Stagger Lee, the graphic novel that explores the history and legend of Lee Shelton, dominated the 2007 Glyph Comic Awards, winning in four categories, including Story of the Year.
The awards were presented last night at the sixth annual East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention in Philadelphia.
The Glyph Comic Awards recognize comics “made by, for, and about people of color.” You can read background on the awards here.
Stagger Lee writer Derek McCulloch was named Best Writer, while artist Shepherd Hendrix won the award for Best Cover. Stagger Lee was also selected as Best Male Character.
Kyle Baker won Best Artist for The Bakers.
Johanna Draper Carlson has the full list of winners.
Wow, Stagger Lee really cleaned up at the Glyphs. So, I guess I better check out this book that beat American Way (a new favorite of mine) for Best Story.
I’m also surprised Storm won the Fan Award considering all the complaints about the Black Panther/Storm romance. I guess people calmed down and realized it was a great origin story for the Windrider.
Next year, I REALLY need to get to Philly. ECBACC sounds like a lot of fun.
Comment by Fred — May 19, 2007 @ 12:54 pm
This year’s judging gives me hope for the future of the Glyphs. Stagger Lee is a perfect marriage of creators, unlike The American Way, which was neither John Ridley’s best, nor the “best use” of penciller Georges Jeanty.
“Best Cover” seems a sorry concession for Shepherd Hendrix not winning Best Artist (especially since Kyle Baker won the same category and Story of the Year in ‘06 for Nat Turner)…
Comment by G. Rand — May 19, 2007 @ 7:53 pm
What else has hass Ridley written? I bring this up because The American Way is rare for a political superhero comic since it tackles some touchy subjects like race relations, Black nationalism, the liberal media, conservatism, and public apathy without being heavy handed. The story’s use of new superheroes also helps in this regard since they’re free to evolve beyond the .
As for Jeanty, my only exposure to his work was in the last Gambit series. Truth be told I don’t think that was better or worse than Jeanty’s work in The American Way.
What impresses me most about the Glyphs is the diversity of the nominees. Whether superheroes, Westerns, sci-fi, or real life drama, the picks underscore that Black comics offer something for everyone.
Comment by Fred — May 20, 2007 @ 10:02 pm
I think the very nature of the awards (their being for Black creators and Black characters/themes) will continue to expose an ever-widening field of work in varied genres. There seems to be many more Black comic writers and artists in general than there are regularly appearing Black superhero features to bestow all these accolades on.
As far as , its topics being some of those rarely covered in superhero comic books wasn’t enough to make it interesting and entertaining to me. It didn’t engage me as much as Ridley’s prose novels Stray Dogs and The Drift, and his works written for the screen.
It may have had something to do with the art; I think the fictional period piece would have been better served with more photo-realistic art. I really didn’t take the story very seriously–it was as if the narrative and the art were at cross-purposes. This did not happen on the Stagger Lee project. Jeanty’s pencils, or rather his style, didn’t have the appropriate weight for the supposed heaviness of the story’s issues. That’s what I meant by this not being the “best use” of him–it’s not a criticism of his abilities as much as it is a questioning of his selection for the project–a thought which shouldn’t be construed as anything more than the consumer commentary that it is.
Comment by G. Rand — May 21, 2007 @ 7:47 pm
That second paragraph should begin, “As far as The American Way…”
Duh.
Comment by G. Rand — May 21, 2007 @ 7:51 pm