I ain't giving out any stinking award money though
By Alex Ness
The Frostie Awards
In January I will release my best in comics list. It is a work in progress and I am nearly bursting with holiday foods, love and family.
For now here is my list of Land of Frost indvidual award winners
PUBLISHER
DC and Marvel would seem the obvious choice to some. From sheer output of generally high quality product they would seem to have the market cornered. Alternative and TopShelf would seem to be the choice that others would find obvious. They produce excellent content and the personal nature of the stories are salve to many. But my choice is a close one, picking between two companies that are risk takers and are committed to adding diversity to the market place.
IDW Publishing: A committment to quality and excellence means that whatever IDW produces equates worth your time. Dark Days, Wake the Dead, CSI, CVO, Lore and POPBOT are all wonderful books that have earned IDW my esteem. The publisher has a committment to a house style as well. Looking at an IDW book you can see the love and effort put into their product.
IMAGE Comics: Unlike the IMAGE founders’s works which were all super hero based, IMAGE Central has a broad spectrum of product, many genres and few super heroes. They are brave and have a committment to independence. Many talents have found that IMAGE is a map to independence, financially speaking. They have allowed small press to grow into viable studios, producing color comics for a reasonable cost.
In a very tight race I choose IDW but, I am happy that both companies produce comics that are really what the industry should be about.
WRITER
This is a very tight race among three greatly talented fellows.
Steve Niles: Not an overnight success Steve spent a long time honing his skills. But then, in the last two years his work exploded onto the scene to enormous sales and vibe. He has sold many of his works for movie options. DARK DAYS and CRIMINAL MACABRE rang loudly as some of the best writing of the year.
Chuck Dixon: Despite CrossGen’s near collapse the writer who has shown them the way to financial success is Chuck Dixon. He started with a brilliant take on martial arts with WAY OF THE RAT. Then his work on BRATH was a sign that genre is less important to the success of a comic as fine work, writing and illustrating. But however brilliant BRATH is, the true event was EL CAZDOR. There has been precious few examples to draw from history here, but this seems to be the first ongoing series devoted to a historical fiction regarding Pirates. EL CAZADOR is a victory for the reader and CrossGen. Out of the blue seemingly, Dixon opened the market for great stories, outside of traditionally successful genres.
Brian Bendis: Whether on his excellent POWERS for IMAGE, ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN and DAREDEVIL for Marvel and the various other projects he has worked on, Bendis has truly set the tone for comics for the mainstream buyer. His work is a combination of cinematic excellence and brilliant dialogue.
I am troubled by this as each deserves his credit. Going with my gut I am choosing Chuck Dixon. Many people might disagree. Let them. Dixon is a great writer as are Bendis and Niles.
ARTIST
Since I find art to be so much more subjective than story/writing I will suggest that this choice is not only hard to make but is clearly going to be connected to taste more than the other choices.
Bryan Hitch: Working on the ULTIMATES, Hitch has really captured a power of heroes, and the grace and courage of warriors. His work is among the best I have ever seen.
Mike Oeming: Using a style borrowing from the simplicity of Bruce Timm’s art, Oeming deserves great praise for his understanding of the elements of story telling. Not concerned with money shot images, Oeming makes eve
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