2013 Eisner Award nominees announced

[BobBretall]

http://www.comic-con.org/awards/will-ei ... inees-2013

Best Short Story
“A Birdsong Shatters the Still,” by Jeff Wilson and Ted May, in Injury #4 (Ted May/Alternative)
“Elmview” by Jon McNaught, in Dockwood (Nobrow)
“Moon 1969: The True Story of the 1969 Moon Launch,” by Michael Kupperman, in Tales Designed to Thrizzle #8 (Fantagraphics)
“Moving Forward,” by drewscape, in Monsters, Miracles, & Mayonnaise (Epigram Books)
“Rainbow Moment,” by Lilli Carré, in Heads or Tails (Fantagraphics)

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
Lose #4: “The Fashion Issue,” by Michael DeForge (Koyama Press)
The Mire, by Becky Cloonan (self-published)
Pope Hats #3, by Ethan Rilly (AdHouse Books)
Post York #1, by James Romberger and Crosby (Uncivilized Books)
Tales Designed to Thrizzle #8, by Michael Kupperman (Fantagraphics)

Best Continuing Series
Fatale, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)
Hawkeye, by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Marvel)
The Manhattan Projects, by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra (Image)
Prophet, by Brandon Graham and Simon Roy (Image)
Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image)

Best New Series
Adventure Time, by Ryan North, Shelli Paroline, and Braden Lamb (kaboom!)
Bandette, by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover (Monkeybrain)
Fatale, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)
Hawkeye, by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Marvel)
Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7)
Babymouse for President, by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (Random House)
Benny and Penny in Lights Out, by Geoffrey Hayes (Toon Books/Candlewick)
Kitty & Dino, by Sara Richard (Yen Press/Hachette)
Maya Makes a Mess, by Rutu Modan (Toon Books/Candlewick)
Zig and Wikki in The Cow, by Nadja Spiegelman and Trade Loeffler (Toon Books/Candlewick)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12)
Adventure Time, by Ryan North, Shelli Paroline, and Braden Lamb (kaboom!)
Amulet Book 5: Prince of the Elves, by Kazu Kibuishi (Scholastic)
Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse, by Nate Cosby and Chris Eliopoulos (Archaia)
Crogan’s Loyalty, by Chris Schweizer (Oni)
Hilda and the Midnight Giant, by Luke Pearson (Nobrow)
Road to Oz, by L. Frank Baum, adapted by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young (Marvel)

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)
Adventure Time: Marceline and the Scream Queens, by Meredith Gran (kaboom!)
Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller, by Joseph Lambert (Center for Cartoon Studies/Disney Hyperion)
Ichiro, by Ryan Inzana (Houghton Mifflin)
Spera, vol. 1, by Josh Tierney et al. (Archaia)
A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle, adapted by Hope Larson (FSG)

Best Humor Publication
Adventure Time, by Ryan North, Shelli Paroline, and Braden Lamb (kaboom!)
BBXX: Baby Blues Decades 1 & 2, by Jerry Scott and Rick Kirkman (Andrews McMeel)
Darth Vader and Son, by Jeffrey Brown (Chronicle)
Naked Cartoonists, edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)

Best Digital Comic
Ant Comic, by Michael DeForge http://kingtrash.com/ants/index.html
Bandette, by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover http://www.comixology.com/Bandette/comics-series/8519
It Will All Hurt, by Farel Dalrymple http://studygroupcomics.com/main/it-wil ... dalrymple/
Our Bloodstained Roof, by Ryan Andrews http://www.ryan-a.com/comics/roof.htm
Oyster War, by Ben Towle http://www.oysterwar.com/

Best Anthology
Dark Horse Presents, edited by Mike Richardson (Dark Horse)
No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics, edited by Justin Hall (Fantagraphics)
Nobrow #7: Brave New World, edited by Alex Spiro and Sam Arthur (Nobrow)
2000 AD, edited by Matt Smith (Rebellion)
Where Is Dead Zero?, edited by Jeff Ranjo (Where Is Dead Zero?)

Best Reality-Based Work
Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller, by Joseph Lambert (Center for Cartoon Studies/Disney Hyperion)
The Carter Family: Don’t Forget This Song, by Frank M. Young and David Lasky (Abrams ComicArts)
A Chinese Life, by Li Kunwu and P. Ôtié (Self Made Hero)
The Infinite Wait and Other Stories, by Julia Wertz (Koyama Press)
Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo & Me, by Ellen Forney (Gotham Books)
You’ll Never Know, Book 3: A Soldier’s Heart, by C. Tyler (Fantagraphics)

Best Graphic Album—New
Building Stories, by Chris Ware (Pantheon)
Goliath, by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly)
The Hive, by Charles Burns (Pantheon)
Unterzakhn, by Leela Corman (Schocken)
You’ll Never Know, Book 3: A Soldier’s Heart, by C. Tyler (Fantagraphics)

Best Adaptation from Another Medium
Chico and Rita, by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal (Self Made Hero)
Homer’s Odyssey, adapted by Seymour Chwast (Bloomsbury)
Richard Stark’s Parker: The Score, adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)
Road to Oz, by L. Frank Baum, adapted by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young (Marvel)
A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle, adapted by Hope Larson (FSG)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint
Cruisin’ with the Hound, by Spain (Fantagraphics)
Ed the Happy Clown, by Chester Brown (Drawn & Quarterly)
Everything Together: Collected Stories, by Sammy Harkham (PictureBox)
Heads or Tails, by Lilli Carré (Fantagraphics)
King City, by Brandon Graham (TokyoPop/Image)
Sailor Twain, or The Mermaid in the Hudson by Mark Siegel (First Second)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips
Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim, vol. 2, edited by Dean Mullaney (IDW/Library of American Comics)
Mister Twee Deedle: Raggedy Ann’s Sprightly Cousin, by Johnny Gruelle, edited by Rick Marschall (Fantagraphics)
Percy Crosby’s Skippy, vol. 1, edited by Jared Gardner and Dean Mullaney (IDW/Library of American Comics)
Pogo, vol. 2: Bona Fide Balderdash, by Walt Kelly, edited by Carolyn Kelly and Kim Thompson (Fantagraphics)
Roy Crane’s Captain Easy: The Complete Sunday Newspaper Strips, vol. 3, edited by Rick Norwood (Fantagraphics)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books
Crime Does Not Pay Archives, edited by Philip Simon and Kitchen, Lind & Associates (Dark Horse)
David Mazzucchelli’s Daredevil Born Again: Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
Wally Wood’s EC Stories: Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
Walt Disney’s Uncle Scrooge: Only a Poor Old Man, by Carl Barks, edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
Young Romance: The Best of Simon & Kirby’s Romance Comics, edited by Michel Gagné (Fantagraphics)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material
Abelard, by Régis Hautiere and Renaud Dillies (NBM)
Athos in America, by Jason (Fantagraphics)
Blacksad: Silent Hell, by Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido (Dark Horse)
The Making of, by Brecht Evens (Drawn & Quarterly)
Monsieur Jean: The Singles Theory, by Philippe Dupuy and Charles Berberian (Humanoids)
New York Mon Amour, by Benjamin LeGrand, Dominique Grange, and Jacques Tardi (Fantagraphics)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia
Barbara, by Osamu Tezuka (Digital Manga)
A Chinese Life, by Li Kunwu and P. Ôtié (Self Made Hero)
Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, by Naoki Urasawa (VIZ Media)
Nonnonba, by Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly)
Thermae Romae, by Mari Yamazaki (Yen Press/Hachette)

Best Writer
Ed Brubaker, Fatale (Image)
Matt Fraction, Hawkeye (Marvel); Casanova: Avaritia (Marvel Icon)
Brandon Graham, Multiple Warheads, Prophet (Image)
Jonathan Hickman, The Manhattan Projects (Image)
Brian K. Vaughan, Saga (Image)
Frank M. Young, The Carter Family (Abrams ComicArts)

Best Writer/Artist
Charles Burns, The Hive (Pantheon)
Gilbert Hernandez, Love and Rockets New Stories, vol. 5 (Fantagraphics)
Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets New Stories, vol. 5 (Fantagraphics)
Luke Pearson, Hilda and the Midnight Giant, Everything We Miss (Nobrow)
C. Tyler, You’ll Never Know, Book 3: A Soldier’s Heart (Fantagraphics)
Chris Ware, Building Stories (Pantheon)

Best Penciller/Inker
David Aja, Hawkeye (Marvel)
Becky Cloonan, Conan the Barbarian (Dark Horse); The Mire (self-published)
Colleen Coover, Bandette (Monkeybrain)
Sean Phillips, Fatale (Image)
Joseph Remnant, Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland (Zip Comics/Top Shelf)
Chris Samnee, Daredevil (Marvel); Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom (IDW)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
Brecht Evens, The Making Of (Drawn & Quarterly)
Juanjo Guarnido, Blacksad (Dark Horse)
Teddy Kristiansen, The Red Diary/The RE[a]D Diary (MAN OF ACTION/Image)
Lorenzo Mattotti, The Crackle of the Frost (Fantagraphics)
Katsuya Terada, The Monkey King vol. 2 (Dark Horse)

Best Cover Artist
David Aja, Hawkeye (Marvel)
Brandon Graham, King City, Multiple Warheads, Elephantmen #43 (Image)
Sean Phillips, Fatale (Image)
Yuko Shimizu, The Unwritten (Vertigo/DC)
J, H. Williams III, Batwoman (DC)

Best Coloring
Charles Burns, The Hive (Pantheon)
Colleen Coover, Bandette (Monkeybrain)
Brandon Graham, Multiple Warheads (Image)
Dave Stewart, Batwoman (DC); Fatale (Image); BPRD, Conan the Barbarian, Hellboy in Hell, Lobster Johnson, The Massive (Dark Horse)
Chris Ware, Building Stories (Pantheon)

Best Lettering
Paul Grist, Mudman (Image)
Troy Little, Angora Napkin 2: Harvest of Revenge (IDW)
Joseph Remnant, Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland (Zip Comics/Top Shelf)
C. Tyler, You’ll Never Know, Book 3: A Soldier’s Heart (Fantagraphics)
Chris Ware, Building Stories (Pantheon)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
Alter Ego, edited by Roy Thomas (TwoMorrows)
ComicsAlliance, edited by Joe Hughes, Caleb Goellner, and Andy Khouri
The Comics Reporter, edited by Tom Spurgeon
Robot Six, produced by Comic Book Resources
tcj.com, edited by Timothy Hodler and Dan Nadel (Fantagraphics)

Best Comics-Related Book
The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist, edited by Alvin Buenaventura (Abrams ComicArts)
Marie Severin: The Mirthful Mistress of Comics, by Dewey Cassell (TwoMorrows)
Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, by Sean Howe (HarperCollins)
Mastering Comics, by Jessica Abel and Matt Madden (First Second)
Team Cul De Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson’s, edited by Chris Sparks (Andrews McMeel)
Woodwork: Wallace Wood 1927–1981, edited by Frédéric Manzano (CasalSolleric/IDW)

Best Educational/Academic Work
Autobiographical Comics: Life Writing in Pictures, by Elisabeth El Refaie (University Press of Mississippi)
Comics Versus Art, by Bart Beaty (University of Toronto Press)
Crockett Johnson & Ruth Krauss: How an Unlikely Couple Found Love, Dodged the FBI, and Transformed Children’s Literature, by Philip Nel (University Press of Mississippi)
Lynda Barry: Girlhood Through the Looking Glass, by Susan E. Kirtley (University Press of Mississippi)
The Poetics of Slumberland: Animated Spirits and the Animating Spirit, by Scott Bukatman (University of California Press)

Best Publication Design
Building Stories, designed by Chris Ware (Pantheon)
Dal Tokyo, designed by Gary Panter and Family Sohn (Fantagraphics)
David Mazzucchelli’s Daredevil Born Again: Artist’s Edition, designed by Randy Dahlk (IDW)
Mister Twee Deedle: Raggedy Ann’s Sprightly Cousin, designed by Tony Ong (Fantagraphics)
Wizzywig, designed by Ed Piskor and Chris Ross (Top Shelf)

[BobBretall]

I look at the Eisners as the Academy Awards of comics. Just like the Academy generally snubs most popular "big box office" movies I love to watch, the Eisners generally pass by the vast majority of mainstream super-hero comics. There are exceptions where the Eisners & Academy will acknowledge some mainstream popular stuff, but it's rare enough that I go "Wow, they actually nominated that! Cool!"

So, just like the Academy nominates quality movies that I may have passed by & now know to go check out (because there is SOME reason they were nominated) so too with the Eisners.

Check out the stuff that is nominated that you've never heard of. It's generally some pretty good stuff.

[BobBretall]

Top Nominations by Publisher
24 - Fantagraphics
17 (+1 shared) - Image
8 (+1 shared) - IDW
8 - Pantheon
7 (+1 shared) - Marvel
6 (+1 shared) - Dark Horse
5 - Drawn & Quarterly
4 - Boom!, Monkeybrain, Nobrow
3 - Abrams ComicArts, Self Made Hero, Toon Books/Candlewick, Top Shelf, and the University Press of Mississippi
2 (+1 shared) - DC
2 - Andrews McMeel, Archaia, Disney, First Second, FSG, Koyama, TwoMorrows, and Yen Press
Another 21 publishers have 1 nomination each

[ctowner1]

Lots of stuff I haven't read, but from what I have, here's my vote:

Best Short Story
haven't read any

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
haven't read any

Best Continuing Series
Hawkeye, by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Marvel)
over
Fatale, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)
The Manhattan Projects, by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra (Image)
Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image)
(although I really like all 4!)

Best New Series
Hawkeye, by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Marvel)
over
Bandette, by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover (Monkeybrain)
Fatale, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)
Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7)
haven't read any

Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12)
haven't read any

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)
haven't read any

Best Humor Publication
haven't read any

Best Digital Comic
haven't read any

Best Anthology
Dark Horse Presents, edited by Mike Richardson (Dark Horse)
(by default - haven't read the others - and didn't really like this!)

Best Reality-Based Work
haven't read any

Best Graphic Album—New
haven't read any
(but really want to read Building Stories, by Chris Ware (Pantheon))

Best Adaptation from Another Medium
Richard Stark’s Parker: The Score, adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)
(by default, again - but I LOVED this!)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint
haven't read any

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips
haven't read any

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books
haven't read any

Best U.S. Edition of International Material
Blacksad: Silent Hell, by Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido (Dark Horse)
(another winner by default, but I really loved it!)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia
haven't read any

Best Writer
Jonathan Hickman, The Manhattan Projects (Image)
over
Ed Brubaker, Fatale (Image)
Matt Fraction, Hawkeye (Marvel)
Brian K. Vaughan, Saga (Image)
I liked Hawkeye more, but in large partt b/c of the great art. Not wild about the Manhattan Projects art (I like it tho, just don't love it), so it stands on the writing alone).

Best Writer/Artist
haven't read any

Best Penciller/Inker
David Aja, Hawkeye (Marvel)
over
Sean Phillips, Fatale (Image)
Chris Samnee, Daredevil (Marvel); Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom (IDW)
Lose Aja's sense of design - it really makes the book.

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
Juanjo Guarnido, Blacksad (Dark Horse)
By default again - but gorgeous art!!

Best Cover Artist
J, H. Williams III, Batwoman (DC)
over
David Aja, Hawkeye (Marvel)
Sean Phillips, Fatale (Image)
This is tough - all 3 are great. Aja's cover's have been particularly striking. But I love JHWIII quite a bit and give him the edge in that his design PLUS rendering beats Aja's design.

Best Coloring
haven't read any

Best Lettering
haven't read any

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
haven't read any

Best Comics-Related Book
haven't read any (But should have had "Cerebus the Barbarian Messiah" here!!

Best Educational/Academic Work
Haven't read any.

Best Publication Design
Building Stories, designed by Chris Ware (Pantheon)
David Mazzucchelli’s Daredevil Born Again: Artist’s Edition, designed by Randy
Wizzywig, designed by Ed Piskor and Chris Ross (Top Shelf)
Technically don't own any of these, but the Ware "book" looks amazing and I assume is a shoo-in to win. I own the individual Wizzywig books and really like them (what did they do special in the compilation?). And I love Mazzuchelli's DD! :^)

e
L nny

[drew]

love fraction's hawkeye but Saga should sweep,

also surprised fiona staples wasn't nominated for artist...

[IanG]

Top Nominations by Publisher
24 - Fantagraphics
17 (+1 shared) - Image
8 (+1 shared) - IDW
8 - Pantheon
7 (+1 shared) - Marvel
6 (+1 shared) - Dark Horse
5 - Drawn & Quarterly
4 - Boom!, Monkeybrain, Nobrow
3 - Abrams ComicArts, Self Made Hero, Toon Books/Candlewick, Top Shelf, and the University Press of Mississippi
2 (+1 shared) - DC
2 - Andrews McMeel, Archaia, Disney, First Second, FSG, Koyama, TwoMorrows, and Yen Press
Another 21 publishers have 1 nomination each

Whoa, why does Fantagraphics get the most noms? They're a good publisher but that many. They might as well call it the Fantagraphics/Eisner awards.

[BobBretall]

Whoa, why does Fantagraphics get the most noms? They're a good publisher but that many. They might as well call it the Fantagraphics/Eisner awards.

See my comment above comparing the Eisners to the Oscars.

Fantagraphics gets a lot of noms because they publish a lot of stuff that it's fashionable to nominate to show that you're not just into the popular stuff that gets the bulk of sales.

Image was pretty close behind Fantagraphics with 17+1.

DC came in behind a group containing small publishers like University Press of Mississippi (I can see them coming behind Top Shelf, but UPM??).

Nothing against the UPM, but that's pretty embarassing for DC, IMO.

[torchsong]

Heck, I'm just happy to see Yen Press in there, even if it *is* at the bottom of the heap! Manga's not dead, do you hear me?!? Manga's not dead!!!

[simonuk]

I look at the Eisners as the Academy Awards of comics. Just like the Academy generally snubs most popular "big box office" movies I love to watch, the Eisners generally pass by the vast majority of mainstream super-hero comics. There are exceptions where the Eisners & Academy will acknowledge some mainstream popular stuff, but it's rare enough that I go "Wow, they actually nominated that! Cool!"

So, just like the Academy nominates quality movies that I may have passed by & now know to go check out (because there is SOME reason they were nominated) so too with the Eisners.

Check out the stuff that is nominated that you've never heard of. It's generally some pretty good stuff.

This is the way i use these noms. I completey forgot to check out fatale but this reminded me,and now after checking the previews and the weekly spotlight covering it I'll definitely be checking it out

[fudd71]

Whoa, why does Fantagraphics get the most noms? They're a good publisher but that many. They might as well call it the Fantagraphics/Eisner awards.

DC came in behind a group containing small publishers like University Press of Mississippi (I can see them coming behind Top Shelf, but UPM??).

Nothing against the UPM, but that's pretty embarassing for DC, IMO.

That is certainly one way to look at it.

Another way is that it is pretty embarrassing for Eisners and their nominating committee. Acknowledging smaller publishers is one thing but trying to completely ignore a publisher that represents more of the industry then 14 of the 15 publishers combined with more nominations strikes me as nothing more than pretentious and narcissistic. This serves little purpose other then showing how out of touch and irrelevant the Eisners are.

[BobBretall]

Whoa, why does Fantagraphics get the most noms? They're a good publisher but that many. They might as well call it the Fantagraphics/Eisner awards.

DC came in behind a group containing small publishers like University Press of Mississippi (I can see them coming behind Top Shelf, but UPM??).

Nothing against the UPM, but that's pretty embarassing for DC, IMO.

That is certainly one way to look at it.

Another way is that it is pretty embarrassing for Eisners and their nominating committee. Acknowledging smaller publishers is one thing but trying to completely ignore a publisher that represents more of the industry then 14 of the 15 publishers combined with more nominations strikes me as nothing more than pretentious and narcissistic. This serves little purpose other then showing how out of touch and irrelevant the Eisners are.

All a matter of opinion, as with anything. Just because DC (or Marvel) puts out 80% of the comics does not mean they deserve a commensurate % of nominations unless the quality dictates that.

Personally I think DC was been on a downward slide throughout 2012. After getting a lot of attention after the New52, they have not been doing a lot to keep me on as a reader. I started out getting all 52 titles. Was down by 20+ after the first 3 months and have been continuing to drop their titles ever since. I was down to 12 titles from their core universe last month, a few of those I'm only still getting because I'm in the middle of 12 issue subscriptions I got for $1/issue.

I hope they can manage to right their ship in 2013. I am trying out a number of new #1s they are putting out, so maybe some of those will click with me. But I can't help but shake my head in amazement at the decision to put out books like Vibe & The Movement. Not my cup of tea, so say the least.

[JohnMayo]

All a matter of opinion, as with anything. Just because DC (or Marvel) puts out 80% of the comics does not mean they deserve a commensurate % of nominations unless the quality dictates that.

Personally I think DC was been on a downward slide throughout 2012. After getting a lot of attention after the New52, they have not been doing a lot to keep me on as a reader. I started out getting all 52 titles. Was down by 20+ after the first 3 months and have been continuing to drop their titles ever since. I was down to 12 titles from their core universe last month, a few of those I'm only still getting because I'm in the middle of 12 issue subscriptions I got for $1/issue.

I hope they can manage to right their ship in 2013. I am trying out a number of new #1s they are putting out, so maybe some of those will click with me. But I can't help but shake my head in amazement at the decision to put out books like Vibe & The Movement. Not my cup of tea, so say the least.

Personally, I'm really enjoying Vibe. I don't think it is Eisner worthy but it is a good title. The decision to green-light the title was no more questionable than doing yet another Hawkman series or yet another Batman family title. As a way to get some of the Detroit era Justice League characters back in play, I think it was a very good move even if the title doesn't last very long. DC has made a number of much more suspect decisions in terms of the New 52 titles they have launched. As for the Movement, I'll wait until it is released and I have read it before commenting on that title.

The problem I see is that much of the Eisner worthy material coming out of DC often isn't in the mainstream material meant to appeal to a broader audience. The New 52 could and certain should have Eisner worthy material in it. It is more likely that Vertigo titles or other titles set outside of the mainstream DC Universe because those titles aren't as tied down by the continuity of a shared universe.

I find it very suspect that virtually nothing that DC did last year was seen as either worthy by the nominating group. While that very well might be a sound judgement, given the amount of material published the occasional gem is likely to be hidden in the mix over the course of any given year.

[fudd71]

Just because DC (or Marvel) puts out 80% of the comics does not mean they deserve a commensurate % of nominations unless the quality dictates that.

Personally I think DC was been on a downward slide throughout 2012. After getting a lot of attention after the New52, they have not been doing a lot to keep me on as a reader. I started out getting all 52 titles. Was down by 20+ after the first 3 months and have been continuing to drop their titles ever since. I was down to 12 titles from their core universe last month, a few of those I'm only still getting because I'm in the middle of 12 issue subscriptions I got for $1/issue.

You are right that quantity and quality are certainly not synonymous. That being said when numbers stay out of balance for longer periods of time or have a distinctive tend over time that is counter to all other tends there is more at play.

What you or I or anyone personally enjoys is also somewhat irrelevant to quality. I personally don’t read any Marvel books, but I think they are also under represented on the nomination list. More people are willing to pay their money to read Marvel books then other publisher, which alone speaks to the quality. What large numbers of people enjoy speaks more to quality then any individuals opinion.

This out of balance representation of publishers has been getting worse over time with the Eisners. It feels more and more like the Eisners are not really about quality. Instead of quality it is about fitting into this little clique of the “cool indie guys”. The awards have less to do with quality comics and more to do with self-congratulatory narcissisms of this clique.

[BobBretall]

More people are willing to pay their money to read Marvel books then other publisher, which alone speaks to the quality. What large numbers of people enjoy speaks more to quality then any individuals opinion.

I violently disagree with the above, so we can agree to disagree.

Lots of people reading Marvel comics does NOT mean they are quality.

Lots of people watch reality shows on TV, I don't think those are high quality.

Lots of people go to McDonald's, I don't think that is high-quality.

[fudd71]

More people are willing to pay their money to read Marvel books then other publisher, which alone speaks to the quality. What large numbers of people enjoy speaks more to quality then any individuals opinion.

I violently disagree with the above, so we can agree to disagree.

Lots of people reading Marvel comics does NOT mean they are quality.

Lots of people watch reality shows on TV, I don't think those are high quality.

Lots of people go to McDonald's, I don't think that is high-quality.

Bob you are right and as I look at what I wrote I don’t think it came across quite as I intended. I fully understand your point and I would have completely agreed with it several years ago and still do to a degree. I took a consulting job analyzing television rating and what people watch, why and how. This changed my opinion to some degree. How one defines “quality” is the hard part. Quality is impossible to measure and not the word I should have used.

Popularity is the only even sort of objective way to define how the largest numbers of people feel about a product. The example you give of television drives me personally nuts, and the one I spent 16 months of my life studying. I personally despise “reality” TV; its very existence infuriates me. However, it is what the airwaves are full of because it is what people watch in the largest numbers. There are many reasons for the success of this type of programing and the failure of what I would call better programing that I could unfortunately elaborate on for days. My analysis of television showed a myriad of trends including that while reality television is amazingly popular with the television viewing audience it is also one of the largest reasons television viewership is down over the last 7 years reversing a sixty-year plus tend of growth.

The McDonalds example is a little trickier due to price concerns, I would argue objectively McDonalds is the most important food at its price level, not the best or most important food period.

Unfortunately in any industry the 800 pound gorilla in the room can not be ignored if one wishes to be objective. In comics the sheer size of Marvel and DC means you can’t have a serious discussion about anything without including them. This includes both good and bad things. I don’t think Marvel and DC take enough of the blame for the implosion of the market in the 1990’s and the lack of growth over much of the last 5 years. They also deserve the bulk of credit for this small rebound we have seen in the last year or so as well.

There can also be no serious discussion of the books of the year without including Marvel and DC. Unfortunately when the Eisner list so obviously went out of its way to ignore them, and the same names appears year after year it appears to be a clique more then a serious discussion of the books of the year. While DC got almost completely ignored so did Marvel. Marvel’s 7 nominations came heavily from Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye book, and Fraction is an established "indie darling" meaning Marvel really got ignored too.