Image Forum Awards 2014!

[cc008]

I'm not gonna do a worst list, because, there's no real need for uneccessary negativity.

Sticking with just Image here!

Best Ongoing Series:
Nominations: East of West, Fatale, Lazarus, Deadly Class, Zero, Saga, Velvet, Southern Bastards
Winner: East of West

Best Mini-Series:
Nominations: Starlight, Supreme: Blue Rose
Winner: Starlight

Best New Series:
Nominations: Southern Bastards, The Fade Out, C.O.W.L., Low, Wytches, Deadly Class
Winner: Southern Bastards

Favorite Writer:
Nominations: Ed Brubaker, Jason Aaron, Jonathan Hickman, Greg Rucka, Scott Snyder, Rick Remender, Brian K Vaughn, Ales Kot, Kyle Higgins & Alec Seigel
Winner: Ed Brubaker

Favorite Artist:
Nominations: Sean Phillips, Nick Dragotta, Jason Latour, Goran Parlov, Fiona Staples, Jock, Steve Epting, Wes Craig, Rod Reis
Winner: Nick Dragotta

Favorite Character:
Nominations: Velvet Templeton (Velvet), Josephene (Fatale), Zero (Zero), Death (East of West), Earl Tubb (Southern Bastards), Forever Carlyle (Lazarus), Coach Uless Boss (Southern Bastards)
Winner (tie): Earl Tubb, Coach Boss

Best Cover:
Winner: Francavilla '4th World Comics' (my and Snyder's LCS) special Wytches variant

Best Single Issue:
Nominations: Southern Bastards #4, Starlight #1, Fatale #24, EoW #15
Winner: Southern Bastards #4

Comic Everyone Should Be Reading:
Winners: Everything that won or was nominated on my list

Biggest Surprise:
Winner: Southern Bastards (had no interest in this title when I first heard of it. Now it's one of my favorites.)

4th World is my LCS too! That's awesome!

[HellsRider]

Here are my two cents. No worst list from me.

Best Ongoing - Lazarus. I took a hard look at the Image comics I read and asked myself if their was one comic I would be asked to continue and drop everything else what would it be and for me that was Lazarus. The world building, the character work, the art, the writing, the back matter, the promotional ads for each of the families the entire package comes together to provide what I consider to be the best bang for your buck under Image right now. The current arc is the best yet. Second place goes to East of West.

Best New Book In 2014 - Spread. I'm a sucker for horror, but done in the way Jordan & Strahm are doing it providing us this world where these rather nasty creatures inhabit while at the same time pay homage to the horror genre is great to see. The characters are memorable and the art does a great job of providing the horror very effectively. I look forward to seeing how the journey for No, Hope, and Molly continue in the new year. Second place goes to Low.

Most Improved - The Walking Dead. The Negan saga was pretty exhausting, but since then thanks to a small time skip and the introduction of the Whispers the book is in very exciting territory once again. For the first time we are really seeing the communities grow and society seemingly coming back however small, but their is always darkness at the edge of it all and I look forward now to reading this again and seeing how Carl continues to grow, the new group that came into Alexandria, the Whispers developing, and more. Its a good time to jump back in.

Most Underrated Comic - Manifest Destiny and Five Ghosts (tie). Its a shame that either of these comics aren't getting talked about as much. Five Ghosts this year continues to embrace its adventure roots but provides with each arc something new. The first arc was more of an adventure story, the second being a swash buckling high seas adventure, and the current arc skews more to horror. The art is absolutely phenomenal and adapts well to these shifts. I look forward to what comes next especially that one shot story in March. Manifest Destiny is another one that has been gaining ground for me especially after the most recent issue. Fans of the TV show Sleepy Hollow or just alternate history will find a good deal to like here.

Favorite Character - Forever Carlyle from Lazarus.

Bon Voyage (I'll Miss This Book Award) - Sheltered. While technically cheating because it'll end early next year, I just want to mention that I've enjoyed the ride Brisson, Christmas, and company have took us on and can't wait to see how this ends.

Baby Come Back (Hope This Book Returns Award) - Where Is Jake Ellis. Come on Edmondson you wrapped up Dream Merchant and even came out with another issue of The Activity, but I gotta know what happens next in Jake Ellis especially after the way the last issue ended. It can't be left like that!

Most Anticipated New Book of 2015 - Descender by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen. Its Lemire and Nguyen. I'm all over that! Second place The Dying and The Dead though hope Bodenheim can keep up with the schedule and nothing happens to him.

Hope For 2015 - Spawn gains a direction & more diverse comics. One personal and one general. For the last six years we've had Jim Downing as the current Spawn, but I never really got a sense of a direction with the new Spawn which kinda goes back to his introduction back in Endgame and feel that everything of the current character stems from the poor planning of that. While I disagree with the decision in bringing Al Simmons, the original Spawn, back and taking the mantle again in a familiar superhero direction I just want the book to gain a solid focus. I want to have an idea of where each character is going and why and while another barrier maybe new artist Jonboy Meyers' work which we'll see, that is all I want personally. I want to feel excited in picking up Spawn again and hope that happens next year.

On a bigger part, I hope diversity continues not just in Image but in all publishers. That new writers and artists are discovered. That new books in varying works from all ages to sci-fi to fantasy and more keep coming out. And equally as important that people go out and support new ventures and talk about them and get the word out.

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

Best Single Issue:
Nominations: Southern Bastards #4, Starlight #1, Fatale #24, EoW #15
Winner: Southern Bastards #4

heh, East of West #15 almost got my pick for biggest Oh Snap moment!

Can't believe I forgot about Starlight! Loved that book!

the whole miniseries category is a bit confusing imo lol. I mean Starlight, Trees, and Supreme: Blue Rose all came out under the guise of an ongoing, but were revealed to be minis w/ their endings in solicits, right? Wildfire started as a mini, but got pushed to an ongoing (I assume going on to #5). Storm Dogs started as a mini, but was later to revealed to be a seasonal mini (is that the right term?). Roche Limit came to be revealed as a mini-series of...mini-series (3 series of 5-issues). Same w/ Death Vigil as 3 series of 8-issues...

I think it's just when when it comes to Image minis, ppl may overlook the fact its a mini b/c it's episodic/seasonal (if those are appropriate terms), turns into an ongoing, or is revealed to be a mini when it wasn't expected to be lol. So it's kinda like "oh yeah, that was a mini, technically..."

[Deniz Camp]

Best Ongoing Series: Tie: East of West & Saga. East of West has a lot of great scenes and some nice world building, but ultimately feels very slight both in terms of character and big picture. Saga is just the opposite; characterful and rich with meaning and subtext, but feeling smaller and more claustrophobic.

Best Mini-Series: Supreme Blue Rose, handily. Idiosyncratic, lyrical, beautiful, and genuinely novel scifi concepts. This actually the best thing coming out of Image, hands down.

Best New Series: Supreme: Blue Rose, again. If that doesn't count, being a mini series, then perhaps ODY-C.

Favorite Writer: Threeway tie between Warren Ellis, BKV, and John Hickman. They're all doing tremendous work, but very differently. Right now Ellis is the most experimental, and so if I absolutely had to choose I'd go him. But I appreciate the careful world building of Hickman and the rich character building of BKV as well.

Favorite Artist: It's gotta Wes Craig, who is doing the work of his career right now. His stuff is not only gorgeous and kinetic, he's playing with the form and storytelling in a way that almost no one else at Image currently is. I respect it immensely, and only wish he were on a different book.

Most Anticipated New Title: Injection, by Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey.

Comic Everyone Should Be Reading: Supreme, of course! Also, Prophet deserves a bigger readership.

[Maxpower00044]

4th World is my LCS too! That's awesome!

Nice! You're the second person from this board that shares the same LCS. Best. Shop. Ever!

[TotalSnorefest]

It's been really cool reading everyone's responses here people, thanks for taking part! Particularly glad to see people being recommended things and seeing under-the-radar series like Elephantmen get some much-deserved attention. Also I've loved getting to know Jason Shiga's work, thanks Agent John Bishop! And who knew Lazarus was pretty much the Image Forum darling?!

Anyway I got a bunch of time to kill so high time I contribute with my own list. I'm doing indie publishers only, couldn't contain the love to just Image.

Best Ongoing Series: Immediately a tough one, but I'm going with the stock answer - Saga. This arc contained several high points for me and frankly it's ridiculous how this series has yet to have its first real bad issue. So consistent.
Best Mini Series: Really struggled here because I read a bunch. The Last Broadcast, The Midas Flesh and Jim Henson's Storyteller: Witches would all be deserving winners. But ultimately I'm going for ...And Then Emily Was Gone. Gross, unsettling horror set on a Scottish island. Released by Comix Tribe.
Best Graphic Novel: This is really a tie between Eleanor Davis' excellent How To Be Happy and Emily Carroll's Through The Woods, with the latter one taking it home based solely on the fact that I read it last of the two. Believe the hype.
Best Single Issue: Easy one. Jim Henson's Storyteller: Witches #2. Kyla Vanderklugt horizontally drawing the creepy-or-sad Japanese folktale of the Snow Witch. Featuring gorgeous art in what is already a lush mini-series, it's got it all: unsettlingly creepy witch, a heartwarming moment and inevitable heartbreaking tragedy. This one moved me to tears.
The closet-racist-award for Best Foreign (Non-U.S.A.) Material: (South) Korea gets this one for Sirial's cute Milkyway Hitchhiking. There be kitties.
The I-liked-it-before-it-was-cool-award for Best New Series: Two series of which I've both only read the first issues so far are vying for this one. Ultimately Autumnlands: Tooth & Claw loses out to the (inter?)stellar ODY-C. It looks to be a ballsy, divisive re-telling of the classic Odyssey and I'm so on board for this.
Best Artist: Another one for Saga. Fiona Staples is amazing yo.
Best Writer: Saga's not getting a clean sweep though. Sarah Vaughn nabs this one for the subtle, layered, commentary that is Alex+Ada. Executed with surgery precision, this series is going to break my heart one day soon and it'll be a privilige to experience.
Best Colourist: Jordie Bellaire, the patron-saint of Image comics, natch.
Best Covers: Tempted to break my indies-only rule for the stellar ones on Marvel's All-New Ultimates, but frankly no-one is more deserving than Matt Kindt's Mind MGMT.
The A Voice in the Dark- award for Most Underrated Comic: Well, A Voice in the Dark obviously. But after that comes the mindtrip that is Prophet.
The I-spilled-my-drink-award for Biggest Oh Dang Moment: It's gotta be Saga right? This series breaks your heart in a single sentence. And then turns the same line into a fist-pump AWWWWYEAH LET'S EFFING GO moment towards the end of the arc.
The hype-train-award for Most Anticipated Future Series: Out of all the hype from the Image Expo's, nothing has looked as promising yet as 8House. No idea how it'll work, a creator-owned shared universe spread over several titles with a boatload of talent on board, but it'll be one to watch for sure.

Lastly, I don't really wanna rip on anyone, but as for slight dissapointments: the Vertigo-published Trillium didn't end very strongly at all in my opinion despite being a promising experiment with the format. And the Dark Horse mini series POP, while boasting decent art, didn't do much for me. It was very cynical but didn't really offer any noteworthy solutions either. Maybe I'm not the audience the creators were aiming for, websites like Multiversity reviewed it very favourably for example.

Thanks again for all the replies everyone, hope to see y'all around the forum in 2015. Happy new year!

[InformationGeek]

Lastly, I don't really wanna rip on anyone, but as for slight disappointments: the Vertigo-published Trillium didn't end very strongly at all in my opinion despite being a promising experiment with the format. And the Dark Horse mini series POP, while boasting decent art, didn't do much for me. It was very cynical but didn't really offer any noteworthy solutions either.

I'm behind you on that. Trillium (alongside sadly The Wake) really didn't end to well in my book. It felt rushed, the romance wasn't strong, and it almost felt like a nonending in some ways. It was a real shame since it was my third favorite comic of 2013. Pop... on the hand, was far worse for me...

[Ilan Preskovsky]

I'm behind you on that. Trillium (alongside sadly The Wake) really didn't end to well in my book. It felt rushed, the romance wasn't strong, and it almost felt like a nonending in some ways. It was a real shame since it was my third favorite comic of 2013. Pop... on the hand, was far worse for me...

I'm with you guys, both of those had weak endings. Though, I think that Trillium was more than a slight disappointment. It had such a great concept and it did some cool stuff with the format but the emotional core just wasn't there. The ending was a disappointment, sure, but it really drove home how little the rest of it actually worked for me as anything other than an interesting but ultimately failed formal experiment. And when you consider that Lemire is primarily known for his heartfelt writing, that's particularly weird.

[King's_Gambit]

Best Ongoing - Lazarus (Runners-Up: Saga, Southern Bastards)
Best New Series - Southern Bastards (Runners-Up: Deadly Class, Wytches)
Best Writer - Rick Remender (Runners-Up: Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman)
Best Artist - Fiona Staples (Runners-Up: Tula Lotay, Jason Latour)
Best Colorist - Matthew Wilson (Runners-Up: Jordie Bellaire, Elizabeth Breitweiser, Kyle Strahm)
Best Miniseries - Starlight (Runners-Up: Secret, Supreme: Blue Rose)
Breakout Writer - Joshua Williamson (Runners-Up: Ales Kot, Kyle Higgins & Alec Siegel)
Breakout Artist - Tula Lotay (Runners-Up: Wes Craig, Benjamin Dewey)
Most Improved - The Walking Dead
Most Promising for 2015 - The Fade Out (Runners-Up: Southern Bastards, Bitch Planet)

[Lady Warp Spasm]

I just have one title I'll buy regularly: Rasputin. Issue 3 was a fantastic rethink of the legend behind the character.

I might buy The Humans in trade though.

[Weekend Warrior]

Not limited to Image titles:

Best Ongoing - BPRD (Runners-Up: Lazarus, Prophet, Baltimore, Deadly Class, Fatale)
Best New Series - Deadly Class (Runners-Up: Southern Bastards, Spread, Fade Out)
Best Writer - Brubaker (Runners-Up: John Arcudi, Jason Aaron, Dan Abnett)
Best Artist - Wes Craig (Runners-Up: James Harren, Michael Lark, Kyle Strahm)
Best Miniseries - Dark Ages (Runners-Up: Caliban, Rover Red Charlie)
Most Looking forward to in 2015 - Prophet: Earth War & Rumble

[johnmahananda]

Best Ongoing Series: Tie: Lazarus and Morning Glories
Best Mini-Series: Looking at my books…I didn’t read any…unless Trees is a mini…
Best New Series: The Fuse
Favorite Writer: I have to go with Nick Spencer but Greg Rucka and Antony Johnston are right there.
Favorite Artist: I guess Fiona Staples…but I like Justin Greenwood’s work on The Fuse quite a lot.
Favorite Character: Klem Ristovych (The Fuse) with Forever Carlyle very close…
Best Single Issue: There’s no way I could I pick one…
Comic Everyone Should Be Reading: Morning Glories
Biggest Surprise: Maybe Trees; maybe Umbral…

I don’t think I want to list the worst…but…The Dream Merchant truly sucked…

[BogSurfer]

Best Ongoing Series: Saga (runner ups: East of West and Zero)
Best New Series: Southern Bastards
Best Writer: Brian K. Vaughn
Best Artist: Nick Dragotta
Favorite Character: Earl Tubb
Best Issue: Zero #5
Best Cover: Wytches #2
Most Underrated: Manifest Destiny
Biggest Disappointment: Copperhead
Looking most forward to in 2015: Tokyo Ghost