Hero-Bot Awards 2009!

The results are in and here are your winners!

Best New Ongoing Series: The Unwritten – The Unwritten is a title from Vertigo comics; a subsidiary of DC Comics written by Mike Carey and Peter Gross. Vertigo recently decided to change the cover price of many of their new series to 1.00 for the first issue in order to gain a larger reader base on many of their upcoming titles, and with Unwritten it paid off. The story follows Tommy Taylor who is both a real person, as well as a character in his Fathers acclaimed book series. As the story progresses it seems as though the two Tommy Taylors no longer seem to be separate people as events from the his Father’s stories begin to become reality.

Best Ongoing Series: Green Lantern – No surprise with this title winning the award! Green Lantern has been on the rise in the past year due to the return of Hal Jordan after the events of Green Lantern Rebirth as well as the DC’s Blackest Night event that has jump started Green Lantern to comic book super stardom. Don’t get me wrong though, its not just these events that have made Green Lantern the book it is today, that credit goes to Writer Geoff Johns and artist Doug Mahnke who make this book the best ongoing series of 2009 and at the rate its going, maybe even the best ongoing series of 2010.

Best Mini Series: Batman Cacophony – This mini series from writer and director Kevin Smith follows past events of one of DC Comic’s most popular heroes Batman. This three issue series features Batman’s arch nemesis the Joker as he wages a drug war with Maxie Zeus, but also features one of Smith’s own villains by the name of Onomatopoeia. As Batman struggles to figure out who Onomatopoeia is and what his motives are, while also having to regulate the actions of the sinister Joker. In my opinion, this series is a must read for any Batman fan and it does not fail to keep you on your toes throughout the entire story. Also, make sure to check out Batman: Widening Gyre a new mini series by Kevin Smith going on right now.

Best Maxi Series: Blackest Night – First and foremost, what separates a maxi series from a mini series is the issue amount, a maxi series has more than six and a mini has less than six. The winner of this category was of no surprise, Blackest night was the biggest event in the comic universes on 2009 and re-invigorated many of DC’s titles due to their association with the event. Blackest Night is the largest comic event to ever occur, with the most amount of tie-ins from other series. The story revolves around the fact that all of the people who have died over the years are coming back to life as powerful Black Lanterns and have sworn to get their revenge on the heroes of the DC universe who wronged them during the years they were alive. The many different lantern corps that exist in the universe will have to get over their differences and ban together against this new and powerful threat. As the series begins to wrap up after a year of existence, many fans are eager to see what is going to happen; and some are just happy that it is going to end!

Best Indy Series: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 8) – Buffy the Vampire slayer is no stranger to modern day pop culture, after its seven season run from writer and creator Joss Whedon. Following the conclusion of Buffy’s TV series Whedon decided that he was going to continue the series by putting out the Buffy comic series entitling it Season 8: Time of Your Life. The series has had great fan reception since it began in 2007. In 2009 it is still is extremely popular and continues to amazes its overwhelming fandom.

Best Writer: Geoff Johns – No surprise here! Geoff Johns is considered to be one of the greatest writers in DC comics and he has done nothing but lived up to that mantle. Johns is currently writing Blackest Night and the Green Lantern, as well as a number of other DC titles and never fails to deliver to his fans. Comic fans know that if John’s name is on the cover than the book will not be a let down. In addition to comics, Johns is also a television writer, recently writing the made for TV movie Smallville: Absolute Justice. For anyone looking to get into comics, starting with a book written by Johns would be no mistake.

Best Interior Artist: Ivan Reis – Ivan Reis has gained major acclaim in the last year due to his work first on Green Lantern with Geoff Johns, but most notably his interior work on Blackest Night. He is an up and comic artist who because of Blackest Night will have a great chance of making a major name for himself in the comic years.

Best Cover Artist: Mike Choi – Mike Choi is one of the artist that when you see one of his covers you say “Whoa, what a great cover, who did it? “ and then when you see it is Choi you understand why it is such a great cover. Choi is best known for his astounding covers on Marvel’s X-Force series, but has also done covers for many other Marvel titles. Choi’s art just has this feeling to it that seems so realistic but still feels like you’re reading a comic book, its very hard to explain. Aside from the great covers Choi produces, he also provides interior art for X-Force and has also done art for Uncanny X-men. Choi is never one to let his fans down, and continues to wow the comic community with his great work.

Best New Talent: Patrick Gleason – Gleason is a comic artist who does not have many titles under his belt, but the titles he has worked on are spectacular. He has provided art for the 2006 mini series Green Lantern: Recharge and is currently the artist for one of DC’s most popular titles: Green Lantern Corps. Like Ivan Reis, Gleason’s art is getting major recognition due to his books involvement with the Blackest Night crossover event. Gleason is a very young artist and many look forward to his futures works.

Best Single Issue: The Unwritten #1 – When Unwritten his the shelves in May of 2009 people just had to look at the cover of the book and they were already hooked and then when they look and see that the book has only a $1 cover price how could they not give it a shot. The first issue of this series does nothing but deliver to the reader, with 40 pages of spectacular art and writing, as well as an introduction to an all-star cast. When you finished this book you were left with this feeling of excitement and fulfillment and began to eagerly awaiting the next issue. Unwritten is one of those series that when someone asks you to explain it to them you’re left saying that it is impossible to do it accurately and that they should just read it for themselves.

Most Underrated in Comics: Jonathan Hickman – Most comic fans hear the name Jonathan Hickman and ask who is that? This is exactly why he is so deserving of the award most underrated in comics. Hickman currently writes one of Marvel’s flagship comics Fantastic Four with artist Dale Eaglesham as well as one of Marvel’s newer series Secret Warriors. And trust me, if you were to pick up either of these titles you would not be disappointed. Hickman’s writing is like something else, it engulfs the reader in the story and Hickman never fails to leave the end of the book with a cliffhanger that will leave you longing for the next issue. Hickman will also begin to write another ongoing series for Marvel entitled Shield which will be released in the upcoming months, so make sure to check out one of his three series and you will not be disappointed.

Most Hated in Comics: Disney Buy-Out of Marvel – The most controversial issue in comics has now become one of the most hated events in comic history. In August of 2009 the unthinkable happened, a 4 billion dollar deal which turned Marvel Comics in to a subsidiary of Disney. People didn’t know what to think, whether Disney would destroy the company by using its power to change Marvel for the worst? Or would they just sit by and reap the profits from Comic’s biggest company. As of now, nothing has really changed or occurred, but the event left many comic fans with a bitter taste in their mouths. 2010 will prove to be an interesting year based on what Disney decides to do with their newly acquired addition.

If youre interested in picking some of these winning titles or any comic books in general please stop by Heroes Your Mom Threw Out Comic Shop on W14th Street in Elmira Heights.