The 2009 Harvey Awards nominees were announced this morning. Congratulations to all the nominees; this must be an exciting day for everyone who received a nod. I do have a few thoughts on some of the nominees, and since I can, I’m going to share them with you, my faithful readers.
BEST ARTIST
Jimmy Gownley, AMELIA RULES, Renaissance Press
BEST LETTERER
Jimmy Gownley, AMELIA RULES, Renaissance Press
BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM - PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED
AMELIA RULES!: FUNNY STORIES, Renaissance Press
Don’t dismiss the kid-friendliness of Amelia Rules!, because it’s one of the best comic books being published today. Jimmy Gownley is a master at mixing humor and gravitas to create hilarious and heartbreaking stories that can be enjoyed and loved by people of all ages. And the characters are instantly endearing. If you don’t fall in love with Amelia after reading just one issue, then you must be a robot or something. If you haven’t read Amelia Rules! yet, give it a shot, and then you can thank me later for the recommendation.
BEST SYNDICATED STRIP OR PANEL
BREWSTER ROCKIT: SPACE GUY!, Tim Rickard, Tribune Media Services
GET FUZZY, Darby Conley, United Features Syndicate
MUTTS, Patrick McDonnell, King Features Syndicate
THE NORM, Michael Jantze, Uclick Gocomics
PEARLS BEFORE SWINE, Stephan Pastis, United Features Syndicate
These days, it’s very difficult to break into the syndicated comics biz. The newspaper business is dying a slow death, daily comics are becoming less of a priority for them, and there are way too many crappy old comics past their expiration date wasting space simply because the newspaper editors are too afraid or too lazy to get rid of them (I’m looking at you, For Better Or For Worse). So I have tremendous respect for Tim Rickard for the success he’s had with Brewster Rockit. That being said, how the $@#% did it get this nomination? In my opinion, it’s a painfully unfunny comic, and it’s not remotely as good as the other four nominees. There are so many other strips that are more deserving of that nomination. Hell, I’d give it to Blondie just for John Marshall’s gorgeous inkwork. Is there something about Brewster Rockit that I’m just not understanding? Could it be that it’s the Andy Kaufman of daily comics, in that it’s so unfunny it turns around and becomes funny?
BEST SINGLE ISSUE OR STORY
LOVE AND ROCKETS, VOL. 3 #1, Fantagraphics Books
Hell yes. As painful as it is to wait a year for new Love and Rockets now that the Hernandez brothers have switched to an annual format, it’ll be worth the wait if each issue is going to be as good as this one. Jaime Hernandez created the best superhero story of 2008 for this issue, and it should be required reading for anyone who reads or creates comics.
BEST SINGLE ISSUE OR STORY
NASCAR HEROES #5, NASCAR Comics
WTF? I didn’t realize this comic book even existed. And with all due respect to the creators of this comic, I’m having a difficult time wrapping my brain around the idea that a comic book devoted to a competition where the winner is the person who can make the best left turns could deserve a Harvey Award nomination. Are any of you reading Nascar Heroes? If so, I’d really like to hear your opinion of it. Is Nascar Heroes a hidden gem in the world of comics?
So there you go. Feel free to share your own opinions, particularly if you disagree with me or want to talk about something I didn’t cover.
June 30th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Nascar Heroes saved my life. I was in a very dark place and the fascinating mystery of Driver Z brought me back to the light. Harveyriffic!
June 30th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Whoa, I didn’t spot Nascar Heroes #5 on the nominees list. I didn’t read that issue but I did read a copy of the title when it was offered for free as part of last year’s FCBD.
In short: it was as bad as the idea sounds.
Again, that was a free issue so maybe the creative team changed, or they worked out the kinks. But I have my doubts.
July 1st, 2009 at 8:23 am
i’m sure nascar paid a huge chunk of change for that nomination. or maybe they have someone on the board. somebody from Tide detergent perhaps???
July 1st, 2009 at 12:18 pm
I guess since the plot of the issue seems to be an homage (to be courteous) to Speed Racer, maybe the lift of the iconic pose for the cover is more explainable.
Maybe.
July 1st, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Yeah whattt? NASCAR Heroes…