INFO: 2006 Harvey Award Nominees

Interesting choices in what is essentially the comics version of the Oscars, "the only industry awards both nominated by and selected by the full body of comic book professionals."

And the nominees for the 2006 Harvey Awards are...

BEST WRITER
Brian Michael Bendis | NEW AVENGERS | Marvel Comics
Ed Brubaker | CAPTAIN AMERICA | Marvel Comics
Joshua Hale Fialkov | ELK'S RUN | Hoarse and Buggy Productions/Speakeasy Comics
Mike Mignola | BPRD | Dark Horse Comics
Alex Robinson | TRICKED | Top Shelf

An interestingly mixed bag here, including my personal favorite, Joshua Hale Fialkov for his work on the excellent Elk's Run. My guess is Brubaker takes the honors here, though.

BEST ARTIST
Frank Cho | SHANNA, THE SHE-DEVIL | Marvel Comics
David Finch | NEW AVENGERS | Marvel Comics
Eduardo Risso | 100 BULLETS | DC/Vertigo
Noel Tuazon | ELK'S RUN | Hoarse and Buggy Productions/Speakeasy Comics
J.H. Williams III | PROMETHEA | ABC/WildStorm/DC Comics

The Elk's Run team's get out the vote campaign seems to have worked as Noel Tuazon joins an impressive list of established artists. Cho and Finch are even more surprising than Bendis' nomination in the Best Writer category, though, and I'm expecting Williams III to take the honors here.

BEST CARTOONIST
Frank Cho | SHANNA, THE SHE-DEVIL | Marvel Comics
Chris Eliopoulos | FANTASTIC FOUR PRESENTS: FRANKLIN RICHARDS, SON OF A GENIUS | Marvel Comics
John Kovalic | DORK TOWER | Dork Storm Press
Seth | WIMBLEDON GREEN | Drawn and Quarterly
Chris Ware | ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY #16 | ACME Novelty Library

Cho is a stretch here, fitting the technical definition, I guess, but wouldn't his Liberty Meadows been a more appropriate reference? As I'm unfamiliar with the latter two nominees, I'll ignore the buzz I've seen about their work and go with Kovalic in this category.

BEST LETTERER
Chris Eliopoulos | FANTASTIC FOUR PRESENTS: FRANKLIN RICHARDS, SON OF A GENIUS |Marvel Comics
Jason Hanley | ELK'S RUN | Hoarse and Buggy Productions/Speakeasy Comics
Todd Klein | MARVEL 1602: NEW WORLD | Marvel Comics
Richard Starkings | SHANNA, THE SHE-DEVIL | Marvel Comics
Chris Ware | ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY #16 | ACME Novelty Library

I always find judging letterers difficult, as at their best, you shouldn't really notice their work. A complete toss-up for me, I'll go with Starking purely on name recognition.

BEST INKER
Charles Burns | BLACK HOLE # 12 | Fantagraphics Books
Scott Hanna | ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN | Marvel Comics
Steve Leialoha | FABLES | DC/Vertigo
Paul Neary | ULTIMATES 2 | Marvel Comics
Tim Townsend | HOUSE OF M | Marvel Comics

How do you get nominated as an inker for inking your own work? I don't get Burns' presence here; if anything, he should have been up for Best Cartoonist instead of Cho. Another toss-up as inking has always been a mysterious art to me, I'm going with Burns as a protest vote.

BEST COLORIST
Frank D'Armata | NEW AVENGERS | Marvel Comics
Jason Keith | SHANNA, THE SHE-DEVIL | Marvel Comics
Laura Martin | ASTONISHING X-MEN | Marvel Comics
Patricia Mulvihill | 100 BULLETS | DC/Vertigo
Jennifer Rodgers | THE LONE AND LEVEL SANDS | Archaia Studios Press

Ok, clearly Cho must have had a get out the vote effort, too, because I just can't believe Shanna was as beloved as its multiple nominations seem to imply. The Lone and Level Sands was a beautiful piece of work, so Jennifer Rodgers should get the nod here. It'll probably be Laura Martin, though.

BEST COVER ARTIST
Frank Cho | SHANNA, THE SHE-DEVIL | Marvel Comics
Steve Epting | CAPTAIN AMERICA Marvel | Comics
James Jean | FABLES DC/Vertigo
Mike Mignola | HELLBOY: THE ISLAND | Dark Horse
Datsun Tran | ELK'S RUN | Hoarse and Buggy Productions/Speakeasy Comics

Nice to see Datsun Tran's work be acknowledged here, but it'd have to be considered an upset if anyone other than James Jean wins this one.

BEST NEW TALENT
Joshua Hale Fialkov | ELK'S RUN | Hoarse and Buggy Productions/Speakeasy Comics
David Hine | DAREDEVIL: REDEMPTION | Marvel Comics
R. Kikuo Johnson | NIGHT FISHER | Fantagraphics Books
A. David Lewis | THE LONE AND LEVEL SANDS | Caption Box/Archaia Studios Press
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | MARVEL KNIGHTS FOUR | Marvel Comics

Tough one. Not having read Night Fisher, this is a toss-up between Fialkov and A. David Lewis. Lewis may get the nod on the strength of having a completed work to judge, but either one is deserving, IMO.

BEST NEW SERIES
BAOBAB | Fantagraphics Books
DRAMACON | Tokyopop
MARVEL ADVENTURES: FANTASTIC FOUR | Marvel Comics
THE SURROGATES | Top Shelf
YOUNG AVENGERS | Marvel Comics
X-FACTOR | Marvel Comics

A nice mix here, though MA: FF making the list is a total surprise! I enjoyed Dramacon, and Young Avengers has been a fun ride so far, but I think the nod has to go to X-Factor which is an excellent example of what corporate comics are capable of in the right hands. Of course, I haven't finished reading The Surrogates yet, so my opinion may change.

BEST CONTINUING OR LIMITED SERIES
ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY | ACME Novelty Library
CAPTAIN AMERICA | Marvel Comics
ELK'S RUN | Hoarse and Buggy Productions/Speakeasy Comics
RUNAWAYS | Marvel Comics
Y: THE LAST MAN | DC/Vertigo

Weird that Elk's Run made this list but not Best New Series, where it probably stood a better chance of winning, especially considering only half of the issues have been released. Either way, it's a dark horse that will likely have to be satisfied with the nomination as my guess is the Brubaker love carries over here and Captain America gets the nod.

BEST SYNDICATED STRIP OR PANEL
THE BOONDOCKS | Aaron McGruder | Universal Press Syndicate
THE K CHRONICLES | Keith Knight | Self-syndicated
MAAKIES | Tony Millionaire | Self-syndicated
MUTTS | Patrick McDonnell | King Features Syndicate
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN | Stan Lee and Larry Leiber | King Features Syndicate

The Boondocks has been too up-and-down over the past year or so, and I love me some Maakies, but it'd be great if The K Chronicles pulled off the victory!

BEST ANTHOLOGY
FLIGHT, VOL. 2 | Image Comics
MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2005 | Marvel Comics
MARVEL MONSTERS: WHERE MONSTERS DWELL | Marvel Comics
MOME | Fantagraphics Books
PROJECT SUPERIOR | AdHouse
SOLO | DC Comics

Marvel Monsters was fun, so I'm glad to see it get some recognition here, but Project Superior was everything an anthology should be.

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM - ORIGINAL
COMBAT ZONE | Marvel Comics
THE LONE AND LEVEL SANDS | Caption Box
NIGHT FISHER | Fantagraphics Books
TRICKED | Top Shelf
WIMBLEDON GREEN | Drawn and Quarterly

Combat Zone?!?! Are you f'n serious? Is that some reverse-PC thing or what, because it was a pedestrian effort at best. Since I haven't read the latter three nominees yet, The Lone and Level Sands is my pick, not just by default, but because it was an excellent piece of work.

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM - PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED
BLACK HOLE | Pantheon Books
DAISY KUTTER | Viper Comics
LATE BLOOMER | Fantagraphics Books
RUNAWAYS, VOLUME 1 HARDCOVER | Marvel Comics
STOKER'S DRACULA | Marvel Comics

I'll go with Black Hole since it's the only one I've read! Where the hell is La Perdida, though? I hope it simply didn't make whatever the cutoff was and wasn't actually snubbed. Deogratias better be nominated here next year.

BEST SINGLE ISSUE OR STORY
ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY #16 | ACME Novelty Library
CAPTAIN AMERICA #7 | Marvel Comics
ELK'S RUN #3 | Hoarse and Buggy Productions/Speakeasy Comics
HOUSE OF M # 8 | Marvel Comics
LOVE AND ROCKETS, VOLUME 2, # 15 | Fantagraphics Books

House of M #8? #7 maybe, if it has to be nominated at all, but not #8. Captain America #7 was actually a pretty good stand-alone issue, but its focus on Nomad instead of the title character makes it an awkward pick. I'm going with Elk's Run #3 because of the "Oh, shit!" factor, but I'm guessing Brubaker takes this one, too.

[Other categories I have no opinion on...]

BEST DOMESTIC REPRINT PROJECT
FANTASTIC FOUR OMNIBUS | Marvel Comics
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN AGE ALL-WINNERS, VOLUME 1 | Marvel Comics
LITTLE NEMO IN SLUMBERLAND: SO MANY SPLENDID SUNDAYS | Sunday Press Books
COMPLETE PEANUTS | Fantagraphics Books
WALT AND SKEEZIX | Drawn and Quarterly

BEST AMERICAN EDITION OF FOREIGN MATERIAL
BAOBAB # 1 | Fantagraphics Books
BLAME! | Tokyopop
BUDDHA | Vertical Books
EPILEPTIC | Pantheon Books
PUSH MAN AND OTHER STORIES | Drawn and Quarterly

BEST ONLINE COMICS WORK
ACHEWOOD | Chris Onstad | www.achewood.com
AMERICAN ELF | James Kochalka | www.americanelf.com
PENNY ARCADE | Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik | www.penny-arcade.com
PERRY BIBLE FELLOWSHIP | Nicholas Gurewitch | www.thepbf.com
PVP | Scott Kurtz | www.pvponline.com

SPECIAL AWARD FOR HUMOR IN COMICS
Kyle Baker | PLASTIC MAN DC Comics
James Kolchalka | SUPER F*CKERS Top Shelf and www.americanelf.com
John Kovalic | DORK TOWER Dork Storm Press
Marc Sumerak | FANTASTIC FOUR PRESENTS: FRANKLIN RICHARDS, SON OF A GENIUS Marvel Comics
Zeb Wells | NEW WARRIORS Marvel Comics

SPECIAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRESENTATION
WATCHMEN: THE ABSOLUTE EDITION DC Comics
ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY Pantheon Books
EARTH X HARDCOVER Marvel Comics
FANTASTIC FOUR OMNIBUS Marvel Comics
LITTLE NEMO IN SLUMBERLAND: SO MANY SPLENDID SUNDAYS Sunday Press Books

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL OR JOURNALISTIC PRESENTATION
ALTER EGO | TwoMorrows
COMIC BOOK ARTIST Top Shelf
COMICS JOURNAL | Fantagraphics Books
MARVEL SPOTLIGHT | Marvel Comics
WIZARD | Wizard Entertainment

For additional information about Harvey Kurtzman and the Harvey Awards, visit www.harveyawards.org.

For additional information about the Baltimore Comic-Con, visit www.comicon.com/baltimore