics & Coffee (Omaha, Nebraska), and All Star Comics (Melbourne, Australia).

The title sponsor for this year’s Eisner Awards was SHOWTIME. The principal sponsors were Gentle Giant and Lebonfon Printing. Supporting sponsors were Alternate Reality Comics of Las Vegas, Atlantis Fantasyworld of Santa Cruz, CA, Diamond Comic Distributors, Flying Colors Comics and Other Cool Stuff of Concord, CA, Strange Adventures of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Warp 1 of  Edmonton, Alberta, and Mel Thompson and Associates.

The Eisner Awards are part of, and underwritten by, Comic-Con International: San Diego, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contributions of comics to art and culture.

I Reads You Review: STORM #1 (2014)

STORM #1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITER: Greg Pak
ART: Victor Ibañez
COLORS: Ruth Redmond
LETTERS: VC’s Cory Petit
COVER: Victor Ibañez
VARIANT COVERS:  Simone Bianchi; Skottie Young
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2014)

Rated T+

My favorite member of the X-Men, Storm, has an eponymous new comic book series, launched as part of the All-New Marvel NOW! initiative.  Storm is written by Greg Pak, drawn by Victor Ibañez, colored by Ruth Redmond, and lettered by Cory Petit.  Of course, you know that Storm a/k/a Ororo Munroe is a Marvel Comics super-heroine and longtime member of the X-Men.  She was created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum and first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (cover dated: May 1975).

Storm #1 opens in the country of Santo Marco, where Storm is trying to use her weather-based powers to stop a tsunami, without making the situation worse.  But Suncorp and a local military unit do not want Storm’s help.  Meanwhile, back at the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning, a young mutant girl, Flourish a/k/a Marisol Guerra, has stinging words for Storm and about the school’s mission.

I didn’t expect much from Storm #1, but being that I love, love, love Storm, I was determined to read at least the first issue.  If this first issue is any indication, Storm will finally have the great solo series readers and fans first thought she deserved and should get thirty years ago.

Greg Pak manages to put Storm’s powers on full display, while delving into the human side of her character.  Storm:  the matron, the leader, the mother, the hope, and the salvation, has been as interesting (if not more so) as the superhero side of her.  Pak depicts Storm having to balance her power and her humanity and to find a way to be true to both her principles and to her role as X-Man:  defender and fighter.  Pak does a lot with this character in 20 pages.

Victor Ibañez is a good storyteller, and his warm, vibrant, and earthy style is a good fit for Storm.  Ibañez presents the fight-comics side of the story in a unique way, and his character drama is equally electric.

Dear Greg and Victor, please don’t let Storm #1 be a fluke.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: STORM #1 (2006)

STORM #1 (of 6)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITER: Eric Jerome Dickey
PENCILS: David Yardin
INKS: Jay Leisten
COLORS: Matt Milla
LETTERS: VC’s Randy Gentile
COVER: Mike Mayhew
40pp, Color (April 2006)

Rated T+

Storm a/k/a Ororo Munroe is a Marvel Comics super-heroine and longtime member of the X-Men.  She was created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum and first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (cover dated: May 1975).

Storm is also the former queen consort of Wakanda, a title she held when she was married to King T’Challa, better known as the superhero, the Black Panther.  Before the two were married (in Black Panther #18 cover dated: September 2006), Marvel published several stories and comics under the tagline, “Prelude to the Wedding of the Century.”

One of those series was Storm, a 2006 six-issue miniseries, written by Eric Jerome Dickey and drawn by David Yardin.  Dickey (born July 7, 1961) is a New York Times bestselling African-American author, who is best known for his novels about contemporary African-American life.  He has also written crime novels that are international in their casts and settings.  With the Storm miniseries, Dickey re-imagines the first meeting between the younger versions of both Ororo Munroe and T'Challa.

Storm #1 (“Chapter One”) opens in an outdoor market in an unnamed African country.  Ororo Munroe, our future “Storm,” is among a number of street urchins that prowl the market looking for things they can steal from the shoppers and shopkeepers and even from those simply passing through the market.  Goaded by the others, Ororo steals a camera from a white man.  What she does not realize is that this white man is Andreas de Ruyter, a ruthless hunter who is also a racist.  He is determined to track Ororo using any brutal means necessary.  Zenja, a jealous rival of Ororo’s, watches the situation, making plans of her own.

Flashbacks also show Ororo with her parents, her father, David Munroe, and her mother, N'Dare.  With the upheaval of change causing so much turmoil in America, N’Dare wants to return to her home country in Africa.  David does not believe that they will be better off in Africa.  Will their marriage survive this crucial disagreement?

Meanwhile, Ororo’s strange powers began to manifest themselves.  Plus, Teacher arrives to tell Ororo that the lessons in picking pockets and thievery she learned from Achmed El-Gibar are not enough.

I have written, both here and at other places, about Black and African-American writers having more opportunities to write for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and even the larger independent publishers like Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, and IDW Publishing.  I think that there should be more Black writers in comics, but not because of race and representation alone.  Black writers also mean different perspectives on storytelling and diverse points-of-view.

In one single issue, Storm #1, Eric Jerome Dickey shows what different perspectives on storytelling and diverse points-of-view can mean to the mythology of one X-Men in particular, Storm, and to the X-Men, in general.  Dickey really puts Ororo through her paces, forcing her to endure many challenges and obstacles if she is to survive her life as a thief and as a denizen of a jungle refuge.

However, Ororo’s life is not just difficult because she is an orphan, but also because she is, in some ways, a stranger in Africa.  Dickey, as a Black man, understands the stress fractures that exist in what it means to be Black and how it relates to heritage.  When Ororo’s fellow thieves insist that she is not one of them, Dickey brings a sense of authenticity and realism to those accusations.  He hits right at the heart of the matter.  Africans may see Ororo as a Black American and not at all as an African, no matter what her mother, N’Dare’s origins are.

This is a different kind of racial, ethnic, and national conflict than what we get in comic books written by white comic book writers trying to depict racial disputes.  An African-American understands the intercene conflicts that sometimes exist between black Africans and the descendants of the Diaspora.  Ororo is caught in the middle between Africa and America, or, perhaps, more accurately, she has a place on both sides.

I enjoyed reading Storm, a comic book made especially rewarding by the unique viewpoint and experience that Eric Jerome Dickey brings to the life of young Ororo Munroe.  The art by David Yardin and Jay Leisten, is not grand from a visual standpoint, something I expect of a Storm comic book.  However, Yardin and Leisten ground the story in reality, and are the right choices to illustrated and visualize both the ideas and pasts that Dickey is exploring.  I look forward to reading more of this miniseries.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Deadman Wonderland: Scar Chain's Plot

I read Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 4

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter.

Review: THE SIGNIFIERS #2

THE SIGNIFIERS #2
M.R. NENO PRODUCTIONS – @Nenofsky

CARTOONIST:  Michael Neno
52pp, B&W, $5.95 U.S. (Fall 2012)

Comic book creator and publisher, Michael Neno, sent me a copy of the most recent issue of his self-published comic book, The Signifiers.  It was a blast to read, and I wish more people were turned on to this unique and exciting comic book.

The Signifiers #2 continues the story of “Splash” (whose last name might be Henderson).  He is a young black man, with a Summer of Love vibe, who must either obey or fight a mysterious force called The Voyst.  Early in issue #2, Splash is having breakfast with The Signifiers, when one of them, Maria, gives him a box of breakfast cereal.  At her behest, Splash reaches in and removes a strange device, the Ypytlic.  What is it?  Can anyone tell him?  A visit to Tiffany and to his Aunt Sharon might yield answers.

Meanwhile, in Hippyland, Landlark the Heat-Seeking Dwarf joins a group of free spirits to tap into the Voyst, with trippy results.  Also, meet Fearful and Joyful, two members of the four freaks known as the Emotionists.

When I reviewed The Signifiers #1, I wrote that one of the first things that captured my imagination about comic books was that the pictures they held within their flimsy covers were strange and full of weird-looking things.  Comic books were fun to read and decipher, and the unique graphics and iconography kept me reading comic books even when I didn’t completely understand what they were trying to tell me.

Obviously, I still love comics, even when I am having trouble figuring out the contents.  I still don’t understand the world of The Signifiers, but I am less clueless after reading #2 than I was after reading #1.

Obviously, The Signifiers is graphically and spiritually similar to Jack Kirby’s Fourth World comic books for DC Comics.  There is also a passing resemblance to some early Marvel Comics titles, including those drawn by Kirby and Steve Ditko.  However, in spite of influences, The Signifiers is stubbornly different.  It is as if Neno has put a solid, brick wall between his influences and inspirations and the work he produces.  You might recognize the source, but you better recognize Neno’s distinctive creation.

The result is a really cool comic book and comic book package that offers more than most comic books.  The Signifiers gives the reader more than the standard 20 to 22-page cover feature; there is also a short story or two.  While I am enjoying The Signifiers, at the same time I am trying to unravel it, I can also enjoy Landlark, the rough-looking dwarf with a nose for cool adventure.  The Signifiers #2 introduces The Emotionists, and I promise that the three-page introduction is not enough.

The Signifiers #2 also includes an interview that Michael Neno conducted with fellow comics self-publisher, Tom Scioli, whom readers might know from the Kirby-esque series, Godland (written by Joe Casey).  What Scioli has to say will likely prove invaluable other for self-published comics creators.

Believe me when I say that The Signifiers #2 is a steal at $5.95.  Three excellent comics serials, plus an interview with some crucial and valuable information:  could I ask for more?  Yes, I want The Signifiers #3.

A

www.NenoWorld.com
https://twitter.com/Nenofsky

Copies of The Signifiers #2 can be ordered by sending a check or money order for $8.50 (postage-paid) to M.R. Neno Productions, P.O. Box 307675, Gahanna, Ohio 43230.  Paypal purchases can be made to the email address: mneno@columbus.rr.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for August 13, 2014

DC COMICS

MAY148276     ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #14 2ND PTG     $3.99
JUN140298     ASTRO CITY #14     $3.99
JUN140225     BATGIRL #34     $2.99
JUN140215     BATMAN #34     $3.99
JUN140218     BATMAN #34 COMBO PACK     $4.99
MAY140376     BATMAN EARTH ONE TP     $12.99
JUN140208     BATMAN ETERNAL #19     $2.99
JUN140232     BIRDS OF PREY #34     $2.99
JUN140297     COFFIN HILL #10 (MR)     $2.99
JUN140186     CONSTANTINE #17     $2.99
JUN140305     FBP FEDERAL BUREAU OF PHYSICS #13 (MR)     $2.99
APR140265     FLASH HC VOL 04 REVERSE (N52)     $24.99
MAY140367     FLASH TP VOL 03 GORILLA WARFARE (N52)     $16.99
JUN148090     GRAYSON #1 2ND PTG     $2.99
JUN140241     GREEN LANTERN CORPS #34     $2.99
MAY140373     GREEN LANTERN WRATH OF THE FIRST LANTERN TP (N52)     $19.99
JUN148087     HARLEY QUINN #4 2ND PTG     $2.99
JUN140228     HARLEY QUINN #9     $2.99
MAY140378     HE MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE TP VOL 03     $14.99
JUN140258     INJUSTICE GODS AMONG US YEAR TWO #9     $2.99
APR140299     INVISIBLES HC BOOK 02 DELUXE EDITION (MR)     $29.99
JUN140155     JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #4     $3.99
JUN140159     JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #4 COMBO PACK     $4.99
JUN140293     MAD MAGAZINE #529     $5.99
JUN140161     NEW 52 FUTURES END #15 (WEEKLY)     $2.99
JUN140176     NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #2     $2.99
MAY140409     PREACHER TP BOOK 05 (MR)     $19.99
JUN140295     SCOOBY DOO WHERE ARE YOU #48     $2.99
JUN140253     SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 CHAOS #1     $3.99
JUN140205     SUPERBOY #34     $2.99
JUN140193     SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #11 (DOOMED)     $3.99
JUN140195     SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #11 COMBO PACK (DOOMED)     $4.99
JUN140190     WORLDS FINEST #26     $2.99

DC COMICS/DC COLLECTIBLES

FEB140307     DC COMICS NEW 52 STARFIRE AF     $24.95

Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for August 13, 2014

MARVEL COMICS

MAY140881     ALL NEW X-MEN #30     $3.99
JUN140613     AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #5 SIN     $3.99
JUN140700     AMAZING X-MEN #10     $3.99
MAY148281     AVENGERS #31 2ND PTG YU VAR SIN     $3.99
JUN140631     AVENGERS UNDERCOVER #8     $2.99
JUN140627     AVENGERS WORLD #11     $3.99
JUN140655     CAPTAIN AMERICA #23     $3.99
MAY140927     CAPTAIN AMERICA PREM HC VOL 04 IRON NAIL     $24.99
JUN140666     CAPTAIN MARVEL #6     $3.99
JUN140617     DEADPOOL #33 SIN     $3.99
MAY140942     DEADPOOL BY DANIEL WAY COMPLETE COLL TP VOL 04     $34.99
JUN140696     DEADPOOL DRACULAS GAUNTLET #6     $3.99
JUN140616     FANTASTIC FOUR #8 SIN     $3.99
JUN140748     GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #18 BY ALEX ROSS POSTER     $8.99
JUN140667     HULK #5     $3.99
JUN140749     HULK #5 BY ALEX ROSS POSTER     $8.99
APR140686     INHUMAN #3 ANMN     $3.99
JUN140750     MARVEL 75TH ANNIVERSARY MAGAZINE POSTER     $8.99
JUN140683     MARVEL UNIVERSE AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #11 SYU     $2.99
JUN140699     NIGHTCRAWLER #5     $3.99
JUN140652     NOVA SPECIAL #1     $4.99
JUN140605     ORIGINAL SIN #7     $3.99
JUN140641     SPIDER-MAN 2099 #2     $3.99
JUN140661     THUNDERBOLTS #29     $2.99
JUN140638     ULTIMATE FF #6     $3.99
JUN140711     UNITED STATES OF MURDER INC #4 (MR)     $3.99
JUN140687     WOLVERINE #11     $3.99
JUN140701     WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #7     $3.99
JUN140703     X-FORCE #8     $3.99
JUN140709     X-MEN #18     $3.99