Comics Alliance: An AOL Comic Book Community

Not sure if the newest superhero comics-to-prose book, Hero from Hyperion Books will attract the praise from fanboys/girls that Michael Chabon's Kavalier and Clay or Austin Grossman's Soon I Will Be Invincible did, but I suspect folks will be talking about it, particularly after Monday's New York Times piece.

Perry Moore's name won't ring a bell, unless you read movie credits like Ms. CEO and I do (he's exec-producing the Chronicles of Narnia films), but the subject of his first prose work -- a high-schooler who comes to grips with his budding super powers and homosexuality -- will hit home for some.

Moore's book is a personal "jihad" aimed at the poor treatment -- that's at the very best -- of gay superfolks by mainstream comics publishers, and in particular, the most famous one of them all, Marvel Comics' Northstar who was killed by fellow Canadian Wolverine, albeit very temporarily.

Considering the best revenge in life is success, it's all the more fitting (to me anyway) that Alison Bechdel was one of the major guests at July's Comic-Con International: San Diego where her celebrated memoir, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, won an Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work.

No question, mainstream comics, as a medium, is capable of capturing all the richness and diversity life -- gay or straight -- has to offer. Shouldn't this industry be encouraging more of it? Or, do you believe "reality" encroaches way too much into your hobby already?

Imagine my surprise leafing through Saturday's edition of the Wall Street Journal to discover a short feature lauding the work of a trio of 2007 Eisner Award nominees in their Pursuits section. Sounds like no big deal, until you dig deeper into the details.

The three Eisner-nominated books cited in Jamin Brophy-Warren's piece were among a record 24 that went to female cartoonists, ranging from a 10-year-old girl (and the daughter of former indy publisher Denis Kitchen) to the just-now celebrated creator of Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic working up to now on the periphery of the comics industry to the late Tove Jansson, a Finnish creator who died six years ago at age 86.

Unfortunately, the WSJ piece doesn't come with links, so I strongly advise you to take a look at these other beautiful Eisner Award nominees. FYI, none of them features a superhero either...

1. Renee French competing in the Best Writer/Artist category for her second book from Top Shelf Productions, The Ticking.

2. Ellen Forney's hysterical cartoons collected in I Love Led Zeppelin from Fantagraphics Books.

3. A rare self-published book, A Late Freeze, vying for best single issue of the year honors, beautifully written and illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff, a designer for First Second.

Press Release

The 2007 Eisner Award nominations announced last week are old news here in the blog-o-blob by now [for a complete list of nominees, go here: http://www.comicsalliance.com/2007/04/20/2007-eisner-award-nominees-announced/, but we want to pass on our hearty congratulations to all the nominees. We are chuffed to be the publisher representing the most nominees, and to celebrate we are having a special sale on all of our nominees - now through April 30, get 20% off everything on our special Nominees page, from Adam Grano's design work on Castle Waiting to Zeppelin, I Love Led by Ellen Forney. Hit the link for the full list and all the details:

http://www.fantagraphics.com/recent/eisners2007.html

The awards will be given out this July at Comic-Con international -- plenty of time to get that tuxedo pressed.

Press Release

Marvel Comics' Icon imprint is pleased to announce Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' acclaimed series CRIMINAL has received two prestigious Eisner Award nominations, for Best Writer and Best New Series. "Doing anything outside the norm in the US comics market can be extremely difficult, so I'm really pleased to see the Eisners recognize our hard work. We put our blood and sweat into every issue, and I'm very proud of what Sean and I have done so far, building our world of criminals, con men, and bad habits," said Brubaker.

Coming on the heels of the Eisner announcement, Criminal's first trade collection will debut on May 9th, so fans who've heard the buzz but have been unable to find the early issues can get the entire first arc, COWARD, under one cover. "These nominations really couldn't have come at a better time, since the trade is literally at the printer, and will soon be in stores," said Brubaker. "Lately, it seems like it's one good thing after another for Criminal. Some of it I can't discuss yet, but we did secure a foreign publishing deal that will see the book released in France, Spain, Italy, and Germany, among other regions. And just last week, we had a great write-up in Entertainment Weekly." In fact, Entertainment Weekly's advance review of the Coward trade, proclaimed, "with an assist from Phillips' noir-kissed art, Brubaker proves a wordsmith of rare restraint, fine-tuning a well-worn genre." The trade also includes an introduction by Emmy-Award winner Tom Fontana, creator of acclaimed TV shows, 'Homicide: Life on the Streets', and 'OZ'.

Also debuting in May is the next Criminal story-arc, LAWLESS, which begins in issue 6, on sale May 23rd. Brubaker describes the story this way, "It's about a guy who comes home after a long time away, to find the truth about the death of his brother, who was a lowlife criminal, and a bad guy, but still, someone's brother. It's a meditation on violence, in some ways, and on brotherhood and family. And it's hands down the most brutal and unflinching thing I've ever written."

So, if you haven't checked out this acclaimed and now award-nominated series, May is the time to start. "Any fan of my work on Cap or Daredevil, or any of the books I did at DC, like Gotham Central or Sleeper that hasn't been buying should really jump onboard. This is the book I was born to write, and Sean's doing the best art of his career," says Brubaker.

CRIMINAL VOLUME 1: COWARD (MAR072132)
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Art & Cover by SEAN PHILLIPS
128 PGS/Mature Content ... $14.99
On-Sale 5/2/07

CRIMINAL #6 (MAR072131)
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Art & Cover by SEAN PHILLIPS
32 PGS/Mature Content/No Ads ... $2.99
FOC 5/3, On-Sale 5/23/07

Press Release

NBM Publishing congratulates graphic novelists Lewis Trondheim and Nicolas De Crecy for their nominations in the annual Eisner Awards. Trondheim, writer-artist of the dark comedy Mr. I and co-writer (with Joann Sfar) of the popular series Dungeon, is a nominee for Best Writer/Artist - Humor. The category of Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (Interior Art) includes writer-artist De Crecy for his work on Glacial Period, the first graphic novel sponsored by the Louvre Museum.

De Crecy's Glacial Period was born after artist the artist felt overwhelmed before t he Louvre's rich art collection. The result is a story set thousands of years hence in a glacial period where human history has been forgotten. Some archeologists fall upon the Louvre, buried in age-old snow. They cannot begin to explain the artifacts that they find. Their interpretations are nonsensical, absurd, and farcical.

Trondheim is a leader in a new and exciting movement, "La Nouvelle Generation" or "Nouvelle Vague." This group of French cartoonists focuses on vulnerable characters in impossible situations. Mr. I features a humble stick figure who, no matter what he tries, always ends up killed; each page is a miniature story that starts placidly-Mr. I goes ice fishing, Mr. I uses a vending machine - but leads to a fate fit for Wile E. Coyote. Dungeon mixes suspense, adventure, and laughs in a castle filled with monsters; Marvin the Vegetarian Dragon and his self-centered pal Herbert the Duck must defend Dungeon, whether they want to or not.

The Eisners have often honored NBM publications. In 2006, for instance, the Dungeon volume The Early Years and Manu Larcenet's Ordinary Victories received nominations as Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material.

Other NBM-related nominees for 2007 include:
• Rick Geary (NBM's A Treasury of Victorian Murder) in the Best New Series and Best Publication for a Younger Audience categories for Gumby
• Trondheim's Dungeon co-writer Joann Sfar as Best Writer/Artist for Klezmer and Vampire Loves
• and Stefano Gaudiano - translator of NBM's No Pasaran! by Vittorio Giardino and many other NBM books - for Daredevil (Best Continuing Series)

The Eisners, established in 1987, are the most prestigious awards in comic books and graphic novels. Named for master comics maker Will Eisner, the nominees pass through a strict judging process. "The finalists on the ballot are selected by a blue-ribbon committee that considers thousands of entries submitted by publishers and creators," says the awards' website. "The nominees are then voted on by all parts of the comic book industry." The awards ceremony will take place on the evening of July 27 during Comic-Con International: San Diego, North America's largest comic-book and pop-culture event.

For more information, visit www.nbmpub.com or http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_eisners_main.shtml.

Press Release

The nominees for the 2007 Eisner Awards have been announced, and DC Comics projects and creators received a total of 24 nominations from the DCU, Vertigo and WildStorm.

DC Comics would like to thank the Eisner Awards committee and congratulates all those who were nominated.

DC's 2007 Eisner Award nominees are:

Best Short Story
* "A Frog's Eye View," by Bill Willingham and James Jean, in FABLES: 1,001 NIGHTS OF SNOWFALL (Available for reorder - JUL060245)

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
* BATMAN/THE SPIRIT: "Crime Convention," by Jeph Loeb and Darwyn Cooke (Available for reorder - SEP060190)

Best Continuing Series
* ALL STAR SUPERMAN, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (Collected in the ALL STAR SUPERMAN VOL. 1 HC, available for reorder - DEC060188)

Best Limited Series
* BATMAN: YEAR 100, by Paul Pope (Available for reorder - OCT060164)
* THE OTHER SIDE, by Jason Aaron and Cameron Stewart (Collected in THE OTHER SIDE TP, available for advance reorder and scheduled to arrive in stores on May 23 - FEB070359)

Best New Series
* JACK OF FABLES, by Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges, Tony Akins, and Andrew Pepoy (Collected in the JACK OF FABLES VOL. 1: THE (NEARLY) GREAT ESCAPE, available for reorder - NOV060300)

Best Anthology
* FABLES: 1,001 NIGHTS OF SNOWFALL, by Bill Willingham and various

Best Graphic Album-Reprint
* ABSOLUTE DC: THE NEW FRONTIER, by Darwyn Cooke (Available for reorder - JUL060153)

Best Archival Collection/Project-Comic Books
* THE ABSOLUTE SANDMAN VOL. 1, by Neil Gaiman and various (Available for reorder - AUG060280)

Best Writer
* Grant Morrison (ALL STAR SUPERMAN, BATMAN, 52, SEVEN SOLDIERS)
* Bill Willingham (FABLES, JACK OF FABLES, FABLES: 1,001 NIGHTS OF SNOWFALL)

Best Writer/Artist
* Gilbert Hernandez, (SLOTH) (Available for reorder - APR060283)
* Paul Pope (BATMAN: YEAR 100)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
* Mark Buckingham & Steve Leialoha (FABLES) (The next collected edition, FABLES VOL. 9: SONS OF EMPIRE TP, is solicited in the March Previews and is scheduled to arrive in stores on June 13 - MAR070271)
* Tony Harris & Tom Feister (EX MACHINA) (The latest collected edition, EX MACHINA VOL. 5: SMOKE SMOKE TP, is available for reorder - DEC060271)
* Niko Henrichon (PRIDE OF BAGHDAD) (Available for reorder - JUN060255)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
* Jill Thompson, "Fair Division," in FABLES: 1,001 NIGHTS OF SNOWFALL

Best Cover Artist
* Tony Harris (EX MACHINA)
* James Jean (FABLES, JACK OF FABLES)
* Dave Johnson (100 BULLETS)
* J. G. Jones (52)

Best Coloring
* Dave Stewart (ACTION COMICS, BATMAN/THE SPIRIT, SUPERMAN)

Best Lettering
* Todd Klein (FABLES, JACK OF FABLES, PRIDE OF BAGHDAD, TESTAMENT)
* Clem Robins (LOVELESS, 100 BULLETS, Y: THE LAST MAN)

Best Publication Design
* ABSOLUTE DC: THE NEW FRONTIER, designed by Darwyn Cooke

The 2007 Eisner Award Nominees were announced yesterday, and that means that everyone connected with comics will do one of three things:

1. Get excited about this listing of some of the great comics released in 2006
2. Complain that they don't see their favorite comic on the list
3. Ignore the announcement and/or generally be oblivious about the whole thing

Now, sadly, the third option is probably the most common reaction. But since that reaction is pretty silent, it's the complainers that get the most airtime. And so, a mere five years after I served as an Eisner Awards Judge, I'm here to give a glimpse into the inner workings of the process.

If I had to sum up being there for the judging weekend, it's with the following metaphor. Have you ever tried to pick a restaurant for dinner that five very different people (including yourself) all have to eat at? It's maddening, because you'll offer up a great Japanese restaurant just down the way that three of you will love, a fourth person will be indifferent on... and then the fifth person will declare they hate it, and counter with a suggestion of the Indian buffet across town. Then someone else will reveal that they're allergic to curry, and so the process goes. An hour later, you've all agreed on a Thai restaurant seven blocks away, and everyone's looking forward to dinner... but meanwhile, you're still secretly wishing you'd been able to go to the Japanese restaurant.

As a judge, it's much easier to keep something you dislike off the ballot than to get something you like on the ballot. It's the nature of the beast, and that's not actually a bad thing. The judging process shouldn't be the personal love list of one person, it's the group effort of five disparate people who all share a love of comic books. So you push for what you like and listen to what your fellow judges enjoy. At the end of the day, all of your favorites won't be there, but the ballot will still be full of items that you thought were good.