Eisner Awards 2005

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Can someone explain the appeal of James Robinson?

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 27 June 2001 03:42 (twenty-four years ago)

four years pass...

First time they've not been handed to winners BY Eisner, I believe.

Winners, 2005 Eisner Awards

Best Short Story: “Unfamiliar,” by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson, in The Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft (Dark Horse Books)

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot): Eightball #23: “The Death Ray,” by Dan Clowes (Fantagraphics)

Best Serialized Story: Fables #19-27: “March of the Wooden Soldiers,” by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, and Steve Leialoha (Vertigo/DC)

Best Continuing Series:The Goon, by Eric Powell (Dark Horse)

Best Limited Series: DC: The New Frontier, by Darwyn Cooke (DC)

Best New Series: Ex Machina, by Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris, and Tom Fesiter (WildStorm/DC)

Best Publication for a Younger Audience: Plastic Man, by Kyle Baker and Scott Morse (DC)

Best Humor Publication: The Goon, by Eric Powell (Dark Horse)

Best Anthology: Michael Chabon Presents The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist, edited by Diana Schutz and David Land (Dark Horse)

Best Digital Comic: Mom's Cancer, by Brian Fies

Best Graphic Album–New: The Originals, by Dave Gibbons (Vertigo/DC)

Best Graphic Album–Reprint: Bone One Volume Edition, by Jeff Smith (Cartoon Books)

Best Archival Collection/Project: The Complete Peanuts, edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)

Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material: Buddha, vols. 3-4 by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)

Best Writer: Brian K. Vaughan, Y: The Last Man (Vertigo/DC); Ex Machina (WildStorm/DC); Runaways (Marvel)

Best Writer/Artist: Paul Chadwick, Concrete: The Human Dilemma (Dark Horse)

Best Writer/Artist’s Humor: Kyle Baker, Plastic Man (DC); Kyle Baker, Cartoonist (Kyle Baker Publishing)

Best Penciller/Inker (tie): John Cassaday, Astonishing X-Men (Marvel); Planetary (WildStorm/DC); I Am Legion: The Dancing Faun (Humanoids/DC); Frank Quitely, WE3 (Vertigo/DC)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art): Teddy Kristiansen, It’s a Bird . . . (Vertigo/DC)

Best Coloring: Dave Stewart, Daredevil, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Six, Captain America (Marvel); Conan, BPRD (Dark Horse); DC: The New Frontier (DC)

Best Lettering: Todd Klein, Promethea; Tom Strong; Tom Strong’s Terrific Tales (ABC); Wonder Woman (DC); Books of Magick: Life During Wartime; Fables; WE3 (Vertigo/DC); Creatures of the Night (Dark Horse)

Best Cover Artist: James Jean, Fables (Vertigo/DC); Green Arrow, Batgirl (DC)

Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition: Sean McKeever (A Waiting Place; Mary Jane; Inhumans; Sentinels)

Best Comics-Related Periodical: Comic Book Artist, edited by Jon B. Cooke (Top Shelf)

Best Comics-Related Book: Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book, by Gerard Jones (Basic Books)

Best Publication Design: The Complete Peanuts, designed by Seth (Fantagraphics)

Hall of Fame: Judges’ choices: Lou Fine; René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo; Voters’ choices: Nick Cardy, Gene Colan, Johnny Craig, Hugo Pratt

Other awards presented:

Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award: George Pérez

Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award: Chris Bailey (Major Damage)

Bill Finger Excellence in Comic Writing Award: Jerry Siegel, Arnold Drake

Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing Award: Night Flight Comics, Salt Lake City; Mimi Cruz and Alan Carroil, owners

CBLDF Defender of Liberty Award: Denis Kitchen

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 18 July 2005 03:51 (twenty years ago)

Thoughts:

Evan Dorkin is probably the most decorated Eisner winner that still gives the impression of living hand-to-mouth.

How's Kyle Baker doing, actually? At his height, he was nearly as vociferously lazy as Evan, but I have him filed away as "Makes a diverting illustration every year for the New Yorker = clearly living high off the land"

(actually the fact that Evan is nominated for a short story and Kyle for an ongoing comic may provide the answer)

Is the Escapist actually any good? I thought it was living proof of "being able to understand about comics and write well about them isn't the same as being able to write them, Mr. Chabon"

Has anyone that isn't Todd Klein won the lettering award in the last 15 years? Have they ever given it to Dave Sim, for example?

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 18 July 2005 07:02 (twenty years ago)

Evan Dorkin has been let down by TV several times, and doesn't do much regular work any more. He used to write for Adult Swim - Space Ghost was mostly him, as was (I believe) The Brak Show. Dork doesnt' come out nearly as often as it should.

Kyle mainly does self publishing now, I've got both (?) volumes of Kyle Baker: Cartoonist and there is a book about his family due soon-ish.

Dave Sim definitely won letterer at least once.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Monday, 18 July 2005 07:54 (twenty years ago)

I might be wrong about Sim, all the winners lists I've found online have Todd Klein.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Monday, 18 July 2005 09:53 (twenty years ago)

It started in 93 as Best Letterer, switched to Best Lettering in 95, Stan Sakai won in 96.

According to http://users.rcn.com/aardy/comics/awards/eisnersum.shtml

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 18 July 2005 10:24 (twenty years ago)

Grant Morrison has never won an Eisner.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 18 July 2005 10:31 (twenty years ago)

Time to get wanking.

― Ray (Ray), Monday, 18 July 2005 10:43 (twenty years ago)

Todd Klein's only won 8 of the 18 Harvey Awards, along with three for Chris Ware, two for Dan Clowes, three (the first three, 88-90) for someone called Ken Bruzenak, and one each for Tom Orzechowski and Dave Sim (last year).

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 18 July 2005 10:46 (twenty years ago)

"someone" - ! Ken Bruzenak is (or was) Chaykin's letterer of choice and as such at one point a contender for the most inventive letterer/designer in comics (that time was before 88-90 tho. he was possibly still doing decent work, though it smacks of 'body of work' rather than 'best this year' to me - Sim was approaching the full height of his powers by then (and that full height is about 18,000km above anyone else ever)).

Dorkin only ever wrote a handful of Space Ghosts, not most of them, and he never wrote the other thing Aldo mentions. He's not lazy, just slowwww and obvs frequently crippled by self-confidence/depression issues. Kyle's always had illustration jobs or magazine strips (eg Bad Publicity) going when he's not been active in the comics "industry", and has also spent years making fat salaries for Hollywood studios, working on things that never came out.

Dunno what else was nominated for Best Graphic Album but I have to assume some Eisner jurors be trippin'.

― kit brash (kit brash), Monday, 18 July 2005 12:37 (twenty years ago)

Blacksad Book 2: Arctic Nation, by Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido (iBooks)
It's a Bird..., by Steven T. Seagle and Teddy Kristiansen (Vertigo/DC)
The Originals, by Dave Gibbons (Vertigo/DC)
Suspended in Language, by Jim Ottaviani and Leland Purvis (GT Labs)
Tommysaurus Rex, by Doug TenNapel (Image)

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 18 July 2005 12:46 (twenty years ago)

I can easily believe that it's better than It's a bird..., which struck me as "We need more newspaper articles about how comics are growing up!". I haven't read the others.

list is from http://users.rcn.com/aardy/comics/awards/eisner05.shtml

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 18 July 2005 12:48 (twenty years ago)

haha The Goon beat three Kyle Bakers for Best Humor Publication!

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 18 July 2005 12:56 (twenty years ago)

Is the Escapist actually any good? I thought it was living proof of "being able to understand about comics and write well about them isn't the same as being able to write them, Mr. Chabon"

Chabon doesn't write that many of the Escapist's adventures. They're fun love letters/genre exercises, and best read in collected format.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 18 July 2005 13:38 (twenty years ago)

yeah, that's a pretty poor list of new albums overall. the Ottaviani is probably better written but with less attractive production values, everything else is kinda lame. (Blacksad's pretty, but empty.)

I'm waiting on a complete collection of New Frontier but c'mon, there's no way it's better than We3. Eisner jurors be old superhero readers wanting their affections reassured!

I have no idea what Ex Machina is but it's probably not as much fun as Shaolin Cowboy (which I have had to go to three different cities to find the three different issues of to date! where will I uncover the fourth? stay tuned!)

Is the Goon funny at all? I could never get past the Bacchus-ripoff of early covers to look inside.

Chabon was right about the anthology award.

Locas could have been better-edited, but any book with The Death Of Speedy in it beats any book with interminable tolkein-tooling-about (though I expect anyone who reads the One Volume Edition as their introduction to Bone will find the shifts in tone less jarring)

Archival OTM. Sim robbed as usual. Periodical typically wrong as fuck., good luck to Buenaventura on taking over CA.

― kit brash (kit brash), Monday, 18 July 2005 13:51 (twenty years ago)

Kyle Baker writes and draws "Plastic Man," which I believe is consistently DC's worst-selling title. It's still running, because everyone at DC loves it. As do the 3000 people who read it. (The first two issues weren't quite up to speed. but try #8-9.)

He also just started a four-part miniseries about Nat Turner, self-published. (That interview linked here a few months ago had him explaining that he really had to self-publish it, because the whole thing about slavery is that the person who does the work isn't the person who gets paid. Can't argue with that.)

Jeff Smith couldn't pronounce the title of Ex Machina when he was reading the nominees. A couple of other people stumbled over it as well.

Many, many presenters and winners told stories about Will Eisner, and/or said things along the lines of "I love comics SO MUCH!"

― Douglas (Douglas), Monday, 18 July 2005 14:20 (twenty years ago)

In one of the interviews with Kyle Baker linked to in the "Interviews with Kyle Baker" thread, he says, or suggests that DC keeps his Plastic Man going despite slow sales because they think they'll have a long shelf life in TPB form.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 18 July 2005 14:28 (twenty years ago)

What's Shaolin Cowboy? Ex Machina is good, but not as good as Brian K. Vaughan's other main titles (Y and Runaways).

I can definitely get behind the Fables, James Jean, BKV, and Eightball wins.

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 18 July 2005 14:58 (twenty years ago)

I'm waiting on a complete collection of New Frontier but c'mon, there's no way it's better than We3. Eisner jurors be old superhero readers wanting their affections reassured!

I dunno, I have no real problem with the win, and I'm pretty much GM fan #1. It's possibly an indication that Cooke's schtick will wear out soon, so might as well give him an award (though obv WTF they're waiting for Grant Morrison to do is beyond me: raise Jack Kirby from the dead to draw one of his stories?).

(though I expect anyone who reads the One Volume Edition as their introduction to Bone will find the shifts in tone less jarring)

I found them more jarring (I didn't read the one-volume, but I went back to the series after ignoring everything after book 6, and read the whole lot in a couple of night). Though you're right about the Tolkein. Get one original story structure.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 18 July 2005 15:39 (twenty years ago)

Haha, look at the list of previous winners of the Best Writer award:

Best Writer
1988 Alan Moore, Watchmen (DC)
1989 Alan Moore, Batman: The Killing Joke (DC)
1990 [No Award]
1991 Neil Gaiman, Sandman (DC)
1992 Neil Gaiman, Sandman (DC); Books of Magic (DC); Miracleman (Eclipse)
1993 Neil Gaiman, Miracleman (Eclipse); Sandman (DC)
1994 Neil Gaiman, Sandman (DC)
1995 Alan Moore, From Hell (Kitchen Sink)
1996 Alan Moore, From Hell (Kitchen Sink)
1997 Alan Moore, From Hell (Kitchen Sink); Supreme (Maximum Press)
1998 Garth Ennis, Hitman (DC); Preacher; Unknown Soldier (DC/Vertigo); Blood Mary: Lady Liberty (DC/Helix)
1999 Kurt Busiek, Kurt Busiek's Astro City (Homage/WildStorm/Image); Avengers (Marvel)
2000 Alan Moore, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Promethea, Tom Strong, Tomorrow Stories, Top Ten (ABC)
2001 Alan Moore, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Promethea, Tom Strong, Top Ten, Tomorrow Stories (ABC)
2002 Brian Michael Bendis, Powers (Image); Alias, Daredevil, Ultimate Spider-Man (Marvel)
2003 Brian Michael Bendis, Powers (Image); Alias, Daredevil, Ultimate Spider-Man (Marvel)
2004 Alan Moore, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Promethea, Smax, Tom Strong, Tom Strong's Terrific Tales (ABC)

Notice a pattern there?

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 18 July 2005 16:22 (twenty years ago)

Comic fans are near-rabid in their loyalty, especially when it's a deserving recipient like Moore.

Poor old Grant Morrison, though!

― Vic Fluro, Monday, 18 July 2005 17:01 (twenty years ago)

I like the idea that Garth Ennis was nominated for rather than in spite of Unknown Soldier and Bloody Mary.

The ballot that year:

Kurt Busiek, Kurt Busiek's Astro City; The Wizard's Tale (Jukebox Productions/Homage)
Garth Ennis, Hitman (DC); Preacher; Unknown Soldier (DC/Vertigo); Blood Mary: Lady Liberty (DC/Helix) *
Scott McCloud, Superman Adventures (DC)
John Ostrander, The Spectre; Kents; Tangent Comics: Nightwing (DC)
James Robinson, Starman; The Shade; Tangent Comics: Green Lantern (DC); Leave It to Chance (Homage)

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 18 July 2005 17:10 (twenty years ago)

(Hahaha is that a no?)

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 18 July 2005 20:54 (twenty years ago)

Well, it's been four years.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 18 July 2005 21:18 (twenty years ago)

Best Writer is code for West Britter.

― Leeeeeee (Leee), Monday, 18 July 2005 22:42 (twenty years ago)

Unknown Soldier and Bloody Mary aside, Hitman lets him beat anything else on the list without pausing for breath. (Actually Unknown Soldier probably does as well, at least it doesn't have Tangent Comics in front of the title...)

― kit brash (kit brash), Tuesday, 19 July 2005 01:57 (twenty years ago)

OK, who else had completely forgotten Tangent Comics?

― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 19 July 2005 12:25 (twenty years ago)

John Ostrander and James Robinson, probably

― kit brash (kit brash), Tuesday, 19 July 2005 12:39 (twenty years ago)

John Ostrander is cool.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Tuesday, 19 July 2005 13:28 (twenty years ago)

Hahahahaha so no one actually liked Jim Robinson? I wasn't strange and bizarre for thinking he was massively overrated?

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 19 July 2005 14:23 (twenty years ago)

What I've read of Starman was okay, but The Golden Age is massively overrated.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Tuesday, 19 July 2005 14:24 (twenty years ago)

In some ways Starman's Manly Men and Their Fathers stuff is actually sub-Ennis. Most of the rest of his schtick is due to (a) Tarantino and (b) a dictionary. I don't think any cast has ever been so fond of their own voices as that comic's.

I meant to pick up Leave It To Chance, was it any good?

I forget how The Golden Age ended, but I'm imagining a voiceover by Fred Savage.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Tuesday, 19 July 2005 15:20 (twenty years ago)

It was certainly no:
http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/2968/400/2968_4_1.jpg

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Tuesday, 19 July 2005 15:25 (twenty years ago)

That is actually the most boring comic ever written.

― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 19 July 2005 15:37 (twenty years ago)

Yes, but the cover of the first issue is awesome!
Dick Grayson, Legal Eagle! Oooh! Earth 2 was shitty and I'm glad it's gone.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Tuesday, 19 July 2005 15:42 (twenty years ago)

I meant to pick up Leave It To Chance, was it any good?

NO IT WASN'T. That was my introduction to Robinson. This was in my heyday of "buy any comic that gets good press" mania. I lasted exactly one issue (and I bought Strangers In Paradise for four issues before giving up at about the same time).

I don't have any recollection of the book beyond it being one of the blandest, most uninvolving, "look-at-me-I'm-fun-even-though-I'm-not!" snoozefests I've ever trudged through.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 19 July 2005 15:48 (twenty years ago)

FOUR TIMES WORSE THAN STRANGERS IN PARADISE! Harsh.

― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 19 July 2005 15:52 (twenty years ago)

Anyone read Buddha? I'm on a major Tezuka binge at the moment. Phoenix is just amazing.

― Chuck_Tatum (Chuck_Tatum), Tuesday, 19 July 2005 19:23 (twenty years ago)

Spurge makes the awards amusing.

― kit brash (kit brash), Friday, 22 July 2005 00:19 (twenty years ago)

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