The Butchies 2005
My personal Comic Awards for 2006 (Butchies?)!BEST COMIC (SERIES) - Ultimate Fantastic Four
Not even a contest for me. UFF just delivers, month in and month out. UFF isn't always my favorite book of the month, but its always up there. The fact that it comes out often (more than 12 issues a year, I believe) is a plus.
Last year we had Warren Ellis, Mike Carey, and Mark Millar take turns guiding the ship, ably assisted by Adam Kubert, Jae Lee, and Greg Land. Not a bad line-up at all!
The potential of this book is staggering. Here's an FF that's just starting to achieve celebrity status, as opposed to the original team, which became famous overnight. We all know the greatness that's coming-- Black Panther, Galactus, Inhumans (although we've already seen them once), the Impossible Man, the Molecule Man, more Doom, more Namor...
BEST COMIC (MINI) - JLA Classified (New Maps of Hell)
Warren Ellis. Butch Guice. JLA. Geez.
Warren shows everyone how the JLA should be done. Firm, confident, and effective. Even against the DC equivalent of Satan, the JLA swiftly overcomes any obstacle and inevitably triumphs.
Guice's art is rough when he inks himself, losing a little bit in quality. However, his strong storytelling skills are still present in the arc, impressively handling several cool sequences as well as the obligatory "WOW!" moments.
BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL - Wanted
What a package. The entire Wanted mini, plus the Wanted Dossier. An impressive amount of extras-- script excerpts, commentary, designs, a cover gallery, and so forth. Definitely worth the $20.
BEST WRITER - Mark Millar
Millar narrowly beats out Ellis for my favorite writer of the year. Mark is the king of popcorn comics. Last year, I picked up Wanted, Ultimate FF, MK Spider-Man, and Wolverine, all of which were terrific reads. He's just a master of the visual medium, showing a developed sense of when to speak up and when to just shut up and let the artist go nuts.
And 2006 already looks like it'll be his year again. He's spearheading Marvel's big Civil War event, as well as his fumetti-style 1985 project. Not to mention Ultimates 2, which I'll be picking up as soon as the collection comes out.
BEST PENCILLER - I really can't give this "Butchie" out. I'm too close to it to be objective.
Do I give it to Cassaday for his compositional skills and ability to convey raw emotions? Why not Steve Epting, for his inking skill and storytelling? How about Ed Benes, who comes up with some of the most inventive angles? Can anyone beat Greg Land or Frank Cho when it comes to drawing women? And that's not even considering Bryan Hitch, Butch Guice, Steve McNiven, EVS, and so many others...
That's what I get for studying these guys all the time. I can make an argument for about a dozen artists why they deserve to be Artist of the Year! ... Ah, I give up. At least I know Pat Lee ain't getting it!
BEST INKER - Paul Neary
The guy inks Bryan Hitch. I mean-- is there anything more difficult for an inker in to do in the business?
In terms of sheer technical skill, I don't think there are very many in the game who can rival him.
Props also go to Marc Campos, whose inking skill just confuses me. How the hell does he get those fine lines?!?!?
BEST COLORIST - Justin Ponsor
Holy god, is this guy good. I figured he was a one-trick pony, only able to work on Greg Land's realistic style. However, his recent USM issues, in which he colored oer the traditional art of Mark Bagley, proved just how much talent he has. Under his talented brush (er, stylus), Mark's art has received a sexy sheen that gives it a fresher look that ever.
And Ultimate FF is just silly. Land would be lost without him.
.... and there you have it! My personal faves for the year 2005.
posted by butch @ 1/11/2006
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