#including the superman hawkeye edit

[hawkeyeslaughter]

i will grit my teeth and my fists and finish this stupid radar edit if it kills me

[superhero-smackdown]

Bracket(??) Announcement!

I have FINALLY (which I am very sorry for guys) finished going through my submissions and have created something that looks like a bracket. BUT, in order to include the most characters, I have devised a group round with 128 characters divided into 8 groups and have sorted them in a way that prevents this competition from becoming a batman vs spider-man final.

making the polls shouldn't take nearly as long so be on the lookout for those! this will be pinned and I'll make sure to edit this post with links to the polls, and matchups are not necessarily going to be heroes next to each other! matches can be made up by any two heroes in the same group

polls will last a day for now and one group will be posted per day

as of right now top 4 from each group will make it to the bracket round but that is absolutely subject to change so don't count on that

Without further ado, your Superhero Smackdown competitors!!!

GROUP 1

Peter Parker, Miles Morales, and Gwen Stacy/Spider-Men and Ghost Spider (Marvel)

Garfield Logan/Beast Boy (DC)

Steve Rogers/Captain America (Marvel)

Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler (Marvel)

The Incredibles and Frozone (Pixar)

Kori'ander/Starfire (DC)

Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Marvel)

Stephanie Brown/Spoiler (DC)

Toshinori Yagi/All Might (My Hero Academia)

Charles Xavier/Professor X (Marvel)

Jessica Jones (Marvel)

Jason Todd/Red Hood (DC)

Black Noir (The Boys)

Jim Gordon (DC)

Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier (Marvel)

Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Marvel)

GROUP 2

Kara Zor-El/Supergirl (DC)

T'Challa Udaku/Black Panther (Marvel)

Sam Wilson/Falcon/Captain America (Marvel)

Dick Grayson/Nightwing (DC)

Peter Quill/Starlord (Marvel)

Minhkhoa Khan/The Ghost-Maker (DC)

The Green Lantern Corp (DC)

Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl (DC)

Arthur Curry/Aquaman (DC)

Cassandra Cain/Black Bat (DC)

Queen Maeve (The Boys)

Clark Kent/Superman (DC)

Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat (Marvel)

Tony Stark/Iron Man (Marvel)

Cissie King-Jones/Arrowette (DC)

Marc Spector, Steve Grant, Jake Lockley/Moon Knight (Marvel)

GROUP 3

Barry Allen/The Flash (DC)

Starlight (The Boys)

Kate Kane/Batwoman (DC)

Darkwing Duck (DuckTales)

Shouta Aizawa/Eraserhead (My Hero Academia)

Roy Harper/Arsenal (DC)

Natasha Romanoff, Yelena Belova/Black Widow (Marvel)

Tim Drake/Red Robin (DC)

The Autobots (Transformers TV Show)

Bruce Wayne/Batman (DC)

Ororo Monroe/Storm (Marvel)

The Midnighter (DC)

Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Marvel)

Logan, James Howlett/Wolverine (Marvel)

Kon Kent/Superboy (DC)

Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (DC)

GROUP 4

Danny Fenton/Danny Phantom (Danny Phantom)

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

The Powerpuff Girls (The Powerpuff Girls)

Izuku Midoriya/Deku (My Hero Academia)

Ben Tennyson/Ben 10 (Ben 10)

Adrien Agreste/Chat Noir (Miraculous Ladybug)

Kate Bishop/Hawkeye (Marvel)

Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug (Miraculous Ladybug)

America Chavez/Miss America (Marvel)

Kim Possible (Kim Possible)

Link and Zelda (The Legend of Zelda)

Goku (Dragon Ball Z)

The Power Rangers (The Power Rangers Series)

Kamala Khan/Miss Marvel (Marvel)

Virgil Hawkins/Static (DC)

Billy Batson/Captain Marvel/Shazam (DC)

GROUP 5

Damian Wayne/Robin (DC)

Phineas Flynn, Ferb Fletcher/The Beak (Phineas and Ferb)

Alex, Sam, and Clover (Totally Spies)

Jubilation Lee/Jubilee (Marvel)

Alya Cesaire/Rena Rouge (Miraculous Ladybug)

Flash Thompson/Agent Venom (Marvel)

Shoto Todoroki/Shoto (My Hero Academia)

Gwen Poole/Gwenpool (Marvel)

Nino Lahiffe/Carapace (Miraculous Ladybug)

Kaio Kincaid/K.O. (OK K.O.! Let's be Heroes)

Katsuki Bakugo/Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight (My Hero Academia)

Felicia Hardy/Black Cat (Marvel)

Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd/Wiccan and Speed (Marvel)

Viv Vision (Marvel)

Doreen Green/Squirrel Girl (Marvel)

Mia Dearden/Speedy (DC)

GROUP 6

Undine Wells and Kokoro Aichi/Alchemical Water and Heartful Punch (Sleepless Domain)

Olive Silverlock and Maps Mizoguchi/The Detective Club (DC)

Nova Artino and Adrian Everhart/Insomia and Sketch (Renegades Trilogy)

Karen Fields/Voyd (Pixar)

Laura Kinney/X-23/Wolverine (Marvel)

William Wisp/The Wisperer (Just Roll With It)

Kagami Tsurugi/Ryuuko (Miraculous Ladybug)

Gizmoduck (DuckTales)

Dakota Cole/D.C. (Just Roll With It)

Rumi Usagiyama/Miruko (My Hero Academia)

Luka Couffaine/Viperion (Miraculous Ladybug)

Neena Thurman/Domino (Marvel)

Vyncent Sol/Virion (Just Roll With It)

Elpis (Valor Academy)

Captain Rainbow (Nintendo)

Moza/Emara (Emara)

GROUP 7

Mark Grayson/Invincible (Invincible)

Jimmy Woo (Marvel)

Kirby (Nintendo)

The Doctor (Doctor Who)

Zorro (The Mark of Zorro)

Phil Coulson (Marvel)

Megamind (Megamind)

Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)

Donald Duck/The Duck Avenger/Paperinik (Disney)

Saitama/Caped Baldy (One Punch Man)

He-Man and She-Ra (He-Man: Masters of the Universe and She-Ra: Princess of Power)

Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic Games)

The Tick (The Tick)

Robin Hood (English Folklore)

Yamada Hizashi/Present Mic (My Hero Academia)

Klaus Hargreeves/Number 4/The Séance (The Umbrella Academy)

GROUP 8

Super Grover (Seasame Street)

Wario-Man (Nintendo)

Fanboy and Chum Chum (Fanboy and Chum Chum)

Ace and Gary/The Ambiguously Gay Duo (Saturday Night Live)

Hero Cookie (Cookie Run)

Floyd Belkin/Splitter/Arm-Fall-Off-Boy (DC)

Bob Dobalina/Bob, Agent of Hydra (Marvel)

Bibleman (Bibleman TV Show)

Larry-Boy (VeggieTales)

Sharkboy and Lavagirl (The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl)

Mermaid Man and Barnicle Boy (SpongeBob SquarePants)

Daniel MacIntyre/Cactusman/SCP-2800 (SCP Foundation)

Morbius (Morbius)

Jarro (DC)

Jeff the Land Shark (Marvel)

Steel Samurai (Ace Attorney)

[arctimon]

The Beta Team That Never Was - Fanfiction Corner (BH6 Edition)

So all of this Peni Parker comic talk actually got me thinking about the process of her being included in my fanfiction.

I wish I could tell you it was a long and arduous process, but...

OK, maybe some of it was hard.  But when you have a virtually endless supply of Marvel characters that you can use for possible teammates for Big Hero 6, you have to go with your gut.

We all know that the team will be Robbie, Aspen, Peni, Doreen (eventually), and Kate.  But there were six other candidates that could have been in the mix as well.

And five of them have their emblems here:

These were made before I actually knew how to make hero emblems properly.

Some of them you might recognize.  Some you may not.  But we’re going to go through them all, from left to right.

And to start...it’s really hard to draw tiny hearts.

1.) Riri Williams/Ironheart - Ironically enough, it was around the time that Hiro started chasing Sirque around the town in “Portal Enemy” that I started brainstorming her.  A teenage genius, stuck as to what to make, sees “Captain Cutie” and the chase on the news and gets brainstorming.

Thus, the Power Armor is born.

And she gets so excited that she bolts off to San Fransokyo to show her idol what she’s created.

And then, as per the Big Hero 6 Fanfiction Clause states...shenanigans ensue.

It was an interesting possibility, but the thought of Ironheart was really late into me doing the backstories of the people that I had chosen, so she was pushed aside.  I don’t personally see me revisiting her in the future, but who knows?

2.) Nadia Van Dyne/The Wasp - Back when Karmi had first been pulled out of SFIT, there was a young woman who wanted to recruit her into a special organization.  It was one that brought together the greatest female minds in their fields, and Karmi was on said recruitment list.

The organization?

Genius In action Research Labs, or G.I.R.L. for short.  And it was led by the Wasp’s daughter, Nadia Pym (later changed to Nadia Van Dyne).

Plot-wise, this was probably the person that I got the farthest with, since the story would’ve been more of a focus on Karmi than anyone else.  Also, the idea of writing someone with Bipolar Disorder (which Nadia was confirmed to have in her latest solo run) was intriguing if nothing else.

Unfortunately, it sort of dried up from there.  A lack of a central conflict, uncertainty as to how many of the other girls (Taina, Priya, Shay, and Ying) to have, and how to handle her actual powers stopped it cold.

But seriously, how do you write in the ability to shrink to microscopic size?  That’s not really a thing, even in a world as futuristic as San Fransokyo.

3.) America Chavez/Ms. America - The mere idea of a Superman-esque Latina teenager was enticing, especially because America, in her relatively short comic history, was with the Ultimates and the West Coast Avengers (meaning there was a possible Kate/Hawkeye angle).  Making start-shaped portals was the Silent Sparrow angle, and the all-around badass, headstrong attitude would be the counter to Honey Lemon’s more nurturing personality.

But being from an alternate universe (which has very recently been retconned in the comics in part because she will be appearing in the MCU and Doctor Strange 2), no real villain to play off of, and becoming possibly way too overpowered for the BH6 universe, she was scrapped.

It’s quite a shame.  I really like her in the comics that she’s in.  Perhaps there will be an opportunity for her somewhere down the line...

4.) Alison Blaire/Dazzler - A pop star with light-based powers?

Or better yet, a struggling artist with acoustikinesis?

Her power to convert sound into light was what originally drew me to her.  Something that could be made into a technological ability, unique enough to put a (pardon the pun) spotlight on it.

An actual blonde instead of whatever HL’s hair color is.

Heck, she even has a half-sister named Lois that could have been the antagonist (death tough, destruction waves, and the like).

But she quickly got lost in the fold.  Better ideas (like Kate and Doreen) got more of my brainstorming, and she was eventually given up on.

But funnily enough...

It’s almost like she’s already in the show.

(See, for the people who may be new, one of the many Marvel theories that I’ve touched upon is that High Voltage is actually this universe’s version of Dazzler.  Juniper is Alison and Barb is...well...Barbara London, Alison’s mom).

Hey, @baymaksu​ totally agrees with me kinda sort of.

5.) Cindy Moon/Silk - I knew right from the get-go that I wanted a Spider-person on the beta team.  I also knew that I didn’t want Peter.

No offense to Peter Parker.  He’s fine.  But there’s a billion other Spiders out there, and I wanted someone out of the normal vein of Peter, as well as even Miles and Gwen.

And in came Cindy.

Locked away in The Bunker because of her spider powers manifesting, she was eventually released by Peter and thus began her entrance into the main Marvel world.

Her “unique ability” is her improved Spider-Sense, which Peter has said is even better than his own.  That, plus her other powers, brought her the closest out of anyone to being a member of the Big Hero 6 Beta Team.

As we all know, however, Peni ended up getting the spot over Cindy (for the family angle with Hiro and the giant robot that she pilots).  On the other hand, Cindy would later make her debut in the stinger of the last chapter of Along Came The S.P.I.D.E.R., along with Miles, Anya, and Joey.

Unlike Riri, Nadia, America, and Alison, Cindy and the rest of Peni’s little Spider Society are going to be showing up in future stories.  And if I can get everything in order, they will be starring in their own story set in the Big Hero 6 universe.

Finally, I have no emblem for them, but the honorable mention goes to...

6.) Lunella Lafayette/Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur - Yes, there was a point in time where I was seriously considering putting a nine-year-old super genius and a giant red T-rex into my stories.

Ignoring the giant...”red flag” here, the reason why Luna never made it is the same reason why I haven’t put Rishi in anything yet.  It’s because I don’t really know what to do with supergeniuses that young.  Hiro is at least a teenager and thus has teenager-y problems to fall back on (like puberty and Karmi and all that jazz), but a nine-year-old?  That’s a little too extreme for me.

When I was nine, I was busy playing with sticks in my backyard with my brother, not solving unsolvable puzzles from Bruce Banner.

...All that, and the giant dinosaur.

But hey, at least Disney is jumping on the MG/DD train.  That’s good to see.

Crossover potential, perhaps?

P.S. - As I was finishing putting this post together, it occurred to me that I may get this possible question in the comments, so I’m going to head it off at the pass.

“You know that all of your possible superheroes are girls, right?”

First of all...sexist.

Second of all...true.

That was about 90% on accident.  The actual team (Robbie, Aspen, Peni, Doreen, and Kate) has only one guy on it (two if you count Eli, three if you count Tippy-Toe).

I don’t really have a good explanation for that.  I like all superheroes, but I think that the girl and woman superheroes need some spotlight, you know?  I could have pulled people like Namor or Miles or the male Hawkeye into the mix, but to be honest, I find the characters I chose more interesting than a lot of the guy characters I was contemplating.

Of course, nothing is stopping any of you from using those characters in your stories.  Be my guest, not that you really need my permission or anything.

But you can’t take Aspen.  Aspen is mine. (Spoiler: Aspen is not mine.)

[smashpages]

Winners announced for the 2019 Eisner Awards

The winners were announced last night for the 2019 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards.

Tom King and Mitch Gerads, partners on the Mister Miracle series from DC, took home five awards between them. John Allison’s Giant Days and The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang also took home multiple awards.

The Eisner Awards also inducted 10 people into the Hall of Fame last night: the judges chose Jim Aparo, June Tarpé Mills, Dave Stevens and Morrie Turner, while voters chose José Luis García-López, Jenette Kahn, Paul Levitz, Wendy and Richard Pini, and Bill Sienkiewicz to join the class of 2019.

Other awards given out last night included the The Bill Finger Excellence In Comic Book Writing Award, which was presented to Mike Friedrich and the late E. Nelson Bridwell, and the Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award, which went to Lorena Alvarez.

The 2019 recipients of the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award were Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, for his work on Ricanstruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico, and comic artist Tula Lotay, AKA Lisa Wood, for creating the UK-based Thought Bubble Festival. And La Revisteria Comics in Argentina won the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award.

You can see all the Eisner winners below, in bold.

Best Short Story

“Get Naked in Barcelona,” by Steven T. Seagle and Emei Olivia Burrell, in Get Naked (Image)

“The Ghastlygun Tinies,” by Matt Cohen and Marc Palm, in MAD magazine #4 (DC)

“Here I Am,” by Shaun Tan, in I Feel Machine (SelfMadeHero)

“Life During Interesting Times,” by Mike Dawson (The Nib), https://thenib.com/greatest-generation-interesting-times

“Supply Chains,” by Peter and Maria Hoey, in Coin-Op #7 (Coin-Op Books)

“The Talk of the Saints,” by Tom King and Jason Fabok, in Swamp Thing Winter Special (DC)

Best Single Issue/One-Shot

Beneath the Dead Oak Tree, by Emily Carroll (ShortBox)

Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise, by Jeff Lemire and Emi Lenox (Dark Horse)

No Better Words, by Carolyn Nowak (Silver Sprocket)

Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #310, by Chip Zdarsky (Marvel)

The Terrible Elisabeth Dumn Against the Devils In Suits, by Arabson, translated by James Robinson (IHQ Studio/ Image)

Best Continuing Series

Batman, by Tom King et al. (DC)

Black Hammer: Age of Doom, by Jeff Lemire, Dean Ormston, and Rich Tommaso (Dark Horse)

Gasolina, by Sean Mackiewicz and Niko Walter (Skybound/Image)

Giant Days, by John Allison, Max Sarin, and Julaa Madrigal (BOOM! Box)

The Immortal Hulk, by Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, and Ruy José (Marvel)

Runaways, by Rainbow Rowell and Kris Anka (Marvel)

Best Limited Series

Batman: White Knight, by Sean Murphy (DC)

Eternity Girl, by Magdalene Visaggio and Sonny Liew (Vertigo/DC)

Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, by Mark Russell, Mike Feehan, and Mark Morales (DC)

Mister Miracle, by Tom King and Mitch Gerads (DC)

X-Men: Grand Design: Second Genesis, by Ed Piskor (Marvel)

Best New Series

Bitter Root, by David Walker, Chuck Brown, and Sanford Green (Image)

Crowded, by Christopher Sebela, Ro Stein, and Ted Brandt (Image)

Gideon Falls, by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino (Image)

Isola, by Brenden Fletcher and Karl Kerschl (Image)

Man-Eaters, by Chelsea Cain and Kate Niemczyk (Image)

Skyward, by Joe Henderson and Lee Garbett (Image)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8)

Johnny Boo and the Ice Cream Computer, by James Kochalka (Top Shelf/IDW)

Petals, by Gustavo Borges (KaBOOM!)

Peter & Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths, by Graham Annable (First Second)

This Is a Taco! By Andrew Cangelose and Josh Shipley (CubHouse/Lion Forge)

Tiger Vs. Nightmare, by Emily Tetri (First Second)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 9–12)

Aquicorn Cove, by Katie O’Neill (Oni)

Be Prepared, by Vera Brosgol (First Second)

The Cardboard Kingdom, by Chad Sell (Knopf/Random House Children’s Books)

Crush, by Svetlana Chmakova (JY/Yen Press)

The Divided Earth, by Faith Erin Hicks (First Second)

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13–17)

All Summer Long, by Hope Larson (Farrar Straus Giroux)

Gumballs, by Erin Nations (Top Shelf/IDW)

Middlewest, by Skottie Young and Jorge Corona (Image)

Norroway, Book 1: The Black Bull of Norroway, by Cat Seaton and Kit Seaton (Image)

The Prince and the Dressmaker, by Jen Wang (First Second)

Watersnakes, by Tony Sandoval, translated by Lucas Marangon (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

Best Humor Publication

Get Naked, by Steven T. Seagle et al. (Image)

Giant Days, by John Allison, Max Sarin, and Julia Madrigal (BOOM! Box)

MAD magazine, edited by Bill Morrison (DC)

A Perfect Failure: Fanta Bukowski 3, by Noah Van Sciver (Fantagraphics)

Woman World, by Aminder Dhaliwal (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Anthology

Femme Magnifique: 50 Magnificent Women Who Changed the World, edited by Shelly Bond (Black Crown/IDW)

Puerto Rico Strong, edited by Marco Lopez, Desiree Rodriguez, Hazel Newlevant, Derek Ruiz, and Neil Schwartz (Lion Forge)

Twisted Romance, edited by Alex de Campi (Image)

Where We Live: A Benefit for the Survivors in Las Vegas, edited by Will Dennis, curated by J. H. Williams III and Wendy Wright-Williams (Image)

Best Reality-Based Work

All the Answers: A Graphic Memoir, by Michael Kupperman (Gallery 13)

All the Sad Songs, by Summer Pierre (Retrofit/Big Planet)

Is This Guy For Real? The Unbelievable Andy Kaufman, by Box Brown (First Second)

Monk! by Youssef Daoudi (First Second)

One Dirty Tree, by Noah Van Sciver (Uncivilized Books)

Best Graphic Album—New

Bad Girls, by Alex de Campi and Victor Santos (Gallery 13)

Come Again, by Nate Powell (Top Shelf/IDW)

Green Lantern: Earth One Vol. 1, by Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman (DC)

Homunculus, by Joe Sparrow (ShortBox)

My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)

Sabrina, by Nick Drnaso (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint

Berlin, by Jason Lutes (Drawn & Quarterly)

Girl Town, by Carolyn Nowak (Top Shelf/IDW)

Upgrade Soul, by Ezra Claytan Daniels (Lion Forge)

The Vision hardcover, by Tom King, Gabriel Hernandez Walta, and Michael Walsh (Marvel)

Young Frances, by Hartley Lin (AdHouse Books)

Best Adaptation from Another Medium

Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation, adapted by Ari Folman and David Polonsky (Pantheon)

“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, in Frankenstein: Junji Ito Story Collection, adapted by Junji Ito, translated by Jocelyne Allen (VIZ Media)

Out in the Open by Jesús Carraso, adapted by Javi Rey, translated by Lawrence Schimel (SelfMadeHero)

Speak: The Graphic Novel, by Laurie Halse Anderson and Emily Carroll (Farrar Straus Giroux)

To Build a Fire: Based on Jack London’s Classic Story, by Chabouté (Gallery 13)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

About Betty’s Boob, by Vero Cazot and Julie Rocheleau, translated by Edward Gauvin (Archaia/BOOM!)

Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World, by Pénélope Bagieu (First Second)

Herakles Book 1, by Edouard Cour, translated by Jeremy Melloul (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

Niourk, by Stefan Wul and Olivier Vatine, translated by Brandon Kander and Diana Schutz (Dark Horse)

A Sea of Love, by Wilfrid Lupano and Grégory Panaccione (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia

Abara: Complete Deluxe Edition, by Tsutomu Nihei, translated by Sheldon Drzka (VIZ Media)

Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, by Inio Asano, translated by John Werry (VIZ Media)

Laid-Back Camp, by Afro, translated by Amber Tamosaitis (Yen Press)

My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder, by Nie Jun, translated by Edward Gauvin (Graphic Universe/Lerner)

Tokyo Tarareba Girls, by Akiko Higashimura (Kodansha)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips

Pogo, vol. 5: Out of This World At Home, by Walt Kelly, edited by Mark Evanier and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)

Sky Masters of the Space Force: The Complete Sunday Strips in Color (1959–1960), by Jack Kirby, Wally Wood et al., edited by Ferran Delgado (Amigo Comics)

Star Wars: Classic Newspaper Strips, vol. 3, by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson, edited by Dean Mullaney (Library of American Comics/IDW)

The Temple of Silence: Forgotten Words and Worlds of Herbert Crowley, by Justin Duerr (Beehive Books

Thimble Theatre and the Pre-Popeye Comics of E. C. Segar, edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books

Action Comics: 80 Years of Superman Deluxe Edition, edited by Paul Levitz (DC)

Bill Sienkiewicz’s Mutants and Moon Knights… And Assassins… Artifact Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)

Dirty Plotte: The Complete Julie Doucet (Drawn & Quarterly)

Madman Quarter Century Shindig, by Mike Allred, edited by Chris Ryall (IDW)

Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise Gallery Edition, edited by Joseph Melchior and Bob Chapman (Abstract Studio/Graphitti Designs)

Will Eisner’s A Contract with God: Curator’s Collection, edited by John Lind (Kitchen Sink/Dark Horse)

Best Writer

Alex de Campi, Bad Girls (Gallery 13); Twisted Romance (Image)

Tom King, Batman, Mister Miracle, Heroes in Crisis, Swamp Thing Winter Special (DC)

Jeff Lemire, Black Hammer: Age of Doom, Doctor Star & the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows, Quantum Age (Dark Horse); Descender, Gideon Falls, Royal City (Image)

Mark Russell, Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, Green Lantern/Huckleberry Hound, Lex Luthor/Porky Pig (DC); Lone Ranger (Dynamite)

Kelly Thompson, Nancy Drew (Dynamite); Hawkeye, Jessica Jones, Mr. & Mrs. X, Rogue & Gambit, Uncanny X-Men, West Coast Avengers (Marvel)

Chip Zdarsky, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, Marvel Two-in-One (Marvel)

Best Writer/Artist

Sophie Campbell, Wet Moon (Oni)

Nick Drnaso, Sabrina (Drawn & Quarterly)

David Lapham, Lodger (Black Crown/IDW); Stray Bullets (Image)

Nate Powell, Come Again (Top Shelf/IDW)

Tony Sandoval, Watersnakes (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

Jen Wang, The Prince and the Dressmaker (First Second)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team

Matías Bergara, Coda (BOOM!)

Mitch Gerads, Mister Miracle (DC)

Karl Kerschl, Isola (Image)

Sonny Liew, Eternity Girl (Vertigo/DC)

Sean Phillips, Kill or Be Killed, My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies (Image)

Yanick Paquette, Wonder Woman Earth One, vol. 2 (DC)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)

Lee Bermejo, Batman: Damned (DC)

Carita Lupatelli, Izuna Book 2 (Humanoids)

Dustin Nguyen, Descender (Image)

Gregory Panaccione, A Sea of Love (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

Tony Sandoval, Watersnakes (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

Best Cover Artist (for multiple covers)

Jen Bartel, Blackbird (Image); Submerged (Vault)

Nick Derington, Mister Miracle (DC)

Karl Kerschl, Isola (Image)

Joshua Middleton, Batgirl and Aquaman variants (DC)

Julian Tedesco, Hawkeye, Life of Captain Marvel (Marvel)

Best Coloring

Jordie Bellaire, Batgirl, Batman (DC); The Divided Earth (First Second); Days of Hate, Dead Hand, Head Lopper, Redlands (Image); Shuri, Doctor Strange (Marvel)

Tamra Bonvillain, Alien 3 (Dark Horse); Batman, Doom Patrol (DC); Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Multiple Man (Marvel)

Nathan Fairbairn, Batman, Batgirl, Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman Earth One, vol. 2 (DC); Die!Die!Die! (Image)

Matt Hollingsworth, Batman: White Knight (DC): Seven to Eternity, Wytches (Image)

Matt Wilson, Black Cloud, Paper Girls, The Wicked + The Divine (Image); The Mighty Thor, Runaways (Marvel)

Best Lettering

David Aja, Seeds (Berger Books/Dark Horse)

Jim Campbell, Breathless, Calexit, Gravetrancers, Snap Flash Hustle, Survival Fetish, The Wilds (Black Mask); Abbott, Alice: Dream to Dream, Black Badge, Clueless, Coda, Fence, Firefly, Giant Days, Grass Kings, Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compass, Low Road West, Sparrowhawk (BOOM); Angelic (Image); Wasted Space (Vault)

Alex de Campi, Bad Girls (Gallery 13); Twisted Romance (Image)

Jared Fletcher, Batman: Damned (DC); The Gravediggers Union, Moonshine, Paper Girls, Southern Bastards (Image)

Todd Klein— Black Hammer: Age of Doom, Neil Gaiman’s A Study in Emerald (Dark Horse); Batman: White Night (DC); Eternity Girl, Books of Magic (Vertigo/DC); The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest (Top Shelf/IDW)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/ Journalism

Note: There was a tie in this category

Back Issue, edited by Michael Eury (TwoMorrows)

The Columbus Scribbler, edited by Brian Canini, columbusscribbler.com

Comicosity, edited by Aaron Long and Matt Santori,  www.comicosity.com

LAAB Magazine #0: Dark Matter, edited by Ronald Wimberley and Josh O’Neill (Beehive Books)

PanelxPanel magazine, edited by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, panelxpanel.com

Best Comics-Related Book

Comic Book Implosion: An Oral History of DC Comics Circa 1978, by Keith Dallas and John Wells (TwoMorrows)

Drawn to Purpose: American Women Illustrators and Cartoonists, by Martha H. Kennedy (University Press of Mississippi)

The League of Regrettable Sidekicks, by Jon Morris (Quirk Books)

Mike Grell: Life Is Drawing Without an Eraser, by Dewey Cassell with Jeff Messer (TwoMorrows)

Yoshitaka Amano: The Illustrated Biography—Beyond the Fantasy, by Florent Gorges, translated by Laure Dupont and Annie Gullion (Dark Horse)

Best Academic/Scholarly Work

Between Pen and Pixel: Comics, Materiality, and the Book of the Future, by Aaron Kashtan (Ohio State University Press)

Breaking the Frames: Populism and Prestige in Comics Studies, by Marc Singer (University of Texas Press)

The Goat-Getters: Jack Johnson, the Fight of the Century, and How a Bunch of Raucous Cartoonists Reinvented Comics, by Eddie Campbell (Library of American Comics/IDW/Ohio State University Press)

Incorrigibles and Innocents, by Lara Saguisag (Rutgers Univeristy Press)

Sweet Little C*nt: The Graphic Work of Julie Doucet, by Anne Elizabeth Moore (Uncivilized Books)

Best Publication Design

A Sea of Love, designed by Wilfrid Lupano, Grégory Panaccione, and Mike Kennedy (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

The Stan Lee Story Collector’s Edition, designed by Josh Baker (Taschen)

The Temple of Silence: Forgotten Worlds of Herbert Crowley, designed by Paul Kepple and Max Vandenberg (Beehive Books)

Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise Gallery Edition, designed by Josh Beatman/Brainchild Studios/NYC (Abstract Studio/Graphitti Designs)

Will Eisner’s A Contract with God: Curator’s Collection, designed by John Lind (Kitchen Sink/Dark Horse)

Best Digital Comic

Aztec Empire, by Paul Guinan, Anina Bennett, and David Hahn, www.bigredhair.com/books/Aztec-empire/

The Führer and the Tramp, by Sean McArdle, Jon Judy, and Dexter Wee, http://thefuhrerandthetramp.com/

The Journey, by Pablo Leon (Rewire), https://rewire.news/article/2018/01/08/rewire-exclusive-comic-journey/

The Stone King, by Kel McDonald and Tyler Crook (comiXology Originals)  https://cmxl.gy/Stone-King

Umami, by Ken Niimura (Panel Syndicate), http://panelsyndicate.com/comics/umami

Best Webcomic

The Contradictions, by Sophie Yanow, www.thecontradictions.com

Lavender Jack, by Dan Schkade (WEBTOON), https://www.webtoons.com/en/thriller/lavender-jack/list?title_no=1410&page=1

Let’s Play, by Mongie (WEBTOON), https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/letsplay/list?title_no=1218&page=1

Lore Olympus, by Rachel Smythe, (WEBTOON), https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/lore-olympus/list?title_no=1320&page=1

Tiger, Tiger, by Petra Erika Nordlund, (Hiveworks) http://www.tigertigercomic.com/

[cheesebongdynasty]

Some perspective for y’all haters (both of you):

“Responsible for Ultron (list includes all people pictured):

Personally worked with Ultron: 

Reasons:

(Misplaced) Revenge, (Presumable) Hydra indoctrination 

Wanting to save the world (post telepathic mindfuck) 

....easily manipulated? (Post telepathic mindfuck) 

Backgrounds (prior to telepathic mind-fucks)

Traumatized and Brainwashed Kid:

As a child, saw parents blown up, spent days staring at missle with “Stark” written on it waiting for it to kill her and her brother; “signed up for” Hydra (probably before age 18); wanted “revenge” on Stark and Avengers; (knowledge of Stark and Avengers not really clarified, but likely influenced by Hydra indoctrination.) 

Still pretty much a “kid” by “Ultron.”

Traumatized and Mentally Ill Adult, Who Already Built AIs and Saved the World Successfully Before:  

Parental neglect; orphaned at 21 (at this point, thinks dad killed mom with his driving); “saw young Americans killed by the very weapons designed to protect them;” tortured in a cave, forced to help guys who killed those young Americans; saw mentor die; fatal disease; wormhole-induced PTSD (on top of obvious other disorders); saw lover tortured because of him, then saw her “die” when he failed to catch her; has built at least three successful A.I; saved planet at least once; shown “worst fear” right before making Ultron.

Traumatized Mentally Ill Adult, With Self-Trust Issues:  Hulk accident and condition; lost relationship with girlfriend (probably due  to this); years in isolation; guilt over destruction (and probably deaths) caused as Hulk; shown a telepathic mind-fuck that caused him to Hulk out and rampage a civilian town, right before making Ultron. 

Helped Defeat Ultron: 

Owned Up To Ultron: 

Realizes “this is all because of me” at seeing city attacked, switches sides;  guilt complex a major character trait in following movies

“Ultron, my fault;” signs Accords and donates a fuckton of money to college kids over Ultron guilt

“Only when I’ve created a murder-bot!” First to own up to Ultron, right after the fact. (Interesting fact: spent two years as the Hulk after Ultron incident. Food for thought.) 

Responsible for Vision (the guy able to lift Thor’s hammer, who killed Ultron):

Faced Legal Action for Ultron: 

Faced Legal Action for Anything Before the Sokovia Accords: 

Irony

Relationships After Ultron:

Spats “You locked me in my room!” and otherwise has no negative words for Tony Stark; was willing to stay “locked in her room” until Hawkeye convinced her otherwise; only person on the Raft not to say anything to Tony;

(looks either ashamed, or too angry to face him, or both, open to interpretation);  in “Infinity War,” wants Vision to keep his word to Tony Stark; is visibly upset at news Tony Stark went missing up in the alien spacecraft.

(Note: Wanda has directly seen, and influenced, Tony’s space-phobia, plus her aforementioned guilt complex.) 

Calls Wanda a “WMD,” otherwise has no insults for her; wants to keep her in the mansion for her own “protection;” talks like a scolding parent during airport fight (”Wanda I think you hurt Vision’s feelings” “First of all, that’s an exaggeration, second, I did that for your protection.”) Looks guilty AF when seeing Wanda in straight jacket on Raft; helps Cap break Wanda and others out of Raft prison by ignoring Ross’s call; lets Vision and Wanda have secret affair, keeps their secret for them.

Tells Wanda “I could kill you without turning a shade of green” recently after mindfuck; after returning to Earth two or three years later, has no negative words, facial expressions or hand gestures for her; hugs Tony immediately upon reuniting with him. 

"Civil War” 

Tony: Told he “murdered” a civilization woman’s son; signed Accords out of guilt; baffled by Cap’s actions; but for some reason, fails (along with the rest of his team) to ask Cap WTF is going on; blackmails/technically kidnapps underage with super-strength to help arrest Team Cap (none of whom, until this point, were the kind of person who would toss a truck at anyone), gives Spidey extra-protective new suit, tells Spidey to keep his distance and sends him home as soon as he’s hurt; sees BFF paralyzed; blasts an apologizing Sam, who wasn’t even remotely responsible; realizes Bucky was framed; admits he was wrong about that, goes to help Steve and Bucky and make peace; watches video of parents murdered with apparent killer standing right next to him, hears comrade (who is put on a pedestal by everyone, including the father being killed in the video who never told Tony he loved or liked him), admit with no visible remorse, that he knew; violent mental snap for 20 minutes (if that); next time we see him, is helping Rhodey with his legs; helps Team Cap escape raft by ignoring Ross’s call; no hint of him making any further attempts to go after Bucky, or even expressing onscreen animosity towards Bucky.  

Wanda: Saves hundreds if not millions of lives; accidentally kills a few while saving those hundreds/millions, is horrified; is fine staying in the mansion like Tony wants, until Hawkeye convinces her otherwise; is put in a straight jacket; only person on Raft not to verbally shit on Tony. 

Bruce: Spared the indignity of being in “Batman V. Superman the Avengers Edition”

Adults Who Emotionally Blackmailed Young People into illegally joining their “war,” that said young people know little to nothing about:

If Tony is horrible for dragging a “kid” into a “war,” and Wanda is also a “kid” when Tony “locks her up”.... is Wanda still a “kid” when Hakweye drags her into this “war?” If Hawkeye did exactly that, but for Team Iron Man instead of Team Cap, would it still be okay? 

After “Civil War” 

Tony: Focus on protecting world; mentors/protects Peter Parker; improves enough that Pepper takes him back; becomes engaged; obsessed with defeating Thanos; makes new protective suit for Peter Parker; doesn’t want Peter on the space-donut and is pissed when he stows away; has petulant (and hilarious) snark-to-snark combat with Dr. Strange and Peter Quill; is a jackass after saving Strange from torture, but clearly caring when Strange is time-glitching; tries to talk down Quill when Quill is in the same position Tony was in Siberia (learn of loved one’s murder with killer in front of him), with no patronizing cliches like “this won’t change what happened”; fights Thanos even when armor is almost completely gone; doesn’t want Strange to hand over the Time Stone to save him; is upset Strange handed over the Stnoe to save him; has no ill words for Quill after Quill fucked up everything; gently says “steady Quill” when Quill’s friends are disintegrating around him; holds Spidey while he disintegrates. 

Wanda: No ill words for Stark, after everything; wants Vision to keep his word to Stark; is upset when Tony is declared missing on the spaceship; saves Vision’s ass from Thanos’s minions; refuses until the last minute to kill Vision for the sake of saving the universe; along with Star Lord, is one of the only two people in the MCU willing to kill their lover, and last living loved-one, to save the universe; has to see Vision killed again, with Thanos winning the Stone; dusted. 

Bruce: Trapped in Hulk for two years; sees Asgardians killed..............why am I still bothering? None of you ever hated on Bruce Banner to begin with, because he wasn’t in “Civil Fart” and therefore not “against” your favorite character.

Anyway, the moral of this story: if you personally hate Tony Stark or Wanda Maximoff for being on the wrong “team” in one badly written movie their personality, that’s your prerogative. But stop trying to vilify them, especially post-”Infinity War.” 

[mrjoelgarcia9]

Let’s Talk #ReleaseTheSnyderCut

Should Warner Bros. release the Snyder Cut of Justice League? Yes. It can help fans and others understand why the film could have been so much worse.

Based on everything posted online about the Snyder Cut, it would have been the Batman and Robin of gritty superhero films.

For more on the topic, feel free to keep reading. There will be spoilers.

Justice League was Warner Bros’ rushed attempt to compete with Marvel’s The Avengers. What could have been a great film about some of the most popular heroes of all time turned into a complete disaster. For example, it had to introduce three heroes within the first act since neither of them at the time had their own standalone films. In comparison, The Avengers simply had to reintroduce Hulk because of a casting change.

The film’s failure changed Warner Bros’ direction for DC’s Cinematic Universe. Films which were supposed to feature Cyborg and The Flash went into development hell, while The Batman fell apart after Ben Affleck quit.

Most may blame Warner Bros for the film’s failure. They desperately tried to emulate the lighthearted tone of the MCU after becoming aware of the negative reception to their own films. While the studio does share a lot of the blame, Snyder is not exactly blameless.

Wikipedia best summarizes the many ideas and elements Snyder planned, wrote, and actually filmed for Justice League. It also tries to explain, based on various sources, what Snyder filmed and Whedon then altered.

To put it bluntly, Zack Snyder’s Justice League would have been awful.

Snyder’s overall plan for the DC films was also terrible. Rather than follow Marvel’s method of individual films leading up to a crossover, his idea was instead to have the occasional individual film with the majority of the characters being introduced during either said or Justice League films. 

He was basically giving Warner Bros a shortcut so DC could catch up with Marvel. By the time Batman V Superman came out, Marvel was already past its second crossover film (with the then-upcoming Captain America: Civil War serving as its unofficial third).

It was a bad idea to introduce three new heroes within a single film. Snyder’s cut would have alternated between presenting the heroes’ origins and respective supporting characters, something that could easily be shown in individual films, and the overall crisis.

Going back to the MCU, all but two of the Avengers were introduced in their own individual films before the first crossover. Black Widow was introduced in Iron Man 2, while Hawkeye first appeared in Thor. They would get additional development in The Avengers, its sequel Age of Ultron, and spin-offs.

Many of Snyder’s cut or modified elements, such as a return of the pointless nightmare sequence from Batman V Superman, the flashback introducing Darkseid, and giving Bruce and Barry a relationship similar to Tony and Peter, would have left the average moviegoer with a headache.

Ever since the film's release, fans of Snyder have been tweeting out the titular hashtag. Whedon clearly cut out a lot of footage previously shown in trailers or posted online by members of the production team. The best example is Cyborg’s past as Victor Stone, which was shown in the early trailers. However, in the final film, he first appears already as Cyborg.

What makes the situation frustrating for fans is how home media releases do not include these and other reportedly filmed scenes. The only deleted scenes officially released are of Superman being shown a black suit, which he never wears, and him meeting Alfred before the climax.

It is understandable, to an extent, why fans are demanding Snyder’s cut of the film be released. This is not the first time a superhero film from Warner Bros had multiple directors. Superman II, for example, exists in two different cuts: The original theatrical version and a 2006 edition subtitled The Richard Donner Cut. 

The former was produced after its executive producers fired Donner, who directed the first and most of the second film, and hired Richard Lester to make it funnier. The latter was a patchwork edit primarily consisting of Donner’s filmed footage and newly shot scenes to fill-in gaps.

Most may assume it would be just as easy to release Snyder’s cut of Justice League. It does exist, according to Polygon, but might lack the special effects, additional dialogue, and final instrumentals normally added during post-production.

Since Justice League, and as of this writing, Warner Bros has only released three DC films (Teen Titans Go! To The Movies, Aquaman, and Shazam!) in comparison to Marvel Studios’ six (Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and The Wasp, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, and Sony’s Spider-Man: Far From Home). The number does not include two X-Men films from 20th Century Fox, three when counting a PG-13 version of Deadpool 2, and two Spider-Man spin-off films from Sony.

Warner Bros has almost nothing to lose at this point. With no upcoming sequel to the film, releasing the Snyder Cut could keep the team in the pop culture mainstream in the midst of all the attention currently aimed at Marvel.

On the other hand, the only possible reason why Warner Bros may not want to release the Snyder Cut is because they just want to move on from the film. The more recent DC films barely acknowledge it. Aquaman, for example, referenced the climax but changed how characters talked underwater.

There are several ways the Snyder Cut could be released: As a Digital release, via the Warner Archive, or AT&T’s upcoming HBO Max streaming service.

In the end, Snyder’s version will show what could have been an even bigger cinematic train wreck. Whedon may have altered a lot after Snyder left, but at least he tried making the film accessible for general audiences. Despite both directors having a lot of successful films, neither could have saved a film that had nowhere to go but down.

Justice League, in its current form, is an enjoyable film. It may not be as great as most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe but has several good dramatic moments and the actors give great performances despite the many changes made to the film. Considering both The Flash and Cyborg films are in development hell, this might be the only film where the two appear in live action for a long time.

The film is available to own on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital.

Until next time, thank you for reading.

[ramajmedia]

Justice League: Wonder Woman's Role In The Snyder Cut Explained

Like her fellow protectors of Earth, Wonder Woman had a very different portrayal in the Justice League Snyder Cut. Zack Snyder stepped down from the director's chair following the tragic loss of his daughter while the film was in post-production. Ultimately, Joss Whedon was brought in to oversee Justice League's reshoots. The official stance of Warner Bros. at the time was that these were normal pickups that most major tentpole blockbusters undergo and were only intended to complete Snyder's vision for the film. However, upon the film's release, fans quickly discovered that this was hardly the case, with the version of Justice League released into theaters being a sharp detour from what Snyder intended.

In the nearly two years since Justice League's release, DC fans have continuously lobbied Warner Bros. to release the Snyder Cut. Snyder himself has given them plenty of ammunition for their efforts, with a steady stream of teases of his cut on social media. Additionally, a growing number of Justice League's cast and crew have joined fans in calling for the Snyder Cut's release, with Aquaman star Jason Momoa recently confirming to have seen it himself. But while it hasn't released yet (and possibly may never do so), there are quite a few things we know about it already.

Related: How The Flash Was Different in Zack Snyder's Cut of Justice League

With Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman being released in June 2017, it served as the final primer for Justice League, and set Diana up as a major player in the superhero ensemble after her supporting role in Batman v Superman. However, while we don't have as full a picture on Diana's original role in the film in comparison to other characters, the evidence available makes clear that her portrayal was also drastically altered by the reshoots. Here's what we know right now about Wonder Woman's original role in Justice League.

While Diana herself is not physically present in Justice League's history lesson, the reshoots had a ripple effect on the entire film. As seen in the theatrical version, Earth had previously been invaded by the forces of Apokolips, with Amazons, Atlanteans, the Gods of Olympus, and even the Green Lantern Yalan Gur repelling Steppenwolf's invasion. All of this is shown through a flashback in the movie, with Diana providing a narration to Bruce Wayne and the audience.

Per Snyder's teases on the social media app Vero, we know that the history lesson played out differently in his cut. Principal among them was the inclusion of Darkseid. While the theatrical version would swap out Darkseid for Steppenwolf, the zig-zagging that Yalan Gur's power ring does after he is killed by Steppenwolf suggests that it may have been a repurposed Omega Beam from Darkseid.

Additionally, the Snyder Cut was set to pit Darkseid against Ares, played in the film by stunt man Nick McKinless. While this doesn't directly reveal anything about Diana's larger role in Justice League, the contrast of the two versions of the history lesson indicates that her narration was added in by the reshoots. For that matter, Nick McKinless would only receive a "stunts" credit on the film, despite being specifically contracted to play Ares, without seeing any expected residuals from it.

With the ending of Batman v Superman, the presence of Darkseid in Justice League seemed like a foregone conclusion. In the aftermath of Superman's death in battle against Doomsday, Lex Luthor warns a furious Batman that "He's hungry, he's found us, and he's coming!". That could be seen as a reference to Steppenwolf, especially after his meeting with Lex in the Kryptonian scout ship (deleted from the theatrical version, but restored in the Ultimate Edition), but it's safe to say that DC fans took this as a tease for Darkseid's role in Justice League.

As revealed by Snyder on Vero, Darkseid's removal also affected Diana's role in the film. Snyder first teased a never-before-seen image of Diana, with her appearing unsettled by something she's seeing off camera. It wasn't until later that Snyder revealed that Diana was looking at a mural of Darkseid. Snyder ominously captioned the photo with, "A bell can't be unrung", a direct quote from Lex's prophecy to Batman, effectively confirming that Darkseid was indeed the force of evil Lex had been referring to. While this may or may not have tied in with the history lesson, it illustrates the ripple effect that the changes, like the removal of Darkseid (later revealed to have been played by Ray Porter in the Snyder Cut), ultimately had on the rest of the film.

Related: Justice League: How Batman Was Different In Zack Snyder's Original Cut

Wonder Woman's role in Justice League was also considerably sexualized by the reshoots. This is partially seen in her relationship with Batman. While not rising to level of an outright romance, the reshoots would inject much more sexual tension between her and Bruce. Another major indication of the impact the reshoots had on Diana's role comes during the League's initial tunnel battle with Steppenwolf, with Barry falling into Diana's cleavage after pushing her out of the path of falling debris. This recalls a similar scene involving Hawkeye falling into Black Widow's chest in Joss Whedon's Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Furthermore, as the League heads into the final battle with Steppenwolf, Aquaman sits on the Lasso of Truth and shares his suppressed feelings of camaraderie with his fellow heroes, which include hitting on Diana. Wonder Woman was certainly not the only female character whose role in Justice League saw these kinds of changes, as seen in Lois commenting "you smell good" to the newly resurrected Superman, or in Martha Kent's infamous "thirsty" line. Taken together, all these make clear just how much Wonder Woman and other female characters became objectified by the reshoots.

Related: Which Justice League Lines Are Definitely Whedon?

The exact nature of Superman's resurrection in the Justice League Snyder Cut remains among the film's biggest mysteries. However, we know it played out quite differently under Snyder's direction. One major piece of evidence in this regard comes from an image released by Snyder on social media, showing Diana, Arthur, Barry, and Victor retrieving Kal-El's body from the Smallville cemetery. The version of the scene in the theatrical cut only involves Barry and Victor, indicating another change to Diana's role in Justice League, and likely a crucial one, given the significance of Superman's resurrection in the film.

Additionally, the League's meeting in the Batcave where Bruce first proposes bringing Superman back to life is also a reshoot. We can infer as much just from looking at the trailer released at San Diego Comic-Con 2017, which shows snippets of a clearly different version of the League's Batcave meetup. Furthermore, the version shown in the theatrical cut doesn't technically take place in the Batcave at all, but rather a reframed version of the Wayne Aerospace set made to look like the two locations are the same. This effectively means that Diana's entire appearance in the Batcave meeting comes from the reshoots, to include her giving Bruce a violent shove after his dig referencing her past relationship with Steve Trevor. However, despite what we can currently pinpoint to the reshoots from these scenes, the exact nature of what Diana's role was in the Batcave meeting and the retrieval of Superman's body remains unknown.

Related: Superman's Original Role in Zack Snyder's Justice League Cut Explained

One of the most dramatic of the changes made to Justice League can be seen in the contrast between the ending of the theatrical version and that of the Snyder Cut. The plot device of Parademons smelling fear is itself an insertion from the reshoots. It was first seen in the film's opening minutes, with Batman battling a lone Parademon in Gotham City and making the discovery, along with their vulnerability to sound. This leads him to attempt to distract the Parademons with sonic waves during Justice League's climactic battle. When the League begins to gain the upper hand with Superman's arrival, Diana shatters Steppenwolf's axe to pieces with her sword. With the villain now stricken with fear, his Parademon army turns on him before they teleport back to Apokolips through a Boom Tube.

Not only are the elements of Parademons smelling fear and their weakness to sound a product of the reshoots, but Steppenwolf also met a far more brutal end, originally. As revealed by Snyder on Vero, the final battle of Justice League concluded with Wonder Woman making the same flying leap with her sword, only to behead Steppenwolf in Snyder's cut of the film. Additionally, Wonder Woman wasn't the only member of the League to go much harder on the villain than seen in the theatrical cut, as Steppenwolf's demise would come after he'd gone toe-to-toe with an "unhinged" Superman (in the words of storyboard artist Jay Oliva).

As is the case with virtually every constituent member of the Justice League, the changes currently known to have been made to Wonder Woman's role in the film could well be infinitesimal compared to the full extent of the alterations. Indeed, Wonder Woman's full role in the Snyder Cut is less known compared to other characters. With Gal Gadot set to return as Diana in Wonder Woman 1984, the character is sure to remain a cornerstone for the DCEU. However, the rallying cry for the release of the Snyder Cut is clearly nowhere near dying down, especially with more and more of the cast and crew beginning to voice their support for its release. Ultimately, the greenlight for its release can only be given by Warner Bros. (as Snyder himself has pointed out). Until that day comes, the full picture of Wonder Woman's original role in the Justice League Snyder Cut will remain as much of a mystery as the rest of the film.

Next: Justice League: What HASN'T Been Revealed About The Snyder Cut Yet?

source https://screenrant.com/wonder-woman-justice-league-snyder-cut-role-explained/

[daddywarbats]

Weird convention dreams continue.

Highlights of last night’s visual masterpiece include:

Bruce Extra(TM) Wayne, as Batman, getting on a charter plane he owns as Bruce Wayne with the whole Justice League, a plane he refuses to fly, and jumping out the door right before Superman catches the plane (and puts it down gently) just to be Extra(TM) and have the coolest, most Extra(TM) entrance.

Thoroughly Done and Tired(TM) Clara Oswald standing on a roof screaming at a meteor for Missy to stop dragging her into these stupid spats with her damn boyfriend. Death threats were non-effective in the face of such sheer Done, to Missy’s annoyance.

The mutant ability/superpower rave/LARPer dance off, complete with a person in a light up sparkling unicorn suit.

Hawkeye, the sad golden retriever edition.

The what the hell space ceiling fan/time loop sequence.

Professor Hojo lampshading terrible videogame translations. Sephiroth was not there. (Professor Gast and Lucrecia Crescent were and they both were Concerned.)

The somewhat linear narrative connecting all of these. What in the fresh hell.

[ssalefishgso]

Ssalefish GSO First Look #1 for 4.5.16

First, an introduction! My name is Stephen Mayer and I'm one of the managing partners of the new Ssalefish Comics location in Greensboro along with Jay Ewing and Ssalefish Winston owner Bret Parks. It's been a dream of mine to own a store of my own ever since I began helping Bret prep his new comics on Wednesday mornings back in...2005? So welcome to my dream come true 12 years later!

We're not ready to open for regular business hours in the Gate City quite yet, BUT if you'd like to make a special order via the "Shipping Next Week" page or would like to set up your subscription pull list now, we'll be happy to accommodate, and you can come pick up your books during the posted business hours here starting Wednesday, April 5th at 8 AM (for the earliest new releases in the Triad)!

Now the lowdown on this blog! The new "Shipping Next Week" widget doesn't update until Friday morning, but we know what's coming out by Wednesday, and I don't like keeping you guys in the dark, so I'll give you a jump on things every Thursday, right here. This will also help clarify what's going where since both locations won't have all of the same items at the same time (but a special order from W-S or GSO is never a problem and can typically be filled the very next day)!

I embolden the books that I'll be taking home to add to my personal collection, but I still read a breath of other books, so don't be afraid to ask my opinion on anything when you're in the store.

Even though I don't list them individually, we do carry all variants for the DC Rebirth titles as well as many other alternate and limited edition covers, so feel free to inquire.

The following titles are scheduled to ship on Wednesday, April 5th, excluding some re-orders and providing nothing changes by the time the final invoice arrives on Monday:

Adventure Time #63

All-New Wolverine #19

America #2

Amory Wars Good Apollo #1

Animal Noir #3

Aquaman #20

Avengers #6

Batman #20

Baltimore Red Kingdom #3

Batgirl & the Birds of Prey TP #1

Black Cloud #1 - from the mind of Jason Latour, co-creator of Southern Bastards and Spider-Gwen!

Brave Chef Brianna #2

Bullseye #3

Captain America Steve Rogers #15

Champions #7

Colossi #1

Cyborg #11

DC Bombshells #25

Deathstroke #16

Doctor Who Ghost Stories #1

Eleanor & the Egret #1

Everafter From the pages of Fables #8

Extremity #2 - look for the fantastic Green Leader mini comic by Extremity creator Evan Warren Johnson on the shelves of Ssalefish Greensboro when we open up in early April!

Faith #10

Fall & Rise of Captain Atom #4

Flintstones #10

Giant Days #25

Goldie Vance #11

Green Arrow #20

Green Arrow TP #2

Green Lanterns #20

Harley Quinn #17

Hawkeye #5

Injustice Ground Zero #9

Invader Zim #18

Iron Fist #2

James Bond #2

Jem & the Holograms #25

Jessica Jones #7

Jughead #14

Justice League #18

Kill Shakespeare Past is Prologue Juliet #1

Kim Reaper #1

Little Archie one-shot

Love & Rockets #2

Nightwing #18

Nova #5

Paper Girls #13

Penny Dreadful #1

Revolution Aw Yeah #1

Riverdale #1 - one of the great surprises in entertainment for me and my wife Carly in 2017 has been how much we love this show. I know I shouldn't have been shocked after the success of the relaunch in 2015 and Afterlife with Archie writer Roberto Aguirre Sacasa serving as an executive producer, but we're sucked in!

Rock Candy Mountain - my buddy Chris Schweizer is handling the coloring for the hilarious Kyle Starks in this new book from Image Comics that promises the most hobo fights in any 22 page comic you've ever read!

Royals #1

Savage Things #2

Scooby Doo Where Are You #80

Shade the Changing Girl #7

Slapstick #5

Slayer Repentless #2

Sovereigns #0

Spider-man #15

Spider-man/ Deadpool #16

Spider-man Homecoming Prelude #2

SpongeBob Comics TP #1 - FINALLY! My pals Gregg Schigiel & Jacob Chabot have stories in here, and Greensboro's own Brian "Smitty" Smith drew the cover for, I believe, issue #2!

Star Wars #30

Star Wars Rogue One Adaptation #1 - including the John Tyler Christopher Jyn Erso Action Figure and Mike Mayhew Star Wars 40th Anniversary variants!

Sun Bakery #2

Superman #20

Tank Girl World War Tank Girl #1

They're Not Like Us #15

Uncanny Avengers #22

Walking Dead #166

We Stand on Guard TP

Woods #31

X-Men Gold #1

Also shipping next week:

DC Icons Cyborg Deluxe figures

DC Icons Static Milestone figures

DC Icons Swamp Thing figures

DC Icons Wonder Woman figures

[savetopnow]

2018-04-01 13 MOVIE now

MOVIE

Birth. Movies. Death.

SXSW 2018 Review: TAKE YOUR PILLS Shines A Light On An Alarming Problem

Is Denis Villeneuve Still Making a DUNE Movie? Nope! Now He’s Making TWO Of Them

FIRST MATCH Trailer Takes A Girl’s Troubles To The Mat

Wes Anderson And Bill Murray: A Cinematic Rapport

Book Review: S. Craig Zahler’s HUG CHICKENPENNY Is A Touching Gothic Parable

CineVue

DVD Review: Score: A Film Music Documentary

Film Review: The Island and the Whales

Film Review: Midnight Sun

Film Review: Journeyman

Criterion Review: Yi Yi

Cinema Blend

Smallville's Kristin Kreuk Responds To Allison Mack's Sex Cult Reports

Telltale Officially Announces The Walking Dead: The Final Season

Vin Diesel Updates Fans On Bloodshot

Life Is Strange Will Continue As A Comic

Which Version Of Cheetah Kristen Wiig May Be Playing In Wonder Woman 2

Cinema Scope

Cinema Scope 74 Contents

The Work (Jairus McLeary & Gethin Aldous, US)

Global Discoveries on DVD: A Few Peripheral Matters

Canadiana | Hometown Horror: Robin Aubert’s Les affamés

Exploded View: Bruce Conner’s Crossroads

Comicboook.com

Marvel Fans Launch Petition To Get Hawkeye Included In 'Avengers: Infinity War' Trailers And Marketing

'Doctor Strange' Sequel Villain and Plot Details Revealed

'Solo: A Star Wars Story' On Track for $150 Million Opening

'X-Men: Dark Phoenix' Rumor States Jessica Chastain Playing Miss Sinister

'Avengers: Infinity War': Does Iron Man's New Armor Use Wakandan Tech?

Film Comment Magazine

Interview: Ishmael Reed

Film of the Week: Ready Player One

ND/NF Interview: Stephen Loveridge

Deep Focus: Gemini

Feeling at Home: Our House, Drift, and Western

Film Inquiry

ALL I WISH: A Strong Stone Can’t Save This Film From Mediocrity

Escape To New York: Interview With Ana Asensio, Director, Writer & Star Of MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND

FATHER FIGURES: Drags On Despite An All-Star Cast

Interview With CALIFORNIA DREAMS Director Mike Ott: “It Was My Own Kind Of Dream Come True”

BEYOND SKYLINE: When A Guilty Pleasure Isn’t That Fun

Film School Rejects

Kate McKinnon Eyes A Musical Comedy From Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis

The Best Action Movies of 2018 So Far

Watch ‘Ready Player One,’ Then Watch These Movies

‘Ready Player One’ Review: Come Watch Steven Spielberg Jiggle His Member Berries

The Best Movies of 2018 So Far

Reddit Movies

'2001: A Space Odyssey' Star Says The Film's Sets "Made Disneyland Look Like a Country Fair"

New Image from Spy-Thriller 'Terminal' - Starring Margot Robbie, Simon Pegg, Mike Myers, and Dexter Fletcher

Shane Black Teasing The Predator Trailer?

Cuba Gooding Jr: The Road From Oscar-Winning Millionaire to Broke and Straight-To-DVD Failures

One of the last remaining Blockbusters in the US is closing.

Roger Ebert

Thumbnails Special Edition: Women Writers Week 2018

Ready Player One

Acrimony

God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness

Love After Love

Screen Rant

Shane Black Builds Predator Trailer Hype With Teaser Image

20 Star Wars Memes That Prove The Movies Make No Sense

15 Wild Behind-The-Scenes Photos Of Amazing Sitcoms

Zack Snyder Confirms Cyborg Easter Egg in Batman V Superman

15 Ways The Arrowverse Was Almost Completely Different

Slash Film

Adam Sandler Could Star in the Next Safdie Brothers Movie

Step Onto the Set of ‘The Last Jedi’ With This Stunning ‘Star Wars VR’ Video

TV Bits: ‘Cursed’, ‘Archer’, ‘Unfortunate Events’, ‘Westworld’, ‘Star Trek: Discovery’, ‘Fear the Walking Dead’

‘True Detective’ Season 3 is Losing Director Jeremy Saulnier Earlier Than Expected

This Week In Trailers: And Then I Go, Duck Butter, Closer Than We Think, All or Nothing: The Dallas Cowboys

[dumbestpersoniknow-blog]

The Path to Avengers: Endgame. Part 12 of 21--Ant-Man

Observations and opinions. Feel free to disagree. I ain’t trying to convince you of nothing. Ant-Man begins flashing back to the 80s. Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man, doesn’t get along with Howard Stark. Pym has created a juice that can change the very fabric of reality. In other words, it can make things small. His protege wants to make things small for evil purposes. He must be stopped. Pym isn’t up for the fight, so he recruits Scott Lang, a burglar with a heart of gold, to do the tiny heavy lifting for him.

For years, all I knew about Ant-Man was what I learned from Garrett Morris playing him on Saturday Night Live. Morris said he could shrink to the size of an ant and still have the strength of a human. Then the other superheroes mocked him for having the strength of a human. That all changed when the announcement came that Edgar Wright had been hired to write and direct Ant-Man. Wright is one of the most creative and exciting directors working today. He was an inspired choice. Giddy-up!!!

Let me recommend a video to you lovers of film:  The late, great Every Frame a Painting did a piece on how Edgar Wright towers above other modern comedy directors. They compare and contrast his movies to other comedies. Wright knows he’s working in cinema and he knows how to use all of the cinematic tools at his disposal to imbue his movies with life and imagination.  It’s on YouTube. Search for "Edgar Wright - How to do Visual Comedy". It’s good stuff— even though it barely scratches the surface of what Wright does. But clips are taken from R rated movies, so prepare your sensibilities. 

Onto Ant-Man’s title: Marvel does Iron [space] Man or Ant [dash] Man and Spider [dash] Man. Whereas, DC is pretty consistent about letting no daylight shine through in their compound nouns, e.g., Batman, Superman, Aquaman… Although, if they were truly consistent, she would be “Wonderwoman”. 

This is the first new character to get its own movie since The Avengers formed— except for the Guardians, I guess. This is the second first new character to get its own movie since The Avengers formed. And after the epic Age of Ultron, Ant-Man is a nice downsizing in scope — in more ways than one. This pattern is repeated later, going from Infinity War to Ant-Man and the Wasp. Both seem like a chance to catch a breath and have a few laughs.

Speaking of funny, how can you not like Paul Rudd as Scott Lang? He has a nice, easy, natural charm. He’s a likable actor and an unlikely superhero. This is also the first time we see a Marvel hero as a parent with a child. A child child, that is. You know, of childlike age. It’s nice to see and immediately gives the hero stakes worth fighting for. 

As I’m writing this I’m realizing that Hawkeye had kids in the previous movie. His kids were just kind of thrown in there, weren’t they? I just watched Ultron a few days ago but I have no mental image of his kids. Now that I think about it, they should have been used to better effect. Total extinction of the planet was at stake and I don’t remember Barton being concerned about his kids. He did look at their picture during the final battle. Am I forgetting something? Am I being unfair? Lang’s little girl is a major part of his motivation. That is new. And that makes him more relatable than other characters.

Anyway, back to speaking about funny, Michael Pena might have the best comic performance in a Marvel movie. Maybe. There's a lot of good ones, but he's a solid contender.  In fact, some of the TV ads that came out after the movie was released focused on him. Well deserved. 

Heyley Atwell, Agent Carter, is the first and only person to be with the two different Howard actors, Dominic Cooper and John Slattery. But that’s not too surprising since the only other character John Slattery had previously been seen with was Tony as a tyke in Iron Man 2. As noted in The First Avenger, Bucky had no scenes with the younger Howard. Civil War hindsight being 20/20, that’s a missed opportunity.

Michael Douglas is the first in a series of actors to get the de-aging treatment— Robert Downey Jr. in Civil War, Kurt Russel in GotG II, Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg in Captain Marvel, Michell Pfeiffer and Laurence Fishburne in Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Zoe Saldana in Infinity War. 

Scott Lang gets a job at Baskin Robbins. I wonder if he works at the same Baskin Robbins as Saul Goodman. Son of Zorn is the Baskin Robbins customer!!! I hope his dad becomes an Avenger for Endgame. They could use the help- and I hear they have some openings. Also, what happened to Son of Zorn?  It was a funny show.  

Edgar Wright has a trilogy of movies called the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy-- Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End. It’s about as loose of a trilogy as it can be. It’s a trilogy because in each movie the someone eats the same fictional brand of ice cream. Wright should have had Lang working at a Cornetto Ice Cream shop instead of Baskin Robbins to turn the trilogy into a quartet. Quartet? Is that what's one more than a trilogy?

I love Falcon’s cameo. Returning characters appearing in unexpected ways is one of my favorite things about these movies. Although, I do have a problem with how he arrived on the scene. I can buy a man shrinking to the size of an ant. I can buy a man controlling ants with his mind. But Falcon responding to a sensor that is set off by ants? That I cannot abide. Maybe they have high tech pest control at Avengers HQ.

I wonder if Edgar Wright ever had Captain America in his script. He had worked with Chris Evans on Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Brie Larson is also in that movie. That's both Captains. Martin Freeman is in all three of Wright’s Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy. David Bradley is in two of those movies. He gets killed off by Red Skull in the beginning of The First Avenger. Wright has a long history with MCU actors.

The biggest problem with this movie is the Hank/Hope relationship. The conflict between them is deep-seeded, complicated and should be emotional. But It's mostly in the backstory. And the backstory is all done with exposition. Then it's resolved with dialogue. It’s not the least bit visual. Hank leaving SHIELD is done with a flashback. Janet disappearing after going subatomic is done in flashback. 

Hank says Hope never looked at him the same after Janet disappeared. Why didn’t they show a glimpse of that in flashback? Hope had the deciding vote to cast her father out of his own company. That sounds like a crushing moment for Pym. Why isn’t that in flashback? This whole subplot couldn’t be less cinematic if they tried. This isn’t Edgar Wright’s typical style at all. This is the kind of laziness Every Frame a Painting contrasted against Edgar Wright’s work to make him look good. This is very disappointing.

Do I come across as not liking this movie? I have mostly quibbles. I love this movie. It’s loads of fun.

I like that Lang says, “Our first move should be calling the Avengers.” Pym responds, “This could change the texture of reality. Besides, they’re probably too busy dropping cities out of the sky.” Hank Pym created Ultron in the comics. He better hope that texture of reality doesn’t change too much. He’s not blameless in another reality. 

Earlier, Scott flies across a newspaper with the headline “Who’s to blame fo Sokovia?” Fun tidbit. 

The ability to control ants creeps me out a little. I can’t stop thinking about Killgrave. He is a great, creepy villain in Jessica Jones. His mind-control powers are a big part of his creepiness. I wonder if the ant world sees Pym and Lang as their Killgrave. To deactivate a bomb, Janet had to go subatomic so she could go through solid titanium. That small, how was she big enough to deactivate the bomb? I want to understand.

Hank Pym likes to remember his wife by looking at a picture of her hat. If they ever do recuts of these movies like they do with Star Wars, they should insert Michelle Pfieffer into that old picture of Hank and Janet. It’s a little odd that Hank’s favorite picture of his long lost wife doesn’t include her face.

Although this movie is a lot of fun, after reading Edgar Wright worked on it for eight years, I have to say, the directing and editing is a disappointing. I mean, Baby Driver came out just two years later and it is filled with verve and visual delights. Clearly, the director had much more of passion and panache in the latter's case. In comparison, the directing style of Ant-Man leaves the charisma of the actors to carry the movie—which is fine.  They do it well. 

Speaking of which: Michael Pena drives the last scene with more of Luis' storytelling. In the last bit of dialogue in the movie, he alludes to Spider-man. This is the first hint of Marvel’s most popular character. Marvel had been wrangling over rights to Spidey with Sony for years. He’s coming home. As an aside, there are a couple people in Wright’s Hot Fuzz with their faces painted like Spider-Man. It was almost prescient, like it was meant to be. Wait. What? Who’s Peyton Reed? Stan Lee Cameo— Bartender lip syncing to Luis’ story. Mid-Credits Scene— Hope gets a suit Post-Credits Scene— Sam knows a guy Returning Characters— Howard Stark, Peggy Carter, Falcon, Captain America, Bucky

[acmecomics]

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America #1

Animal Noir #1

Animosity TPB Vol 1

Cosmic Scoundrels #1

Extremity #1

James Bond: Black Box #1

One And Future Queen #1

Riverdale One Shot

Royal City #1

Spider-Man Homecoming Prelude #1

Star Wars #29

Tales From The Darkside HC

  NEW COMICS (RECOMMENDATIONS IN BOLD)

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN CLONE CONSPIRACY OMEGA ONE SHOT – In the wake of the personally devastating Clone Conspiracy that affected so many characters, the Rhino comes after Spider-man with a vengeance! Lead-in to the new Amazing Spider-man featuring the return of Norman Osborn and art by Stuart Immonen!

AMERICA #1 – Marvel’s dimension hopping powerhouse finally gets her own series! If you don’t know Ms. America Chavez from Young Avengers and The Ultimates, this is where you get onboard and find out what kind of no nonsense super-hero she is! By Gabby Rivera and Joe Quinones!

ANIMAL NOIR #1 – The title says it all as Animal Farm meets Chinatown in this unpredictable anthropomorphic series from IDW.

AQUAMAN #18 WARHEAD CONCLUSION

ASSIGNMENT #3 (OF 3)

AVENGERS #5 KANG WAR VI PART 5

BALTIMORE THE RED KINGDOM #2

BATMAN #18 I AM BANE PART 3 – Bane has returned and is tearing through everything Batman cares about! Was the suicide mission into Santa Prisca on behalf of Gotham Girl worth all this?

BIG TROUBLE LITTLE CHINA/ ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK #6 (OF 6)

BULLSEYE #2 (OF 5)

CALL OF DUTY ZOMBIES #3

CEREBUS IN HELL #2

CHAMPIONS #6 – Who are The Freelancers and are they bad news for The Champions?

CINEMA PURGATORIO #8 (MR)

COSMIC SCOUNDRELS #1 (OF 5) – The zany webcomic by Andy Suriano, artist on Samurai Jack and Star Wars the Clone Wars, comes to print from IDW!

CYBORG #10 LORD OF THE RATS PART 1 – Cyborg is on the run from S.T.A.R. Labs and is being hunted by the Lord of the Rats!

DC COMICS BOMBSHELLS #23

DEADPOOL #28 TILL DEATH DO US PART 1 – Buckle in for this fast paced crossover with Deadpool, Deadpool Mercs for Money, and Spider-man/ Deadpool that may leave Wade’s marital status up in the air!

DEATH OF HAWKMAN #6 (OF 6) – Hawkman and Adam Strange engage Despero in a battle they are not equipped to win! All eyes are on this overlooked war of DC Universe worlds!

DOCTOR STRANGE #18 – Featuring the Mighty Thor!

DOCTOR WHO 11TH DOCTOR YEAR THREE #3

DOCTOR WHO 9TH DOCTOR #10

DREGS #2 (MR)

EVERAFTER FROM THE PAGES OF FABLES #7 (MATURE READERS)

EXTREMITY #1 (MATURE READERS) – When a young woman’s family is destroyed she begins a journey to revenge that will lead her through men, machines, and monsters until the parties responsible pay the price! Written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson this is the next hit from Image Comics!

FAITH #9

FALL AND RISE OF CAPTAIN ATOM #3 (OF 6)

FLASH GORDON KINGS CROSS #5 (OF 5)

FLINTSTONES #9

FOURTH PLANET #4

GIANT DAYS #24

GOLDIE VANCE #10

GREEN ARROW #18 REUNION PART 1 – Because you demanded it, Green Arrow and Arsenal reunite! See what drove Oliver and Roy apart and what brings them back together!

GREEN HORNET REIGN OF DEMON #4 (OF 4)

GREEN LANTERNS #18 – Volthoom, the Guardians’ first Lantern, has been operating in the shadows while the new inexperienced Green Lanterns learn the ropes protecting Earth! Hal Jordan did not prepare them for a foe of this magnitude and he is about to strike!

HARLEY QUINN #15 RED MEAT PART 2

HAWKEYE #4

IMAGE PLUS #11 WALKING DEAD HERES NEGAN PART 11 (MATURE READERS)

INJUSTICE GROUND ZERO #7

INTERTWINED #5 (OF 6) (MATURE READERS)

INVISIBLE REPUBLIC #15 (MATURE READERS)

JAMES BOND #1 – Bond is in the crosshairs of an assassin in the frosty French Alps!

JUDGE DREDD ANNUAL #1 – The saga of the Blessed Earth begins here!

JUSTICE LEAGUE #16 TIMELESS PART 2

KINGSWAY WEST #4 (OF 4)

MARVEL PREVIEWS #20 MARCH 2017

MASK MOBILE ARMORED STRIKE KOMMAND #3 – If things weren’t tense enough, Matt Trakker’s team has been poisoned by Miles Mayhem!

MIDNIGHTER AND APOLLO #6 (OF 6)

MONSTERS UNLEASHED #4 (OF 5)

MOON KNIGHT #12

MOTOR GIRL #4

NAILBITER #30 FINAL ISSUE (MATURE READERS) – It all ends here! Who will survive the Image Comics series by Joshua Williamson and Mike Henderson?

NIGHTWING #16

ONCE AND FUTURE QUEEN #1 – A teenaged chess master pulls the sword from the stone and the Arthurian legend begins anew in this Dark Horse Comics series.

PAPER GIRLS #12 (MATURE READERS)

PREVIEWS #342 MARCH 2017

RAT QUEENS #1 KING CATS AND OTHER GARYS PART 1 (MATURE READERS) – The fan favorite series is back! If you like Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, or other tabletop games, you’ll love Rat Queens!

RIVERDALE ONE SHOT – Based on the new CW television series showcasing the Archie Comics characters in a fresh new way!

ROCK & ROLL BIOGRAPHIES #8 PANTERA

ROUGH RIDERS NATION #1

ROYAL CITY #1 (MATURE READERS) – Jeff Lemire writes and draws this new dramatic Image Comics series following a troubled family across the decades in the vein of Essex County.

SAVAGE DRAGON #221 (MATURE READERS)

SAVAGE THINGS #1 (OF 8) (MATURE READERS) – The survivors of elite squad created to destabilize foreign governments have now turned their talents against the United States! The only man who can counter them is also the only man to have left the group and lived! New from Justin Jordan and Ibrahim Moustafa for DC Vertigo.

SHADE THE CHANGING GIRL #6 (MATURE READERS)

SILK #18

SLAPSTICK #4

SMOKETOWN #1 – See the last days of a murdered soldier from different points of view.

SPIDER-MAN #13 SITTING IN A TREE PART 4 – The crossover with Spider-gwen continues!

SPIDER-MAN 2099 #21

SPIDER-MAN HOMECOMING PRELUDE #1 (OF 2)

STAR TREK GOLD KEY 100 PAGE SPECTACULAR – Reprint of selected classic Gold Key brand Star Trek comics.

STAR WARS #29 YODA’S SECRET WAR PART 4

STUFF OF LEGEND CALL TO ARMS #1

SUPERMAN #18 SUPERMAN REBORN PART 1 – In the DC Rebirth one shot the mysterious Mr. Oz said that “Superman and his family were not what they believed and neither was the late New 52 Superman.” The answers are coming and the issues will sell out! Do not miss this crossover with Action Comics that will redefine Superman what Superman means for the DC Universe!

THINK TANK VOL 5 #1 – A technological wonder is corrupted and animals are being turned into assassins! Time for Loren to get back into the game to uncover who is behind this perversion of science!

TOTALLY AWESOME HULK #1.MONSTERS UNLEASHED – If monsters are unleashed that means Lady Hellbender will be back on the scene, but will it be as an ally or enemy of the Hulk?

UNSTOPPABLE WASP #3 – Featuring Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur!

WALKING DEAD #165 (MATURE READERS)

WOODS #30

X-FILES 2016 #11 CONTRARIANS CONCLUSION

X-FILES DEVIATIONS 2017 – In the world of IDW Deviations, stories you know well take a different turn! Welcome to an X-files where Fox Mulder vanished as a child and his sister devoted her life to discovering the truth!

  NEW COMICS at ACME COMICS PRESENTS 

ADVENTURE TIME #62

BRAVE CHEF BRIANNA #1 – A young chef competes to open the best restaurant around, but only monsters like her food so she sets up shop in Monster City! If you like Adventure Time or Steven Universe, you’ll want to get in on the ground floor for this one!

MARVEL UNIVERSE AVENGERS ULTRON REVOLUTION #9

MY LITTLE PONY ANNUAL 2017 #1

SUPER POWERS #5 (OF 6)

  NEW LIMITED EDITION VARIANTS 

(Pricing dependent upon rarity, first reserved-first served, serious inquiries only please)

AMERICA #1 CHIANG VARIANT EDITION

AMERICA #1 MCKELVIE VARIANT EDITION

ANIMAL NOIR #1 1:5 INCENTIVE VARIANT EDITION

ANIMAL NOIR #1 PITARRA SUBSCRIPTION VARIANT EDITION

AQUAMAN #18 MIDDLETON VARIANT EDITION

ASSIGNMENT #3 (OF 3) REIS VARIANT EDITION

BATMAN #18 SALE VARIANT EDITION

BULLSEYE #2 (OF 5) VARIANT EDITION

CHAMPIONS #6 DEODATO VENOMIZED VARIANT EDITION

CLONE CONSPIRACY OMEGA GRANOV VARIANT EDITION

COSMIC SCOUNDRELS #1 (OF 5) 1:10 VARIANT EDITION

COSMIC SCOUNDRELS #1 (OF 5) MACLEAN SUBSCRIPTION VARIANT EDITION

CYBORG #10 D’ANDA VARIANT EDITION

DEADPOOL #28 LOPEZ POSTER VARIANT EDITION

DEADPOOL #28 LOPEZ VENOMIZED VARIANT EDITION

DEATH OF HAWKMAN #6 (OF 6) SIEKIEWICZ VARIANT EDITION

DOCTOR STRANGE #18 FOWLER VENOMIZED VARIANT EDITION

DOCTOR WHO 11TH DOCTOR YEAR THREE #3  PHOTO VARIANT EDITION

DOCTOR WHO 11TH DOCTOR YEAR THREE #3 ELLERBY CONNECTING VARIANT EDITION C

DOCTOR WHO 9TH DOCTOR #10 CVR B PHOTO

DOCTOR WHO 9TH DOCTOR #10 CVR C ELLERBY

EVERAFTER FROM THE PAGES OF FABLES #7 VARIANT EDITION (MATURE READERS)

EXTREMITY #1 RETAILER APPRECIATION VARIANT EDITION

FAITH #9 CVR D 1:10 ST ONGE VARIANT EDITION

FLASH GORDON KINGS CROSS #5 (OF 5) PARKER VARIANT EDITION

FLASH GORDON KINGS CROSS #5 (OF 5) SUBSCRIPTION VARIANT EDITION

FLINTSTONES #9 GUILLORY VARIANT EDITION

GREEN ARROW #18 ADAMS VARIANT EDITION

GREEN LANTERNS #18 LUPACCHINO VARIANT EDITION

HARLEY QUINN #15 CHO VARIANT EDITION

JAMES BOND #1 REARDON VARIANT EDITION

JAMES BOND #1 MASTERS VARIANT EDITION

JAMES BOND #1 MONTES VARIANT EDITION

JAMES BOND #1 MORITAT VARIANT EDITION

JUSTICE LEAGUE #16 PAQUETTE VARIANT EDITION

MASK MOBILE ARMORED STRIKE KOMMAND #3 1:10 INCENTIVE VARIANT EDITION

MASK MOBILE ARMORED STRIKE KOMMAND #3 JOSEPH ARTIST VARIANT EDITION

MASK MOBILE ARMORED STRIKE KOMMAND #3 SCHOENING SUBCRIPTION VARIANT EDITION

MONSTERS UNLEASHED #4 (OF 5) FRANCAVILLA 50S MOVIE POSTER VARIANT EDITION

MONSTERS UNLEASHED #4 (OF 5) HOMARE VARIANT EDITION

MONSTERS UNLEASHED #4 (OF 5) LAROCCA MONSTER VARIANT EDITION

MONSTERS UNLEASHED #4 (OF 5) VIDEO GAME VARIANT EDITION

NIGHTWING #16 VARIANT EDITION

PATHFINDER WORLDSCAPE #5 (OF 6) MANDRAKE VARIANT EDITION

PATHFINDER WORLDSCAPE #5 (OF 6) SUBSCRIPTION VARIANT EDITION

RAT QUEENS #1 VARIANT EDITION (MATURE READERS)

RAT QUEENS #1 WOMENS HISTORY MONTH CHARITY VARIANT EDITION (MATURE READERS)

RIVERDALE ONE SHOT DEREK CHARM VARIANT EDITION

RIVERDALE ONE SHOT ADAM GORHAM VARIANT EDITION

RIVERDALE ONE SHOT ROBERT HACK VARIANT EDITION

RIVERDALE ONE SHOT SANDRA LANZ VARIANT EDITION

RIVERDALE ONE SHOT MORITAT VARIANT EDITION

RIVERDALE ONE SHOT DAN PARENT VARIANT EDITION

RIVERDALE ONE SHOT THOMAS PITILLI VARIANT EDITION

RIVERDALE ONE SHOT CVR I VARIANT EDITION MATTHEW DOW SMITH

RIVERDALE ONE SHOT CORY SMITH VARIANT EDITION

ROYAL CITY #1 WOMENS HISTORY MONTH CHARITY VARIANT EDITION (MATURE READERS)

SHADE THE CHANGING GIRL #6 ZARCONE VARIANT EDITION (MR)

STAR WARS #29 CHIRSTOPHER ACTION FIGURE VARIANT EDITION

STAR WARS #29 WADA STAR WARS 40TH ANNIV VARIANT EDITION

SUPERMAN #18 FRANK CONNECTING VARIANT EDITION

THINK TANK VOL 5 #1 EKEDAL VARIANT EDITION

UNSTOPPABLE WASP #3 GANUCHEAU VARIANT EDITION

X-FILES 2016 #11 PHOTO SUBSCRIPTION VARIANT EDITION

X-FILES DEVIATIONS 2017 1:10 INCENTIVE VARIANT EDITION

X-FILES DEVIATIONS 2017 GIRONI MASH-UP VARIANT EDITION

  NEW TRADE PAPERBACKS, GRAPHIC NOVELS, & HARDCOVERS 

ANIMOSITY TP VOL 01 (MATURE READERS) – Animals gain sentience and most of them are very unhappy at the way of the world in this flagship series from Aftershock Comics!

AQUAMAN TP VOL 08 OUT OF DARKNESS – Contain issues #48-52 to conclude the New 52 series.

ATTACK ON TITAN LOST GIRLS MANGA GN VOL 02

BATMAN 66 MEETS STEED & MRS PEEL HC

CARNAGE USA TP NEW PRINTING

CORTO MALTESE GN IN SIBERIA – The amazing adventure strips of Hugo Pratt continue in these fantastic reprints from IDW!

DAREDEVIL BY MARK WAID OMNIBUS HC VOL 01 – See the outstanding twenty-seven issues first series by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, and others in one hardcover omnibus!

DEATH OF X TP – If you’re an X-men fan this is a must read story! Just when the X-men thought everything was going to be ok, the Terrigen mists that creates new Inhumans is discovered to have deadly ramifications for mutants! See Cyclops fight the fight of his life leading into Inhumans Vs X-men! See one of the most surprising outcomes in years!

GLITTERBOMB TP VOL 01 RED CARPET (MATURE READERS) – A middle aged actress frustrated by Hollywood unexpectedly bonds with an horror unlike any the word has ever know and it wants to help her exact revenge! Contains issues #1-4

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY BY JIM VALENTINO OMNIBUS HC – The first twenty-nine issues of the fan favorite 1990s revival of the original Guardians of the Galaxy and more in one oversized hardcover!

KARNAK TP FLAW IN ALL THINGS – After his death, Karnak the Inhuman’s ability to find the flaws an weaknesses in anything is expanded to the greatest degree imaginable in this character redefining series by Warren Ellis and Gerardo Zaffino.

LUCIFER TP VOL 02 FATHER LUCIFER (MATURE READERS) – Contains issues #7-12.

  NEW AVENGERS BY BENDIS COMPLETE COLLECTION TP VOL 03

SHANG-CHI MASTER OF KUNG FU OMNIBUS HC VOL 03 DEODATO COVER – Contains issues #71-101 and more!

SHANG-CHI MASTER OF KUNG FU OMNIBUS HC VOL 03 ZECK VARIANT EDITION

SUICIDE SQUAD DC REBIRTH TP VOL 01 THE BLACK VAULT – The team faces a problem well beyond their capabilities when a dangerous being threatens to escape captivity! Even though this is a job for Superman, Harley Quinn and Task Force X are on the scene first! Contains Suicide Squad Rebirth and issues #1-4.

TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE HC – Joe Hill teams up with his Locke & Key artist Gabriel Rodriguez to adapt his unused script for a Tales from the Darkside television revival to graphic novel format!

TITANS DC REBIRTH TP VOL 01 THE RETURN OF WALLY WEST

UNCANNY INHUMANS HC VOL 01 – Contains issues #0-10 of the exciting flagship Inhumans series written by Charles Soule!

WALKING DEAD TP VOL 27 WHISPERER WAR (MATURE READERS)

WAYWARD TP VOL 04 THREADS & PORTENTS (MATURE READERS) – Contains issues #16-20.

WIND IN THE WILLOWS HC DAVID PETERSEN DIRECT MARKET EDITION

X-FACTOR EPIC COLLECTION TP GENESIS AND APOCALYPSE – See the early issues of the original X-factor and the debut of Apocalypse!

ZATANNA BY PAUL DINI TP – The twenty one issue series written by Paul Dini with art by Jamal Igle and others is back in print after  a long absence! Don’t let it get away again!

  NEW TRADE PAPERBACKS, GRAPHIC NOVELS, & HC’S at ACP

AMULET SC VOL 04 LAST COUNCIL

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CLONE CONSPIRACY #3 (OF 5) 2ND PRINTING

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INVINCIBLE #133

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #4

JESSICA JONES #5 FOSGITT VARIANT EDITION

KILL OR BE KILLED #6 IMAGE TRIBUTE VARIANT EDITION

LADY MECHANIKA LOST BOYS OF WEST ABBEY #2 (OF 2)

MOONSHINE #1 2ND PRINTING (MATURE READERS)

SEX CRIMINALS #16 IMAGE TRIBUTE VARIANT EDITION

SLAM #1 2ND PRINTING

SLAM #2

WALKING DEAD #164 IMAGE TRIBUTE VARIANT EDITION (MATURE READERS)

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CAPTAIN AMERICA RETURN OF THE WINTER SOLDIER OMNIBUS HC

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HAWKEYE BY MATT FRACTION AND DAVID AJA OMNIBUS HC

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This Week’s Comics & Merchandise 03.01.2017!   NEW COMICS (RECOMMENDATIONS IN BOLD) AMAZING SPIDER-MAN CLONE CONSPIRACY OMEGA ONE SHOT - In the wake of the personally devastating Clone Conspiracy that affected so many characters, the Rhino comes after Spider-man with a vengeance!

[aion-rsa]

The Buy Pile: Brains Over Bluster

WHAT IS THE BUY PILE?

Every week Hannibal Tabu (winner of the 2012 Top Cow Talent Hunt/blogger/novelist/poet/jackass on Twitter/head honcho of Komplicated) grabs a whole lotta comics. These periodicals are quickly sorted (how) into two piles — the “buy” pile (a small pile most weeks, comprised of planned purchases) and the “read” pile (often huge, often including comics that are really crappy but have some value to stay abreast of). Thursday afternoons you’ll be able to get his thoughts (and they’re just the opinions of one guy, so calm down, and here’s some common definitions used in the column) about all of that … which goes something like this …

THE BUY PILE FOR JANUARY 4, 2017

Unstoppable Wasp #1 (Marvel Comics) — Jump from the Read Pile.

Nadia Pym is indefatigable. Like a super powered Energizer Bunny, she makes Kimmy Schmidt look like Debbie Downer and laps Squirrel Girl like she was Eeyore. She dives into heroism with a lust for life that’d have Iggy Pop giving a slow clap and her infectious enthusiasm and brilliance bursts out of every panel here. “Princeless” writer Jeremy Whitley has bottled lightning with this wonderfully balanced script that does great explanations (only once going a bit heavy handed, and even there in character), has solid action based on real world science and hits Bobbi Morse in a place she thought she couldn’t be touched. The visual presentation by Elsa Charretier, Megan Wilson and Joe Caramagna is vibrant in places, intimate in others and perfect all around. This, finally, is a hero we deserve.

What does the night hold for Bruce Wayne in “Batman” #14?

Batman #14 (DC Comics) — Jump from the Read Pile.

This issue made the jump by honing in on what the Bat really does and has Catwoman both marveling at it and mocking it while a clock ticks. You see the craft Tom King puts into this work, and while from a conception standpoint the Sisyphean futility and ridiculous nature of many of these conflicts (Condiment King? Film Freak?) takes away some significance here, the craft stands up to scrutiny. Let’s also note the amazing visuals from Mitch Gerads and Clayton Cowles, which brought the Gotham City night alive.

WHAT’S THE PROGNOSIS?

With two endlessly re-readable jumps to start us off, that’s a rock solid start.

THIS WEEK’S READ PILE

Honorable Mentions: Stuff worth noting, even if it’s not good enough to buy

In this episode of “Making A Murderer,” er, “Justice League” #12 Amanda Waller uses several buckets full of exposition to give us the new, much more morally flexible, bwa-ha-ha free Maxwell Lord, outlining his rise to power and rationales behind it. Not bad as a Wiki entry, or something for one of those sourcebooks everybody refers to, but not exactly prime time viewing.

“Hawkeye” #2 is closing in on being good with fantastic characterization but can’t connect on its plot. Fun art, some fun moments (extra points if you catch the meme reference) but still falling short.

“Autumnlands” #14 had some quality moments as creations defied the goddess they credit with their making. The splash page may overly titilate some more prudish readers, but this book has the vocabulary of myth down pat. It could use a little more context for its impossible characters, but it’s not bad at all.

The “Meh” Pile Not good enough to praise, not bad enough to insult, they just kind of happened … “Scarlet Witch” #14, “Aquaman” #14, “Star Trek Boldly Go” #4, “U.S.Avengers” #1, “Cyborg” #8, “Black Science” #27, “Death Of Hawkman” #4, “Optimus Prime” #2, “Moon Knight” #10, “Everafter From The Pages Of Fables” #5, “Nailbiter” #28, “Flintstones” #7, “Avengers” #3, “G.I. JOE A Real American Hero” #235, “Unfollow” #15, “Saga” #41, “Green Arrow” #14, “Champions” #4, “Big Trouble In Little China Escape From New York” #4, “Unworthy Thor” #3, “Green Lanterns” #14, “Walking Dead” #162, “Spider-Man 2099” #19, “Harley Quinn” #11, “Box Office Poison Color Comics” #1, “Squarriors Volume 2 Summer” #2, “Wicked + The Divine” #25, “Justice League Of America The Atom Rebirth” #1, “Jem And The Holograms” #22, “Justice League Vs Suicide Squad” #3, “A&A The Adventures Of Archer And Armstrong” #11, “Nova” #2, “Midnighter And Apollo” #4, “Ragnarok” #11, “Nightwing” #12, “Deadpool The Duck” #1, “Faith” #7, “Shade The Changing Girl” #4, “Wynonna Earp Legends Doc Holliday” #2, “Superman” #14, “Old Man Logan” #16.

No, just … no … These comics? Not so much …

“Captain America Sam Wilson” #17 was insulting in its ham-fisted fumbling around social justice buzzwords and complex issues of racial identity, micro-agresssions and the experiences of marginalized people in the country. Also, again, most of the book had the titular character not actually doing anything or having any effect on what happened. Give Misty the shield. Let’s stop this tedious exercise.

SO, HOW BAD WAS IT?

One bad apple can’t throw off the whole bunch.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Two jumps make the first week of 2017 a certified winner and well worth it for fans of the art form.

THE BUSINESS

Did you get the first official newsletter from the Operative Network? There was a free comic book (written by the maker of this column) offered from the newsletter and a chance to win a custom sketch worth $45 as well as the “Soulfire Definitive Edition” volume one hardcover. If you subscribe now, you can get in on what’s coming in the January edition.

The writer of this column isn’t just a jerk who spews his opinions — he writes stuff too. A lot. Like what? You can get “The Crown: Ascension” and “Faraway,” five bucks a piece, or spend a few more dollars and get “New Money” #1 from Canon Comics, the rambunctious tale of four multimillionaires running wild in Los Angeles, a story in “Watson and Holmes Volume 2” co-plotted by “2 Guns” creator Steven Grant, two books from Stranger Comics — “Waso: Will To Power” and the sequel “Waso: Gathering Wind” (the tale of a young man who had leadership thrust upon him after a tragedy), or “Fathom Sourcebook” #1, “Soulfire Sourcebook” #1, “Executive Assistant Iris Sourcebook” #1 and “Aspen Universe Sourcebook,” the official guides to those Aspen Comics franchises. Love these reviews? It’d be great if you picked up a copy. Hate these reviews? Find out what this guy thinks is so freakin’ great. There’s free sample chapters too, and all proceeds to towards the care and maintenance of his kids … oh, and to buy comic books, of course. There’s also a bunch of great stuff — fantasy, superhero stuff, magical realism and more — available from this writer on Amazon. What are you waiting for? Go buy a freakin’ book already!

Got a comic you think should be reviewed in The Buy Pile? If we get a PDF of a fairly normal length comic (i.e. “less than 64 pages”) by no later than 24 hours before the actual issue arrives in stores (and sorry, we can only review comics people can go to stores and buy), we guarantee the work will get reviewed, if remembered. Physical comics? Geddouttahere. Too much drama to store with diminishing resources. If you send it in more than two days before comics come out, the possibility of it being forgotten increases exponentially. Oh, you should use the contact form as the CBR email address hasn’t been regularly checked since George W. Bush was in office. Sorry!

The post The Buy Pile: Brains Over Bluster appeared first on CBR.com.

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[smashpages]

2019 Eisner Award nominees announced

The nominees for the 2019 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards have been announced by Comic-Con International. Image Comics received the most nominations with 19, while DC Comics received 17 nominations (not including the “shared” categories, like colorists who work for multiple companies).

On the creator end, Tom King received the most nominations with six, followed by Alex de Campi and Jeff Lemire with four. Also, if you’re of the betting persuasion, here’s a tip: put your money on an Image series walking away with the Best New Series Eisner.

The announcement follows the list of nominees for the Will Eisner Hall of Fame, which was released in January. The awards will be announced in July at Comic-Con International in San Diego. Check out the complete list of nominees below.

Best Short Story

“Get Naked in Barcelona,” by Steven T. Seagle and Emei Olivia Burrell, in Get Naked (Image)

“The Ghastlygun Tinies,” by Matt Cohen and Marc Palm, in MAD magazine #4 (DC)

“Here I Am,” by Shaun Tan, in I Feel Machine (SelfMadeHero)

“Life During Interesting Times,” by Mike Dawson (The Nib), https://thenib.com/greatest-generation-interesting-times

“Supply Chains,” by Peter and Maria Hoey, in Coin-Op #7 (Coin-Op Books)

“The Talk of the Saints,” by Tom King and Jason Fabok, in Swamp Thing Winter Special (DC)

Best Single Issue/One-Shot

Beneath the Dead Oak Tree, by Emily Carroll (ShortBox)

Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise, by Jeff Lemire and Emi Lenox (Dark Horse)

No Better Words, by Carolyn Nowak (Silver Sprocket)

Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #310, by Chip Zdarsky (Marvel)

The Terrible Elisabeth Dumn Against the Devils In Suits, by Arabson, translated by James Robinson (IHQ Studio/ Image)

Best Continuing Series

Batman, by Tom King et al. (DC)

Black Hammer: Age of Doom, by Jeff Lemire, Dean Ormston, and Rich Tommaso (Dark Horse)

Gasolina, by Sean Mackiewicz and Niko Walter (Skybound/Image)

Giant Days, by John Allison, Max Sarin, and Julaa Madrigal (BOOM! Box)

The Immortal Hulk, by Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, and Ruy José (Marvel)

Runaways, by Rainbow Rowell and Kris Anka (Marvel)

Best Limited Series

Batman: White Knight, by Sean Murphy (DC)

Eternity Girl, by Magdalene Visaggio and Sonny Liew (Vertigo/DC)

Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, by Mark Russell, Mike Feehan, and Mark Morales (DC)

Mister Miracle, by Tom King and Mitch Gerads (DC)

X-Men: Grand Design: Second Genesis, by Ed Piskor (Marvel)

Best New Series

Bitter Root, by David Walker, Chuck Brown, and Sanford Green (Image)

Crowded, by Christopher Sebela, Ro Stein, and Ted Brandt (Image)

Gideon Falls, by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino (Image)

Isola, by Brenden Fletcher and Karl Kerschl (Image)

Man-Eaters, by Chelsea Cain and Kate Niemczyk (Image)

Skyward, by Joe Henderson and Lee Garbett (Image)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8)

Johnny Boo and the Ice Cream Computer, by James Kochalka (Top Shelf/IDW)

Petals, by Gustavo Borges (KaBOOM!)

Peter & Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths, by Graham Annable (First Second)

This Is a Taco! By Andrew Cangelose and Josh Shipley (CubHouse/Lion Forge)

Tiger Vs. Nightmare, by Emily Tetri (First Second)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 9–12)

Aquicorn Cove, by Katie O’Neill (Oni)

Be Prepared, by Vera Brosgol (First Second)

The Cardboard Kingdom, by Chad Sell (Knopf/Random House Children’s Books)

Crush, by Svetlana Chmakova (JY/Yen Press)

The Divided Earth, by Faith Erin Hicks (First Second)

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13–17)

All Summer Long, by Hope Larson (Farrar Straus Giroux)

Gumballs, by Erin Nations (Top Shelf/IDW)

Middlewest, by Skottie Young and Jorge Corona (Image)

Norroway, Book 1: The Black Bull of Norroway, by Cat Seaton and Kit Seaton (Image)

The Prince and the Dressmaker, by Jen Wang (First Second)

Watersnakes, by Tony Sandoval, translated by Lucas Marangon (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

Best Humor Publication

Get Naked, by Steven T. Seagle et al. (Image)

Giant Days, by John Allison, Max Sarin, and Julia Madrigal (BOOM! Box)

MAD magazine, edited by Bill Morrison (DC)

A Perfect Failure: Fanta Bukowski 3, by Noah Van Sciver (Fantagraphics)

Woman World, by Aminder Dhaliwal (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Anthology

Femme Magnifique: 50 Magnificent Women Who Changed the World, edited by Shelly Bond (Black Crown/IDW)

Puerto Rico Strong, edited by Marco Lopez, Desiree Rodriguez, Hazel Newlevant, Derek Ruiz, and Neil Schwartz (Lion Forge)

Twisted Romance, edited by Alex de Campi (Image)

Where We Live: A Benefit for the Survivors in Las Vegas, edited by Will Dennis, curated by J. H. Williams III and Wendy Wright-Williams (Image)

Best Reality-Based Work

All the Answers: A Graphic Memoir, by Michael Kupperman (Gallery 13)

All the Sad Songs, by Summer Pierre (Retrofit/Big Planet)

Is This Guy For Real? The Unbelievable Andy Kaufman, by Box Brown (First Second)

Monk! by Youssef Daoudi (First Second)

One Dirty Tree, by Noah Van Sciver (Uncivilized Books)

Best Graphic Album—New

Bad Girls, by Alex de Campi and Victor Santos (Gallery 13)

Come Again, by Nate Powell (Top Shelf/IDW)

Green Lantern: Earth One Vol. 1, by Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman (DC)

Homunculus, by Joe Sparrow (ShortBox)

My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)

Sabrina, by Nick Drnaso (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint

Berlin, by Jason Lutes (Drawn & Quarterly)

Girl Town, by Carolyn Nowak (Top Shelf/IDW)

Upgrade Soul, by Ezra Claytan Daniels (Lion Forge)

The Vision hardcover, by Tom King, Gabriel Hernandez Walta, and Michael Walsh (Marvel)

Young Frances, by Hartley Lin (AdHouse Books)

Best Adaptation from Another Medium

Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation, adapted by Ari Folman and David Polonsky (Pantheon)

“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, in Frankenstein: Junji Ito Story Collection, adapted by Junji Ito, translated by Jocelyne Allen (VIZ Media)

Out in the Open by Jesús Carraso, adapted by Javi Rey, translated by Lawrence Schimel (SelfMadeHero)

Speak: The Graphic Novel, by Laurie Halse Anderson and Emily Carroll (Farrar Straus Giroux)

To Build a Fire: Based on Jack London’s Classic Story, by Chabouté (Gallery 13)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

About Betty’s Boob, by Vero Cazot and Julie Rocheleau, translated by Edward Gauvin (Archaia/BOOM!)

Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World, by Pénélope Bagieu (First Second)

Herakles Book 1, by Edouard Cour, translated by Jeremy Melloul (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

Niourk, by Stefan Wul and Olivier Vatine, translated by Brandon Kander and Diana Schutz (Dark Horse)

A Sea of Love, by Wilfrid Lupano and Grégory Panaccione (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia

Abara: Complete Deluxe Edition, by Tsutomu Nihei, translated by Sheldon Drzka (VIZ Media)

Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, by Inio Asano, translated by John Werry (VIZ Media)

Laid-Back Camp, by Afro, translated by Amber Tamosaitis (Yen Press)

My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder, by Nie Jun, translated by Edward Gauvin (Graphic Universe/Lerner)

Tokyo Tarareba Girls, by Akiko Higashimura (Kodansha)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips

Pogo, vol. 5: Out of This World At Home, by Walt Kelly, edited by Mark Evanier and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)

Sky Masters of the Space Force: The Complete Sunday Strips in Color (1959–1960), by Jack Kirby, Wally Wood et al., edited by Ferran Delgado (Amigo Comics)

Star Wars: Classic Newspaper Strips, vol. 3, by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson, edited by Dean Mullaney (Library of American Comics/IDW)

The Temple of Silence: Forgotten Words and Worlds of Herbert Crowley, by Justin Duerr (Beehive Books

Thimble Theatre and the Pre-Popeye Comics of E. C. Segar, edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books

Action Comics: 80 Years of Superman Deluxe Edition, edited by Paul Levitz (DC)

Bill Sienkiewicz’s Mutants and Moon Knights… And Assassins… Artifact Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)

Dirty Plotte: The Complete Julie Doucet (Drawn & Quarterly)

Madman Quarter Century Shindig, by Mike Allred, edited by Chris Ryall (IDW)

Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise Gallery Edition, edited by Joseph Melchior and Bob Chapman (Abstract Studio/Graphitti Designs)

Will Eisner’s A Contract with God: Curator’s Collection, edited by John Lind (Kitchen Sink/Dark Horse)

Best Writer

Alex de Campi, Bad Girls (Gallery 13); Twisted Romance (Image)

Tom King, Batman, Mister Miracle, Heroes in Crisis, Swamp Thing Winter Special (DC)

Jeff Lemire, Black Hammer: Age of Doom, Doctor Star & the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows, Quantum Age (Dark Horse); Descender, Gideon Falls, Royal City (Image)

Mark Russell, Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, Green Lantern/Huckleberry Hound, Lex Luthor/Porky Pig (DC); Lone Ranger (Dynamite)

Kelly Thompson, Nancy Drew (Dynamite); Hawkeye, Jessica Jones, Mr. & Mrs. X, Rogue & Gambit, Uncanny X-Men, West Coast Avengers (Marvel)

Chip Zdarsky, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, Marvel Two-in-One (Marvel)

Best Writer/Artist

Sophie Campbell, Wet Moon (Oni)

Nick Drnaso, Sabrina (Drawn & Quarterly)

David Lapham, Lodger (Black Crown/IDW); Stray Bullets (Image)

Nate Powell, Come Again (Top Shelf/IDW)

Tony Sandoval, Watersnakes (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

Jen Wang, The Prince and the Dressmaker (First Second)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team

Matías Bergara, Coda (BOOM!)

Mitch Gerads, Mister Miracle (DC)

Karl Kerschl, Isola (Image)

Sonny Liew, Eternity Girl (Vertigo/DC)

Sean Phillips, Kill or Be Killed, My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies (Image)

Yanick Paquette, Wonder Woman Earth One, vol. 2 (DC)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)

Lee Bermejo, Batman: Damned (DC)

Carita Lupatelli, Izuna Book 2 (Humanoids)

Dustin Nguyen, Descender (Image)

Gregory Panaccione, A Sea of Love (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

Tony Sandoval, Watersnakes (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

Best Cover Artist (for multiple covers)

Jen Bartel, Blackbird (Image); Submerged (Vault)

Nick Derington, Mister Miracle (DC)

Karl Kerschl, Isola (Image)

Joshua Middleton, Batgirl and Aquaman variants (DC)

Julian Tedesco, Hawkeye, Life of Captain Marvel (Marvel)

Best Coloring

Jordie Bellaire, Batgirl, Batman (DC); The Divided Earth (First Second); Days of Hate, Dead Hand, Head Lopper, Redlands (Image); Shuri, Doctor Strange (Marvel)

Tamra Bonvillain, Alien 3 (Dark Horse); Batman, Doom Patrol (DC); Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Multiple Man (Marvel)

Nathan Fairbairn, Batman, Batgirl, Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman Earth One, vol. 2 (DC); Die!Die!Die! (Image)

Matt Hollingsworth, Batman: White Knight (DC): Seven to Eternity, Wytches (Image)

Matt Wilson, Black Cloud, Paper Girls, The Wicked + The Divine (Image); The Mighty Thor, Runaways (Marvel)

Best Lettering

David Aja, Seeds (Berger Books/Dark Horse)

Jim Campbell, Breathless, Calexit, Gravetrancers, Snap Flash Hustle, Survival Fetish, The Wilds (Black Mask); Abbott, Alice: Dream to Dream, Black Badge, Clueless, Coda, Fence, Firefly, Giant Days, Grass Kings, Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compass, Low Road West, Sparrowhawk (BOOM); Angelic (Image); Wasted Space (Vault)

Alex de Campi, Bad Girls (Gallery 13); Twisted Romance (Image)

Jared Fletcher, Batman: Damned (DC); The Gravediggers Union, Moonshine, Paper Girls, Southern Bastards (Image)

Todd Klein— Black Hammer: Age of Doom, Neil Gaiman’s A Study in Emerald (Dark Horse); Batman: White Night (DC); Eternity Girl, Books of Magic (Vertigo/DC); The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest (Top Shelf/IDW)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism

Back Issue, edited by Michael Eury (TwoMorrows)

The Columbus Scribbler, edited by Brian Canini, columbusscribbler.com

Comicosity, edited by Aaron Long and Matt Santori,  www.comicosity.com

LAAB Magazine #0: Dark Matter, edited by Ronald Wimberley and Josh O’Neill (Beehive Books)

PanelxPanel magazine, edited by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, panelxpanel.com

Best Comics-Related Book

Comic Book Implosion: An Oral History of DC Comics Circa 1978, by Keith Dallas and John Wells (TwoMorrows)

Drawn to Purpose: American Women Illustrators and Cartoonists, by Martha H. Kennedy (University Press of Mississippi)

The League of Regrettable Sidekicks, by Jon Morris (Quirk Books)

Mike Grell: Life Is Drawing Without an Eraser, by Dewey Cassell with Jeff Messer (TwoMorrows)

Yoshitaka Amano: The Illustrated Biography—Beyond the Fantasy, by Florent Gorges, translated by Laure Dupont and Annie Gullion (Dark Horse)

Best Academic/Scholarly Work

Between Pen and Pixel: Comics, Materiality, and the Book of the Future, by Aaron Kashtan (Ohio State University Press)

Breaking the Frames: Populism and Prestige in Comics Studies, by Marc Singer (University of Texas Press)

The Goat-Getters: Jack Johnson, the Fight of the Century, and How a Bunch of Raucous Cartoonists Reinvented Comics, by Eddie Campbell (Library of American Comics/IDW/Ohio State University Press)

Incorrigibles and Innocents, by Lara Saguisag (Rutgers Univeristy Press)

Sweet Little C*nt: The Graphic Work of Julie Doucet, by Anne Elizabeth Moore (Uncivilized Books)

Best Publication Design

A Sea of Love, designed by Wilfrid Lupano, Grégory Panaccione, and Mike Kennedy (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

The Stan Lee Story Collector’s Edition, designed by Josh Baker (Taschen)

The Temple of Silence: Forgotten Worlds of Herbert Crowley, designed by Paul Kepple and Max Vandenberg (Beehive Books)

Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise Gallery Edition, designed by Josh Beatman/Brainchild Studios/NYC (Abstract Studio/Graphitti Designs)

Will Eisner’s A Contract with God: Curator’s Collection, designed by John Lind (Kitchen Sink/Dark Horse)

Best Digital Comic

Aztec Empire, by Paul Guinan, Anina Bennett, and David Hahn, www.bigredhair.com/books/Aztec-empire/

The Führer and the Tramp, by Sean McArdle, Jon Judy, and Dexter Wee, http://thefuhrerandthetramp.com/

The Journey, by Pablo Leon (Rewire), https://rewire.news/article/2018/01/08/rewire-exclusive-comic-journey/

The Stone King, by Kel McDonald and Tyler Crook (comiXology Originals)  https://cmxl.gy/Stone-King

Umami, by Ken Niimura (Panel Syndicate), http://panelsyndicate.com/comics/umami

Best Webcomic

The Contradictions, by Sophie Yanow, www.thecontradictions.com

Lavender Jack, by Dan Schkade (WEBTOON), https://www.webtoons.com/en/thriller/lavender-jack/list?title_no=1410&page=1

Let’s Play, by Mongie (WEBTOON), https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/letsplay/list?title_no=1218&page=1

Lore Olympus, by Rachel Smythe, (WEBTOON), https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/lore-olympus/list?title_no=1320&page=1

Tiger, Tiger, by Petra Erika Nordlund, (Hiveworks) http://www.tigertigercomic.com/