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Worst New Series

I did everything I could to like this series. Honestly, I did. But you can only have Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman sit at a table and look at pictures for so many apparent days before it gets really tiresome. And what's with those character choices? Red Tornado? Arsenal? Vixen? The cover of the first issue shows the creators are aware of much better characters existing, and yet they chose to ignore it. Which means they have no excuse.
Runners-up:
The Flash, Punisher: War Journal, Batman: Confidential

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Pinkest Cover

There's just no denying it. The cover's damn pink. Also, this series is distinguished by its very long title. Whoo!
Runner-up:
Jack of Fables #3

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Worst Covers for an Otherwise Great Series

I don't have anything against cheesecake art, per se. In fact, very often I'm all for it. But Greg Horn's weirdly painted covers just creep me the hell out, and pretty much tend to have an entirely opposite feel from the actual, awesome comic inside when it comes to She-Hulk. I will say that the covers have been getting better over the past couple months, so maybe there's hope.
Runner-up:
Nextwave (of which the most recent cover is awesome, I should note)

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Best Cover

Let's just be honest about it here, no other cover this year featured Batman being this awesome. That's enough for me.
Runners-up:
Fables #56, Runaways #21, Astonishing X-Men #17

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Best Mini-Series

Brian K. Vaughan is the master of the last page cliffhanger, and the end of the first issue of this series is a doozie. Just that would be enough, but add in some of the coolest characterization for the title character in Marvel's history and you've got a stunner.
Runners-up:
Agents of Atlas, Beyond!

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Best and Worst Event Comic

It's frustrating, because this series started out so awesomely, with so much promise to finally deliver on all the hype Marvel puts behind every big event comic. The first issue knocked my damn socks off, and then it progressively turned messier and stupider. Now, I can't imagine it ending well. Or any time soon.
Runners-up:
52 (which I should note is actually pretty good), Infinite Crisis

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Most Unnecessary Return of '90s Characters

Seriously, somebody thought it was a good idea to bring this back? I just can't imagine it.
Runner-up:
Gen13

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Most Disappointingly Canceled Comic

Not only is it disappointing that the series was canceled despite being the best thing DC was putting out for about two years, but they took the best characters and basically fucked them over. Crispus Allen is now the crappiest Spectre ever and Renee Montoya seems to be on the path to becoming the new Question (which, while awesome, means the original Question has to die and she isn't a cop anymore). It sucks.
Runners-up:
Nextwave, The Thing

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Most Confusing First Issue

So, there's a submarine...and that's about all I remember. I'm probably going to keep reading the series, but only because I dig The Authority and Grant Morrison, and not because of the strength of this issue, which just gave me a headache.
Runners-up:
Seven Soldiers, Batman: Confidential

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Best Trade Paperback

I admit that I completely missed out on DMZ in issue form, for whatever reason, but I was lucky enough to meet Brian Wood at this year's Heroes Con and got on the bandwagon. And it's just an awesome book. It reads pretty beautifully in trade form, too -- probably better, to be honest.
Runners-up:
Batman and the Monster Men, Penny Arcade trades

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Best Graphic Novel

About a dozen stories, all beautifully illustrated and expertly told. If someone asked me if comics could be literature, I wouldn't hesitate to show them this.

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Best Single Issue

Honestly, just about any single issue of Detective since Paul Dini's run started could fill this spot, but this issue, in which a spot-on Joker takes Robin on a horrific car ride is, simply put, one of the best comics I've ever read. I never thought I'd love a Batman comic where the title character didn't show up until the last page, but here we are.
Runners-up:
Fables #50, All-Star Superman #5

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Best Artist

Between Astonishing X-Men, which actually managed to make me feel pumped while still being an X-Men comic, and Planetary, Cassaday's really been knocking it out of the park this year. The Kitty Pryde-as-Wolverine-in-the-sewer thing in the pictured issue pretty much won this for him, by the way.
Runners-up:
Bryan Hitch, Stuart Immonen, Tony Harris

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Best Writer

I've said for a while that Brubaker's the best thing Marvel's got going for them, and this year he proved it. Not only did he manage to stay fairly clean of the stink of Civil War, he also managed to start Criminal, a worthy follow-up to the excellent Sleeper, write some kickass Captain America and the title of the year. Not too bad.
Runners-up:
Warren Ellis, Brian K. Vaughan, Bill Willingham

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Best Series No One Read

As far as I know, just about nobody's reading Brian Azzarello's series set in the post-Civil War (the real one, not the Marvel one) West. Which is a shame, because it's damn good. In fact, it went in a whole new, unexpected direction this year that kind of made my jaw drop. Looks like Azzarello's not just a 100 Bullets-trick pony after all.
Runner-up:
Books of Doom

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Best Ongoing Series

Back during the Bendis run on this title, I thought it was pretty incredibly good. Like, Miller good. And then Ed Brubaker took it and said, "No, this is good." Not one issue has disappointed this year, and here's hoping that the title stays this consistently great through 2007. Daredevil, the Kingpin and Bullseye holding off an entire prison may have been the moment of '06. Or maybe the Punisher getting himself thrown in prison. Or the revelation that the woman in Paris reminded Matt Murdock of Karen Page because that's her power. Whatever the moment of the year was, I'm pretty sure it was in Daredevil.
Runners-up:
Fables, Y: The Last Man, Detective Comics

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