Edgie Comic Book Awards 2017 – Part 2

Here we go with Part 2 of the 2017 Edgies (formerly The Bleedies)! This installment focuses on the “big money” awards (as if there was actual money involved!), where I give totally fictional awards to the top comic book movie of the year, as well as the top heroes and heroines that gave us all someone to look up to. Not to mention honoring the best writer and artist that wooed us all year!

Here is Part 1, in case you missed it!

Here we go with one of the hardest award to choose a winner for EVERY year....and this year is no different!

 

Movie Of The Year

There seems to be absolutely no end to the amount of good comic book movies every year. This year was a stellar year for not only Marvel and DC but we also received Hugh Jackman’s best performance as Wolverine ever in his final film as the character (apparently).

Heck, it was such a crazy year that I needed to leave a pretty great movie in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 out of the running! Any other year, that one may have won this award!

 

Logan

Spider-Man Homecoming

Thor: Ragnarok

Wonder Woman

 

Winner: Thor: Ragnarok

This was the hardest choice I’ve ever had to make, absolutely all of these movies were such fun. But really, only one movie had me leaving the theater thirsty for more. Taika Waititi’s bold new direction for the Thor movie franchise was absolutely genius. Never has a Marvel produced movie been so jam-packed with hard hitting action, hilarious jokes and clever easter eggs for the hardcore comic fans.

Logan makes me literally cry every time I watch it, Spider-Man Homecoming was so refreshing, Wonder Woman was the way overdue movie that the character has deserved but Thor: Ragnarok worked on so many levels and there is barely ANYTHING negative to say about it. Honestly, there was never a more fun two hours spent in a movie theater in 2017.

The real winner when it comes to this category this year...is everyone.

 

 

Cover Of The Year

This category is also always really hard to choose from because there is always SO MANY phenomenal covers in comics that come out in every year. Heck, there’s a massive selection of amazing comic covers that come out on a WEEKLY basis! How does one choose?!

Well, I do my best and usually gather a gigantic field of like 20-30 covers EVERY year and then weed them down to a measly 4. It is not easy, and I’m sure most of the time people don’t even agree with my final choice...but it’s MY AWARD SHOW! So...too bad.

Here’s what made the cut this year!

Black Bolt #1 by Christian Ward

Darkseid Special by Chris Burnham

Hellboy: Krampusnacht by Adam Hughes

Luke Cage #168 by Scott Wilson

 Winner: Black Bolt #1 by Christian Ward

All of these were phenomenal covers but Christian Ward’s subtle but powerful Black Bolt #1 cover works on many levels. It makes you want to pick up and read the book, and that is what covers are meant to do. It also makes you focus on the intense eyes of Black Bolt, a character that basically speaks with his eyes. Black Bolt has one of the coolest costumes in all of comic lore, and this cover accents that.

Chris Burnham’s Darkseid Special cover is beautiful and Adam Hughes’ Hellboy art is magnificent as well, but I definitely would buy a poster or t-shirt with that Black Bolt image on it. It proves that less is more in the coolest way possible. Congrats to Mr. Ward.

 

 

 

 

Heroine Of The Year

This award goes to the most inspiring and impactful female hero of the year! In 2017, this award has never been more important, as women everywhere have found the bravery to speak out about sexual allegations and unfair treatment professionally and socially. Female heroes are everywhere in all of our lives and always have been. It’s about time we celebrate them wholeheartedly.

This year we have 4 awesome heroines that prove that it’s not just about tight, barely-there uniforms anymore...it’s about kicking ass and fighting for what’s right no matter what gender you are!

 

Jessica Jones

Kitty Pryde

Thor (Jane Foster)

Wonder Woman

 

Winner: Wonder Woman

How could I not? It was simply the YEAR of Wonder Woman. I couldn’t give the movie the nod honestly, but in terms of within the pages of the funny books, Wonder Woman was just as impactful. Greg Rucka has taken the book to whole new levels and Diana was also quite present in the Trinity, Justice League and DC Bombshells comics, and we even got introduced to her long lost twin brother, Jason. Oh, and let’s not forget that there were not one but THREE films (one was a biopic about the lives of Wonder Woman’s co-creators) were produced about her.

Even without the Lasso of Truth you can easily see that no female superhero was more impactful than the original one this year!

 

Hero of the Year

Next up is the male superhero that stood out in 2017. And this year it was a bit harder than most. There was so much side swapping and questionable deeds done by our traditional heroes that it was hard to really call them heroes anymore. It’s strange times, indeed...even for superheroes.

Alas, even when a hero strays he can still find a way to engage with the audience. These 4 heroes all did that in some way in the past year.

 

Batman

Invincible

Spider-Man (Miles Morales)

Superman

Winner: Batman

It was a whirlwind of a year for the Dark Knight Detective in so many ways. He faced down multiple evil versions of himself, he faced Bane, he finally proposed to Catwoman and told her all about the craziest supervillain gang war Gotham has ever seen (that’s some weird pillow talk, Bruce)! That’s not even counting what’s going on in non-canon books like White Knight and Batman Beyond!

Scott Snyder and new series writer Tom King have brought Batman to new heights, and his comics haven’t been this entertaining in a looong time. All of the Bat Family comics have become some of the best stuff on the shelf these days! There’s a writing and art style for everyone.

 

Artist Of The Year

Now on to the big 3 awards! First off, Artist of the Year. This time around we have a slew of mesmerizing guys that blew my mind apart with their phenomenal panel work in 2017. 2 of them are no strangers to the Bleedies/Edgies. Ryan Ottley’s Invincible artwork has always impressed me and he remains the best of the best the industry has to offer...I can’t believe the series is coming to the end soon. I can’t wait to see what Ryan does next! Stuart Immonen has been a personal favorite of mine for literally decades, ever since he worked on a few Superman issues back in the 90’s...his ASM art has been silently impressing the hell out of me for a few years now.

The other two guys have been around but under my radar for quite some time. You have to give all 4 of these artists credit because there are new earth-shattering artists coming onto the scene on a monthly basis and these four seriously stood out to me.

David Marquez (Defenders, Civil War II)

Mikel Janin (Batman, Grayson)

Ryan Ottley (Invincible)

Stuart Immonen (Amazing Spider-Man, Empress)

Winner: David Marquez

This guy has deserved credit for a very long time. He was always impressive but this past year he broke out with his work on Civil War II and then on Brian Michael Bendis’ Defenders comic, which has honestly been one of the most entertaining comics around. It looks like the run is coming to the end with no new writer coming on board, which is a true shame. Was I the only guy reading it? I guess so.

Nonetheless, David Marquez’s storytelling skills are off the chain. And that is what really draws me to an artist. Anyone can draw Luke Cage punching through a wall, Daredevil brooding on a rooftop and Iron Fist kicking ninja ass....but to masterfully tell a story and make the reader feel like they are in the middle of the action and dramatic moments is true talent. From Iron Fist battling Elektra for almost half an issue, to Deadpool hilariously showing up to screw up Punisher’s kill shot to Luke Cage driving a car straight into the newly overpowered Diamondback...Marquez can do it all, and this year, he proved it.

I hope Marvel has something really juicy lined up for him in 2018. A run on Luke Cage wouldn’t be too shabby!

 

 

Writer Of The Year

Now I know I mainly focus on mainstream comics, but that’s who I am...and I personally find that mainstream superhero comics get a bad wrap these days. And that’s fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. It’s the stuff I enjoy the most and this category reflects that.

These writers get slaughtered on social media but for me they really are what keeps me coming back and help me escape from the sad world these days. These guys make heroes and villains come to life and while others will say they are horrible writers...the EDGIES give them all the love in the world! Here are the writers that kept it REAL (but not TOO real) in 2017.

 

Brian Michael Bendis (Spider-Man, Defenders, Jessica Jones, Invincible Iron Man, Infamous Iron Man)

Mark Waid (Champions, Captain America, Avengers, Archie)

Nick Spencer (Captain America: Sam Wilson, Captain America: Steve Rogers, Secret Empire)

Tom King (Batman, Mister Miracle)

Winner: Tom King

Without a doubt, Batman rocked my comic world this year and Tom King was a big part of that. Rebirth has been DC’s strongest initiative since the 1990’s and has put them back in everyone’s good graces...even a Marvel guy like myself! Tom King’s work on Batman has slowly risen to the top of the read pile for me and he took one of the weirdest and cheesiest of ideas in Batman, the biggest bachelor in comics, proposing to his sometimes nemesis/sometimes lover Catowman. The issue where Alfred breaks it to the Robins (Dick, Damian, Tim, Jason and Duke) was both hilarious and awesome. And at the same time, Bruce and Selena travelling to Nanda Parbat to tell Talia was also great (resulting in a cat fight to end all cat fights). That’s not even talking about one of the best Batman tales told in a long time, The War of Jokes and Riddles. That one impressed the hell outta me.

What a lot of people may not know is that Tom is actually a former CIA officer (AFTER interning for Chris Claremont at Marvel)...which was likely how he got the gig writing the Grayson series, which saw Dick Grayson become a secret agent. And it also helps him write really great Batman stories as well. Is it possible Tom literally got into counterterrorism just to become a better comic book writer? I like the think so.

He also wrote the HIGHLY acclaimed Vision series which introduced us to the wonderful character, Viv Vision. I wonder how hard it would be to get him to jump onto an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ongoing? I would read that and I don’t care who else would.

Here’s to more great Batman stories in 2018...I’m ready to see the weirdest wedding EVER!!!!

 

 

Comic Book Of The Year

HERE WE ARE! Finally...the big award of the night (or whenever you happen to be reading this)! Like the Oscars, I like to double up on the nominees for Best Comic Book.

This year rocked in the world of comics. There were odd hook-ups. Big name characters died. New villains rose from the ashes and old ones upped their threat level. Blood was spilled, punches were thrown, cars were thrown....buses...a lot of big blunt objects were thrown.

And now, from these 8 phenomenal forms of escapism...there can only be one.

Batman

Champions

Defenders

Invincible

Invincible Iron Man

Jessica Jones

Mother Panic

Secret Empire

Winner: Batman

Yeah, you can see the trend there. There really was one comic that stood above the rest in 2017. Even during the Snyder era, the Batman series surprisingly has never won this award! Well, better late than never!

All of these books held their own and each entertained me in their own way. But no comic book stood out and altered its own dynamic like Batman. And thanks to Tom King and his stable of revolving artists on the title, The Bat is back! Not only has Batman as a character evolved over the course of the year, but so has Catwoman as she has gone from thief to crime boss to Batman’s closest ally. How long will the romance last? How long before one of the Rogue’s Gallery realizes that the way to beat Batman is straight through his heart? There’s a lot of ground to cover in 2018 for this title. I’m sure King is directly on top of it.

 

 

Well, there ya have it, kiddos! Another year down the drain and another one is on the way with tons more exciting comics, TV shows, video games and movies on the way!! See ya next time!