The 2005 MW Comic Book Awards
Have you been sitting around, waiting for somebody to tell you what the best and worst comics of the year were? Well, wait no longer, friend! Here are my picks of 2005.
Best New Series
Best New Series
SHE-HULK
I know this is basically just a re-boot of the previous series, but I don't care, because it's great, and you should be reading it. God bless you, Dan Slott.
Runners-up:
Loveless, Young Avengers
Runners-up:
Loveless, Young Avengers
Best New Talent
ALLAN HEINBERG & JIM CHEUNG
Man, Young Avengers is good. Did you expect Young Avengers to be that good? No, you didn't. And didn't it kick enitrely more ass than it was even entitled to? Yes, it did.
Gothiest Cover
Gothiest Cover
RUNAWAYS #6
Don't get me wrong, I love Runaways. But man, is that cover goth. With the butterfly and the extreme playing up of cutting, it just doesn't get any more goth than this.
Runners-up:
Klarion #2, Zatanna #3
Most Misleading Cover
Runners-up:
Klarion #2, Zatanna #3
Most Misleading Cover
GOTHAM CENTRAL #36
See what that cover implies? That's not what's in the comic at all.
Runners-up:
New Avengers #3 (Sentry cover, but he doesn't appear in issue), Ultimates 2 #8 (Cap in handcuffs, misleading on purpose)
Best Cover
Runners-up:
New Avengers #3 (Sentry cover, but he doesn't appear in issue), Ultimates 2 #8 (Cap in handcuffs, misleading on purpose)
Best Cover
THE WALKING DEAD #17
Look at that! He's totally punching you! No cover this year was so visceral, and nothing depicted a character's rage as well as this.
Runners-up:
Fables #38, Y: The Last Man #40
Best Limited Series
Runners-up:
Fables #38, Y: The Last Man #40
Best Limited Series
SUPREME POWER: NIGHTHAWK
Seriously. I didn't expect it either. Gritty Steve Dillon art, and damn good writing by the guy who wrote that godawful Venom series. About a billion times better than the JMS Hyperion series, and any other mini-series this year.
Runners-up:
Seven Soldiers: Guardian, The Authority: Revolution
Best and Worst Event Comic
Runners-up:
Seven Soldiers: Guardian, The Authority: Revolution
Best and Worst Event Comic
HOUSE OF M
It's amazing. This series plumbed the depths of awfulness for the first several issues, but was altogether saved by a cool climax, some cool tie-ins and one very interesting repercussion. Simply baffling.
Runner-up:
Infinite Crisis
Best Company-Wide Line of Interconnected Mini-Series
Runner-up:
Infinite Crisis
Best Company-Wide Line of Interconnected Mini-Series
GRANT MORRISON'S SEVEN SOLDIERS
It was hit-and-miss, but undoubtedly ambitious and overall, better than all the other big major-company events this year.
Worst Gimmicky Crossover
Worst Gimmicky Crossover
SPIDER-MAN: THE OTHER
One word: Bleeccccch. Spider-Man deserves better.
Runners-up:
Batman: War Games, All those Infinite Crisis tie-ins
Best Trade Paperback
Runners-up:
Batman: War Games, All those Infinite Crisis tie-ins
Best Trade Paperback
WE3
Weird, yes. But the great Frank Quitely art and surprisingly emotional story really made this one stand out as a mini-series last year, and it works even better in TPB form.
Runners-up:
Hard Time: 50 to Life, Sleeper Vol. 3: A Crooked Line, Complete Runaways Vol. 1 HC
Best Single Issue
Runners-up:
Hard Time: 50 to Life, Sleeper Vol. 3: A Crooked Line, Complete Runaways Vol. 1 HC
Best Single Issue
ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #1
Grant Morrison has said that he writes Superman as a combination of Jesus, Einstein and the American flag, and I can't think of a better description for this. This one issue made Superman into a character who actually interests me and brought him back to his sci-fi roots, accomplishing something I thought I'd never see -- it made me like a Superman comic.
Runners-up:
Ultimates 2 #9, Fables #40, Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #1
Best Artist
Runners-up:
Ultimates 2 #9, Fables #40, Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #1
Best Artist
BRYAN HITCH
No offense to Mark Millar, but I'm convinced that like, 80 percent of the awesomeness of the Ultimates comes from Hitch. He takes a long time, but it's all there on the page.
Runners-up:
John Cassaday, Frank Quitely
Best Writer
Runners-up:
John Cassaday, Frank Quitely
Best Writer
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN
Ex Machina + an improving Y: The Last Man + Runaways + a decent Ultimate X-Men run = Best Writer of the Year.
Runners-up:
Mark Millar, Grant Morrison, Brian Azzarello
Series I Was Really Excited About a Year Ago But That Turned Out to Be Kind of a Disappointment
Runners-up:
Mark Millar, Grant Morrison, Brian Azzarello
Series I Was Really Excited About a Year Ago But That Turned Out to Be Kind of a Disappointment
THE LOSERS
It used to be so good, and now that it's ending, I don't even care. Sad, no? I still like Jock's art, at least.
Runner-up:
All-Star Batman and Robin
Best Ongoing Series that Only Managed to Get Four Issues Out
Runner-up:
All-Star Batman and Robin
Best Ongoing Series that Only Managed to Get Four Issues Out
WARREN ELLIS' IRON MAN
Those four issues were really quite good and had cool art, but where were all the rest of them?
Runner-up:
That Kevin Smith Spider-Man series whose issue #4 was only 3 years late
Best Ongoing Series
Runner-up:
That Kevin Smith Spider-Man series whose issue #4 was only 3 years late
Best Ongoing Series
FABLES
A contender for this distinction every year, Fables could do no wrong this year. Exceptionally well-written, with beautiful art and great storylines. The "Homelands" arc was one of the best of the year, and even the little interlude issues were great. It won the Eisner a couple years back, but this is the year it really deserves it.
Runners-up:
Ex Machina, The Walking Dead, Ultimates 2
Runners-up:
Ex Machina, The Walking Dead, Ultimates 2
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