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Dec 30

The Homies 2013

Posted on Monday, December 30, 2013 by Al in Uncategorized

We’re one day off the end of 2013, and our next episode (coming this weekend) feature our review of 2013. Those of you who heard last year’s Christmas special (which is all of you who’ve ever heard an episode of the show, I imagine, as it’s still our most-downloaded episode) will know that this means that we’re going to be awarding House to Astonish’s own awards – the Homies – in a variety of categories. As with last year, we want YOU to help – Paul and I are each going to select our winners in the following categories, but we’re also going to read out what our listeners think on the next episode. So check out the categories below, and let us know who or what you think deserves to take home each gong!

BEST NEW SERIES

This one’s pretty self-explanatory – any comic whose first issue was published between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2013 is eligible. What new series got your attention the most this year?

BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES

This one’s a little less self-explanatory – what series, again first published between 1 January and date of broadcast, did you think was best, with the proviso that it has to be something where the property wasn’t in existence prior to the start of 2013. We’re counting re-use of titles as well as concepts, so Hellboy in Hell, Young Avengers or Batman ’66 wouldn’t be eligible, but (for example) Sex Criminals would.

MOST WANTED

This is for the comic, series or graphic novel that saw print this year which you’d want to see more of, whether that be a book that was cancelled before its time, a one-shot or mini that just begs for a follow-up, or an OGN that you’d love to see a sequel to.

MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE

It may have seemed unappealing when you read about it online, and those preview pages may have looked unremarkable, but when you finally got the winner of this category in your hands you were ready to eat your words. What comic, series or graphic novel did you find yourself enjoying much more than you thought you would?

STIFF DRINK AWARD

This award will go to the comic or graphic novel that most made us gasp with surprise – an unexpected plot twist, a daring cliffhanger or a shocking denouement will stand a book in good stead here.

THE BILL ODDIE SPRINGWATCH AWARD FOR EMERGING TALENT

Here we’re looking for the comics creator whom you think is the one we should all be observing closely in 2014 – they may have had a good year in 2013, but they’re someone whom you believe is only going to go from strength to strength.

THE GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS AWARD FOR EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

What move did a comics company or creator make this calendar year that made you glad you didn’t have to work with them? Wonky management edicts, prima donna creators and tales of publisher woes are what we’re looking for here.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

This is exactly what it says – which creator, creative team or publisher really knocked it out of the park this year?

Let us have your picks in the comments thread below, before midnight (your local time) on 3 January. Only ONE NOMINATION per category, please – any that say “oh, I just couldn’t decide, so here are two, or three, or five suggestions” will be disregarded in relation to that category. Please also let us have a bit of info on your thinking on each one – we’ll read out a range of the responses on our big end-of-year show. Happy nominating!

Bring on the comments

  1. BEST NEW SERIES
    Superior Spider-man. This series has been one of the most consistently entertaining books, and a genuine and heartfelt letter to why Peter Parker matters to the idea of Spider-man. Using Otto Octavius as a lens to explore the idea of heroism and the more recent trend of pro-active/militaristic/“realistic” comic stories has been a treat, and by allowing SpOck to be at least somewhat successful it doesn’t feel like a straw-man argument either. Bets of all, it allows a soft reboot of the character to his more distrusted and awkward roots without actually having to have Peter carry the idiot ball or ruin his own life. I’ll be happy to see Peter back, but sad to see Otto go.

    BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES
    The Image launches this year have been nothing short of excellent, with every book I’ve tried being at the least Quite Damn Excellent. Lazarus manages to get this one, though there is so damn much awesome competition it very nearly didn’t.

    MOST WANTED
    Empowered. I cannot get enough Empowered – preferably all by Adam Warren himself, though the one-shots can be fun – and as I wait for my copy of the latest volume to arrive my anticipation is at ridiculously high levels.

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE
    Valiant making such an effort to act like a responsible publisher, leading all the way up to the announcement of new Quantum & Woody

    STIFF DRINK AWARD
    So many last pages of Saga, but which to choose? Sophie stabbing The Will takes this, since without it, the subsequent events don’t have the same impact as everyone clusters in on the lighthouse.

    THE BILL ODDIE SPRINGWATCH AWARD FOR EMERGING TALENT
    Emma Rios – a lot of names came to mind for this (Samnee, McKelvie, Anka, et al!) but with Pretty Deadly I suspect we’re about to see the full gamut of what Rios is capable of, as told by a butterfly and a dead rabbit.

    THE GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS AWARD FOR EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
    The oft-stated sexual harassment. As fun as it is to poke DC, in theory those decisions are based on business plans and an intention to succeed (disconnect from reality notwithstanding). The sexual harassment does however get personal and makes an already hard working environment outright toxic.

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
    Valiant making such an effort to act like a responsible publisher, leading all the way up to the announcement of new Quantum & Woody. It’s like they care or something!

  2. Nick Bryan says:

    BEST NEW SERIES

    Lazarus by Rucka/Lark – to be honest, I’d struggled to choose between Lazarus and Sex Criminals, as both are amazing works of creative genre-bending, and along with other stuff from Image, Vertigo and elsewhere, it’s almost starting to look possible that comics might really have a stronger base of non-superhero stuff soon. You enver know.

    BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES
    Sex Criminals by Fraction/Zdarsky.
    See above. Yes, I’m using the thin new series/actually new series distinction to have my cake and eat it.

    MOST WANTED
    More creator-owned stuff by Si Spurrier please. His Numbercruncher and Six-Gun Gorilla were highlights of the year for me.

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE
    Quantum & Woody by Asmus. It really did seem like Q&W by Priest/Bright was too tied to its original creators to work under new management, but this was fun. And even better, the announcement that the old team are working with Valiant too means I don’t have to feel I’m betraying them by purchasing it. (Can’t wait for their Q2 mini next year either.)

    STIFF DRINK AWARD
    Superior Spider-Man for reliably surprising me with twist after twist. This isn’t so much a Stiff Drink nomination as a Whole Drinks Cabinet nomination.

    THE BILL ODDIE SPRINGWATCH AWARD FOR EMERGING TALENT
    Feels like Kelly-Sue Deconnick might be just about to leap from cult favourite to mainstream. Loved Pretty Deadly.

    THE GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS AWARD FOR EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
    Probably the DC Comics/JH Williams III/Batwoman sequence. The finale where they didn’t even print the old team’s final issue really clinched it.

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
    The Stephen Wacker office at Marvel, for producing one of Marvel’s best selling and best reviewed ongoings (Superior Spider-Man), and then most of their other best reviewed books too (Hawkeye, Daredevil, Superior Foes, probably others). Great stuff, even if the year ends with Wacker heading off to animation. Hopefully he’ll do great things there too, but from a comics perspective, it feels like he’ll be missed.

  3. Lanky says:

    BEST NEW SERIES

    Many recently launched series I’ve tried have been good- Velvet, Lazarus, Umbral, The Wake, Coffin Hill, Sandman Overture, and East of West are all standouts. I’d prefer to have a number of issues under the belt to qualify as best series though. It’s tough to sustain quality month-to-month.
    So I’m going with Lazarus. Greg Ruck and Michael Lark have a real winner here. Lark is always magnificent, and the characters, and world, he and Rucka have created make me feel like this has been published for dozens of issues, not just the five we have so far.

    BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES

    East of West. I couldn’t decide between it and Lazarus for best series, so I’m splitting them between the two awards. Dystopian futures seem to be all the rage in 2013, but the concepts and execution both stick with me after I read it. After 8 consecutive issues of that, I take notice.

    MOST WANTED

    Angel and Faith, but that’s a testament to the creative team. I’m generally not a fan of licensed comics; they frequently wind up being a pale imitation of the original. Christos Gage and Rebekah Isaacs have really captured a take on the series that’s its own beast but is still recognizable to the old Angel TV series fans. It’s a rare feat in licensed comics. This past season had some nice references to the old Buffy series, and Isaacs conveys the characters without being hamstrung by creating exact likenesses or drawing characters that seem nothing like the inspiration. I had the pleasure of attending Isaacs WonderCon 2012 session, and the process she described is immediately apparent in her art. Gage and Isaacs are moving to Buffy for the next batch of books, so I’m hoping this gives them a wider audience and the recognition they deserve.

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE

    Marvel’s Infinity Event. I’ve avoided Marvel’s events since Maximum Carnage in the 90’s, but I picked up Infinity due to some nostalgia for cosmic level Thanos shenanigans and a respect for Hickman’s Fantastic Four. This exceeded all my expectations. There were arguably some execution problems in tying it to Avengers and New Avengers, but the concepts, characterizations, and impact on the Marvel universe were all you could hope for from a Marvel event. The art was also top-notch despite changing artists; in the past, it was typically quite jarring when the artist changed, but Marvel did a great job of maintaining the feel throughout the event.

    STIFF DRINK AWARD

    The Wake really caught me off guard. The last issue set up a whole new direction for the back half of the mini-series. That whole series has exceeded expectations, but I’m very curious as to how the last issues will go.

    THE BILL ODDIE SPRINGWATCH AWARD FOR EMERGING TALENT

    Inaki Miranda, the artist of Coffin Hill, published by Vertigo. He did a couple of issues of Fables, but it was his work on Fairest that really jumped out to me. He’s now the artist on Coffin Hill since its first issue, and Coffin Hill is his first book, that I’m aware of, for which he’s the main artist. The whole team on Coffin Hill deserves accolades, but his ability to convey emotions and cut loose with some supernatural strangeness is a stand out. He’s going places.

    THE GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS AWARD FOR EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

    How DC Comics handled the end of Batwoman with JH Williams III just had me shaking my head.

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
    Jonathan Hickman. He not only spearheaded arguably the best Marvel event in many years, he also wrote Avengers and New Avengers for them as well. New Avengers in particular has been surprisingly good, capitalizing on the personality conflicts among the Illuminati. Besides these books, he’s also written plenty of creator-owned work this year, including Secret, Manhattan Projects and launching a title for Avatar I believe and the magnificent East of West.
    Even if you feel the quality is uneven among these works, simply accomplishing all the above should be appreciated. I just worry he’s going to burn out.

  4. Lanky says:

    I just want to add that my wife just shouted out, for;

    THE GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS AWARD FOR EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

    Gail Simone getting kicked off and then re-instated on Batgirl was terrible in how it was handled.

  5. Andy Walsh says:

    Caveats: I probably read too many Marvel comics and not enough other things for my own good.

    Also, I was dismayed to realize that my first instincts for best new/actually new series all started in very late 2012, making it hard for them to qualify last year (based on 1 issue) and impossible this year. Ah, well.

    BEST NEW SERIES

    Avengers A.I. – I had no idea I was looking for a series about Hank Pym and his robo-Avengers in my life, but this one has me intrigued. After endless throwaway comments in various comics about heroes being able to “cut loose” because their adversaries are robots, it’s refreshing to have a comic take artificial sentience seriously, with a range of A.I. heroes and villains. Plus — Doombot.

    BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES

    East of West – Westerns aren’t automatic purchases for me, but this one has got me hooked on the strength of Hickman’s world building and long-form storytelling, plus enough sci-fi elements to satisfy my primary interests.

    MOST WANTED

    Hank Pym by Mark Waid – After his work on Daredevil and Hulk, I suppose it’s not terrible surprising that Waid had a strong take on Hank Pym. Pym’s a character I’ve not paid much attention to, but Age of Ultron #10AI made me want to read an ongoing Pym series, at least one by Waid.

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE

    Battle of the Atom – Yes, it ended with more of a whimper than a bang, and yes, it only worked because of the weekly pacing — but one should hardly penalize it for being properly paced for its format. Just like Superior Spidey has highlighted what’s significant about Peter Parker by contrast, the alternate/future X-Men afforded an opportunity to explore exactly what makes the X-Men an enduring concept on the occasion of their 50th anniversary. And it provided a lot of fun while doing it, too.

    STIFF DRINK AWARD

    X-Men Legacy is an entire series painstakingly constructed around plot twists, which can make any individual development seem less surprising because we expect the unexpected. But I think that just makes the work as a whole that much more impressive for having to include feints and counter-feints to make it all work. If I had to pick a particular favorite moment, it would be the climax of the Red Skull arc.

    THE BILL ODDIE SPRINGWATCH AWARD FOR EMERGING TALENT

    Si Spurrier – You can argue that X-Men Legacy was already a high profile gig, but despite the name I think the market for a Legion solo title was always limited. I think X-Force will be the book that takes him to the next level of name recognition.

    THE GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS AWARD FOR EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

    Yeah, OK, I’ll go out on a limb and go on the record as being against sexual harassment.

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

    Peter David – For the consistent quality of his entire X-Factor run, but especially in 2013 for bringing the series to a largely satisfying conclusion. The supernatural epic story that was “Hell on Earth War” may have been a far cry from the noir beginnings of the book, but just like Madrox himself, X-Factor refused to ever be beholden to a single notion of its identity. And yet even as it regularly reinvented its mission statement, it maintained its sense of humor and commitment to character-driven melodrama.

  6. halapeno says:

    This concerns 2013 and Gail Simone was both removed from and then reinstated to Batgirl in December of 2012, wasn’t she?

  7. Lanky says:

    A google search says you are correct, halapeno, but props to my wife for even being aware that happened! I suppose this potentially impacted issues published in 2013!

  8. Jamie says:

    The fact that some people find it worse that a business poorly manages its freelancers than the fact that some of its freelancers are serial sexual harassment offenders disturbs me.

  9. halapeno says:

    Jamie, I don’t see any ongoing coverage of the sexual harassment lawsuit that a co-worker of mine recently filed, but then, we don’t produce comics or films so nobody outside of the building I work in gives a shit. What I mean by that is that sexual harassment, while appalling, is unfortunately also way too common to stick out in the mind as much things that are less severe, but more surprising. DC having a record-breaking year when it comes to wronging creators isn’t necessarily worse than Lobdell and Wood behaving like assholes, but I understand why these instances tend to stand out more. DC pulled some jaw-droppingly surprising moves in 2013. The only thing that surprised me about the Wood/Lobdell incidents were some of the reactions to it. “What? You mean there’s sexual harassment going on? In a male-dominated industry?”

  10. MWayne says:

    BEST NEW SERIES

    Sex Criminals. For deciding that the best thing to do if the world stops during sex is to rob banks, for The Quiet vs. Cumworld, for the sex club launch party (incl. the publication of a pic of Fraction’s nipple piercing during the launch), for the forthcoming sexy-70’s live-pic cover, every aspect of this series is fun to participate in.

    BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES

    East of West. Wows me every time. Oh my Dragotta!

    MOST WANTED

    Young Avengers may have been canceled at just the point where its creators wanted to do so, but I am going to miss those Young Avengers and the stellar work being done on them by both McKelvey & Gillen. I want more!!!

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE

    The way my interest in and love for Mind MGMT only grows over time (instead of waning as it does for many other labyrinthe-y-type series).

    STIFF DRINK AWARD

    Saga. The last issue alone would win this category for me.

    THE BILL ODDIE SPRINGWATCH AWARD FOR EMERGING TALENT

    Ales Kot. Yeah, he already is having a breakout year in 2013, but I think he will break even bigger in 2014.

    THE GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS AWARD FOR EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

    The stories of DC editorial interference as top creators leave, exciting new talent runs elsewhere, PR releases become increasingly embarrassing and transparent, and – most importantly – the books seemingly most subject to such interference turn into the most rottenly executed mainstream comics in recent memory. Yikes.

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

    I think Hickman takes this for me over Image Comics. Image has done great work in putting out a lot of awesome new titles, but Hickman’s Infinity event was large-scale awesome in ways I have not experienced in comics before and his creator-owned titles fire on all cylinders for me. I was awed by Hickman’s work all year. The man is amazing.

  11. MWayne says:

    Haha, just noticed I missed the deadline, oh well. 🙂

    To Nick Bryan: That’s a nice call-out to the Wacker office, I had not realized his office was responsible for so many good books.

  12. Jamie says:

    “What I mean by that is that sexual harassment, while appalling, is unfortunately also way too common to stick out in the mind as much things that are less severe, but more surprising.”

    Well, I guess since it doesn’t stand out for you, it’s not that important.

    Ladies, too bad! Halapeno doesn’t give a shit that you’re being harassed!

  13. halapeno says:

    Oh for Christ’s sake…

    Jamie, how about you scroll up to my first post in this thread. I already selected the harassment issues for that category. The industry is under enough scrutiny as it is for seeming female-unfriendly. It doesn’t need Wood and Lobdell making things worse.

    I just don’t disparage other voters here for selecting something else. Every industry has it’s own issues with sexism/racism in the workplace. Every one. I’m not saying it’s right. I said it’s common and that’s why it tends to slip below the radar.

  14. Jamie says:

    Sexual harassment is common!

    I guess that means it’s okay!

    Or at least, not worth caring about!

  15. halapeno says:

    It IS common! Did I say that makes it okay? No. I posited that because it’s common, this could be a reason it tends to get glossed over. Agree with that or not, it’s not the same thing as saying “If it’s common, it is therefore acceptable.” which I never said. I pointed out to you that I’d already selected the harassment issue well before you came in with your childish “halapeno doesn’t give a shit” remark, and did you apologize for that? No. Just more throwing words in my mouth and deliberately misconstruing what I said.

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