POPGUN has won the 2010 Eisner Award for Best Anthology!
Just got back from some family business, and I’m looking at the list of Eisner winners. This is the second award for the POPGUN anthology; the first was the Harvey in 2008 for best anthology, and now the Eisner? So cool.
Also congrats to the CHEW team for taking Best New Series! You guys rock.
Unfortunately THE GUNS OF SHADOW VALLEY lost Best Digital Comic against the deserving SIN TITULO. We’ll continue to push ourselves as the story unfolds.
Congratulations to all the other winners as well.
A smattering of Harvey Awards nominations including Best Letterer for RAPTURE
The Harvey Awards committee has released the final ballot and list of nominees for this year’s awards, and a few books I’ve worked on show up on the list, including the third consecutive nomination for Image’s POPGUN anthology (we won with volume 1, volume 2 losing to the very deserving COMIC BOOK TATTOO last year).
The biggest surprise however is to see my name in the Best Letterer category for Mike Oeming and Taki Soma’s RAPTURE from Dark Horse. When we discussed the lettering for the original Myspace Dark Horse Presents short story, I had a pretty big personal breakthrough in how to create more organic-looking word balloons digitally. It’s very cool to see this recognized by other creators.
Also nominated for Best Letterer are Chris Eliopoulos (FRANKLIN RICHARDS: SON OF A GENIUS, Marvel Comics), Brian Fies (WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE WORLD OF TOMORROW?, Abrams ComicArts), David Mazzucchelli (ASTERIOS POLYP, Pantheon), and Richard Starkings (ELEPHANTMEN, Image Comics). These guys do terrific work. It’s a real honor to be listed alongside them.
If you haven’t checked out RAPTURE yet, have a look at issue 1 in the Free Reads section to see how it measures up to the work of the others (our editor okayed the gallery since it’s on Dark Horse’s website as well).
Here’s a list of all the items I’ve had a hand in. If you’re a creator (those who write, draw, ink, letter, color, design, edit or are otherwise involved in a creative capacity in the comics field), please consider them when you fill out your final ballot. You can find it here: http://www.harveyawards.org
BEST LETTERER
Thomas Mauer, “RAPTURE”, Dark Horse Comics
BEST ORIGINAL GRAPHIC PUBLICATION FOR YOUNGER READERS
“NEW BRIGHTON ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY”, Image Comics
BEST ANTHOLOGY
“POPGUN # 3″, Image Comics
…and also consider voting for these:
BEST COVER ARTIST
Michael Avon Oeming, “MICE TEMPLAR: DESTINY, PART I”, Image Comics
BEST NEW TALENT
Matthew Weldon, “NEW BRIGHTON ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY”, Image Comics
BEST PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED GRAPHIC ALBUM
“MICE TEMPLAR VOLUME 1″, by Bryan J.L. Glass and Michael Avon Oeming, Image Comics
Eisner Awards 2010 Voting
Voting for this year’s Eisner Awards is now open for comics creators. Here are my picks. I did a bunch of write-ins, though I doubt they’ll change anything. They’re marked in red below.
If you’re a creator, please support POPGUN for Best Anthology and THE GUNS OF SHADOW VALLEY for Best Digital Comic. I’m working on both.
| Cat # | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|
| 0001 | Best Short Story | D. “Hurricane,” interpreted by Gradimir Smudja, in Bob Dylan Revisited (Norton) |
| 0002 | Best Single Issue (or One-Shot) | D. The Unwritten #5: “How the Whale Became,” by Mike Carey and Peter Gross (Vertigo/DC) |
| 0003 | Best Continuing Series | D. The Unwritten, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross (Vertigo/DC) |
| 0004 | Best Limited Series or Story Arc | Rapture, by Michael Avon Oeming, Taki Soma, and Val Staples (Dark Horse) |
| 0005 | Best New Series | A. Chew, by John Layman and Rob Guillory (Image) |
| 0006 | Best Humor Publication | B. Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me, And Other Astute Observations, by Peter Bagge (Fantagraphics) |
| 0007 | Best Publication for Kids | The New Brighton Archeological Society, by Mark Smith & Matthew Weldon (Image) |
| 0008 | Best Publication for Teens | The New Brighton Archeological Society, by Mark Smith & Matthew Weldon (Image) |
| 0009 | Best Anthology | D. Popgun vol. 3, edited by Mark Andrew Smith, D. J. Kirkbride, and Joe Keatinge (Image) |
| 0010 | Best Digital Comic | C. The Guns of Shadow Valley, by David Wachter and James Andrew Clark, www.gunsofshadowvalley.com |
| 0011 | Best Reality-Based Work | E. The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert, Didier Lefèvre, and Frédéric Lemerier (First Second) |
| 0012 | Best Graphic Album–New | The New Brighton Archeological Society, by Mark Smith & Matthew Weldon (Image) |
| 0013 | Best Graphic Album–Reprint | D. Essex County Collected, by Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf) |
| 0014 | Best Adaptation from Another Work | D. Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter, adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW) |
| 0015 | Best U.S. Edition of International Material | B. The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert, Didier Lefèvre, and Frédéric Lemerier (First Second) |
| 0016 | Best U.S. Edition of International Material–Asia | A. The Color Trilogy, by Kim Dong Haw (First Second) |
| 0017 | Best Archival Collection / Project — Comic Books | D. The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures deluxe edition, by Dave Stevens, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW) |
| 0018 | Best Archival Collection / Project — Strips | B. Bringing Up Father, vol. 1: From Sea to Shining Sea, by George McManus and Zeke Zekley, edited by Bruce Canwell (IDW) |
| 0019 | Best Writer | James Andrew Clark and David Wachter, The Guns of Shadow Valley (webcomic) |
| 0020 | Best Writer/Artist | A. Darwyn Cooke, Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter (IDW) |
| 0021 | Best Writer/Artist — Nonfiction | A. Reinhard Kleist, Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness (Abrams ComicArts) |
| 0022 | Best Penciller / Inker or Penciller / Inker Team | E. Danijel Zezelj, Luna Park (Vertigo/DC) |
| 0023 | Best Painter / Multimedia Artist (interior art) | E. Carol Tyler, You’ll Never Know: A Good and Decent Man (Fantagraphics) |
| 0024 | Best Cover Artist | E. J. H. Williams III, Detective Comics (DC) |
| 0025 | Best Coloring | Val Staples, Rapture (Dark Horse) |
| 0026 | Best Lettering | C. Tom Orzechowski, Savage Dragon (Image); X-Men Forever (Marvel) |
| 0027 | Best Comics-Related Periodical / Journalism | A. Alter Ego, edited by Roy Thomas (TwoMorrows) |
| 0028 | Best Comics-Related Book | B. The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics, by Denis Kitchen and Paul Buhle (Abrams ComicArts) |
| 0029 | Best Publication Design | D. Life and Times of Martha Washington, designed by David Nestelle (Dark Horse Books) |
The big news from a few days ago
First up is POPGUN VOL. 3 from Image Comics in the Best Anthology category. I did production edits on the book, as on all other volumes. We actually won the Harvey Award with the first volume of the book 2 years ago, which is the other major industry award. So being nominated for the Eisner now shows that we’re not just continuing to be good, but getting better all the time. (Volume 4 was released a few weeks ago, btw. Check Amazon and get it.)
The second project is the webcomic The Guns of Shadow Valley by Dave Wachter and Jim Clark in the Best Webcomic category. I letter it. One of the most fun projects I’ve been working on over the years. Got new pages last night, so I’m getting my fix now. 
To see the entire list of nominations, follow this link:
Tags: Eisner Awards, Harvey Awards, Popgun, The Guns of Shadow Valley
Just got some kick-ass news.
LOVE BUZZ named Best Graphic Novel of 2009 at http://graphicpolicy.com!
Best Graphic Novel – Love Buzz
What can I say? I gushed over this graphic novel when I read it about a month ago and haven’t stopped talking about it since.
While the various graphic novels listed in this category stand out for their story telling and use of visuals to tell them, Love Buzz stands at the top.
Not only is the story fun, and real (I could of sworn this was my high school and college love life) but the use of panels and art increase and enhance the already solid narrative. The characters are realistic with their banter and the dialogue is exactly what you’d expect from individuals their age.
This was a graphic novel I could relate to. It had me reflect on loves that have come and gone, it made me think at an emotional level. How many comic books made you do that this year?
This graphic novel was not just the surprise of the year, but also think it’s the sleeper comic of the year. It also helps we gave the graphic novel our first perfect 10 ever.
Tags: Awards, Dave Tuney, Len Wallace, Lettering, Love Buzz, Michelle Silva, Oni Press, Reviews
RAPTURE is MTV’s Best Mini Series, NEW BRIGHTON ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY is its Best All-Ages Comic of 2009!
http://splashpage.mtv.com/2009/12/15/best-of-2009-comics/
“BEST MINISERIES
Rapture (Dark Horse)
It’s been said that true love can survive anything, but whoever said that never suffered through armageddon. Michael Avon Oeming and Taki Soma test the limits of romance against an apocalyptic backdrop in Dark Horse’s “Rapture,” a truly stand-out epic due to its expertly crafted plot and world design. With cannibals aplenty, starvation mounting and superheroes at a premium, love very well could fall in the face of the hellish world of “Rapture” — but that’s not stopping me from loving the hell out of this book.
- Josh Wigler”
BEST ALL-AGES COMIC
“The New Brighton Archeological Society” (Image)
“New Brighton” readers get the best of two worlds in a story that’s fun to read on its own and a comic that can be shared with readers of any age — whether they can read it themselves or have it read to them. In fact, it feels like Mark Andrew Smith and Matthew Weldon have all the ingredients for success in “New Brighton”: a spunky group of kids with lots of free time, a wild world ripe for exploration, fantastic creatures culled from various faerie tales, and dangers that manage to be scary without being truly terrifying. It’s the sort of book we’re quite certain we’d love when we were little, but get a kick out of reading now, too.
- Rick Marshall
(I lettered RAPTURE and designed NBAS, for those who don’t know.)
Tags: Awards, Book Design, Dark Horse, Image Comics, Lettering, Mark Andrew Smith, Matthew Weldon, Michael Avon Oeming, MTV Splashpage, Taki Soma, Val Staples
HOLY cow! Another Harvey nomination right out of left field.
So while it was already cool to hear that PopGun vol. 1 was nominated for Best Anthology, I just found out that “The Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo” is also up for Best Online Comics Work and my name is right on the ballot!
If you’re a creator, please consider voting for both. 
Tags: Dwight MacPherson, Harvey Awards, Lettering, The Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo, Thomas Boatwright, Webcomic
Tags: Anthology, Eisner Awards, Popgun