Comics should be fun awards
The Eisner Awards was held a couple of weeks ago. The Eisners are the comic book industry’s equivalent to the Oscars. This year some notable creators were left out that had fans rushing to their message boards in anger. While we’re not experts when it comes to the Eisners, we do feel that a lot more comics should get the recognition they deserve. And so, we present you our first-ever Comics Should Be Fun Awards. Dedicated to the comics that were worth every peso and reminded us why we love reading them.
Best Use of Nature in a Comic: Swamp Thing #8
Writer Scott Snyder and artist Yanick Paquette have made Swamp Thing one of the must-read comics of the year. With their eighth issue, the creative team finally revealed the new and improved Swamp Thing. And the new design is both amazing and hilarious. The titular hero gets a pair of wings made entirely of leaves and gets a crown/mask made of nothing but twigs. While the design makes sense in the story, with lesser talents it would’ve flopped completely. Thanks to Paquette, Swamp Thing’s redesign shines and establishes the character and the comic as superhero royalty.
Cutest Little “Evil” Alien: Broo of Wolverine and the X-Men
The alien race Brood has been one of the X-Men’s fiercest rivals. They’ve been a hit with fans and have given the comic some of its best stories throughout the decades. With the recently launched Wolverine and the X-Men, the alien race got a new reason to rejoice thanks to Broo, the cutest character in the comic. Broo is different from his vicious race. He’s intelligent but meek, often characterized as the nerd the students love to bully. Jason Aaron has made Broo resonate with the readers in less than a year. Thanks to the terrific art by Chris Bachalo and Nick Bradshaw, Broo (as well as the entire cast) is given the very best treatment in comics.
Best Time-Travel Story of 2012: Fantastic Four #605
In the entirety of Jonathan Hickman’s stellar run in Fantastic Four, time-travel was a plot device he had grown to love and master. It may have been confusing at times but the writer knew what he was doing. There was no greater proof of this than Fantastic Four #605. It’s a done-in-one tale that focused on Reed Richards traveling to the future with his father and to witness the life of his best friend, Ben Grimm aka The Thing. And what he and the readers saw were some of the most beautiful and touching panels in comics all year. This is what’s at the heart of Fantastic Four. Despite all the super-heroics and science fiction, it will always be about family. And there’s no greater family in comics than theirs.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Flex Mentallo
The absolutely brilliant comic by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely was originally released almost two decades ago. Finally reprinted and recolored this year, new readers everywhere got a chance to experience what the veteran fans have. We were part of the new readers and were completely floored with Flex Mentallo. In just four issues, Morrison and Quitely gave us the most outrageous and most honest love letter to comics. While the casual comic reader might not get all the Easter eggs – we’ve been comic fans for years and we didn’t get all the surprises – there will be tons to enjoy for comic lovers. Flex Mentallo gets the Lifetime Achievement Award because even today, it’s truly ahead of its time.
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What are your favorite comics? Let us know via e-mail at jiggyandjonty@gmail.com or thru Twitter: @jiggycruz and @littlejontycruz.
