I took rude advantage of the write-in feature over at the Wizard Fan Awards. Will it make any difference? No, but I’ve thrown my vote away before.
Favorite Writer: Gail Simone (Birds of Prey). Her scripts are consistently entertaining and thought-provoking, and she always meets the “bang for your buck” standard.
Favorite Penciler: Bryan Lee O’Malley (Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life). This is some wonderfully expressive, imaginative work, hilarious one moment, sweetly romantic the next.
Favorite Inker: Darwyn Cooke (New Frontier). Okay, so this is a consolation prize. Cooke was a very close second to O’Malley (with Cameron Stewart an almost-as-close third), so I slid him into this category. Hey, Cooke inked New Frontier. It counts, all right?
Favorite Painter: Pass. Painted comics just don’t work for me, though I can’t quite put my finger on why. Maybe it’s the fact that painted comics tend to carry the ponderous burden of Importance.
Favorite Colorist: Laura Martin (Astonishing X-Men). Wow! A vote I didn’t have to write in!
Favorite Letterer: Studio Foglio (Girl Genius). Okay, I can’t precisely remember who got credited with the lettering, but this book showcases consistently appealing, imaginative lettering work.
Favorite Editor: James Lucas Jones (Oni). He’s got a terrific track record of taking risks and promoting quality material.
Favorite Male Hero: Adam Strange (DC). That wouldn’t have been my answer last year, but after the first chunk of Andy Diggle’s mini-series, the fin-headed geek has moved right up the list.
Favorite Female Hero: A tough call, as there are actually worthy candidates on the list. I love Dan Slott’s take on She-Hulk, and I think Simone is doing great things with Black Canary, but I’m going to have to write in DC’s Huntress. She’s a much more interesting character to me, and I think Simone is crafting something really special with her.
Favorite Villain: Okay, that’s just insulting to put the Scarlet Witch on there. Bitch crazy, not evil. Think I’ll leave this one blank.
Favorite Supporting Character: Awesome Andy (She-Hulk). Every office needs an Awesome Andy.
Favorite Ongoing Series: Fallen Angel (DC). There are plenty of titles that could take this slot if they came out more regularly (Street Angel, Amelia Rules, etc.). But in terms of consistently published titles, this one takes the prize. Meaty, interesting stories filled with colorful characters give this book the edge. Of course it’s on the block.
Favorite Mini-Series: My Faith in Frankie (Vertigo). I forgot to put this title on my Year in Fun list, and it really should have been up near the top. Totally charming. (And yes, I do love Adam Strange, Madrox, and We3, but they aren’t finished yet, so I can’t say anything definitive. Maybe next year.)
Favorite Publisher: Viz. Can I say Viz? Hell, who’s going to stop me?
Favorite Breakout Talent: Dan Slott (She-Hulk). Maybe he’s just a breakout talent to me, but he did a lot to make the year in comics for me, and he wasn’t on my radar before.
Comics Greatest Moment 2004: Awesome Andy chooses the right path during the Big House break-out in She-Hulk. An incredibly funny, endearing montage of Andy comparing his highly regarded work at the law firm with his unappreciated servitude to a jerkwad super-villain. (Second place goes to a totally unexpected musical number in the middle of Scott Pilgrim.)
Favorite Television Series: If “Blind Date” had aired last year on Justice League Unlimited, that show would have probably gotten the nod. (When the hell does that episode air?) As it is, I’ll go with Teen Titans, if only for the introduction of Bumblebee. Love. Her.
Geez, that was a lot longer than I’d intended. Sorry!