Saturday, April 24, 2010
Glen Farby's Eisner Winning Covers
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:
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Review - Bizarro Comics
Bizarro Comics
2002 Eisner Winner for Best Anthology
Contains "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Baby Sitter"
by Kyle Baker
2000 Eisner Winner for Best Short Story
2000 Eisner Winner for Best Writer/Artist: Humor
Before 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: bizarro comics. DC unleashed a host of creators of independent comics on their iconic heroes and let them do zany things. It's quirky, off beat, and generally enjoyable showcase for these creators.
That done, let's get to the story of "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Baby Sitter".
In the late 1990's DC was publishing a line of anthology specials called 80-Page Giants. And "Elseworlds" was DC's identifier for stories that were not part of their ongoing stories and in which they usually did some kind of high concept twist on the original (Batman is a vampire, Superman is a communist, and so on). So Elseworlds 80-Page Giant was an anthology where they put a different spin on the characters.
For this anthology Kyle Baker wrote and drew "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Baby Sitter" in which an infant Superman causes comedic havoc for his babysitter. He constantly stumbles into apparently dangerous situations like falling asleep in the middle of a freeway which require her to rush in to save him. The last panel featured the baby cheerfully sitting in a microwave.
This was a step too far for DC publisher Paul Levitz. He ordered the story pulled from the issue but there was one tiny problem with that: he saw the story and ordered it pulled after the comic had been printed. A few thousand copies had already been shipped to the U.K. and a handful of copies got around to people in the U.S. but the rest were pulped less than a week before it was set to reach comic shops.
Word quickly got around and the few copies that were out there were in high demand. People wanted to see the story that DC decided to destroy. It was a massive embarrassment for them and I strongly suspect that was the reason a comic that was not available in any form to the vast majority of the public won two Eisner awards.
Which isn't to say it's a bad story. It's a lot of fun, had me amused the whole time, and demonstrated Kyle Baker's incredible skill at comedy. The escalating dangers of the baby rushing off and his babysitter chasing afterward has been used in a lot of cartoons but somehow having the baby be indestructible just makes it more amusing. I just suspect that it wouldn't have won if it was not for the controversy drawing attention to it.
So as this controversy raged DC comics decided that they needed to publish "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Baby Sitter" after all but there wasn't a good place for it with their current books. So they came up with the idea of an anthology book featuring similarly odd and humorous stories and they titled it Bizarro Comics which brings us back full circle.
Since Bizarro Comics is such a diverse anthology it's hard to pin down. There's twenty-six stories in this book. The longest is the framing story in which the villains Mr. Mxyzptlk the cartoonish imp and Bizarro the backward Superman have to play games against a rules obsessed universe conqueror. This would have been an entertaining comic on its own. Other highlights for me include an Aquaman adventure in a bathtub, Batman getting an inferiority complex after trying to help Superman, and a child sneaking into the Batcave. I can't single out a single story that I disliked though I did find many of them to just be too abrupt which was due to the short story format. The only downside that I can find is that many of the stories are dependent upon the reader being familiar with the character; if you don't know the Metal Men then the story about them disguising themselves as human to go to a nightclub will be less comprehensible.
Bizarro Comics is a good anthology. It's diverse, features a lot of great stories, and showcases a lot of comic book creators who just don't get much attention. I recommend it with the caveat that if you aren't at least generally familiar with superheroes then it won't make any sense.
2002 Eisner Winner for Best Anthology
Contains "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Baby Sitter"
by Kyle Baker
2000 Eisner Winner for Best Short Story
2000 Eisner Winner for Best Writer/Artist: Humor
Before 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: bizarro comics. DC unleashed a host of creators of independent comics on their iconic heroes and let them do zany things. It's quirky, off beat, and generally enjoyable showcase for these creators.
That done, let's get to the story of "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Baby Sitter".
In the late 1990's DC was publishing a line of anthology specials called 80-Page Giants. And "Elseworlds" was DC's identifier for stories that were not part of their ongoing stories and in which they usually did some kind of high concept twist on the original (Batman is a vampire, Superman is a communist, and so on). So Elseworlds 80-Page Giant was an anthology where they put a different spin on the characters.
For this anthology Kyle Baker wrote and drew "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Baby Sitter" in which an infant Superman causes comedic havoc for his babysitter. He constantly stumbles into apparently dangerous situations like falling asleep in the middle of a freeway which require her to rush in to save him. The last panel featured the baby cheerfully sitting in a microwave.
This was a step too far for DC publisher Paul Levitz. He ordered the story pulled from the issue but there was one tiny problem with that: he saw the story and ordered it pulled after the comic had been printed. A few thousand copies had already been shipped to the U.K. and a handful of copies got around to people in the U.S. but the rest were pulped less than a week before it was set to reach comic shops.
Word quickly got around and the few copies that were out there were in high demand. People wanted to see the story that DC decided to destroy. It was a massive embarrassment for them and I strongly suspect that was the reason a comic that was not available in any form to the vast majority of the public won two Eisner awards.
Which isn't to say it's a bad story. It's a lot of fun, had me amused the whole time, and demonstrated Kyle Baker's incredible skill at comedy. The escalating dangers of the baby rushing off and his babysitter chasing afterward has been used in a lot of cartoons but somehow having the baby be indestructible just makes it more amusing. I just suspect that it wouldn't have won if it was not for the controversy drawing attention to it.
So as this controversy raged DC comics decided that they needed to publish "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Baby Sitter" after all but there wasn't a good place for it with their current books. So they came up with the idea of an anthology book featuring similarly odd and humorous stories and they titled it Bizarro Comics which brings us back full circle.
Since Bizarro Comics is such a diverse anthology it's hard to pin down. There's twenty-six stories in this book. The longest is the framing story in which the villains Mr. Mxyzptlk the cartoonish imp and Bizarro the backward Superman have to play games against a rules obsessed universe conqueror. This would have been an entertaining comic on its own. Other highlights for me include an Aquaman adventure in a bathtub, Batman getting an inferiority complex after trying to help Superman, and a child sneaking into the Batcave. I can't single out a single story that I disliked though I did find many of them to just be too abrupt which was due to the short story format. The only downside that I can find is that many of the stories are dependent upon the reader being familiar with the character; if you don't know the Metal Men then the story about them disguising themselves as human to go to a nightclub will be less comprehensible.
Bizarro Comics is a good anthology. It's diverse, features a lot of great stories, and showcases a lot of comic book creators who just don't get much attention. I recommend it with the caveat that if you aren't at least generally familiar with superheroes then it won't make any sense.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Back from C2E2
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 usually just wasn't enough for me to do. I was wrong. I could have easily spent the whole weekend there. I'm still glad I didn't since I spent the rest of that time touring Chicago, eating at world class restaurants, and seeing shows but if I can squeeze in going next year I may go on Saturday and Sunday.
Part of that was the sheer quantity of creators there. I couldn't turn around without pumping into someone whose work I was familiar with. Looking through Boom Studios booth; hey there's Mark Waid! And over there at the next booth it's Max Brook promoting the World War Z comic (he couldn't tell me anything about the movie, by the way). George R. R. Martin is going to be on the next aisle over in twenty minutes (I never did see him though I think it wouldn't have been hard to get the chance). I met more comic book creators in one day than I ever have even at large shows.
Also the venue was the best for any nerd convention I've been to. A huge show floor with natural lighting laid out in a way to make getting around convenient and tables organized so that what you're looking for would be grouped together.
In fact if I had to pick one adjective to describe C2E2 it's "organized". Everything was laid out perfectly, the staff handled things efficiently, and the show seemed built about making it as convenient and easy to enjoy for everyone. I'm used to conventions being haphazard affairs where you have no room to breathe and get turned around. C2E2 wasn't like that which made it the best convention experience I ever had.
Getting to see Neil Gaiman was just a bonus.
From experience I knew I couldn't handle more than one day at a comic book convention; there usually just wasn't enough for me to do. I was wrong. I could have easily spent the whole weekend there. I'm still glad I didn't since I spent the rest of that time touring Chicago, eating at world class restaurants, and seeing shows but if I can squeeze in going next year I may go on Saturday and Sunday.
Part of that was the sheer quantity of creators there. I couldn't turn around without pumping into someone whose work I was familiar with. Looking through Boom Studios booth; hey there's Mark Waid! And over there at the next booth it's Max Brook promoting the World War Z comic (he couldn't tell me anything about the movie, by the way). George R. R. Martin is going to be on the next aisle over in twenty minutes (I never did see him though I think it wouldn't have been hard to get the chance). I met more comic book creators in one day than I ever have even at large shows.
Also the venue was the best for any nerd convention I've been to. A huge show floor with natural lighting laid out in a way to make getting around convenient and tables organized so that what you're looking for would be grouped together.
In fact if I had to pick one adjective to describe C2E2 it's "organized". Everything was laid out perfectly, the staff handled things efficiently, and the show seemed built about making it as convenient and easy to enjoy for everyone. I'm used to conventions being haphazard affairs where you have no room to breathe and get turned around. C2E2 wasn't like that which made it the best convention experience I ever had.
Getting to see Neil Gaiman was just a bonus.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Brian Bolland's Eisner Winning Covers Part 3
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 ingenious:
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 ingenious:
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Review - Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Adapted by Jerry Kramsky and Lorenzo Mattotti
2003 Eisner Winner for Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material
I 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 length a bit over the run but generally they tried to fit a novel into around forty comic book pages. The original U.S. publication stopped in the early 1970's but other spin offs from around the world continued sporadically and it is currently being reprinted each month in the U.K. The quality of the adaption was never very good but often the illustrations were usually better than most. This adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde isn't from the Classics Illustrated line but it would have fit in without any trouble since like their older, American counterparts the quality of the writing isn't the best but the artwork is incredible.
There is a man by the name of Dr. Jekyll. Jekyll is a well off man who dabbles in chemistry and wonders about the nature of morality and if a human being's mind could be divided. Then there's Mr. Hyde who runs wild in the town at night satiating his vast appetites as the id run wild. Jekyll's friends look for the link between them and are shocked by what they find.
A problem with a direct adaptation of Stevenson's novel is that the identity of Hyde is the novel's major plot twist. It's a plot twist that has become so ubiquitous that trying to treat it as a plot twist would be confusing to someone who has not read the novel. So most people who adapt the story wind up restructuring it entirely and that is exactly what Kramsky has done. He reworks the novel so the focus is on Jekyll's loss of control and unleashed passions rather than the mystery of who Hyde is. This aspect of the adaptation is fine; transforming the character into a sex crazed serial killer is bit blunt but it does filter the themes through an appropriately modern lens.
Unfortunately when it comes to the actual prose (and this may not be Kramsky's fault since this is a translation) it is tough going. It's been a few decades since I read the novel but it felt like the translation was copying and pasting bits of Stevenson's writing into the word balloons and descriptive captions. The slow pace of nineteenth century writing runs headlong into the fast pace of the modern comic and the writing comes across worse for it. Clipping out overwritten sentences and reassembling them to match the artwork made it tough to read. And if these were edited from Stevenson's own words then the translator was attempting a similar style. Either way this book cried out for a livelier pace in the actual prose.
The art on the other hand is about as lively as you can get. Mattotti uses an almost cubist style for the book with strange perspectives and angular, flattened faces dominating. Colors are handled in huge blocks create stunning contrasts. I can't call it a beautiful book because the artwork isn't beautiful; it's glaring, sharp, and twisted. It's also astounding to look at which makes me thing that Mattotti has achieved exactly the effect that he wanted with it.
It's best to think of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as an art book that happens to follow a plot. The plot itself isn't presented very well but the artwork is something that is memorable. I may leave it out on my coffee table just to flip through from time to time because of that.
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Adapted by Jerry Kramsky and Lorenzo Mattotti
2003 Eisner Winner for Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material
I 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 length a bit over the run but generally they tried to fit a novel into around forty comic book pages. The original U.S. publication stopped in the early 1970's but other spin offs from around the world continued sporadically and it is currently being reprinted each month in the U.K. The quality of the adaption was never very good but often the illustrations were usually better than most. This adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde isn't from the Classics Illustrated line but it would have fit in without any trouble since like their older, American counterparts the quality of the writing isn't the best but the artwork is incredible.
There is a man by the name of Dr. Jekyll. Jekyll is a well off man who dabbles in chemistry and wonders about the nature of morality and if a human being's mind could be divided. Then there's Mr. Hyde who runs wild in the town at night satiating his vast appetites as the id run wild. Jekyll's friends look for the link between them and are shocked by what they find.
A problem with a direct adaptation of Stevenson's novel is that the identity of Hyde is the novel's major plot twist. It's a plot twist that has become so ubiquitous that trying to treat it as a plot twist would be confusing to someone who has not read the novel. So most people who adapt the story wind up restructuring it entirely and that is exactly what Kramsky has done. He reworks the novel so the focus is on Jekyll's loss of control and unleashed passions rather than the mystery of who Hyde is. This aspect of the adaptation is fine; transforming the character into a sex crazed serial killer is bit blunt but it does filter the themes through an appropriately modern lens.
Unfortunately when it comes to the actual prose (and this may not be Kramsky's fault since this is a translation) it is tough going. It's been a few decades since I read the novel but it felt like the translation was copying and pasting bits of Stevenson's writing into the word balloons and descriptive captions. The slow pace of nineteenth century writing runs headlong into the fast pace of the modern comic and the writing comes across worse for it. Clipping out overwritten sentences and reassembling them to match the artwork made it tough to read. And if these were edited from Stevenson's own words then the translator was attempting a similar style. Either way this book cried out for a livelier pace in the actual prose.
The art on the other hand is about as lively as you can get. Mattotti uses an almost cubist style for the book with strange perspectives and angular, flattened faces dominating. Colors are handled in huge blocks create stunning contrasts. I can't call it a beautiful book because the artwork isn't beautiful; it's glaring, sharp, and twisted. It's also astounding to look at which makes me thing that Mattotti has achieved exactly the effect that he wanted with it.
It's best to think of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as an art book that happens to follow a plot. The plot itself isn't presented very well but the artwork is something that is memorable. I may leave it out on my coffee table just to flip through from time to time because of that.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
The 2010 Hugo Nominees
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 Novel
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
The City & The City by China Miéville
Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson
Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente
Wake by Robert J. Sawyer
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
Best Novella
“Act One” by Nancy Kress
The God Engines by John Scalzi
“Palimpsest” by Charles Stross
Shambling Towards Hiroshima by James Morrow
“Vishnu at the Cat Circus” by Ian McDonald
The Women of Nell Gwynne’s by Kage Baker
Best Novelette
“Eros, Philia, Agape” by Rachel Swirsky
The Island” by Peter Watts
“It Takes Two” by Nicola Griffith
“One of Our Bastards is Missing” by Paul Cornell
“Overtime” by Charles Stross
“Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast” by Eugie Foster
Best Short Story
“The Bride of Frankenstein” by Mike Resnick
“Bridesicle” by Will McIntosh
“The Moment” by Lawrence M. Schoen
“Non-Zero Probabilities” by N.K. Jemisin
“Spar” by Kij Johnson
Best Related Book
Canary Fever: Reviews by John Clute
Hope-In-The-Mist: The Extraordinary Career and Mysterious Life of Hope Mirrlees by Michael Swanwick
The Inter-Galactic Playground: A Critical Study of Children’s and Teens’ Science Fiction by Farah Mendlesohn
On Joanna Russ by Farah Mendlesohn (ed.)
The Secret Feminist Cabal: A Cultural History of SF Feminisms by Helen Merrick
This is Me, Jack Vance! (Or, More Properly, This is “I”) by Jack Vance
Best Graphic Story
Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?; Written by Neil Gaiman; Pencilled by Andy Kubert; Inked by Scott Williams
Captain Britain And MI13. Volume 3: Vampire State; Written by Paul Cornell; Pencilled by Leonard Kirk with Mike Collins, Adrian Alphona and Ardian Syaf
Fables Vol 12: The Dark Ages; Written by Bill Willingham; Pencilled by Mark Buckingham; Art by Peter Gross & Andrew Pepoy, Michael Allred, David Hahn; Colour by Lee Loughridge & Laura Allred; Letters by Todd Klein
Girl Genius, Volume 9: Agatha Heterodyne and the Heirs of the Storm; Written by Kaja and Phil Foglio; Art by Phil Foglio; Colours by Cheyenne Wright
Schlock Mercenary: The Longshoreman of the Apocalypse; Written and Illustrated by Howard Tayler
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Avatar; Screenplay and Directed by James Cameron
District 9; Screenplay by Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell; Directed by Neill Blomkamp
Moon; Screenplay by Nathan Parker; Story by Duncan Jones; Directed by Duncan Jones
Star Trek; Screenplay by Robert Orci & Alex Kurtzman; Directed by J.J. Abrams
Up; Screenplay by Bob Peterson & Pete Docter; Story by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, & Thomas McCarthy; Directed by Bob Peterson & Pete Docter
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
Doctor Who: “The Next Doctor”; Written by Russell T Davies; Directed by Andy Goddard
Doctor Who: “Planet of the Dead”; Written by Russell T Davies & Gareth Roberts; Directed by James Strong
Doctor Who: “The Waters of Mars”; Written by Russell T Davies & Phil Ford; Directed by Graeme Harper
Dollhouse: “Epitaph 1″; Story by Joss Whedon; Written by Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon; Directed by David Solomon
FlashForward: “No More Good Days”; Written by Brannon Braga & David S. Goyer; Directed by David S. Goyer; based on the novel by Robert J. Sawyer
Best Editor, Long Form
Lou Anders
Ginjer Buchanan
Liz Gorinsky
Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Juliet Ulman
Best Editor, Short Form
Ellen Datlow
Stanley Schmidt
Jonathan Strahan
Gordon Van Gelder
Sheila Williams
Best Professional Artist
Bob Eggleton
Stephan Martiniere
John Picacio
Daniel Dos Santos
Shaun Tan
Best Semiprozine
Ansible edited by David Langford
Clarkesworld edited by Neil Clarke, Sean Wallace, & Cheryl Morgan
Interzone edited by Andy Cox
Locus edited by Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong, & Liza Groen Trombi
Weird Tales edited by Ann VanderMeer & Stephen H. Segal
Best Fan Writer
Claire Brialey
Christopher J Garcia
James Nicoll
Lloyd Penney
Frederik Pohl
Best Fanzine
Argentus edited by Steven H Silver
Banana Wings edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer
CHALLENGER edited by Guy H. Lillian III
Drink Tank edited by Christopher J Garcia, with guest editor James Bacon
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
StarShipSofa edited by Tony C. Smith
Best Fan Artist
Brad W. Foster
Dave Howell
Sue Mason
Steve Stiles
Taral Wayne
Two nominations for Robert J. Sawyer?! If you missed his second it's part of the television show nominees. And in that category there are three episodes of Doctor Who which might have had its weakest year since being revived. While the short form dramatic presentation aren't that great the long form might be the best it's ever been. When Star Trek and Avatar are the worst nominees it says a lot about just how good of year we had for theatrical SF. And what is Frederik Pohl doing in the "Fan Writer" category? Okay, I never really understood those fan categories but that's really odd.
There were some ugly shocks for me on the ballot this time:
Best Novel
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
The City & The City by China Miéville
Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson
Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente
Wake by Robert J. Sawyer
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
Best Novella
“Act One” by Nancy Kress
The God Engines by John Scalzi
“Palimpsest” by Charles Stross
Shambling Towards Hiroshima by James Morrow
“Vishnu at the Cat Circus” by Ian McDonald
The Women of Nell Gwynne’s by Kage Baker
Best Novelette
“Eros, Philia, Agape” by Rachel Swirsky
The Island” by Peter Watts
“It Takes Two” by Nicola Griffith
“One of Our Bastards is Missing” by Paul Cornell
“Overtime” by Charles Stross
“Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast” by Eugie Foster
Best Short Story
“The Bride of Frankenstein” by Mike Resnick
“Bridesicle” by Will McIntosh
“The Moment” by Lawrence M. Schoen
“Non-Zero Probabilities” by N.K. Jemisin
“Spar” by Kij Johnson
Best Related Book
Canary Fever: Reviews by John Clute
Hope-In-The-Mist: The Extraordinary Career and Mysterious Life of Hope Mirrlees by Michael Swanwick
The Inter-Galactic Playground: A Critical Study of Children’s and Teens’ Science Fiction by Farah Mendlesohn
On Joanna Russ by Farah Mendlesohn (ed.)
The Secret Feminist Cabal: A Cultural History of SF Feminisms by Helen Merrick
This is Me, Jack Vance! (Or, More Properly, This is “I”) by Jack Vance
Best Graphic Story
Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?; Written by Neil Gaiman; Pencilled by Andy Kubert; Inked by Scott Williams
Captain Britain And MI13. Volume 3: Vampire State; Written by Paul Cornell; Pencilled by Leonard Kirk with Mike Collins, Adrian Alphona and Ardian Syaf
Fables Vol 12: The Dark Ages; Written by Bill Willingham; Pencilled by Mark Buckingham; Art by Peter Gross & Andrew Pepoy, Michael Allred, David Hahn; Colour by Lee Loughridge & Laura Allred; Letters by Todd Klein
Girl Genius, Volume 9: Agatha Heterodyne and the Heirs of the Storm; Written by Kaja and Phil Foglio; Art by Phil Foglio; Colours by Cheyenne Wright
Schlock Mercenary: The Longshoreman of the Apocalypse; Written and Illustrated by Howard Tayler
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Avatar; Screenplay and Directed by James Cameron
District 9; Screenplay by Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell; Directed by Neill Blomkamp
Moon; Screenplay by Nathan Parker; Story by Duncan Jones; Directed by Duncan Jones
Star Trek; Screenplay by Robert Orci & Alex Kurtzman; Directed by J.J. Abrams
Up; Screenplay by Bob Peterson & Pete Docter; Story by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, & Thomas McCarthy; Directed by Bob Peterson & Pete Docter
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
Doctor Who: “The Next Doctor”; Written by Russell T Davies; Directed by Andy Goddard
Doctor Who: “Planet of the Dead”; Written by Russell T Davies & Gareth Roberts; Directed by James Strong
Doctor Who: “The Waters of Mars”; Written by Russell T Davies & Phil Ford; Directed by Graeme Harper
Dollhouse: “Epitaph 1″; Story by Joss Whedon; Written by Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon; Directed by David Solomon
FlashForward: “No More Good Days”; Written by Brannon Braga & David S. Goyer; Directed by David S. Goyer; based on the novel by Robert J. Sawyer
Best Editor, Long Form
Lou Anders
Ginjer Buchanan
Liz Gorinsky
Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Juliet Ulman
Best Editor, Short Form
Ellen Datlow
Stanley Schmidt
Jonathan Strahan
Gordon Van Gelder
Sheila Williams
Best Professional Artist
Bob Eggleton
Stephan Martiniere
John Picacio
Daniel Dos Santos
Shaun Tan
Best Semiprozine
Ansible edited by David Langford
Clarkesworld edited by Neil Clarke, Sean Wallace, & Cheryl Morgan
Interzone edited by Andy Cox
Locus edited by Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong, & Liza Groen Trombi
Weird Tales edited by Ann VanderMeer & Stephen H. Segal
Best Fan Writer
Claire Brialey
Christopher J Garcia
James Nicoll
Lloyd Penney
Frederik Pohl
Best Fanzine
Argentus edited by Steven H Silver
Banana Wings edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer
CHALLENGER edited by Guy H. Lillian III
Drink Tank edited by Christopher J Garcia, with guest editor James Bacon
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
StarShipSofa edited by Tony C. Smith
Best Fan Artist
Brad W. Foster
Dave Howell
Sue Mason
Steve Stiles
Taral Wayne
Two nominations for Robert J. Sawyer?! If you missed his second it's part of the television show nominees. And in that category there are three episodes of Doctor Who which might have had its weakest year since being revived. While the short form dramatic presentation aren't that great the long form might be the best it's ever been. When Star Trek and Avatar are the worst nominees it says a lot about just how good of year we had for theatrical SF. And what is Frederik Pohl doing in the "Fan Writer" category? Okay, I never really understood those fan categories but that's really odd.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Brian Bolland's Eisner Winning Covers Part 2
In 1993 Bolland won a second Eisner for his Animal Man covers. That year he also provided covers for Wonder Woman:
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