tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86210430369896291502011-10-04T23:52:31.059-05:00Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comBlogger6411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-50445802759316262612010-08-10T19:29:00.004-05:002010-08-10T19:50:34.399-05:00

Williams won two Eisners this year for his work on Detective Comics. I haven't read any of his stories yet but from what I've seen it does look beautiful. All of his covers were great; I honestly could have picked any of them out.

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-87310325399553055762010-08-02T19:07:00.003-05:002010-08-02T19:25:16.457-05:00

Jean's last year of winning Eisners coincides with the end of my project so I'll be getting back to normal soon. And for that last year it was all Fables for Jean which brings us back full circle.

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-12353866542272645012010-07-27T16:23:00.002-05:002010-07-27T16:54:09.060-05:00

I'm still running behind as I work like crazy here's a few more covers from James Jean. That year he added The Umbrella Academy (I may have hated the series but he did make some striking covers for it), Process Recess, and Superior Showcase to his artwork.

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-88787657175928594122010-07-24T00:27:00.003-05:002010-07-24T01:41:28.270-05:00

I'm taking fifteen minutes out of my phenomenally busy schedule at the moment (that's not sarcasm, by the way, finding fifteen minutes has been really hard this week and will probably be really hard next week) because the 2010 Eisner winners have been announced!Best Short Story - "Urgent Request" by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim in The Eternal SmileBest Single Issue (or One-Shot) - Captain

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-60060122884471925382010-07-20T17:34:00.003-05:002010-07-20T18:00:18.712-05:00

I'm catching up to the present just in time for James Jean to miss out on his seventh consecutive Eisner for best cover artist. He isn't even nominated this year. But back to three years ago when Jean was still on his winning streak and provided cover art for two issues of Runaways along with the Fables spin-offs Jack of Fables and 1001 Nights of Snowfall.This was also the toughest time to

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-15455750586334922322010-07-16T18:44:00.002-05:002010-07-18T09:01:02.268-05:00

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuckby Don Rosa1995 Eisner Winner for Best Serialized StoryThere's a term that comic fans use for a story that exists to to cover old plot points, smooth over the rough edges, and look back at old material: continuity porn. At its worst this can be a page filler that tries to explain plot points that no one cares about any more though more often its just about

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-81802900678167160532010-07-14T18:41:00.003-05:002010-07-15T08:20:02.881-05:00

Sin City: A Dame to Kill Forby Frank Miller1995 Eisner Winner for Best Limited SeriesI'm going to be coming back to Sin City frequently for now since it won eight Eisners across five completely different stories and I recently purchased a full set of the stories. The last time I read them was when the books were new and my younger self found the stories to be totally awesome. Today I still find

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-86722102928392011142010-07-11T19:32:00.003-05:002010-07-11T19:47:38.167-05:00

I've been completely overwhelmed this week but there's still time to get some covers. Jean also provided covers for Green Arrow this year. While I like to sample everything that an artist did that year and not put too much emphasis on the covers for a series that they've won multiple awards for I think his Fables covers are much better than the Green Arrow ones. The Green Arrow covers

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-33920287922290502262010-07-07T08:10:00.003-05:002010-07-07T19:30:33.548-05:00

The Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar2006 Eisner Winner for Best U.S. Edition of Foreign MaterialThe Rabbi's Cat was a slow burn for me. For the first two-thirds of it I wasn't enjoying the book. The ending however takes the themes of that beginning and brings them all together in a way that I wound up liking.In Algeria there is a rabbi, his daughter, and their cat. The cat eats a parrot and gains the

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-31208782134990284442010-07-05T19:02:00.002-05:002010-07-05T19:18:55.347-05:00

James Jean did not simply provide cover art for Fables. He also was providing covers for Batgirl at the time:

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-61797129494255788672010-07-02T16:55:00.002-05:002010-07-02T20:23:17.170-05:00

Sin City: The Hard Goodbyeby Frank Miller1993 Eisner Winner for Best Graphic Album: Modern Reprint1993 Eisner Winner for Best Penciller/Inker: Black and White Publication1993 Eisner Winner for Best Writer/ArtistFrank Miller has become something of a joke in comic circles lately and not without reason. It's become increasingly difficult to tell the difference between a Frank Miller comic and a

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-7541392267229353242010-06-30T16:43:00.003-05:002010-06-30T22:02:17.972-05:00

A Small Killingby Alan Moore; Art by Oscar Zarate1994 Eisner Winner for Best Graphic Album: NewI have been thinking about how my reaction to the Eisner winners has been generally positive and why that is. When it came to Hugos, Nebulas, and the World Fantasy Award my reactions to the winners was a lot more varied. Am I letting flaws pass in Eisner winners more than the others? Perhaps a bit

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-33403272889899699512010-06-28T07:22:00.002-05:002010-06-28T07:33:16.732-05:00

Not to get ahead of myself but since 2004 only one person has won the Eisner for best cover artist: James Jean. His painted covers for Fables have been impressive and I've enjoyed how well they integrate with the story in the issue.

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-660047474025841762010-06-26T22:38:00.002-05:002010-06-27T08:01:36.734-05:00

Strangers in Paradise Volume 1by Terry Moore1996 Eisner Winner for Best Serialized StoryI have this picture of how Terry Moore came up with Strangers in Paradise in my head. He set out to create a touching romantic comedy with a trio of characters caught in each other's orbit but unable to ever quite connect. While he was plotting that he was also working on a violent, noirish crime drama.

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-63876241896242991622010-06-22T17:28:00.003-05:002010-06-24T04:13:20.453-05:00

Nexus Written by Mike Baron; Art by Steve Rude 1988 Eisner Winner for Best ArtistIf you listen to some people the concept of mature superhero comics was born when Alan Moore woke up one day and decided to make Watchmen. Obviously this is not true; Moore's work stood on the shoulders of many people and came in the middle of a pack that were changing superhero comics. One of the more interesting

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-65814813694138866022010-06-21T06:23:00.004-05:002010-06-21T06:27:34.908-05:00

I'm a bit baffled as to why Adam Hughes won the Eisner in 2003 for his Wonder Woman covers. While I'd never call them bad, Hughes artwork never stood out to me (well except in two respects). But setting aside my preference he only did six Wonder Woman covers that year. That's a fairly small sampling of covers for the award.

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-12219108409904547362010-06-18T23:17:00.002-05:002010-06-20T03:45:16.304-05:00

The Tale of One Bad Ratby Bryan Talbot1996 Eisner Award Winner for Best Graphic Album: ReprintI had exactly one problem with The Tale of One Bad Rat (which should tell you right away that this review is going to be positively glowing). The main character is a very troubled young woman. She's almost certainly schizophrenic and at the beginning of the book she seems to be right on the verge of a

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-64949786150108423692010-06-16T22:56:00.003-05:002010-06-17T01:35:45.458-05:00

The Windup Girlby Paolo Bacigalupi2009 Nebula Winner for Best NovelAfter digesting The Windup Girl for a bit I've come to a conclusion: it is the most cynical SF novel I have ever read. There's a lot of cynical SF out there especially since post-apocalypse has been used often enough that it has become its own subgenre but The Windup Girl is so far beyond that cynicism. I came to this conclusion

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How about that? Someone other than Alex Ross and Brian Bolland won an Eisner for cover artwork in 2002. Dave Johnson was providing covers for Detective Comics and 100 Bullets then and he infused each of them with covers that remind me a lot of dime novels from the sixties.

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-6737810593902746612010-06-13T02:15:00.002-05:002010-06-13T04:42:22.089-05:00

RunawaysWritten by Brian K. Vaughan; Art by Adrian Alphona and Takeshi Miyazawa2005 Eisner Winner for Best WriterWhen the time comes in the not too distant future when American superhero comics die and the postmortem is performed there will be a lot of pointing fingers at who or what killed it. Along with the cultural shifts there will be names mentioned; people who will be blamed for not

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-51569247331818167562010-06-09T23:04:00.002-05:002010-06-10T05:14:45.143-05:00

The Big Book of ConspiraciesWritten and Edited by Doug Moench; Art by a cast of dozens1996 Eisner Winner for Best AnthologyI have to start this review with what I expected from The Big Book of Conspiracies. After The Big Book of Urban Legends I was anticipating an anthology of one or two page stories humorously illustrating some conspiracy theory. I doubted that there would be any emphasis on

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-65830574421619116952010-06-07T19:30:00.005-05:002010-06-07T19:57:15.763-05:00

Hey Bolland and Ross, let someone else have a turn!The tug of war between those two men came down on Bolland's side in 2001 when he took another Eisner for best cover artist. That year he started doing covers for The Flash and Gotham Knights along with the covers he continued doing for Invisibles and I'm surprised at the range he used. His Flash covers are evocative of the silver age;

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-48669074364711712992010-06-04T19:31:00.002-05:002010-06-05T07:55:11.902-05:00

I Am Legion: The Dancing FawnWritten by Fabien Nury; Art by John Cassady2005 Eisner Winner for Best Penciller/InkerI should give you a warning up front that this is another instance where I have only part of the story and it is unlikely that I'll ever read the whole thing. I Am Legion started as a set of French graphic albums. DC comics published the first of those albums in the U.S. but in the

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-71652076848845351272010-06-03T00:53:00.004-05:002010-06-03T02:34:34.015-05:00

Top TenWritten by Alan Moore; Art by Gene Ha2000 Eisner Winner for Best New Series2000, 2001 Eisner Winner for Best WriterYou won't find a lot of disagreement that Alan Moore's finest work is Watchmen. There might be the odd holdout for V for Vendetta, an appreciation for the richly textured From Hell, or just plain love for his other works but when you break things down what he'll be remembered

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-42402620378262720112010-05-31T17:28:00.002-05:002010-05-31T17:50:33.445-05:00

Alex Ross took the award back from Brian Bolland in 2000. Ross continued his string of covers for Astro City but that year also provided cover art for Alan Moore's new line ABC Comics and the Batman special that started the No Man's Land cross over. The Batman cover used a layered effect that does not reproduce well but here's a sampling of others that won:

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-41099906978679594762010-05-28T00:22:00.002-05:002010-05-28T02:07:59.823-05:00

Batman & Robin: The Gotham AdventuresWritten by Ty Templeton; Art by Rick Burchett1999 Eisner Winner for Best Title for a Younger AudienceThe way I've chosen to collect the Eisner winning comics is in trade paperback format. The advantage of this is that when I am done (or rather when I decide I am done) I will have a nice collection on my shelves. So I've been avoiding the single issues almost

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-7524476809140297942010-05-26T00:55:00.003-05:002010-05-26T04:39:28.359-05:00

InhumansWritten by Paul Jenkins; Art by Jae Lee1999 Eisner Winner for Best New SeriesWhen I was much younger and "growing up" to the point that I wanted to nit pick anything that came long I would tear into any perceived flaw in what I was reading or watch. "I can't stand this; the interstellar craft make sound in space!" I would say. I've mellowed since then and have built a structure for my

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-28575705560486655882010-05-25T04:53:00.002-05:002010-05-25T05:05:49.368-05:00

I completely forgot about the Nebula awards until last night when I said to myself, "Aren't those supposed to be announced now?"The answer to that is no. They were announced last week.So I've got Paolo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl which won for novel on its way to me. Kage Baker's The Women of Nell Gwynne’s, the novella winner poses, a greater challenge for me since it was a short book from

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-17705297238439105792010-05-24T05:30:00.002-05:002010-05-24T05:39:16.146-05:00

When Brian Bolland won another Eisner for his covers in 1999 he was providing the covers for Grant Morrison's chaotic series The Invisibles. And like his Animal Man covers they showed a unique view that matched the offbeat contents.

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Age of Bronzeby Eric Shanower2001, 2003 Eisner Winner for Best Writer/ArtistIn a sad kind of way I wish I had never read Age of Bronze. It's not because it is a bad book since it's one of the most ingenious uses of the comics medium I have encounter. And it's not because some aspect of the content made me angry even though it features a lot of uncompromisingly unpleasant people doing horrible,

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-89118568268210452652010-05-19T17:51:00.002-05:002010-05-19T18:44:51.154-05:00

Creepy ArchivesEdited by Shawna Gore2009 Eisner Winner for Best Archival Collection/Project: Comic BooksI've mentioned it before but I love the current trend of archival projects. In the past five or six years old comics that had been unavailable for a long time have become relatively easy to get. Right now I can easily collect a sampling of every major creator and trend in comics from 1890 to

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-43976395620180259712010-05-16T20:52:00.003-05:002010-05-16T21:04:49.168-05:00

Alex Ross continued his winning streak for Eisner awards for his covers in 1998. This time he added a miniseries Uncle Sam to his credits.

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-66060123331406478332010-05-12T02:22:00.003-05:002010-05-12T02:49:57.757-05:00

Comic Book TattooEdited by Rantz Hoseley2009 Eisner Winner for Best AnthologyI am not the target audience for Comic Book Tattoo. In fact I'm so far from the target audience for Comic Book Tattoo that I should not be allowed to possess the copy I have. The fact that I happen to own the extra high end slip cover edition (picked up on the pricing errors Diamond Book Distribution caused a few

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-76136281029070908652010-05-11T08:21:00.002-05:002010-05-11T08:29:07.433-05:00

Frank Frazetta passed away yesterday. I can't say that I've been extremely fond of his work but there's no denying it's influence. Covers to fantasy books owe a debt of gratitude to his covers in the sixties for Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard novels. He won a Hugo in 1966 for those covers and I was going to talk about Creepy Magazine which he provided covers for later this week.

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-85355526373778654762010-05-09T17:56:00.003-05:002010-05-09T18:01:34.634-05:00

In 1997 Alex Ross won the Eisner for best cover artist again. That year most of his efforts had been dedicated to what many consider his best work: Kingdom Come. I think he's produced better art elsewhere but I can't deny that he did some great covers for the series.

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World's FinestWritten by Dave Gibbons; Art by Steve Rude1991 Eisner Winner for Best ArtistFor the past twenty-five years comic creators have built a mythology around Batman and Superman being opposite ends of the vigilante spectrum. It's easy to build some superficial comparisons but I've never been completely convinced by the argument. Still mixing the two of them together has resulted in a

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-85339677290171253902010-05-04T17:11:00.003-05:002010-05-05T04:38:35.920-05:00

Ex MachinaWritten by Brian K. Vaughn; Art by Tony Harris2005 Eisner Winner for Best New Series2005 Eisner Winner for Best WriterThere is a theory that superheroes are a product of a bygone era which is why superhero comics are in such a decline. I'm not sure I agree with that since they can still draw a crowd to movie theaters but it's hard to argue that the simplistic worldview that allows for

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-17729530186498507472010-05-02T22:18:00.003-05:002010-05-02T22:23:13.892-05:00

In the mid-nineties Alex Ross gained a lot of attention as an illustrator. His work on Marvels got him his first Eisner. His second came when he provided covers for Astro City.

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-11870121335377149512010-04-28T16:42:00.002-05:002010-04-28T19:09:28.800-05:00

Krazy and Ignatzby George Herriman2003, 2004 Eisner Winner for Best Archival ProjectOne of the fun things about taking up the hobby of collecting these award winning books for me is that on occasion it gives me an excuse to get something that I have wanted to try but never got around to getting. I've had a lot of curiosity about pre-1938 comics for a while as part of the history of comics but

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-80275561053144550232010-04-26T13:55:00.002-05:002010-04-26T20:01:05.501-05:00

Astonishing X-MenWritten by Joss Whedon; Art by John Cassaday2006 Eisner Winner for Best Continuing Series2005, 2006 Eisner Winner for Best Penciler/InkerThe was once a time when I liked the X-Men quite a bit. Over time though the way the franchise became a bloated mess drove me away. The lack of anything vaguely resembling interesting stories helped keep me away. So a few years ago I was

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-46211032331634896072010-04-24T22:16:00.003-05:002010-04-24T22:22:08.143-05:00

In 1995 it was someone else's chance to win the Eisner award for best cover artist and Glen Farby stepped up. Farby was providing covers for the Garth Ennis Hellblazer run at that point though by this time I think he was losing steam on them. I preferred his more trippy covers from earlier on in the run though these are very nice as well:

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-27306035275684819642010-04-22T17:24:00.003-05:002010-04-22T19:09:05.375-05:00

Bizarro Comics2002 Eisner Winner for Best AnthologyContains "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Baby Sitter"by Kyle Baker2000 Eisner Winner for Best Short Story2000 Eisner Winner for Best Writer/Artist: HumorBefore I get lost in one of the stranger stories of the Eisners and the comic book industry I suppose I need to say something about the anthology itself. It is exactly what it says in the title:

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-16725787726930028632010-04-20T16:47:00.002-05:002010-04-20T17:36:54.234-05:00

I've been gone for a week between business and then a trip to Chicago for the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo. Now in fairness I haven't to the two biggest comic book conventions out there (San Diego and New York) but I have to say that this was the best comic book convention I've ever been to.From experience I knew I couldn't handle more than one day at a comic book convention; there

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-66885810674571569632010-04-12T03:58:00.002-05:002010-04-12T04:10:04.875-05:00

In 1994 Brian Bolland won the Eisner for best cover artist for the third time in a row. Next year he'd finally give someone else a turn but he'll return to win again.I have to confess that I'm not really fond of Bolland's Wonder Woman covers. In theme and structure it's hard to find some from the period where he was nominated that I liked. On the other hand his Animal Man covers are

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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hydeby Robert Louis StevensonAdapted by Jerry Kramsky and Lorenzo Mattotti2003 Eisner Winner for Best U.S. Edition of Foreign MaterialI was surprised to find out recently that Classics Illustrated is still around. If you've never heard of them it was a comic book series that started in the early fifties and adapted works of literature to a comic book format. They varied the

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-4625519408122451752010-04-06T17:54:00.003-05:002010-04-06T18:03:04.008-05:00

Is it that time of year again already? It seems like just yesterday that the 2009 Hugos were handed out.There were some ugly shocks for me on the ballot this time:Best NovelBoneshaker by Cherie PriestThe City & The City by China MiévilleJulian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles WilsonPalimpsest by Catherynne M. ValenteWake by Robert J. SawyerThe Windup Girl by Paolo

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In 1993 Bolland won a second Eisner for his Animal Man covers. That year he also provided covers for Wonder Woman:

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-22201330921377850572010-04-02T23:14:00.002-05:002010-04-03T00:09:56.203-05:00

DaredevilWritten by Brian Michael Bendis; Art by Alex Maleev2002, 2003 Eisner Winner for Best Writer2003 Eisner Winner for Best Continuing SeriesThree years ago if you asked me about it I would tell you that I did not like Daredevil. A major contributing factor to that is that his writers seem to have learned everything they know about the legal system from bad television dramas and this was a

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-20040712737418681442010-04-01T01:58:00.003-05:002010-04-01T03:56:25.475-05:00

Swallow Me Wholeby Nate Powell2009 Eisner Winner for Best New Graphic AlbumI can't tell you how long it took for me to finish Swallow Me Whole. For months I poked at it occasionally reading a few pages before setting it down again. I finally just dived in and went through it from beginning to end and once finished I could tell exactly why I had so much trouble getting past those first few pages

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-15772144019117354522010-03-29T17:03:00.003-05:002010-03-29T18:48:33.624-05:00

I Killed Adolf Hitlerby Jason2008 Eisner Winner for Best U.S. Edition of International MaterialWhen I talked about Jason's other two Eisner winning books I mentioned that they had inspired me to seek out the rest of his work. At this point I'm wishing for a nice hardbound collection of everything he's done. Every time I read something new by him I can't wait to read something else by him and

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-45571127490610046222010-03-28T01:35:00.003-05:002010-03-28T02:15:47.851-05:00

I'm working on a few other projects these days so I thought now would be a good opportunity to touch on the cover artists that have won the Eisner. So I'm going to be putting this up on the weekend starting with the first man Brian Bolland who won in 1993 for his covers on Animal Man:

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-68608278029257827962010-03-24T18:51:00.004-05:002010-03-26T09:22:18.952-05:00

Immortal Iron FistWritten by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction; Art by David Aja2008 Eisner Winner for Best Writer for Ed BrubakerIn shonen manga (Japanese comics targeted toward boys) there's a stereotypical storyline where the hero is forced to take part in a tournament against an army of freakish opponents. It's popular because there's a lot of action and is a convenient framework for drama but

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-12182527512766449272010-03-23T17:17:00.004-05:002010-03-24T09:00:30.895-05:00

Dr. Strange: What Is It That Disturbs You, Stephen?Written by Marc Andreyko; Art by P. Craig Russell1998 Eisner Winner for Best Penciller/InkerWhen it comes to superheroes my personal favorite is Dr. Strange. It's not because of his powers; they tend to be loosely defined and vary based on the needs of the story. And it's not because of his stories; if I took the hundreds of issues of Dr.

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-90324776279487463202010-03-20T07:47:00.002-05:002010-03-21T06:34:15.448-05:00

Starman: Sand and StarsWritten by James Robinson; Art by Tony Harris and Guy David1997 Eisner Winner for Best Serialized StoryDuring the dark days of the nineties for superhero comics there were few bright spots. The brightest of these was Starman which stepped beyond the typical superheroics and told the story of a man trying to live up to the ideal of the superheroes. It's title character is

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-60921303867584259372010-03-17T18:04:00.003-05:002010-03-18T08:46:12.729-05:00

The Mystery PlayWritten by Grant Morrison; Art by Jon J. Muth1995 Eisner Winner for Best PainterGrant Morrison might be the most divisive man in comics today. To some he's a stylistic genius whose concepts leap from the page and to others his concepts tend to be a mishmash of randomness with little underlying structure. I'm in the second column since for every work he does like All-Star

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-79674814502960638722010-03-16T16:59:00.003-05:002010-03-16T17:29:39.232-05:00

I have a few things to read.That's what I got from the Great Diamond Pricing Glitch of 2010.First impressions? Iron Man wavers up and down in quality of writing based on Fraction trying to be realistic but not understanding how certain fundamental things like the criminal justice system work. I call it the uncanny valley of superheroes - the more "realistic" you try to make them the more

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-65666616221483557562010-03-15T17:41:00.002-05:002010-03-16T09:14:48.032-05:00

Fables: March of the Wooden SoldiersWritten by Bill Willingham; Art by Mark Buckingham, Craig Hamilton, and P. Craig Russell2005 Eisner Winner for Best Serialized StoryThere are some series that won multiple awards that I have talked about in one shot but with Fables I've been spreading things out. There's two reasons for this. The first is that unlike the other lengthy series I spoke about

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-53488991827659481282010-03-13T08:15:00.003-06:002010-03-14T03:31:42.498-05:00

Tomorrow Stories Volume 1Written by Alan Moore; Art by Kevin Nowlan, Rick Veitch, Jim Baikie, Melinda Gebbe, and Hilary Barta2000 Eisner Winner for Best Anthology2000 Eisner Winner for Best Writer2000 Eisner Winner for Best Penciler/Inker for Kevin NowlanTomorrow Stories is an ironic title. Moore's anthology is not science fiction but going even further than that most of it's contents are rooted

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-28625413417471080112010-03-11T07:52:00.005-06:002010-03-11T18:17:28.951-06:00

Old BoyWritten by Garon Tsuchiya; Art by Nobuaki Minegishi2007 Eisner Winner for Best U.S. Edition of International Material - JapanFor a long time the Eisner awards had just one award for foreign comics. The proliferation in the popularity of Japanese comics in the U.S. prompted them to divide the category in two with Japan broken off. I'm not sure I agree with that since the proliferation of

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-22540634883692272192010-03-08T17:21:00.004-06:002010-03-09T18:47:07.373-06:00

Invincible Iron ManWritten by Matt Fraction; Art by Salvador Larocca2009 Eisner Winner for Best New SeriesDespite being a life long superhero buff I've never liked Iron Man. I haven't liked the series, I haven't liked the character, and I even didn't like the movie. Iron Man tends to raise a lot of ethical questions that the creators just dodge and that leaves me feeling uneasy. They

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-81706883613673179862010-03-05T17:19:00.002-06:002010-03-06T08:22:47.002-06:00

Exit Woundsby Rutu Modan2008 Eisner Winner for Best Graphic Album - NewI can acknowledge the technical craft in Exit Wounds. The art is fine, the story is structured well. And yet I wound up not liking it. The impression I was left with at the end was that I just didn't care for it and I couldn't really put my finger on why. It took quite a bit of soul searching and I think that it comes down

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-26192523495696662772010-03-02T18:12:00.004-06:002010-03-04T08:11:36.851-06:00

Cerebus: Flightby Dave Sim and Gerard1994 Eisner Winner for Best Graphic Album - ReprintThese days Dave Sim is best known to comic book fans for his extreme misogynistic views. When I say extreme I mean extreme; stuff that makes the typical attitude of the 1950's look enlightened. But before he went off the deep end and just was hinting at these attitudes he was known as a pioneer of

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-52926368914139255092010-03-01T07:52:00.002-06:002010-03-02T09:29:00.712-06:00

Kyle Baker, CartoonistThe Bakers: Do These Toys Belong SomewhereThe Bakers: Babies and Kittensby Kyle Baker2005 and 2006 Eisner Winner for Best Writer/Artist - HumorThese books are the flip side of Dork. Dork was dense; these are fluffy full page, silent cartoons. Dork targets a mature audience of twenty to thirty year olds; The Bakers is so accessible I'd hand it out to anyone from eight to

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-64133512927156386092010-02-27T07:55:00.003-06:002010-02-27T08:50:38.943-06:00

Dorkby Evan Dorkin1995 Eisner Winner for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition2002 Eisner Winner for Best Writer/Artist - HumorThere isn't a good way to describe Dork. Between its format, the subject matter, and Dorkin's own style Dork is an explosion of insanity. It's what you'd get if you stuck a dozen of the strangest comics in a blender and hit frappe. It's the spawn of Lewis Carroll and

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Elektra Lives Again by Frank Miller 1991 Eisner Winner for Best Graphic AlbumThere was a time when I enjoyed Frank Miller's work a lot. I have both omnibuses of his Daredevil work to use an obvious connection. I enjoyed at least the beginning of Sin City. I genuinely liked 300. I'm not a fan of Batman and I find Batman: Year One to be magnificent. In spite of this at some point Miller

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-71295107665376720542010-02-23T09:57:00.002-06:002010-02-23T10:10:10.740-06:00

Here are the finalists on the 2009 Nebula ballot straight from the SFWA:Novel:The Windup Girl by Paolo BacigalupiThe Love We Share Without Knowing by Christopher BarzakFlesh and Fire by Laura Anne GilmanThe City & The City by China MiévilleBoneshaker by Cherie PriestFinch by Jeff VanderMeerNovella:The Women of Nell Gwynne’s by Kage Baker“Arkfall” by Carolyn Ives Gilman“Act One by” Nancy

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The Left Bank Gangby Jason2007 Eisner Winner for Best U.S. Edition of Foreign MaterialThe Last Musketeerby Jason2009 Eisner Winner for Best U.S. Edition of Foreign MaterialThere are several reasons why I'm pairing these books together rather than giving them each a turn in the spotlight. They're both extremely short, they're both from the same creator, and they both have a similar style in

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-52361535584691024422010-02-16T17:49:00.004-06:002010-02-18T08:23:09.164-06:00

Black Holeby Charles Burns2006 Eisner Winner for Best Graphic Album - ReprintThere are some very heavy handed metaphors in Black Hole at its center (or singularity if I want to go for my own heavy handed metaphor). Burns is trying to tie some big ideas together and it had potential to be interesting since he does a fine job at capturing the self-destructive youth culture. Unfortunately it

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-54405874962083908822010-02-15T00:01:00.003-06:002010-02-15T01:55:50.005-06:00

One! Hundred! Demons!by Lynda Barry2003 Eisner Winner Best New Graphic AlbumHere's three quick facts about Lynda Barry and the kind of book One! Hundred! Demons! is for you:1. It's a book where the author felt the need to include three exclamation points in the title. It's obviously there but it's the kind of thing that might come across as just an oddity outside of context.2. She coins the word

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-55158958481827968272010-02-11T18:20:00.003-06:002010-02-13T01:27:53.246-06:00

Tekkonkinkreet: Black and Whiteby Taiyo Matsumoto2008 Eisner Winner for Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material (Japan)Tekkonkinkreet: Black and White made a bad first impression on me. It opens with a long and completely disjointed sequence that flickers back and forth between several scenes and times which never seem to connect properly. Thirty pages in and I wasn't sure I could make it through

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-43902545821770472572010-02-10T18:38:00.004-06:002010-02-11T09:18:31.945-06:00

The Books of MagicWritten by Neil Gaiman; Art by John Bolton, Scott Hampton, Charles Vess, and Paul Johnson1992 Eisner Winner for Best WriterDue to the way that the Eisners work every so often you get a real oddity in the list. There are several categories that are for a person instead of a specific work which means that while someone may win for their work on a particular project (like Sandman

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-7526341729450101262010-02-07T18:33:00.002-06:002010-02-07T21:36:28.224-06:00

Safe Area Gorazdeby Joe Sacco2001 Eisner Winner for Best New Graphic AlbumWhen I was reading Fax From Sarajevo I couldn't think of another comic that dealt with the Bosnian war. Somehow I had overlooked Safe Area Gorazde that dealt with a lesser known aspect of the war. At the height of the conflict there were three large enclaves of Bosnians were completely cut off in Serbian territory. The

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-91715124426668019272010-02-04T18:34:00.004-06:002010-02-06T08:05:10.332-06:00

Absolute Promethea Volume 1Written by Alan Moore; Art by J.H. Williams III and Mick Gray2000, 2001 Eisner Winner for Best Writer2001 Eisner Winner for Best Single Issue (#10)I've rarely been as conflicted about a series as much as I am about Promethea. There's a fine line between using beliefs in a story and proselytizing. Moore not only falls on the wrong of it often, he's completely off the

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-65488751753951782732010-02-02T17:32:00.005-06:002010-02-03T19:33:02.924-06:00

MarvelsWritten by Kurt Busiek; Art by Alex Ross1994 Eisner Winner for Best Limited Series1994 Eisner Winner for Best Painter1994 Eisner Winner for Best Production DesignWhen you have fifty years of near continuously published comics things can get a bit awkward. Current events become ancient history and what was in style twenty years before becomes embarrassing. So when Busiek and Ross created

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-13618808044075712010-01-31T20:24:00.004-06:002010-01-31T21:23:02.378-06:00

Batman: Year 100by Paul Pope2007 Eisner Winner for Best Limited Series2007 Eisner Winner for Best Writer/ArtistI'm snow bound at the moment and I took the opportunity to read some lighter material than what I had been going through lately. I had been reading a lot of dreary independent comics that were the exact kind of material that I don't like. Between stuff with no narrative or point and

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-59048894408505756732010-01-27T17:56:00.003-06:002010-01-28T17:25:28.825-06:00

American Born Chineseby Gene Luen Yang2007 Eisner Winner for Best New Graphic AlbumFor about eighty percent of the way through American Born Chinese I wasn't very impressed. The story about being true to yourself was trite, simplistic, and pounded over and over again. Between the three story lines there was one that I thought was pretty good, one that left me bored, and one that just left me

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Blanketsby Craig Thompson2004 Eisner Winner for Best New Graphic Album2004 Eisner Winner for Best Writer/ArtistIt seems like every other darling of independent comics is exactly the same: a coming-of-age story that's about a guy who's almost identical to the author. They have a slightly off-beat worldview and the normal people around them treat the main character with derision. Eventually they

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-91162691310467860372010-01-21T18:24:00.005-06:002010-01-22T18:03:29.355-06:00

The Originalsby Dave Gibbons2005 Eisner Winner for Best Graphic Album (New)Poor Dave Gibbons doesn't get the respect he deserves. He's the other half of the team that created Watchmen and the visual design of that book matched his partner's writing. Even with that partner's infamous obsessively detailed scripts Gibbon's sense of design helped create that unique world. That sense of design is

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-55412200207495887832010-01-19T18:12:00.002-06:002010-01-19T19:47:31.435-06:00

StreetwiseEdited by Jon B. Cooke and John MorrowContains "The Gorilla Suit" by Sergio Aragonés2001 Eisner Winner for Best Short StoryWell, I'm back. After my globetrotting adventure involving sunken treasure, animal smuggling rings, spies, and a plot to undermine the free world (soon to be a trashy airport novel by Clive Cussler) it's time to settle back into the routine of reviewing comics.

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It's that time of year again. Chris over at the Invincible Super Blog has called upon comic book fans to summarize stories very quickly with shoddy artwork. Two years ago I went big created The History of the DC Universe In Thirty Seconds. Last year I went for broke and played with the sacred cow of comic books with Watchmen in Thirty Seconds.This year I thought I'd bring things back a little

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-22651646249221891992009-12-27T16:44:00.002-06:002009-12-31T16:34:02.755-06:00

Hellboy Library Edition Volume 2by Mike Mignola1998 Eisner Winner for Best Writer/ArtistContains the 1998 Eisner Winner for Best AnthologyWhen I talked about the first volume of the Hellboy Library Editions I mentioned that while I liked Hellboy the problems with those earliest of stories turned me off to it for while. The stories in this second volume are a concentration of what I enjoy in the

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-25910285879731677022009-12-23T07:47:00.004-06:002009-12-23T18:12:47.942-06:00

Batman: The Killing Joke Written by Alan Moore; Art by Brian Bolland 1989 Eisner Winner for Best Graphic Album 1989 Eisner Winner for Best Writer 1989 Eisner Winner for Best ArtistSo how does one follow up the creation of what is generally considered the high water mark of a medium? Orson Welles created another masterpiece only to have the studio bosses hack it to pieces behind his back. Alan

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Grendel: Black, White, and RedWritten by Matt Wagner1999 Eisner Winner for Best Anthology"Devil's Advocate"Art by Tim Sale1999 Eisner Winner for Best Short StoryThere are times when I know that I am not the intended audience for a book. The run of YA novels that have won the literary awards are a good example of this. And still I have rarely felt as unwelcome as I read than I did with Grendel:

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The Sandman: Endless NightsWritten by Neil Gaiman2004 Eisner Winner for Best Short Story2004 Eisner Winner for Best AnthologyThere's one more stop on my Sandman blitz since I'm going to hold off on The Dream Hunters for now. Endless Nights is not a continuation of the series. It doesn't even reference events that occur toward the end. What it contains are seven short stories (and I'd hesitate

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-16508295898725205012009-12-15T17:03:00.004-06:002009-12-16T08:20:15.337-06:00

Absolute Sandman Volume 4Written by Neil Gaiman; Art by Marc Hempel, Michael Zulli, and Jon J. MuthArt for Sandman #75 by Charles Vess1997 Eisner Winner for Best Penciller/InkerYou'll note that Gaiman didn't win an Eisner for his writing on the second half of Sandman. It's not because the issues were poorly written, it was because the competetion was tough. For those years Alan Moore won the

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-67124179738030923852009-12-13T17:36:00.004-06:002009-12-13T20:23:18.554-06:00

Absolute Sandman Volume 3Written by Neil Gaiman1994 Eisner Winner for Best WriterArt for Sandman #50 by P. Craig Russel1994 Eisner Winner for Best Penciller/InkerEdited by Karen BergerTied for 1994 Eisner Winner for Best EditorI started reading the regular issues of Sandman with the Brief Lives arc. I had mostly caught up with the series. That means that this volume is where my issues start to

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-61240355928078792312009-12-12T18:19:00.005-06:002009-12-16T07:40:16.187-06:00

Absolute Sandman Volume 2Written by Neil GaimanEdited by Karen Berger1992 Eisner Winner for Best Single Issue or Story1992, 1993 Eisner Winner for Best Continuing Series1992, 1993 Eisner Winner for Best Writer1992 Eisner Winner for Best Editor1993 Eisner Winner for Best Publication Design for the Season of Mists trade paper backThe first year and a half of Sandman was the weakest of the series.

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Sandman #19: "A Midsummer Night's Dream"Written by Neil Gaiman; Art by Charles Vess1991 World Fantasy Award Winner for Best Short FictionCover by Dave McKean1991 World Fantasy Award Winner for Best ArtistNo, I didn't typo that award.Despite the fact that I was a comic reader at the time and I was making somewhat regular trips to my local comic book store "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was the first

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-35912990713799393312009-12-08T17:45:00.002-06:002009-12-09T09:28:51.536-06:00

Absolute Sandman Volume 1Written by Neil Gaiman; Art by too many people to list here1991 Eisner Winner for Best Continuing Series1991 Eisner Winner for Best Writer1991 Eisner Winner for Best Graphic Album: Reprint (Modern Material)2007 Eisner Winner for Best Archival/Collection Project (Comic Books)I needed to cover Sandman by the end of the year and I've been struggling with a format. Trying to

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Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long BlogWritten and Directed by Joss Whedon2009 Hugo Winner for Best Dramatic PresentationThis review has been delayed a long time. Though I've had my copy of the DVD release for a long time I lent it to a friend shortly before the Hugo awards were announced and I only got it back last week. They kept showing it more people who hadn't seen it which shows you how much

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Plastic Manby Kyle Baker2004 Eisner Winner for Best New Series2004, 2005, and 2006 Eisner Winner for Best Writer/Artist - Humor2005 Eisner Winner for Best Title for a Younger AudiencePlastic Man is one of those instances where my preference for getting comics as trade paper backs has worked against me. I don't buy a lot of comics in the monthly magazine form since the collected editions are

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Tender Morselsby Margo LanaganTied for 2009 World Fantasy Award Winner for Best NovelThere were several times while reading Tender Morsels that I had to stop and double check the dust jacket and the publisher's page. I had to make sure I wasn't mistaken when I saw that the jacket identified it "a junior library guild selection" and it was published by Random House Children's Books. I kept

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CriminalWritten by Ed Brubaker; Art by Sean Phillips2007 Eisner Winner for Best New Series2007, 2008 Eisner Winner for Best WriterNoir is the new black. It seems like everyone is going for noir these days (at least the ones who aren't going for zombies). You put some detectives in a gritty urban setting with a depressing narrative and you've got it made. Comics in particular have started

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-255814855063418942009-11-26T20:59:00.002-06:002009-11-27T00:10:47.210-06:00

I finished my Christmas shopping last month so with five full days off from work I've begun a nerd binge the likes of which are unheard of since... well, any time nerds have free time really. A very busy work schedule for the past two months drained the majority of my spare time while simultaneously the way I budget my entertainment purchases has created a massive to read/watch/play backlog.My

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The Shadow Yearby Jeffry FordTied for 2009 World Fantasy Award for Best NovelWhen I read Boy's Life I found that despite the fact that the concepts were overused the quality of writing made up for it. The Shadow Year is almost identical to Boy's Life except this time it lacks the interesting characterization and sense of wonder that elevated the previous World Fantasy Award winner above it's

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-68055233149668961862009-11-18T18:14:00.003-06:002009-11-19T18:41:26.961-06:00

The Ring of the Nibelungby P. Craig Russell2001 Eisner Winner for Best Limited SeriesI love going to the opera. Seeing the performance on stage is a much more engaging experience than simply listening to the music alone. About a year before I began this blog I moved from a major city to a remote location and the thing I miss the most about the city is going to the opera. There is something

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Maus IIby Art Spiegelman1992 Eisner Winner for Best Graphic Album: ReprintHere's the other event from recent history that has been over used for cheap, emotionally manipulative tripe. And just like the previous review Maus is one of those times where the story is told well. Unlike Stuck Rubber Baby though Maus is first and foremost the story of that history even withWhile technically the Eisner

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Stuck Rubber Babyby Howard Cruse1996 Eisner Winner for Best Graphic Album: NewThere are two relatively recent events that authors have taken up as a kind of lazy man's way to importance: the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. You can almost hear them say, "My book is about a Very Important Subject™ so it doesn't matter if the plot is generic, the characters paper thin, and my treatment of

Das Übernerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13539335724904806813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8621043036989629150.post-61128680419079635952009-11-12T07:37:00.006-06:002009-12-18T20:38:09.877-06:00

Jimmy Corrigan the Smartest Kid On Earthby Chris Ware1996, 2000 Eisner Winner for Best Continuing Series1996, 2001 Eisner Winner for Best Coloring2000 Eisner Winner for Best Graphic Album: New2001 Eisner Winner for Best Graphic Album: Reprint1996, 1997, 2001 Eisner Winner for Best Production DesignHow's that for a list of awards? This story ran for several years in Ware's Acme Novelty Library

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Understanding Comicsby Scott McCloud1994 Eisner Winner for Best Comic Related BookI was poking through my shelves looking for my copy of Understanding Comics so that I could have it in front of me as I write this review and it was nowhere to be found. Not filed with the Scott McCloud books, not shuffled into in the indy books section, not lost among the wall of trade paperbacks. I couldn't find

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