Posted in: Comics | Tagged: 2012, awards, cameron hatheway, comic con, Comics, eisner, eisners, san diego

Countdown To The Eisners by Cameron Hatheway: Best New Series

Alas, let us focus on the Snuffleupagus in the room. Earlier this year when the Eisner nominees were announced, one category was noticeably absent; the Best New Series category. Rage was spewing on Twitter and message boards from both fans and creators alike, flabbergasted at the naiveté of the Eisner judges and their supposed ignorance of several great new series, let alone the entire 52 relaunch from DC. What were they thinking?! Well as it turns out, they were basing their logic on the Eisner rules that have been handed down since the days of Kamandi. When Awards Administrator Jackie Estrada was asked 'why', her response was this:

"The judges chose to not have the New Series and Painter categories this year because they didn't find enough contenders that reached the level of quality they were looking for," followed later with "but I'm not sure Daredevil would be eligible, since it's a reboot of a long-running title, as were many of the DC 52 titles."

So from what I can understand from this, is that if it's a reboot of a long-running title, it's not going to be eligible. Well, there go all the no-brainers like Animal Man, Swamp Thing, and O.M.A.C.! As luck would have it however, there are still tons of potential nominees for the phantom Best New Series Eisner, and to prove it, I've devised a list of five potential nominees of my own. Eisner judges, you're welcome.

FF, by Jonathan Hickman, Steve Epting, Barry Kitson, and Greg Tocchini (Marvel)

With the death of Johnny Storm in the main Fantastic Four series (spoiler alert), the Richards family & Co. decide to create something new, fueled by the minds of their brilliant students. The Fantastic Four is no more. Welcome to tomorrow. Welcome to the Future Foundation. New costumes, new team members, and new problems to solve on a cosmic scale, writer Jonathan Hickman continues to dazzle us as he grows the seeds of imagination he planted back in the main series. One of the great things about this new series is you don't need to go back and reread Hickman's run on the Fantastic Four in order to understand what's going on (although I highly recommend you do, for it's some really great stuff). Enough is explained for you to feel fluent as you read these new adventures, starring some familiar faces, both good and evil.

Restoring Doctor Doom's damaged brain, how to defeat the Council of Reeds, and the return of Blackbolt are just a few of the problems the Future Foundation are faced with in this series, doing their best to figure out what's the best way in going about and solving them. With a rotating roster of talented artists, it's absolute eye-candy every issue when switching between Steve Epting, Barry Kitson, and Greg Tocchini. Different yet familiar from the Fantastic Four, it was nice to see a change of pace with this new series, and really let Hickman share his fantastic new ideas with us.

Super Dinosaur, by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard (Image/Skybound)

Talking dinosaurs? Check. Robotic dinosaur battle harnesses? Check. Non-stop action and explosions featuring talking dinosaurs? Triple check. This without a doubt is the best all-ages comic you can present to anyone, and they'll enjoy some aspect of it. Had you shown me this comic when I was young, I would have forked-over all my allowance for the next decade, just to have a piece of this epic series. It has such potential to spin-off into cartoons, action figures, and movies, and become extremely successful in capturing that sought-after preteen demographic. Ben 10, watch your back. Children around the world would eat this stuff up! Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard do a tremendous job creating a world filled with battling Dino-Men and the ingenious inclusion of an inner-Earth, where the special mineral Dynore can be found. One of the things I enjoy most about this series are the characters and their awesome names; Terrordactyl, Breakeosaurus, Dreadasaurus, Tricerachops, Max Maximus, Doctor Dexter Dynamo, the list goes on! Kirkman is always good with clever names, as proven in the pages of Invincible. You almost can't believe no one else had thought of them first.

It's also great to see Kirkman and Howard back to creating comics together, because their previous labor of love The Astounding Wolf-Man died too young, in my opinion. You just know Howard is having a blast on art duty, because some of the designs of both dinosaurs and different incarnations of Super Dinosaur's battle armor are just completely insane! He's like Tony Stark, but a T-Rex! It's like your inner eight-year-old comes alive when reading this incredible series, and yet you won't be ashamed to read this out in public (nor should you feel that way reading any comic out in public (except Holy Terror!)). Come one, come all, and enjoy this new series with pride.

Orchid, by Tom Morello and Scott Hepburn (Dark Horse)

"When the seas rose, genetic codes were smashed. Human settlements are ringed by a dense wilderness from which ferocious new animal species prey on the helpless. The high ground belongs to the rich and powerful that overlook swampland shantytowns from their fortress-like cities. Iron-fisted rule ensures order and allows the wealthy to harvest the poor as slaves. Welcome to the world of Orchid."

It appears that Dark Horse is the best publisher to pitch your comic to if you're a musician looking to break into the comics industry with a bang. Before Tom Morello's radical new series debuted, it was Gerard Way with The Umbrella Academy that was making fans suddenly go ga-ga, proving that not ever musician / comics writer was a Rob Zombie or a Gene Simmons. Morello has created a wondrous post-apocalyptic world, filled with hybrid monstrosities and extremely rich with history. The story revolves around a young prostitute by the name of Orchid and her journey through the wilderness with a young Shadow Rebel, as she tries to keep her younger brother safe from harm. The trio escapes slavers, battle twisted creatures in the wilderness, and evade the sinister forces of the dictator Tomo Wolfe.

The first issue alone had me hooked, and I was intrigued by its freshness and originality in all of 32 pages. The mystery around the mask of General China truly fascinated me, and the rules Morello lays down regarding its mystical properties are very well thought out. Scott Hepburn just kills it on art duties, and everything from the wasteland setting to the action scenes truly captivates you. The series is still going strong, and is a MUST READ for me every month it comes out.

Wolverine & The X-Men, by Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo (Marvel)

Another X-Men book? That's right, but this time the major selling point is that it's an accessible X-Men book, for both longtime readers and new ones! For too long the X-Men books have been too dark, too serious, and rather confusing to keep track of. How many different series are out right now, fifteen? That's almost the same number of Avengers titles when I last checked. However, before wishing to pull a Scarlet Witch and utter "No more X-Men titles," Jason Aaron comes riding in on his black bearded stallion and proclaimed "Let the good times roll!"

With the aftermath of X-Men: Schism, Logan and Scott have parted ways, with Scott remaining on Utopia and Logan returning to the old X-Men stomping grounds on the East Coast to open up a new school, The Jean Grey School For Higher Learning. Residing as headmaster, the challenges for Logan to open up and maintain a new school for mutants seems almost too impossible to achieve. With the entire school going through a site inspection, the newly reformed Hellfire Club trying to kill the students, and Krakoa trying to kill them all in just the first half of the day, Logan and his staff would much rather be fighting Marauders in the sewers than acting as respected educators. Aaron keeps both the action and humor flowing steady as we're simultaneously introduced to the new students, villains, and problems for the new school. Not only is the writing great, but Chris Bachalo on art was a fantastic pairing for the light-hearted tone of the book. I can't remember the last time I was so excited for an X-Men title, but this is definitely the new series to pick-up every month if you want fun, mutants, and gorgeous art.

Witch Doctor, by Brandon Seifert and Lukas Ketner (Image/Skybound)

When things go 'bump' in the night, there's probably a scientific, rational explanation for that. That's the mindset you'll leave with after reading the new series Witch Doctor from Image. The protagonist Dr. Vincent Morrow is like a lovable mash-up of The Doctor and House, with a touch of Lovecraft thrown in for good measure, as his assistants Penny Dreadful and Eric Gast do their best to keep him on track with the weirdness surrounding them all in this…very odd world. The creators Brandon Seifert and Lukas Ketner do an astounding job creating this whimsical environment, and debunking supposed witchcraft and hocus pocus with some good old-fashion medical explanations. Something wrong with your baby? Naw, it's just a cuckoo faerie. Vampire problem? Nope, just the common Vamprey eel. Afflictions your regular HMO won't cover.

While each issue solves a different case, slowly but surely you start to see the bigger picture. Each case is connected to the last in some form or another, but when the questions keep piling-up, Dr. Morrow is studiously looking for the practical answers. The humor is rampant, the situations are hair-raising (and sometimes disgusting), and the art is spectacular. Ketner's style is reminiscent of those old Creepy comics, giving the dark and twisted vibes from the horror comics of old. It fits the narrative perfectly, and makes it that much more entertaining. "You two want to challenge my authority? Be my guest. But do it right. You two were elected by a majority vote of the membership at large. I was elected by something better. The #%$&ing universe."

Okay, so now for the hypothetical; of the five that I nominated, who could have won? I believe Orchid could have won the phantom Best New Series Eisner, hands-down. Not enough contenders that reached the level of quality they were looking for? Yeah, right. Pull the other one!

Who do you think should have won/been nominated?

Cameron Hatheway is the host of Cammy's Comic Corner, a weekly audio podcast. You can do some balls-nasty cybering with him on Twitter @CamComicCorner.

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