BALTIMORE 06: 2006 HARVEY AWARDS

**MattBrady** · 09-10-2006, 10:51 AM

Saturday night saw the debut of the Harvey Awards Ceremony at the Baltimore Comic-Con, and was a success by all accounts.

The evening began with an appetizer reception allowing guests to mingle prior to the dinner which featured a Maryland Grill. As the dinner portion of the evening drew to a close, a selection of Kyle Baker’s “The Bakers” cartoons were shown on the two screens in the banquet hall, and Paul McSpadden, a member of the Executive Committee of the Harvey Awards gave the welcoming remarks and thanked the sponsors for the awards. In closing, McSpadden introduced Kyle Baker who served as the Master of Ceremonies.

In his opening remarks, Baker explained that he was a huge Harvey Kurtzman fan, noting that, in his career, he’s found himself somewhat mirroring the legendary creator, working on a war comic and a humor comic. Currently, Baker is working in Los Angeles for Disney, noting that he flew back for the ceremony.

Baker, in turn, introduced the Keynote Speaker for the evening, Jerry Robinson. Robinson entertained the crowd with stories of his earlier days in the industry, recounting how he found work in comics when he was 17 and while still a journalism student. In recalling some of the many characters he’d worked on over the years, Robinson had the crowd laughing as he explained how much he hated drawing Lassie, refining his style to a point where he would only draw the dog’s tail as he ran through a field, or muzzle as he entered a room. With some final observations on the state of the comics industry, Robinson said that he felt the industry is in good hands with today’s younger creators, and turned the ceremony back over to Baker.

The 2006 Harvey Award winners were:

Best Letterer: Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #18
Best Colorist: Laura Martin, Astonishing X-Men
Best Syndicated Strip of Panel: Maakies by Tony Millionaire
Best Inker: Charles Burns, Black Hole #12
Best Online Comics Work: American Elf by James Kochalka
Best American Edition of Foreign Material: Buddha published by Vertical Books
Best New Series: Young Avengers
Best Graphic Album – Previously Published: Black Hole published by Pantheon Books
Special Award for Humor in Comics: Kyle Baker, for Plastic Man
Best New Talent: (tie) R. Kikuo Johnson/Night Fisher; Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa/Marvel Knights Fantastic Four
Best Biographical, Historical or Journalistc Presentation: The Comics Journal
Best Anthology: Solo, DC Comics
Best Domestic Reprint Project: Little Nemo in Slumberland: So Many Splendid Sundays
Best Cover Artist: James Jean, Fables
Special Award for Excellence in Presentation: Little Nemo in Slumberland: So Many Splendid Sundays
Best Graphic Album – Original: Tricked by Alex Robinson
Best Continuing or Limited Series: Runaways, Marvel Comics
Best Cartoonist: Chris Ware
Best Writer: Ed Brubaker
Best Artist: JH Williams III
Best Single Issue of Story: Love and Rockets, Volume 2 #15

Additionally, Hero Initiative presented two Lifetime Achievement Awards at the ceremony, kicking off a new tradition for the organization. The awards were presented to George Perez (presented by Jim McLauchlin) and John Romita Sr. (presented by John Romita Jr.).

holtom2000 · 09-10-2006, 11:21 AM

yah winners! and go Perez!
and remember, these are all subjective. it's hard to say one piece of art or writing is better than another. beauty, they say, is in the eye of the beholder

Lucky Luke · 09-10-2006, 11:37 AM

GO SOLO!!! DAMN IT DC! KEEP THIS BOOK ALIVE!

Screw IC. Screw OYL. Screw Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and JLA.

Solo is what comics are all about.

Excelsior! · 09-10-2006, 11:50 AM

Perez, Romita and Young Avengers? That's what we like to see.

Blind Assassin · 09-10-2006, 11:56 AM

So glad to see such diverse winners (and nominees).

Congrats to all!

Eiriken · 09-10-2006, 12:11 PM

Grats to all the winners

Hokeyboy · 09-10-2006, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucky Luke

GO SOLO!!! DAMN IT DC! KEEP THIS BOOK ALIVE!

Screw IC. Screw OYL. Screw Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and JLA.

Solo is what comics are all about.

As much as I loved Solo, the book didn't make any money. Unless you and me want to go in together and purchase 10,000 extra copies a month apiece. To why for? Groin

skinnyboy23 · 09-10-2006, 12:46 PM

RUNAWAYS!!!!!!!!!!

Good job Harveys.

Lucky Luke · 09-10-2006, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hokeyboy

As much as I loved Solo, the book didn't make any money. Unless you and me want to go in together and purchase 10,000 extra copies a month apiece. To why for? Groin

I blame DC's marketing campaign. Pushing a 5 dollar book in the years of ID and IC was suicide.

comicfanuk · 09-10-2006, 12:57 PM

Yay!
Go Runaways, Young Avengers and Astonshing X-Men!

The 'Nam · 09-10-2006, 12:58 PM

I'm kinda surprised at some of these...

I seem to be the only one around here who doesn't like Young Avengers - despite how well it may be written, it's just a bad idea/concept to me.

And Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa?! Most fans and critics alike tend to not like him, but whatever.

Congrats to all.

Hokeyboy · 09-10-2006, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucky Luke

I blame DC's marketing campaign. Pushing a 5 dollar book in the years of ID and IC was suicide.

I blame the people who didn't buy it.

Everyone blames "promotion" when a book fails. The truth of the matter is that in a crowded, dwindling marketplace, SOLO is the kind of niche book that your average dopey comic book buyer eschews like the plague.

Lucky Luke · 09-10-2006, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hokeyboy

I blame the people who didn't buy it.

Yeah, that too.

But in a market dominated by mostly mediocre written/drawn superhero comics that isn't surprising.

Grimm22 · 09-10-2006, 01:26 PM

Cool, Brubkaer deserved the award.

flamebird867 · 09-10-2006, 01:37 PM

Congrats to all the winners!

Future Boy · 09-10-2006, 02:03 PM

every, single issue of SOLO was awesome. EVERY ONE! DC is a tard. Why would they cancel a book THAT good?

xdemon · 09-10-2006, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hokeyboy

I blame the people who didn't buy it.

Everyone blames "promotion" when a book fails. The truth of the matter is that in a crowded, dwindling marketplace, SOLO is the kind of niche book that your average dopey comic book buyer eschews like the plague.

I bought the first couple of issues and scanned others in the store. I found the series uneven at best. It was always going to be a niche book with a limited audience.

KyleCowstar · 09-10-2006, 02:06 PM

Runaways and Fables deserve their honors.

AllAboutMe · 09-10-2006, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Future Boy

every, single issue of SOLO was awesome. EVERY ONE! DC is a tard. Why would they cancel a book THAT good?

Sigh. It is all business. Nobody in in this to lose money. Solo was not making money.
Too high of a price tag, too many artists that the average reader could care less about (I still say the majority of comic fans follow a character rather than creator), quarterly schedule, and simply terrible package design.
Sad to see it go before we could get more quality guys to produce an ish. ( I mean, really, Daimon Scott?).

nightwingoracle · 09-10-2006, 02:22 PM

I enjoyed SOLO for the most part. The Darwyn Cooke and Mike Allred issues are classic books - every single story...every single panel...was amazing.

The rest of the books were uneven, but there was always something good in each one.

But I felt like they should have mixed in a few more mainstream names to help sales - issues by George Perez, Jim Lee, John Romita Sr., John Byrne mixed in with what they did might have helped sales.

Can't blame them for cancelling it - they've got to make money and it was an expensive book. But I appreciate the fact they did it and hope they continue to take some chances.

tunabeard · 09-10-2006, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hokeyboy

I blame the people who didn't buy it.

Everyone blames "promotion" when a book fails. The truth of the matter is that in a crowded, dwindling marketplace, SOLO is the kind of niche book that your average dopey comic book buyer eschews like the plague.

You'd have to give some consideration into that he may right in his assessment. You open a DC book and you'll see page after page of promotion to read one of DC's Big 3 (Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman) books, especially in their limited series books (check out Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy). But for a book like "Solo" there wasn't any promotion and especially if you publish a book that features any of your artists you have on staff I think you would want readers to view work that they are doing outside of mainstream books they are primarily on.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book myself and am sad to see it go.

Nobody · 09-10-2006, 02:59 PM

I follow creators, and I picked up the issues of Solo featuring the creators I liked, or at least heard of, in one instance. Sadly, the one I was looking forward to the most (until I found out Brendan McCarthy was doing one), was the worst one I read.