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Dec 23

The Homies 2017

Posted on Saturday, December 23, 2017 by Al in Podcast

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – time for the annual House to Astonish Homies awards, where we dish out our gongs in various categories to the best and brightest comics of the year.

As always, Paul and I will individually be choosing a winner for each category, but there’s the usual proviso – we want YOU to help, so you all name your picks in the comments, and Paul and I each choose our own, and we talk a bit about each of the three on our awards show.

We’re likely to be recording at the very end of December, so we’re giving you until 8pm UK time (3pm Eastern, noon Pacific) on December 30 to make your choice. When you list your picks, don’t just name names either, because we’ll be reading out the best comments on the show, so let us know your thinking!

BEST NEW SERIES

This one’s pretty self-explanatory – any comic whose first issue was published between 1 January 2017 and the close of nominations (30th December) 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 30 December, 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 2017. We’re counting re-use of titles as well as concepts, so Saucer State or The Wild Storm wouldn’t be eligible, but (for example) Black Cloud or Godshaper would.

BEST CONTINUING SERIES

The counterpart to the categories above, which covers books whose first issue was published in 2016 or before. They’ve been around the block, but they’ve still got what it takes.

BEST MINI, ONE-SHOT OR OGN

These are explaining themselves by this point, right? We’re looking for OGNs, one-shots and minis published in 2017 (or partially in 2017, in the case of minis).

FAVOURITE WRITER

FAVOURITE ARTIST

FAVOURITE COLOURIST

Each of these three is pretty self-explanatory – whose name on the cover or credits box of a book makes you want to pick it up? Whose work do you most look forward to seeing?

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.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

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

Let us have your picks in the comments thread below, along with 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. Paul G. says:

    I can only vote for a handful. The insane cost of comics caused me to restrict my diet of new comics to only my favorite of favorites. That said:

    BEST NEW SERIES/BEST MINI
    Mister Miracle. Give Tom King twelve issues and a nine panel grid, and he’ll slowly give you the year’s best comic, every time. Every issue brings a sardonic everyman’s perspective on the New Gods. Is it in continuity? Is it all a dream? It’s so good that I don’t care.

    BEST CONTINUING SERIES
    Stray Bullets. Sorely overlooked and taken for granted, David Lapham returned to Stray Bulets a few years ago and is now set to blow past the impressive set of issues he put out in the nineties. Every issue brings a blast of madcap insanity grounded in characters who are at once deeply flawed and surprisingly sympathetic.

    FAVORITE WRITER
    Jason Aaron. His Thor is set to rest securely alongside Simonson’s run for decades to come, and the X-Men frankly haven’t been the same since he left. He’s Marvel’s #1 MVP, and they know it.

    FAVORITE ARTIST
    Chip Zdarsky. Aside from his hilarious and heartbreaking character work, the man is simply indefatigable. Matt Fraction purposefully cut a scene in a store from an issue of Sex Criminals just because he knew Chip would kill himself writing a thousand background gags in the process. That still didn’t stop him from giving us “Mall Rudd: The Mall Nobody Hates.”

    MOST WANTED
    The Flintstones. Doomed from the start, this justified the entire bonkers Hanna-Barbera line. Everything Paul said about this at last year’s Homies remained true as it concluded this year. It really had very little to do with the source material aside from the bare bones conceit. To give just one example, a Carl Sagan analogue was a by far more prominent character than Betty. But Russell and Pugh made it work with the sharpest satire in comics, a wolf dressed in a sentient sheep appliance’s clothes.

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE
    Jessica Jones. One of the big two’s failsafe rules is that you can’t go home again: Claremont on X-Men, Johns on Flash, Byrne on anything. So when the man who had just given us Civil War II was announced as taking another crack at Jesica Jones, I went in warily, but it proved to be every bit the equal to Bendis and Gaydos’s spectacular initial run.

    STIFF DRINK AWARD
    A tough competition just between moments in Stray Bullets. Twice Lapham gave us stunning page turns into scenes where someone comes to in a room full of people they’ve just killed, and twice he pulled it off. But it has to go to the lingering out-of-view nightmare of Orson’s banana in Sunshine and Roses #28.

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
    The reporting team at Buzzfeed of Jessica Testa, Tyler Kingkade, and Jay Edidin for doing the hard research to hold DC accountable for protecting a harasser for years. Let’s hope DC (and the rest of the industry) can continue to take steps to do the bare minimum to make this an open and respectful industry for all.

  2. Asa says:

    Best New Series:

    The Wildstorm by Warren Ellis and John Davis-Hunt

    Who knew this would work so well? Ellis, writing with the same new-found maturity and reserve that makes injection so great, has found an incredible groove in reworking the Wildstorm universe from scratch. It’s a byzantine, futurist take on superheroes and feels like a pleasant summation of a number of lesser Ellis projects (this is the Newuniversal book we never quite got). It’s not perfect and I can’t pretend that I’m as emotionally invested as I’d like to be, but there’s something magical and involving happening here.

    Best Actually New Series:

    The Old Guard by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez

    Somewhere along the lines (around when DC’s 52 wrapped up) Greg Rucka quietly became one of the best writers in comics. His work rarely speaks loudly but always rewards some attention paid. 2017 was a good year for him with a critically acclaimed finale on DC’s Wonder Woman but the real gem was the Old Guard which advertises Rucka’s ability to take a genre-story and explore the emotional ramifications.

    While the downsides of immortality are well trod ground for comics, the Old Guard distinguishes itself through indelible characters, a melancholy sense of resignation, and a few character moments that gutted me. If you’re looking for Tuck Everlasting by way of the A-team, this is your book.

    Best Continuing Series

    This one’s a toss-up for me between the ever-delightful Giant Days and Jonathan Hickman’s slow building East of West. The former has had better writers than me expound its virtues, but the latter has quietly grown into an epic with all of Hickman’s strengths on full display.

    Favorite Writer

    I don’t feel like it’s fair to just list one of my favorites who’s had a good year (Rucka, Hickman, Ellis, Allison, etc.) so instead I’ll say Donny Cates. I was familiar with his work from the Paybacks and a few others and love his undisciplined energy, but it was great to see him break out with God Country, Redneck, Baby Teeth, Thanos, and Doctor Strange. I think he’s still developing as a writer but his work is always interesting and distinct which is more than I can say for most. It’s good to see him doing well.

    Favorite Artist

    Cliff Chiang. I’m late to the Chiang party, but damn is the man talented. I don’t care much for Paper Girls but I keep wanting to read it just for his stellar work. Runner Up: Jerome Opena…I mean, just look at his stuff.

    Favorite Colorist

    Jordie Bellaire, as per usual.

    Most Wanted

    Technically not an answer, but I’d love some more of ‘The Dying and the Dead’, please and thank you.

    Most Pleasant Surprise

    Chip Zdarsky’s Spider Man. It seemed like the last thing we needed was another Spider book. We have, per a quick count, at least 8 right now. But Zdarsky’s wit and grasp of the character somehow made his book the one to beat. I’ve not had the chance to read as much of it as I’d like, but it’s the first thing that’s gotten me excited about the character in a long while.

    Outsanding Achievment:

    Aftershock comics. They seemingly came out of nowhere and established themselves as a brand to watch. They feel like Image’s younger, more intelligent sibling, willing to take risks on some really wild-concepts from A-list creators. It’s not all working and they still need to differentiate themselves a bit, but there’s a lot to like there (special mention, Shipwreck and Babyteeth).

  3. Newrulesnewlife says:

    Best Continuing Series – The Mighty Thor has been wring its War of Realms out for years, but it’s still the big 2 book that I’m most excited to see on my pull list.

    Best new series – Mariko Tamaki’s Hulk started on the 28th of December 2016.

    Best Artist – Nico Leon.

    Most Pleasant Surprise – Mariko Tamaki and Nico Leon’s first arc of Hulk was much, much better than I expected from a She Hulk book spinning out of Civil War II.

    Best Limited Series – Supergirl: Being Super by Mariko Tamaki and Joelle Jones was brilliant.

    Best Writer – I haven’t been reading his Mister Miracle, but Tom King’s Batman is just stellar.

    Stiff Drink Award – Nazi Cap lifting Mjolnir, because that was just bullshit. Or the day that Marvel cancelled a three quarters of my pull list.

    Outstanding Achievement – For a man who is paid to write for a living, I can’t believe how many times Nick Spencer took to Twitter to say “What I really meant was…” and then made it worse.

  4. Voord 99 says:

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

    C. B. Cebulski, for finding an exciting new way to reinvigorate the tired genre trope of the secret identity.

    (But really I would second Paul G.’s nomination of the Buzzfeed reporting team.)

  5. Ryan says:

    BEST CONTINUING SERIES

    The Unbelievable Gwenpool (started reading it after last year’s Homies, so thanks for that!)

    BEST MINI, ONE-SHOT OR OGN/BEST NEW SERIES

    Mister Miracle

    FAVOURITE WRITER

    Jason Aaron

    FAVOURITE ARTIST

    Russell Dauterman

    FAVOURITE COLOURIST

    Jordie Bellaire

    MOST WANTED

    Gwenpool (after it’s very recent cancellation)

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE

    Astonishing X-Men has been better than anything else in the line of late and I’d given up hope for a readable main X-title

    STIFF DRINK AWARD

    I was legit surprised at the most recent Jean Grey issue. Don’t want to say more than that.

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

    I will also tip my hat to the Buzzfeed trio but also point out that Jay Edidin is generally and genuinely one of the best and y’all should listen to their podcast (‘Jay and Miles Xplain the X-Men’) and follow them on Twitter @raebeta

  6. Julia says:

    I loved doing this last year because it helped remind me of stuff I like when my overall impression is that there aren’t many new comics I’m enjoying right now. Let’s see if it happens again!

    BEST NEW SERIES
    Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card – About 20 years ago, CLAMP created a strong contender for the best magical girl superhero series ever, and after a 17-year absence in which versions of these characters have popped up in several unrelated CLAMP series, they’ve revived the real deal for a sequel. Some people (Wrong People, I call them) might call it a shameless cash-grab perfectly timed for 90s nostalgia, but oh my gosh it’s still total magic. Just like the first series, Clear Card is sugary sweet fantasy with a surprisingly satisfying magic system. The series’ signature blend of adventure and schoolgirl romance works about as well for me as when I was a kid, but what stands out for me as an adult is how the writers capture what being in love feels like when you’re a kid, while leaving room for more mature readers to recognize the more complex feelings being experienced (and often going unnoticed) at the same time.

    BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES
    Scales & Scoundrels – I kind of love what Image Comics did this year. Normally I have no time for the publisher’s laser-like focus on high-concept sci-fi or crime stories, but with Sleepless, Elsewhere, and this book, they’ve begun to branch out into a greater variety of genres and tones. And while I like those other two a good bit (see below), this is the stand-out for me. A ton of comic series go for the “it’s a D&D campaign but as a comic” vibe, including all the actual D&D comics, but this is the first that’s really nailed it for me. Sebastian Girner has filled his party full with appealing versions of familiar fantasy archetypes, and the fun of every issue is seeing how their personalities play out in interactions with each other and with the many challenges they face in their current dungeon. The art is also lovely and communicates both action and character well—a must for this kind of book.

    BEST CONTINUING SERIES
    Unbeatable Squirrel Girl – North, Henderson, and Co. turned into one of their best story arcs this year by sending Doreen and Nancy to the Savage Land to fight a robot dino alongside Kraven the Hunter and some Latverian tech geniuses, and one of their best one-shots by showing us what the remaining cast members got up to in their absence. I know this book gets a lot of praise for its formal experimentation (which they continued in this year’s “zine” issue), but what amazes me is how even every normal issue continues to be funny, imaginative, and exuberantly pro-compassion. And this year, it’s that last quality that meant the most to me.

    BEST MINI, ONE-SHOT OR OGN
    Heavy Vinyl (originally solicited as Hi Fi Fight Club) – Post-Lumberjanes, Boom! is doing a LOT of nostalgic YA adventure comics with a queer bent, and while I respect the intent behind them, this is one of the few I’ve read that I think really gets it right. It’s less Empire-Records-meets-The-Goonies and more what a young lesbian who grew up with those properties might have wished they were like. But it also captures a more fundamental wish for all young people, to find a cool secret world where you can make friends and fall in love and have an adventure, while still being able to go home safe when you clock out.

    FAVOURITE WRITER
    Sarah Vaughn – Her stellar Deadman mini finished up at the beginning of this year, then the pretty good Eternal Empire arrived in the summer, and now Sleepless has been great from issue 1. A good range of genres represented in those three books, but all exhibit the powerful use of emotions you’d expect from a romance writer.

    FAVOURITE ARTIST
    Mike Allred turned in great work on Silver Surfer and Bug! this year. I know his art is always very much the same, but this was a year when his projects totally fit that style, and when that happens, it’s some of my favorite stuff.

    FAVOURITE COLOURIST
    Alissa Sallah – I’ve been thinking a lot about why Sleepless is working so well for me, and while Sarah Vaughn and Leila del Duca are both turning is some great work, Sallah’s colors bring the book home. The story is a charming fantasy romance with sleep motifs (this is series that literally wishes you a good night at the end of its first issue), but it lacks the surreal touches that most comics about dreams have, so instead Sallah’s golds, deep reds and blues, and chocolate browns evoke so much of the warm, mysterious, dreamlike feeling that pervades the book.

    MOST WANTED
    Gosh I miss Ryan North’s Jughead comic, which is really my way of saying I miss Ryan North’s Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Also Her Burger-loving Friend comic. North’s Sabrina was a terrific counterbalance to the dark kitsch that Archie seems to favor these days, and I’d love to see more of it.

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE
    Unstoppable Wasp. I’m a Janet Van Dyne superfan, so I was pretty cautious when Marvel’s first “Wasp” comic was about a precocious wunderkind whom everybody loves (and you will too, or else!). And the first arc, while having its moments, was mostly what I feared. But when Jeremy Whitley had to wrap things up due to an early cancellation, he made Janet a costar and for two issues gave me the Wasp book I’d wanted in the first place: Janet as a savvy, pragmatic, and empathetic hero able to wield her social currency to as great an effect as Thor wields Mjolnir.

    STIFF DRINK AWARD
    Got nothing. Maybe I’m reading the wrong books?

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
    I may not always love the comics published in Boom!’s Boom Box imprint, but I love what they’re trying, and when they’re good they’re often great. They’re making the non-super-hero comics I would have wanted to read as a kid and still want to read as an adult, and I would give a new young reader Giant Days, SLAM!, or Heavy Vinyl happily, which is something I would not say about most Marvel, DC, or Image offerings.

  7. Trevor says:

    BEST NEW SERIES
    Iceman
    The dialogue and attention to continuity as well as the down to earth stakes make this the best x-book of 2017. The fact that it’s an eye opening and relatable story about coming out that this straight reader never expected to find so interesting is what puts it over the top.

    BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES
    Jimmy’s Bastards.
    Depraved and ridiculous, but so fun to read.

    BEST CONTINUING SERIES
    The Mighty Thor
    This is a run for the ages.

    BEST MINI, ONE-SHOT OR OGN
    X-Men: Grand Design looks like tons of fun but I’ll be waiting for an oversized complete version someday.

    FAVOURITE WRITER
    Tom Taylor
    The work he’s done on All New Wolverine has been incredible and I’m super excited to see him take on an X-Men team book.

    FAVOURITE ARTIST
    Russell Dauterman
    I don’t care if I only get a few issues from him each year. His style and design chops are so singular and polished that he has shot to the top of the industry. As long as he’s drawing comics, we are very lucky to have him. Back the truck up, Marvel.

    FAVOURITE COLOURIST
    Matt Wilson
    Thor, captain America, Runaways. Greatness, especially Thor

    MOST WANTED
    More J Jonah Jameson single issue dinner/interviews with marvel characters. The Spider-man issue was great and full of unexpected emotion. I would love to get Jonah’s in depth thoughts on other marvel characters.

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE
    Bendis’ Spider-Man Generations issue
    I expected little of this one, but seeing Bendis take on a super-early 616 Peter Parker who’s at his breaking point bc of stress was unexpected and well done. Peter was angry and a big jerk but I really felt for him, bc I’ve been that guy. Never thought that would be Bendis’ take on this assignment.

    STIFF DRINK AWARD
    Gert being brought back to life in Runaways
    In retrospect this is an obvious move, but I expected anyone taking on their assignment to be overly respectful to BKV’s decision to kill Gert off in the first place (I hate it when a creator kills off a character with tons of potential). But what is most surprising to me is how the resurrection method made total sense and how the consequences of the resurrection are such an effective driver for the characters and the series. Runaways is quickly gaining steam and i credit this plot twist with that momentum.

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
    The Mighty Thor
    A modern masterpiece of long form superhero comics. Destined to be remembered and (hopefully) emulated. Inspired and inspiring work.

  8. Si says:

    BEST NEW SERIES
    I’ll go with Saucer State, by Cornell and Kelly. I loved the original, and the new iteration clicks in seamlessly with it. The “everything is true” concept could go very wrong, but they handle it masterfully and it all makes sense, except all the bits that deliberately don’t. The plot is kind of quiet, but building toward something massive.

    BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES
    I’m quite enjoying Curse Words, by Charles Soule and Ryan Browne. There’s some clever concepts going on, and I like the way you get the feeling Wizord is going soft, until you’re reminded that no, he definitely is not.

    BEST CONTINUING SERIES
    I’m probably the only non-Swede who’s heard of it, guaranteeing it won’t win, but Vei by Elfgren and Johnsson is absolutely beautiful in a way rarely seen in comics. Johnsson’s art is something special. The comic’s about viking myth, but from a very different point of view.
    I’m told an English-language version is on its way. You will love it.

    FAVOURITE WRITER
    I’ve recently had one of those moments where I suddenly realise that a lot of comics I like are all written by the same guy. Al Ewing delivers hit after hit.

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE
    So my epiphany in my previous vote came from Rocket. I generally find the modern character a bit dull. He’s a one-panel joke stretched out. I think I finally tried the comic on Marvel Unlimited because I was curious about the Technet. And holy cow, I was instantly hooked. Ewing does Technet *perfectly*, aided a great deal by Gorham’s art, which is like the old Alan Davis but less 80’s. The icing on the cake is how Rocket’s origin is reconciled with the current, all-but unrecognisable version.

  9. Joe Kearon says:

    BEST NEW SERIES

    Mr. Miracle – Tom King does it again, and it’s probably the best tribute to Kirby this year.

    BEST CONTINUING SERIES

    Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows. The Spider-Man you loved is back, and he’s brought his family with him, proving that Marvel’s claim that a married Spidey would ruin the book was a complete load. Also, Nick Roche art!!!

    FAVOURITE WRITER
    Al Ewing. He’s the best Marvel has at the moment, and thoroughly underrated.

    FAVOURITE ARTIST
    Nick Roche. I’m a biased jerk, but to be fair, his Renew Your Vows stuff IS good.

    MOST WANTED

    Unstoppable Wasp. A book that could have been crap, but was great. Sadly too much fun for Marvel’s tastes, apparently.

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE

    Doomsday Clock isn’t a trainwreck; in fact it might even be rather good.

    STIFF DRINK AWARD

    Sadly, seeing James Roberts’ Lost Light become a bloated self-indulgent and manipulative mess, after the greatness that was More Than Meets The Eye.

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

    DC not fudging things up for once on the comics front.

  10. Glen says:

    BEST NEW SERIES

    Punisher – The Platoon by Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov

    BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES

    The Old Guard by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez

    BEST CONTINUING SERIES

    Doom Patrol by Gerard Way and Nick Derington

    BEST MINI, ONE-SHOT OR OGN

    Star-Lord by Chip Zdarsky and Kris Anka

    FAVOURITE WRITER

    Gerard Way (Doom Patrol)

    FAVOURITE ARTIST

    Leandro Fernandez (The Old Guard)

    FAVOURITE COLOURIST

    Daniela Miwa (The Old Guard)

    MOST WANTED

    The Terrifics by Jeff Lemire and Evan Shaner

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE

    Batman – Elmer Fudd Special by Tom King and Lee Weeks

  11. Alex Hill says:

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

    Being hilariously behind I can’t really give a nomination for most categories, but I do want to nominate Jessica Testa, Tyler Kingkade, and Jay Edidin at BuzzFeed for finally having Eddie Berganza be held accountable for what he’s done. It’s been a shameful part of comics that he’s gotten away with it for so long, and hopefully this whole thing is the start of serious change.

  12. Louis says:

    BEST NEW SERIES – Supersons. What a bag of fun!

    BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES – Rock Candy Mountain, gave it a go after I saw Erica Henderson tweeting about it. Absolutely brilliant

    BEST CONTINUING SERIES – Giant Days. Nuff said

    BEST MINI, ONE-SHOT OR OGN – Batman/Elmur Fudd

    FAVOURITE WRITER – Chip Zdarsky

    FAVOURITE ARTIST – Russell Dauterman

    FAVOURITE COLOURIST – Matt Wilson

    MOST WANTED – The Flintstones

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE – Rock Candy Mountain

    STIFF DRINK AWARD – Batman

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT – Hawkeye

    Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

  13. Michael Keloisim says:

    ~BEST NEW SERIES

    -Bane Conquest (DC) by Chuck Dixon / Graham Nolan (while it’s a 12 issue maxi-series,it will still last longer than most “ongoing” titles this year)

    ~BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES

    -Bane Conquest

    ~BEST CONTINUING SERIES
    -Transformers: Lost Light (IDW)

    ~BEST MINI -Rom vs Transformers: Shining Armor (IDW) by John Barber / Christos Gage

    ~FAVOURITE WRITER -Peter Tomasi (Superman,Super Sons)

    FAVOURITE ARTIST -Mike Allred (Silver Surfer,Bug!)

    ~FAVOURITE COLOURIST -Laura Allred (Silver Surfer,Bug!)

    MOST WANTED

    Legion of Super Heroes continuing series. DC has teased the Legion with one shots (Batman 66,Scooby Doo,Bugs Bunny) and it would be great if they were brought back full time.Maybe with Jonathan Hickman as writer??!!

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE
    -Moon Knight by Jeff Lemire (Marvel)

    STIFF DRINK AWARD

    Realizing Scots spell ‘favorite’ and ‘colorist’ with a ‘U’

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

    DC Comics. They kept the Rebirth momentum going through 2017 and had their ‘Doomsday Clock’ and ‘Metal’ events demolish Marvel’s over hyped Nazi-Cap scam. Marvel is axing many of their SJW themed books while DC is going into 2018 with lots of new titles to add to their current Rebirth line up.

  14. Nu-D says:

    Hmm, how about a category for best old comics you discovered for the first time? I don’t think I read anything in 2017 that would qualify for any of the above categories. My 2017 was spent with Brian K. Vaughn’s back catalogue: Y the Last Man (great), Ex Machina (pretty good), Runaways (fun), and Saga (started out magnificent, but has been treading water of late). Saga would qualify for a Best Continuing Series nomination, I suppose, but I’ve been waiting for v. 8 to come out, so I’m not sure I’ve even read any issues published in 2017.

  15. Leo says:

    I would like to vote but to be honest I used to be a Marve comics reader almost exclussivelly and now I stopped reading all of them because of how much they have messed up everything.

    First of all there is the perpetual event fatigue. For years now we have been going from event to event, where the story doesn’t matter; the only thing that seems to matter is how much buzz an event can create, even if it doesn’t make much sence. I don’t find a reason to care for any of the characters any more because they have just become caricatures rather than actual characters.

    Next there is the way they try to force new “legacy” characters and call us names for not liking them at face value. Bucky or Falcon as a new Captain America, I wouldn’t have a problem with. Miles Morales as a new Spider-man was built nice and slowly and is cool. Those characters serve as symbols and it makes sense for someone else to pickup the mantle if they died or were incapacitated. But Thor as a secret identity to a different character (male or female) makes no sense. You wouldn’t make Steve Rogers suddenly turn out to be a woman or Peter Parker suddenly become a black guy! X23 was a great character of her own, I don’t get why they had to change her name to Wolverine. Nobody was begging for a different character to bear the name of Wolverine! Iron man was Tony Stark in a metal armor, you can have someone else pretend to be him in an emergency but outright replacing him with a female character that has no prior connection to him and still call her Iron Man is idiotic. Why not go the War Machine route or the She-Hulk route and name the new character something else? Iron Woman, Iron Hero, Iron Will, Iron Anything would be better, assuming they really wanted to use the word Iron in the name.

    Thirdly there’s everything about the X-Men. They used to be a group of heroes going in adventures, trying to help and protect those who fear and hate them. Now it’s just depressing. They constantly chance bases because they are always being hunted by one threat or another, they are always the targets, not the “saviours”. Even the Chuck Austen era was better than what we’re getting now! Give them some stability, have them face threats that affect others, not just themselves give them something to do that’s more than survival. For the X-men it makes perfect sense to bring in loads of new and diverse characters as long as they have their individual super hero names and they are allowed to develop and evolve.

    The current state of Marvel comics is unreadable to me. I’m only willing to read spider-man (both peter and miles) and will patiently wait for things to get better. At least there are loads of super hero tv shows to keep me happy. Gifted, Legion, the Arrowverse, Black Lightning, Runaways and everything else will keep me busy for now.

    Sorry for the long post and any possibly controversial opinions expressed but this is how I feel and I had to let it out

  16. Nu-D says:

    Iron man was Tony Stark in a metal armor, you can have someone else pretend to be him in an emergency but outright replacing him with a female character that has no prior connection to him and still call her Iron Man is idiotic. Why not go the War Machine route…

    You know James Rhodes was Iron Man for several years, right? Long before the War Machine name was coined.

  17. Trevor says:

    I need to amend my list above, b/c I somehow totally forgot about Silver Surfer being published and finishing its run this year. Thankfully it only affects two categories:

    Stiff Drink Award:
    Dan Slott and Mike Allred killing off Dawn in Silver Surfer.
    The end of this series snuck up on me, so I didn’t realize I was reading the second-to-last issue at the time. Dawn and the Surfer go way back in time to the dawn of the universe and live happily for a human lifetime together. And then she dies a pretty normal death. And the series goes on (for another issue). It affected me in the moment and affected me even more as I realized this was the end of the entire series and story. What a wondrous comic.

    Outstanding Achievement Award:
    Silver Surfer
    This was never my very favorite monthly comic at any point, but as a complete story this will end up being one of my favorite runs of all time. Scott and Allred were the perfect compliments for these characters and this story, imbuing each issue with fun, emotion, and meaning. Different and exciting, and it lasted exactly as long as it needed to. Bravo.

  18. Mat says:

    BEST NEW SERIES
    I really liked Wildstorm and Michael Cray.

    BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES
    I guess Michael Cray? It would have been Savage Town if that had been serialised.

    BEST CONTINUiNG
    Deathstroke. Priest tells a story about morally conflicted people which actually feels like it has real moral conflicts in it.

    BEST MINI
    Mr Miracle

    FAVOURITE WRITER
    Priest

    COLOURIST
    Jordie Bellaire

    FAVOURITE ARTIST
    Juan Ferreyra and Clay Mann

    MOST WANTED
    Legion of superheroes. Also looking forward to the return of Ales Kot.

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE
    Sam Humphries at DC—Green lanterns was a great book. Also the Wonder Woman film.

    STIFF DRINK AWARD
    When Boomerang kills Hack in Suicide Squad. Also the Green Arrow issues on the train which were very exciting and on a train.

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
    Priest. I think it’s overlooked just how good he is and I’m glad to see him on a more high profile book.

  19. Elizabeth says:

    BEST NEW SERIES ~Red Hood and the Outlaws DC

    BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES ~ Bane Conquest DC

    BEST CONTINUING SERIES ~ Red Hood and the Outlaws DC

    BEST MINI, ONE-SHOT OR OGN ~Street Fighter vs Darkstalker (Udon)

    FAVOURITE WRITER Scott Lobdell Redhood

    FAVOURITE ARTIST Timothy Lim (Thump: The First Bundred Days)

    FAVOURITE COLOURIST ~Udon

    MOST WANTED ~Mega-Man !!!!!Blue-bomber forever!!

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE ~ Thump: First Bundred Days. It’s so darn cute!

    STIFF DRINK AWARD ~ Hellboy Christmas Special 2017: Krampusnacht

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT ~ Marvel’s movies (but certainly not their terrible comic books)

  20. Thom H. says:

    I don’t read very many comics anymore, so my vote for almost every category is Mister Miracle/Tom King/Mitch Gerads.

    I liked Vision and Omega Men okay, but King has hit it out of the park with Mister Miracle. It’s the perfect blend of goofy, fun, dark, and terrible — and what better characters to tell that kind of story with than the New Gods?

    And Gerads continues to impress issue after issue — his messy inks and smeared color effects almost mask his beautiful design sense. And he makes the nine-panel grid nearly shatter with tension on every page.

    Great stuff, and enough to get me to keep buying comics at $4/issue, which is saying something.

  21. Tom Shapira says:

    BEST NEW SERIES

    2017 being the year I dropped both Marvel and DC pretty much entirely (I stuck with Gwenpool for a bit longer before dropping it as well) I don’t really have an obvious choice for this category. I will say the new Indigo Prime serial (written by john Smith and Kek-W with Lee Carter on art) in 2000AD seems to deliver the fun / weird psychedelic action one needs in this fractured age.

    BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES
    Extremity by Daniel Warren Johnson might not be the most original take on post-despotic fiction (it’s Mad Max via Studio Ghibli) but it’s preformed with such energy and streangth, on both the art and writing level, that one cannot help but fall in love with its tale of warring clans and people who want to break the cycle of vengeance.
    Johnson is such a giant talent – combining James Stoko’s attention for details with the kinetic touches of Frank Quietly and laying it all with solid storytelling chops. It’s old school – in a good way.

    BEST CONTINUING SERIES

    Giant Days by John Alison, Max Saring and Liz Fleming – with over 30 issues in the tank Giant Days not only has yet to have a a bad issue it has yet to have a bad page. The humanity of the characters always shines through the fantastic humor and it finds the perfect balance between advancing the story and the character arcs while keeping the single issue as a standalone experience.

    BEST MINI, ONE-SHOT OR OGN
    Shaolin Cowboy: Who’ll Stop the Reign?? by Geof Darrow – a wild ride unlike any other –giant armed pigs who are also ninjas, evil mind controlling crabs, dogs with swords on their legs who also serve as nunchucks…. This could’ve ended up as the “LOL random” type of humor but Darrow finds the heart (and surprising spirituality) in the story of a holy man who’s always brought down by his surrender to physical needs in the culture of consumption.

    FAVOURITE WRITER
    Michele Fiffe (Copra) – sure, it’s easy to focus on good who he is as an artist but one must never forget that Fiffe does the whole juggle-a-load-of-characters-with-conlfilcting-agends-in-a-world-gobe-mad as well as any writer from the golden age of superteams (the 1980’s) – clearing the bar set by the likes of Hama, Ostrander and Clermont.

    FAVOURITE ARTIST
    Max Sarin – she had some big boots to fill when she stepped into Giant Days but Sarin skill and style continue to grow, slowly becoming less bound by realism and more willing to go for expressive wild takes and slapstick. A wonderful cartoonist, possibly the best of her generation.

    FAVOURITE COLOURIST
    Dave Stewart – not a fan of his recolor job on Hard Boiled, but otherwise it has been another fantastic year with Shaolin Cowboy being the standout.

    MOST WANTED
    More Bulletproof Coffin – the one shot from earlier in the year was a sweet reminder that there’s nothing quite like the Kane / Hine team up for fans of the bizarre and the exceptional

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE
    Gwenpool being good (if not perfect) – though I’m sucker for Gurihiru art.

    STIFF DRINK AWARD
    What happens to Megatron at the end of Transformers: Lost Light, volume 1.

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
    House to Astonish – NINE YEARS!

  22. Adam Farrar says:

    BEST NEW SERIES: “The Wild Storm” by Warren Ellis, John Davis-Hunt, Ivan Plascencia, Simon Bowland. It’s the first time I’ve ever actually cared about Wildstorm and I only recognize half the characters. Right now I’m just sucked into this world and excited to see where it ends.

    BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES: “Zojaqan” by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Nathan C. Gooden, Vittorio Astone, Deron Bennett

    BEST CONTINUING SERIES: “Usagi Yojimbo” by Stan Sakai. Being consistnetly exceptional gets it taken for granted.

    BEST MINI, ONE-SHOT OR OGN: “Mister Miracle” by Tom King, Mitch Gerads, Clayton Cowles.

    FAVOURITE WRITER: Kurt Busiek. “Astro City” and “Batman: Creature of the Night”

    FAVOURITE ARTIST: Chris Samnee.

    FAVOURITE COLOURIST: Matt Wilson.

    MOST WANTED: More of Ether” by Matt Kindt, David Rubin.

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE: Astonishing X-Men by Charles Soule, et al. I loved the X-Men but usually steer clear of them. This had the characters I like but going up against the Shadow King? Trying to rope me in because I loved Legion. It sounded commercial and the first issue was expensive. But I gave the first issue a try and I’m hooked.

    STIFF DRINK AWARD: The finale of “4 Kids Walk Into A Bank” by Matthew Rosenberg, Tyler Boss, Clare Dezutti, Thomas Mauer. Things did not go well for those kids in ways I didn’t expect.

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT: Christopher Priest. He’s never been hotter and it’s well earned and deserved. He made Deathstroke a book people care about and parlayed that into a worthwhile Inhumans miniseries and now an open-ended run on Justice League.

  23. Mat says:

    New series—Wildstorm
    Actually new—Michael Cray
    Continuing—Deathstroke
    Writer—Priest
    Artist—Juan Ferreyra
    Stuff drink—I was pretty shocked that Doomsday Clock really was Watchmen Two. And that Geoff Johns seems
    To be using it to settle scores with Zack Snyder’s vision of superheroes, more than Alan Moore’s.
    Outstanding achievement—Priest.

  24. Adam says:

    BEST NEW SERIES
    Runaways. I think it’s incredible that a writer so new to comics can come along and write something that feels so much like vintage Runways. I missed these characters, and it hurts when they pop up elsewhere not sounding or behaving like themselves. I’m glad they’re back and excited to see where this is going.

    BEST CONTINUING SERIES
    Honorable mention to Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, which is a masterpiece, but this is Jason Aaron’s year and the Mighty Thor is an outstanding achievement. It’s a future classic that we’ll all be forcing onto our friends the way we do with Simonson’s run.

    BEST MINI, ONE-SHOT OR OGN
    Hellboy Christmas Special 2017: Krampusnacht. Feels like classic Hellboy, looks like Adam Hughes. I’m into it.

    FAVOURITE WRITER
    Marvel needs to pay Jason Aaron whatever he wants and let him write whatever he wants. I also wouldn’t object to him teaching some writing classes to the new generation of writers coming up who have a lot of passion, but don’t seem to fully understand the basics of making each individual issue satisfying to a monthly reader.

    FAVOURITE ARTIST
    Chris Samnee. I remember as a kid liking John Byrne and Alan Davis because the characters they drew always looked “right.” They understood how to draw different body types, and how to make sometimes-ridiculous costumes look cool. Chris Samnee is the best example of a modern comics artist who has that same power. And he’s got the best line since Toth.

    FAVOURITE COLORIST
    Laura Allred. You can just flip through the pages of a Silver Surfer TPB and see a beautiful, colorful world you’d like to visit. When too many colorists seem to think their job description is making these things look dreary and desaturated, Laura loves color, and it shows.

    MOST WANTED
    Marvel Two-In-One is such a pleasure, and God willing, it’ll lead to more Fantastic Four comics next year from people who understand the Fantastic Four and why they matter.

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE
    The speed with which a Waid/Samnee team was able to scrub the stink off of Captain America. The rumors suggest this team is just on the book as a palate cleanser to give the next team a clean starting point, but it’s exactly what I want from mainstream superhero comics. I’m hoping they stick around.

    STIFF DRINK AWARD
    Saga #42’s black pages. Ouch.

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
    The Slott/Allred/Allred Silver Surfer. I think of it as comics’ Princess Bride: not a massive hit when it was released, but destined to be considered a classic and a mainstay of any serious comics fan’s library. This was a run not ashamed to show a ton of heart. And it all looked fantastic; Mike Allred has got to be superhero comics’ best character designer.

  25. […] It’s Christmas, and yes, I will, at last, get started on clearing that review backlog.  You might also want to pop down a post and vote in our end of year poll for the podcast. […]

  26. Si says:

    I’ll add my vote for Favourite Colourist to Laura Allred.

  27. jason says:

    I’m reading everythign in trades these days so some of this may be late 2016?

    BEST NEW SERIES & BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES
    Old Guard – After being a bit let down by the supernatural twist, I really got into this book. Leandro Fernandez is doing career best work and Rucka is great, as usual.

    BEST CONTINUING SERIES
    Kill Or Be Killed. Great creators on their A-game. Timely without being obvious.

    BEST MINI, ONE-SHOT OR OGN
    Black Beetle: Kara Bocek. Francavilla’s strength’s are on full display here. Love the setting and old cars.

    FAVOURITE WRITER
    Ed Brubaker- He didn’t write many comics this year, but they’re alway’s the best written. No one does narrative captions like Brubaker.

    FAVOURITE ARTIST
    Cliff Chaing- His character work and costuming in Paper Girls is just terrifc.

    FAVOURITE COLOURIST
    Tyler Crook- I usually perfer very flat coloring, but, wow, Crook’s gouache and watercolor work on Harrow County sure is gorgeous.

    MOST WANTED
    Chris Samnee creator owned work. ‘Nuff said.

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE
    Hawkeye by Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero. Figured I didn’t need another Hawkeye book after the Lemire\Perez snoozefest. Romero’s art on the previews got me to check out the first issue and Thompson’s writing kept me coming back. I’m excited to see what Romero’s next project is when this volume of Hawkeye wraps next year. He’s one to watch!

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
    David Lapham – Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses. The only book I read monthly. The fact that Lapham’s managed to release as many great issues of the Stray Bullets revival as the original is something I’m thankful for everytime a new issue shows up!

  28. mark coale says:

    Best New Series – like many folks, mr miracle

    Best Actually New – Spy Seal. What if Jason did Tintin?

    Best Continuing Series – an out of the book pick. Scooby Doo Team Up. A must read for lapsed DC fans, given how they find clever uses for old old DC characters in frame work of the Scooby universe.

    Best Mini etc – Jill Thompsons WW book

    Fav Writer – Tom King – didn’t like War Jokes/Riddles, but the Bat/Cat/Talia a4c and recent double date have been fun Bat Reading. And mr miracle,

    Fav Artist – so many choices. But Samnee is so good.

    Fav Colorist – Jordie

    Most Wanted – return of FF and heel Doom

    Pleasant Surprise – The now departed Wasp book.

    Stiff Drink – the Wic Div Xmas Special.

    Outstand8ng Achievement – IDW Artists Edition. I only have a couple but they are so amazing.

  29. Nu-D says:

    I just finished Saga,v. 8. I can toss in a vote for Best Ongoing Series of 2017. Not that I have anything to coma
    Pare it to, but it’s great as usual. Also, Fiona Staples for Best artist and best colorist.

  30. Matt C. says:

    I’m pretty much just reading X-Men, Transformers and some Star Wars so that unfortunately limits me, especially since I think it was a pretty down year for both.

    BEST MINI, ONE-SHOT OR OGN

    X-Men: Grand Design was great, especially for me as I’m not familiar with the early stuff. Loved the art style, loved the new ways the plot fit together, loved it all. I’m gonna have trouble waiting for all six issues to come out.

    FAVOURITE WRITER

    In a down year I’ll go with Kieron Gillen, whose work on Doctor Aphra was the most consistently good of the stuff I’ve been reading.

    FAVOURITE ARTIST

    Alex Milne, really disappointed we’ve lost him on Lost Light but at least he got a chance to do some nice work on ROM vs. Transformers: Shining Armor.

    MOST WANTED

    Transformers: Til All Are One. The last few issues and annual are up there with my favorite TF stories.

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE

    Iceman. I pretty much ignored it when it came out since I’m not a big fan of the character and didn’t think he could carry a solo title, but the storylines and character interactions have been top notch.

    STIFF DRINK AWARD

    Optimus Prime #9. Kinda hard to describe without explaining the backstory or ruining the issue, but this one left me gutpunched.

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

    The Transformers: Til All Are One annual, which did an amazing job wrapping up plotlines and providing a satisfying end to the story. The art was top-notch too, with some really well-thought out composition and background details.

  31. […] (Before we start, you’ve still got time to vote for our end-of-year awards.) […]

  32. cleaver says:

    BEST NEW SERIES
    Punisher: The Platoon
    A return to Punisher MAX, used as a springboard for new Garth Ennis war comics, this book has been nothing short of spectacular. Goran Parlov also returns on art, with Jordie Bellaire on colors. You couldn’t wish for a better creative team on any comic.

    BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES
    Curse Words
    Charles Soule teaming up with Ryan Browne has resulted in one the most bizarre and entertaining comics on the shelves. It’s got it all: sorcerers, talking koalas (later: platypuses), the abduction of millions of baseball fans, French Interpol agents as office chairs… there’s really nothing else like it at the moment.

    BEST CONTINUING SERIES
    Giant Days
    This book has consistently been at the top of my reading pile for years. Nothing makes me smile and giggle in delight quite as much as the misadventures of these barley functional human beings. The creative team of Allison, Sarin, Fleming, Cogar and Campbell shows no signs of slowing down. Here’s to another year of this incredible series.

    BEST MINI, ONE-SHOT OR OGN
    Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme
    A book literally no one talked about this year. Vastly superior to its main title counterpart, it boasted one of the most unique cast of characters in any Marvel book in quite some time. Robbie Thompson and Javier Rodriguez should have been the team to take over the main Doctor Strange book.

    FAVOURITE WRITER
    Brian K. Vaughan
    Still love the guy. Saga and Paper Girls are consistently amazing year after year.

    FAVOURITE ARTIST
    Kris Anka
    The man was put on this earth to draw washboard abs like no other. I really enjoyed his Abigail Brand in the Star-Lord miniseries, she just oozes coolness whenever on panel. His skill at rendering facial expressions is surpassed only by his superb sense of fashion.

    FAVOURITE COLOURIST
    Matt Wilson
    Paper Girls, Star-Lord, Runaways, Captain America, Black Widow, The Wicked + The Divine, Mighty Thor. The man is unstoppable, he deserves all of the awards.

    MOST WANTED
    More Godshaper
    This books run was criminally short. Such is the reality of the direct market, were everything is assumed to be a miniseries unless extended to an ongoing halfway through the first arc. Si Spurrier’s world building was on point as always for this one, and I need more Jonas Goonface art in my life.

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE
    The new Runaways comic + Runaways Hulu show.
    I’m not thrilled with Marvel’s newfound tendency at throwing YA novel writers at titles, and was really disappointed with recent MCU TV shows taking a massive nose dive in quality. As a diehard Runaways enthusiast, I was quite apprehensive of both properties.
    But to my surprise both have been fantastic! With Rowell, Anka and Wilson killing it from issue 1 of the comic. The show, while diverging from the plot of the source material, is thoroughly entertaining, holding true to the core elements of the original comic.
    It’s a great time to be a Runaways fan.

    STIFF DRINK AWARD
    Kill or be Killed #6
    In issue 6 there’s this narration concerning Detective Sharpe’s backstory, where her experience in foster care is brought up. It goes on to describe government employees: the apathy in both their attitude and behavior. It’s so brutally true to what I’ve experienced, I felt like I needed to take a shower after reading it.

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
    Brian Michael Bendis leaves Marvel to write books at DC that I won’t read.
    Bon voyage Mr. Bendis. Don’t let your non existing plot or your cookie cutter dialogue hit you on the ass on the way out. Looking forward to seeing him release his stranglehold on several Marvel titles.
    Sorry to end on a down note but I really don’t enjoy the guys writing.

  33. Al says:

    In fairness, I banged on about Sorcerers Supreme incessantly this year, but nobody listened to me.

  34. Moo says:

    “Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme”

    ^I’m no musical historian but wasn’t this a Motown group?

  35. Mo Walker says:

    BEST NEW SERIES

    The Wildstorm

    BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES

    The Old Guard

    BEST CONTINUING SERIES

    The Wicked + The Divine

    BEST MINI, ONE-SHOT OR OGN

    Mister Miracle

    FAVOURITE WRITER

    Tom King

    FAVOURITE ARTIST

    David Marquez

    FAVOURITE COLOURIST

    Matt Wilson

    MOST WANTED

    Mike Allred doing more Batman 66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE

    Amazing Spider-Man – The Fall of Parker arc

    STIFF DRINK AWARD

    The Wicked + The Divine #33

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

    Image Comics reaching their 25th year of publishing (especially given the early years)

  36. Suzene says:

    BEST NEW SERIES

    Iceman. Obviously the representation aspect is important and all, but I’m just happy to see one of the older X-Men getting some character development that doesn’t come down some kind of power wonk that’ll be written off in six months anyway or going into an ill-considered (and worse written) dark phase. Doesn’t hurt that the book’s been a laugh-out-loud read between the emotional scenes either.

    BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES

    The Old Guard. I wasn’t all that enthused going into this series, because I’ve seen the deathless soldier concept done before and never much cared for it. But I do try to give everything Rucka does a fair chance to win me over. I guess it just goes to show, yet again, that it’s all down to execution. Rucka did a great job making this book about the characters over the gimmick.

    BEST CONTINUING SERIES

    Animosity. The second arc wasn’t the strongest, but Bennett’s really hit her stride with this book since. Talking animals don’t make this, or its spin-off series, any less of a horror book at the core and I’m enjoying how most of that horror comes simply from making the reader think on the nature of sapience and the relative values we place on life.

    BEST MINI, ONE-SHOT OR OGN

    Eugenic. I really should know better than to read James Tynion IV’s post-apocalyptica. This time around, it’s the horror of cultural homogeneity, and I’m not even kidding. Three issues, three meditations on cultural and literal genocide. These are not hopeful books, and always come out of it feeling like I’ve been in a fist-fight that I’ve most certainly lost. And yet, I always come back just to see how terribly inventive the man can be.

    FAVOURITE WRITER

    Kieron Gillen.

    FAVOURITE ARTIST

    Jamie McKelvie.

    FAVOURITE COLOURIST

    Matt Wilson. Can you tell I’m still enjoying the hell out of Wicked + Divine from this line-up? Just when I think things can’t get any more fucked up, there it goes, right off the rails and into the nearest ravine. Fantastic effort.

    MOST WANTED

    I’d be very pleased to get a direct follow-up to the Dragon Age: Knight Errant mini that Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFillipis put out this year. The Dragon Age comics have, frankly, not been very good. The art is generally strong, but they get too bogged down in lore and fan service over story. This one, however, managed to strike the right balance of being an accessible heist tale while still rewarding fans of the franchise with lots of cameos and callbacks. Good, solid work by an underrated writing team.

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE

    Iceman. After Bendis and Lemire, I had very few positive expectations of this book. Sina Grace’s enthusiasim was what sold it for me, and I’m very glad I took the chance.

    STIFF DRINK AWARD

    A quieter moment rather than a shocking one from Eugenic #2, but Kitty pouring through an entire library searching for even the slightest subtext to suggest that there are other people like her in the world, grabbing onto the most insubstantial subtext in works of old fiction as validation of her existance because she didn’t even have a name to put to her desire for other women, was a kick in the chest. I’m queer and an older reader besides; I do remember when subtext was the only way I could hope to see myself reflected in any of the worlds I read about, and how even that was almost never confirmed if a writer was asked about it directly. So that hit a bit close to home.

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

    Another vote for the Buzzfeed reporting trio. It’s a disgrace that it took a public shaming for DC to finally turf Berganza, but good on Edidin & Co. for getting it out there.

  37. Steve Lacey says:

    Best New Series

    Well, it’s Mr Miracle, isn’t it… Too often, a 70s-era Kirby revival series apes the past, paying homage to what’s come before. King and Gerads genuinely feel like they’re doing something new and unique with this one, and it’s a blast.

    Best Actually New Series

    I’m going for Angelic, by Si Spurrier and Caspar Wjingard. Wjingard’s artwork has been a real joy to read over the past few years, especially in the neon-infused Limbo. Here, his wonderful colour palette complements some fantastic design and world-building work, all in service to different sort of coming-of-age-in-a-post-apocalyptic-wasteland-with-winged-monkeys-and-cyber-manatees story from the many that have come before.

    Best Continuing Series

    I really want to give this to Superman, but there have just a few too many fill-ins this year for me to get fully behind this. So, instead, it’s Green Arrow, which has repeatedly coupled fantastic storytelling and artwork without ever taking a break. The tour of the Justice League arc was a particular delight, re-establishing Olly’s relationships with the biggest heroes around, and the Superman issue was one of the best Superman guest-appearances ever. Dropping to monthly will be a big loss for us.

    Best Mini/One-Shot/OGN

    The Batman/Elmer Fudd one-shot, which should not have worked in any way at all but turned out to be one of the very best things ever published. Be vewy qwiet, I’m hunting a slightly deeper piece of commentawy on this issue, but as are the rules of the genre (genwe?), I’m just not qwuite getting there.

    Favourite Writer

    Yeah, it’s Tom King. For the reasons of the above.

    Favourite Artist

    There’s something about Victor Bogdanovic’s artwork, the gently cartoony nature, that just work so well for the DC books he’s on. Right now, one of my favourite things is seeing his name on a Superman book

    Favourite Colorist

    Laura Allred. Her amazing talent is so sparingly used, but it’s impossible to imagine Mike Allred’s artwork without it. Silver Surfer, Doom Patrol, and Bug! all benefitted from her work this year, and that’s not a bad list at all.

    Most Wanted

    More of Greg Rucka’s Wonder Woman, ideally with Liam Sharpe, Nicola Scott, and Bilquis Everly on artwork. The failure of DC to find a take on the character that works following his departure is, let’s face it, by no means the worst thing they’ve done this year, but it’s the one that hurts me the most.

    Most Pleasant Surprise

    If we’re ignoring that Batman/Elmer Fudd was so bloody great, then it’s that Rebirth is still firing on almost all cylinders (see above for one misfire). And Metal and Batman between them are ruling the sales charts.

    Stiff Drink Award

    Either to the final six pages of Batman Annual #2, which had me crying over a comic, or to the final page of the most recent WicDiv.

    Outstanding Achievement

    Marvel’s PR Department, who somehow still have their jobs.

    Can’t wait for this one!

  38. […] still time to vote in our end of year awards!  But first, we have what’s usually the first of two dead charts, covering the weeks of […]

  39. Stephen Dowell says:

    Best New Series: another vote for Mister Miracle

    Best Continuing Series: Kill or Be Killed. I would say Southern Bastards but it only managed three issues this year.

    Best Mini/One Shot: the Batman/Elmer Fudd Special (also Most Pleasant Surprise)

    Best Writer: Tom King

    Best Artist: Ibrahim Moustafa, for his work on Savage Things, and Mitch Gerads, for Mister Miracle

    Stiff Drink Award: the closing pages of Batman Annual #2

    Outstanding Achievement: DC managing to keep Rebirth more or less on track.

  40. Paul F says:

    I haven’t gotten to read as much comics as I’d like this year; my GN to-read pile and Comixology unread section are both massive. Nevertheless, I’ll try:

    BEST NEW SERIES

    Runaways

    BEST CONTINUING SERIES

    Giant Days

    BEST MINI, ONE-SHOT OR OGN

    Supergirl: Being Super

    FAVOURITE WRITER

    Mariko Tamaki

    FAVOURITE ARTIST

    Max Sarin

    FAVOURITE COLOURIST

    Matt Wilson

    MOST WANTED

    More Street Angel, preferably in a more affordable format than the big thin hardcovers.

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE

    I didn’t get to Gwenpool until this year, so I’ll say that.

    STIFF DRINK AWARD

    WicDiv 33.

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

    The Wonder Woman movie.

  41. Mika says:

    BEST NEW SERIES

    Runaways. I’ve definitely missed them since Kathyrn Immonen’s brief run (which I maintain is underrated), but their appearences elsewhere in the MU had almost put me off the idea of them returning. But Rowell and Anka have gotten off to a really great start. As the vast majority of the other Marvel titles I buy just got cancelled, this may well not last past issue 12, but I’m definitely on for the ride.

    BEST ACTUALLY NEW SERIES

    I feel a bit nervous nominating something after two issues, but Fence from Pacat and Johanna the Mad at Boom is everything I want from comics right now.

    BEST CONTINUING SERIES

    Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero’s Hawkeye is just as good as everyone says it is, and I can’t believe it’s not long for this world 🙁 Thompson’s writing is sharp as, and Romero’s gloriously inventive art makes me happy every time.

    BEST MINI, ONE-SHOT OR OGN

    Emma Viecelli and Malin Ryden’s Breaks probably doesn’t quite count for this, but I wasn’t going to be able to get it in elsewhere, so let’s just pretend it wasn’t a web comic that has been around for years, and that it was actually a OGN – because *I* experienced it as such anyway.

    FAVOURITE WRITER

    Kelly Thompson. Hawkeye is my favourite comic of the year, Jem was pretty great from start to this year’s finish. I’m tradewaiting on her Ghostbusters, but I’m really excited for it too.

    FAVOURITE ARTIST

    Kris Anka

    FAVOURITE COLOURIST

    Matt Wilson

    MOST WANTED

    That bloody Dazzler Legacy one shot that was announced and never happened. Please!

    MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE

    Jem: Infinite was on paper such a weird way to cap off Kelly Thompson’s run – trip to a sci-fi dystiopia AU – and I was worried that it wouldn’t have any thematic resonance with the series. But it turned out to be less of a jolt than I expected, and it was really nice to see the series do something a bit different.

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

    This was the year that I got properly into comics journalism (read: started following people on Twitter), so I’d echo what’s already been said about Jessica Testa, Tyler Kingkade and Jay Edidin incredibly important work. Both Zainab Akhtar and Kieran Shiach in particular have also done some really great stuff this year.

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