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Posted on Jan 02, 2005 - 11:32 PM by Admin |
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Not nearly as exciting as the Emmys! Not as glamorous as a Grammy! Not as marvelous as Marvel’s No Prize! Not as in demand as DC’s Baldies! It’s The Comic Fanatic.Com’s end of the year awards, showcasing the best - and some of the worst - of 2004! It’s the Third Annual The Comic Fanatic.Com Fannys!
Before we get to this year’s awards, a note about this year’s voting process. This year, The Comic Fanatic.Com’s Fannys were decided by the moderators on The Comic Fanatic.Com Forum. Big thanks go out to Glenn Blanza, Katrina French, Steve Hiatt, Ed Worrell, Dave Holwill, Mark Pressley and Jeff Hall. These Comic Fanatics - along with yours truly - decided this year’s winners and losers. So, feel free to spread the blame around equally and discuss the results over on The Comic Fanatic.Com Forum!
Ongoing Series Of 2004:
Superman/Batman (DC) - This was a tough category to call. In fact, we had to go to a runoff round of voting to decide this one. But in the end, the votes went the way of the Jeph Loeb written Superman/Batman.
Throughout 2004, this series brought many Hollywood blockbuster-like moments to the DC Universe and was often referred to as the best Superman and/or Batman ongoing series. Loeb’s impressive and exciting writing was complimented by some of the industry’s biggest artist. As the year began, Ed McGuinness was aboard to wrap up this series’ first storyline, followed by Pat Lee for a stand alone issue, superstar artist Michael Turner on the “Supergirl From Krypton” storyline and as the year drew to a close, Carlos Pacheco came aboard to kick off an alternate reality tale involving the Freedom Fighters.
As impressive as Superman/Batman always looked in 2004, the stories were equally impressive. One of the most talked about stories of the year was “Supergirl From Krypton”, in which Loeb brought back Superman’s cousin to the DC Universe, at the cost of the life of Harbinger. And, although it has been delayed for awhile, the final storyline of the year - which continues over into the new year - sets the stage for what should be another blockbuster tale that could make this series the Best Ongoing Series Of 2005!
Runners-Up:
Y: The Last Man (DC/Vertigo)
Amazing Spider-Man (Marvel)
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Miniseries Of 2004:
Identity Crisis (DC) - Was there really any question about this one? This is the miniseries that had the industry and other media buzzing for 7 months - and even now! Not since the days of Crisis On Infinite Earths had DC shaken things up like this! And, even after the conclusion of this miniseries, it appears the repercussions of Identity Crisis will be felt in the DC Universe for much of 2005!
Writer Brad Meltzer and artist Rags Morales began things with a murder mystery as Sue Dibny - the wife of the Elongated Man - was killed by a mystery assailant. This murder led the heroes of the DC Universe in search of the mystery super villain…and led to the original Justice League members revisiting the darkest secret in the DC Universe!
It seems that years earlier - with the help of Zatanna - the Justice League had taken it upon themselves to mindwipe villains who had learned their secrets. Later, we discovered that this mindwipe fun wasn’t restricted to villains, as Batman received one, too! And that was only the tip of the shockers iceberg!
In the course of the miniseries, one of the DC fan favorites was also murdered - Firestorm, and Robin‘s dad and the Flash’s rogue Captain Boomerang were also killed! However, nothing shocked Comic Fanatics more than the revelation of the Identity Crisis killer, a topic that is still being hotly debated. The killer wasn’t a super villain, at all! The killer wasn’t a superhero! In fact, the killer wasn’t even super-powered…just a craftier than usual, “normal” person with close ties to one of the Justice League!
Runner-Up:
Superman: Secret Identity (DC)
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Single Issue Of 2004:
Identity Crisis #6 (DC) - This was the comic book that turned Comic Fanatics upside down and left them shocked and slack-jawed…at least until Identity Crisis #7 hit the shelves! In this issue, Batman and the JSA both make a shocking discovery about the death of Sue Dibny. It seems that Sue died as a result of someone taking a microscopic walk through her brain! When miniscule footprints are found in Sue’s brain, all signs pointed to one DC character as the murderer - the Atom, Ray Palmer! However, when Identity Crisis #7 arrived, we realized just how wrong this assumption was as writer Brad Meltzer threw us an unbelievable curve!
Runners-Up:
Identity Crisis #1 (DC)
Thor #85 (Marvel)
Astonishing X-Men #4 (Marvel)
Identity Crisis #3 (DC)
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Event Of 2004:
Identity Crisis (DC) - Are you surprised? Comic Fanatics began talking about this one as soon as word leaked out about it. Speculation could never prepare us for what Brad Meltzer had in store for us when Identity Crisis #1 hit the shelves. Once Sue Dibny was murdered, speculation ran rampant as to who did it and who would be next!
DC didn’t go nuts with crossovers and tie-ins like previous events, but the ones they did release delivered the goods! Comic Fanatics learned a shocking secret about Barry Allen in The Flash, while writer Marc Andreyko tied in his new Manhunter to some of the important events in Identity Crisis.
As for lasting impressions, Comic Fanatics will never look at the original Justice League the same again, and will constantly be wondering what Batman will do if he discovers what happened to him at the hands of his trusted allies. And this event was so big and important that it is apparently serving as the lead in to some big events and more tie-ins in 2005. Identity Crisis is one event that won’t soon be forgotten!
Runner-Up:
Avengers Disassembled (Marvel)
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Writer Of 2004:
Tie - Brian Michael Bendis and Geoff Johns - For the first time since we started doing these Fannys awards, we have a tie. Even after a series of runoff voting, we still ended up tied for Writer Of 2004! And it’s hard to argue with the results!
It seems that Bendis writes everything when it comes to Marvel. In 2004, Bendis was the powerhouse responsible for the superb Daredevil for Marvel Knights, Ultimate Spider-Man, the kickoff of Ultimate Fantastic Four, Secret War and more! Bendis also saw his creator owned Powers move to the new Marvel Icon line, earning the excellent book even more attention. However, it was Bendis’ brief stint on Marvel’s Avengers that seemed to earn this talented scribe the most attention. Love it or hate it, you have to admit that Bendis’ time on Avengers earned the book its most attention and notoriety in decades. With Bendis’ new series, New Avengers, along with his other regular gigs and upcoming projects, you can’t help but think this guy has the inside track for Writer Of 2005!
Our choice for Writer Of 2003, Johns was the go to guy in 2004 for DC. From tenures on JSA, Hawkman, The Flash and Teen Titans, Johns cemented himself as THE superhero writer. Johns has a knack of taking well-known characters, adding incredible depth to them, fleshing out those characters, revitalizing them and making them exciting for both longtime and new readers. And Johns does so with a great respect for continuity and what has come before. Johns is clearly a Comic Fanatic himself, and it shows in everything he writes. During the last few months of 2004, Johns has showed this incredible writing skill like never before with the Green Lantern: Rebirth miniseries. With this miniseries wrapping up in 2005 and Johns slated to write a new ongoing Green Lantern series, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Johns take the title of Writer Of 2005!
Runners-Up:
Brad Meltzer
Brian K. Vaughan
Jeph Loeb
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Artist Of 2004:
Tie - John Cassaday and Jim Lee - Here we have another tie! Even after a round of runoff voting, the mods of The Comic Fanatic.Com Forum still remained knotted on these two superstar artists!
Cassaday “astonished” Comic Fanatics in 2004 with his work on Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men. Cassaday brought Whedon’s incredible stories to life with some bigger than life, Hollywood blockbuster scenes and by illustrating the returned-to-their-costumes X-Men like no other artist! Cyclops no longer looked like a dork in his full head gear, and Cassaday returned Wolverine to a yellow costume that closely resembled his first getup. And somehow, Cassaday defied gravity with a more believable costume for Emma Frost.
In addition to the costumes, Cassaday brought these characters to life with tons of believable emotion. Kitty Pryde was back and cuter than ever. And when Kitty was reunited with the back-from-the-dead Colossus, it was such an emotion-packed scene that X-fans couldn’t help but be a little misty-eyed!
As for Lee, say hello to our very first three-peat winner! Since the inception of The Comic Fanatic.Com’s Fannys, this is the artist who has ruled the roost…even if he has to share it this year!
In 2004, Lee followed up his impressive stint on Batman with a run on Superman. While the stories often left fans disappointed, Lee’s art always seemed to please! Lee illustrated Superman as the larger than life icon he is, and made Big Blue look better than ever! And Superman’s battle with Wonder Woman still has Comic Fanatics talking!
I know this sounds familiar, but when it comes to this prediction, I have been right on the money! With the announcement that Lee will be the artist for DC’s new All Star Batman and Robin in 2005, this artist stands a great chance of becoming The Comic Fanatic.Com’s first four-peat winner!
Runners-Up:
John Romita, Jr.
Michael Turner
Mike Deodato, Jr.
Rags Morales
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Superhero Of 2004:
Spider-Man - 2004 was the year of the Spider! With Spider-Man setting all kinds of records with Spider-Man 2, both in theaters and now on DVD and VHS, a horde of new action figures and a new videogame, Spidey was at the forefront of Comic Fanatics’ - and many others’ - attentions like never before! And comics weren’t any exception!
Marvel launched the new Marvel Knights Spider-Man series written by Mark Millar with art by Terry and Rachel Dodson, and fill in artist Frank Cho. For the best part of 2004 in this series, Peter Parker has been in search of Aunt May, who was kidnapped by a super villain who discovered Spider-Man’s true identity! As 2004 wound down, we learned who the mystery villain was…and learned the mastermind behind it all!
In the pages of Amazing Spider-Man, writer J. Michael Straczynski shook up continuity and shocked Spider-fans worldwide with a revelation that the innocent girl next door wasn’t quite so innocent after all! We learned that before her death, Gwen Stacy gave birth to twins! Even more shocking was the revelation of the twins’ father! Never again will Peter - or Comic Fanatics - look at Gwen Stacy the same!
Speaking of Gwen, Peter’s gal pal met her untimely demise in the pages of Ultimate Spider-Man. Writer Brian Michael Bendis pulled one of the biggest swerves of 2004 by killing off the Ultimate Gwen Stacy - not at the hands of the Green Goblin, but rather at the hands of the new Ultimate Carnage!
And let’s not forget the controversial move in the pages of Spectacular Spider-Man. Thanks to events of an “Avengers Disassembled” tie-in, the comic book Spider-Man has now joined his movie counterpart with “organic webshooters”! Love it or hate it, this Spider-Man change stunned Comic Fanatics and is still the source of many heated debates!
As 2004 drew to a close, Spider-Man found himself in the pages of New Avengers. With a membership on this team and a move for Peter and his family into the new Avengers Tower in 2005, Spider-Man is poised to stand at the top of the heap when it comes time to decide Superhero Of 2005!
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Superheroine Of 2004:
She-Hulk (Marvel) - Although the sales numbers might not reflect it, writer Dan Slott’s new She-Hulk series set Comicdom on fire and had the critics talking in 2004! One of the most critically acclaimed comics of the year, She-Hulk surprised Comic Fanatics by combining tons of humor with tons of superhero fun, and more than a few surprise cameos.
Readers of Slott’s DC miniseries Arkham Asylum: Living Hell were taken aback by this writer’s take on She-Hulk. While the Arkham Asylum miniseries was one of the darkest comics to ever hit a spinner rack, She-Hulk was one of the brightest! Not since the days of John Byrne’s She-Hulk had this character been so enjoyable…and many Comic Fanatics - including this one - would say that Slott’s She-Hulk bypassed the original by leaps and bounds!
And when She-Hulk wasn’t entertaining the masses in the pages of her own book, she was going berserk in the pages of Avengers! It was She-Hulk who ended the “life” of everyone’s favorite android, the Vision, by ripping him in half!
Marvel has plans to relaunch She-Hulk with a new number one issue and the same twisted genius of Slott at the helm in 2005! Wanna guess who I’m writing in as an early favorite for Superheroine Of 2005?!
Runners-Up:
Batgirl (DC)
Oracle (DC)
Rogue (Marvel)
Kitty Pryde (Marvel)
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Superteam Of 2004:
Tie - Astonishing X-Men (Marvel) and Teen Titans (DC) - Here we have our third tie. Even after a round of runoff voting, we still ended up tied when it came to the premier X-team in the Marvel Universe and the teen sensations of the DC Universe.
Marvel’s Astonishing X-Men - for lack of a better word - astonished Comic Fanatics from the get go! At first, Comic Fanatics were apprehensive about this TV writer named Joss Whedon making the transition to comics. However, in the matter of one issue, we discovered that Whedon got it! Whedon got the X-Men - each and every single character!
Whedon was obviously a fan of the X-Men, and it showed in how he wrote the team. With snappy dialogue and true characterizations, Astonishing X-Men soon became THE X-book, and Comic Fanatics couldn’t get enough of this team that consisted of Cyclops, Emma Frost, Wolverine, Kitty Pryde, Beast and now, Colossus.
As for the Teen Titans, writer Geoff Johns continued to work his magic on this team throughout the year. With a combination of older Titans and former Young Justice members, this team quickly molded into a family, and Comic Fanatics couldn’t help but care for them.
In 2004, the Titans were reunited with Raven and watched their former friend Rose become her father Deathstroke’s new insane partner, the Ravager! 2004 also saw the return of an old foe in a new form, as the Titans came face to face with a new teenaged Brother Blood. And the former Impulse showed maturity by taking on the mantle of Kid Flash. The Teen Titans even played an important part in kicking off the new Legion Of Superheroes series! And as 2004 drew to a close, writer Geoff Johns sent the Teen Titans into the future, where they have met darker, adult versions of themselves.
Runner-Up:
Avengers (Marvel)
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Super-Villain Of 2004:
Jean Loring (DC) - Some Comic Fanatics may be looking at that name and asking “WHO?!” Surprisingly, our Super-Villain Of 2004 isn’t a real super-villain at all, wears no costume and isn’t even super-powered! This villain? The ex-wife of Ray Palmer, the Atom!
Now before you start dusting off ex-wife jokes, Jean Loring earns this honor because she was the Identity Crisis killer. So what if Jean accidentally killed Sue Dibny! Jean earns this honor for confounding Comic Fanatics for nearly 7 months, and more importantly, outsmarting the likes of the JLA, the JSA and the greatest detective in the DC Universe, Batman!
Jean’s actions shook up the DC Universe for good, as she not only changed how heroes will look at their secret identities from now on, but also how the heroes will look at each other after Sue’s murder brought out the Justice League’s darkest secret. Jean showed Comic Fanatics in 2004 the true power of a woman scorned…and with her locked up in Arkham Asylum, she has time to brood and is always just a breakout away from returning and turning the lives of the DC heroes upside down again with her knowledge!
Runners-Up:
Scarlet Witch (Marvel)
Deathstroke (DC)
The Spoiler (DC)
Medousa (DC)
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Disappointment Of 2004:
Avengers Disassembled (Marvel) - One of Marvel’s most hyped events of 2004 was also one of its most controversial. Writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist David Finch came aboard the long running Avengers series for a simple reason - to disassemble the team in order to create a new one. Many newcomers loved the results, while many longtime Avengers fans are still grimacing.
Bendis shocked and angered Avengers fans almost immediately by killing Scott Lang, Ant-Man. The death toll soon included the likes of the Vision and - much to the chagrin of many Avengers fans - Clint Barton, Hawkeye! Avengers fans were further angered by the revelation of the storyline’s villain - the Scarlet Witch, who had apparently been insane for decades!
Complaints ranged from unnecessary deaths intended for shock value only to a two issue storyline that was stretched out over four issue of a lot of dialogue and little action. Some Avengers fans complained that the identity of the true villain was tipped off from the beginning with the title “Chaos”. And the ending left more than a few Avengers fans disappointed.
One of the biggest complaints involved Marvel’s tie-ins to “Avengers Disassembled”. Numerous books proudly carried the “Avengers Disassembled” logo on their covers, but few - if any - really had anything to do with the story. The Fantastic Four and Captain America got away with being called “Avengers Disassembled” tie-ins by simply mentioning the Avengers were having trouble. Many Avengers fans hoping to get the complete story ended up buying these non-tie-in tie-ins and were left wondering what in the heck the books had to do with the overall storyline.
Runners-Up:
Wolverine: The End (Marvel)
Wolverine/Punisher (Marvel)
Invaders (Marvel)
Wolverine/pre-issue #20 (Marvel)
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Most Improved Book Of 2004:
Wolverine (Marvel) - When writer Mark Millar and artist John Romita, Jr. came aboard this title, Comic Fanatics welcomed them with open arms and open wallets! Millar and Romita’s first issue became an almost instant sellout and the variant cover became one of the most sought after books of the fall!
Millar returned Wolverine to his superhero roots, doing away with real world problems and villains that showed up through much of this volume’s earlier issues. Back in costume, Wolverine was off on an epic storyline that found him dead, then resurrected and brainwashed as assassin for Hydra! Wolverine’s new mission? To kill some of the Marvel Universe’s superheroes so they too can become members of Hydra!
With Wolverine still under Hydra’s control as 2004 wrapped up and dozens of Marvel superheroes still in his sites - including his own X-Men teammates, one of whom is slated to die in this storyline - Wolverine’s solo title looks like it will only be getting better in 2005!
Runners-Up:
Aquaman (DC)
Adventures Of Superman (DC)
Thor (Marvel)
Fantastic Four (Marvel)
Batman (DC)
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Best New Series Of 2004:
Astonishing X-Men (Marvel) - How many good things can we say about this series?! We’ve already covered how well writer Joss Whedon handles the characters. We’ve already talked about the amazing art of our Co-Artist Of 2004, John Cassaday. And we’ve already established this team as one of our two Superteams Of 2004. Add those factors together and take a look at the sales numbers, and it should come as no surprise that Astonishing X-Men is our choice for Best New Series Of 2004! And I have a good feeling that we will be mentioning this team and book more before the 2004 Fannys are all said and done!
Runner-Up:
Conan (Dark Horse)
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Horror Comic Of 2004:
The Walking Dead (Image) - This one was almost a runaway decision! Writer Robert Kirkman’s tale of zombies and survival in a world overrun by the flesh eaters is one of the most captivating comics on the shelves today. Voted our Most Promising New Comic Of 2003, The Walking Dead lived up to that expectation and more in 2004!
Kirkman’s The Walking Dead is much more than just a zombie book. This is first and foremost a book about survival. Imagine if you will the movie “Night Of The Living Dead”, but without an ending! After 90 minutes, this movie just keeps on going! And Kirkman writes the living characters in this title so well, the reader cares immensely for them. This allows Kirkman to drop an unexpected shocker on the reader at any time, and it carries an enormous amount of emotional punch - making each story stick with the reader for a long time to come!
Even with an art change from the detailed and gory stylings of Tony Moore to artist Charlie Adlard, The Walking Dead never missed a beat in 2004. With each new issue, sales continued to climb and the critics continued to rave. Pretty impressive for a black and white, non-superhero comic!
Runners-Up:
Jack The Lantern (Castle Rain Entertainment)
30 Days Of Night: Return To Barrow (IDW Publishing)
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Indy Book Of 2004:
Dorothy (Illusive Productions) - This is one that took many of us Comic Fanatics by complete surprise in 2004! Thanks to a tip on The Comic Fanatic.Com Forum, I was made aware of a unique new book that took an even more unique spin on the classic Wizard Of Oz tale. Little did I suspect at the time just how good this book would be!
Writer Mark Masterson and artist/visionary Greg Mannino have created a project that truly reads like a movie put to paper in more ways than one. Using real photographs and computer generated images, Dorothy looks like the big screen blockbuster it very well could be. Sharp dialogue and incredible insight to the troubled Dorothy will leave the reader coming back for more of this story, which doesn’t play out exactly like the Wizard Of Oz you know!
Nearly stealing the show - and really making this book a page turner - is actress/model Catie Fisher, the beauty who plays the role of Dorothy. Fisher’s Dorothy is by no means the Judy Garland Dorothy! This Dorothy is a multi-pierced gal with multi-colored hair and loads of attitude and personality.
If you weren’t able to lay your hands on this book in 2004 - since it was available mainly through the Dorothy Of Oz website - the good news is that this book has been picked up by Diamond, and the first two issues will be re-released through Diamond, including the first issue which was scheduled to be released on January 5, 2005.
Runners-Up:
Fade From Grace (Beckett Comics)
Bone (Cartoon Books)
The Gift (Overcast - now picked up by Image)
Invincible (Image)
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All Ages Book Of 2004:
Abadazad (CrossGen) - In the midst of CrossGen’s chaos, this little gem shined through! Written by the great J.M. DeMatteis and illustrated by the legendary Mike Ploog, Abadazad was unlike anything CrossGen had ever released before…and unlike anything else on the shelves in 2004!
Abadazad told the story of a magical land that a cynical fourteen year old named Kate has known through a series of fantasy novels written a century ago by Franklin O. Barrie. But when Kate suddenly finds herself journeying through the real Abadazad in search of her younger brother Matt, who disappeared five years earlier, she discovers that the truth of Abadazad is far stranger, and more amazing, than fiction.
Thanks to the collapse of CrossGen, only three issues of this promising series saw the light of day. But what an impression those issues left! Critics and Comic Fanatics alike loved Abadazad, and this reviewer was proud to be quoted as saying that Abadazad should be considered a modern classic!
The good news? As 2004 drew to a close, it was announced that Disney’s Hyperion Books had acquired the CrossGen assets, including Abadazad. DeMatteis confirmed this for The Comic Fanatic.Com, and announced that new Abadazad books would see the light of day in the spring of 2006!
Runners-Up:
Marvel Age Spider-Man (Marvel)
Marvel Age Spider-Man Team-Up (Marvel)
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Surprise Of 2004:
The Ballad Of Sleeping Beauty (Beckett Comics) - This one really caught Comic Fanatics off guard in 2004! When Comic Fanatics went to their favorite comic book stores for Free Comic Book Day 2004, no one expected to find the entire first issue of such an excellent comic book absolutely free! And with little publicity beforehand, no one had any idea of what to expect with this book!
I admit that I almost passed this one up, based on the title alone. The wife grabbed it for one of my son’s young gal friends, thinking it was about THE Sleeping Beauty. As the responsible parent and adult, I flipped through each comic before handing them off to younger readers, only to discover that this wasn’t a book about THAT Sleeping Beauty! The Ballad Of Sleeping Beauty was so much more!
Writer Gabriel Benson, artist Mike Hawthorne and cover artist Jeff Amano had created a big screen quality western that was more than just a simple western. This western combined elements of a mystical, supernatural story with elements of a good ole fashioned mystery, all the while brimming over with cover to cover action!
And a free first issue wasn’t the end of the surprises when it came to this series. Produced on the highest quality paper and looker sharper than most comics on the shelves today, subsequent issues of The Ballad Of Sleeping Beauty were only $1.99 each…a bargain at three times the price!
Runners-Up:
Loki (Marvel)
Manhunter (DC)
District X (Marvel)
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Most Shocking Moment Of 2004:
Gwen Stacy’s twins (Marvel‘s Amazing Spider-Man #509 - #514) - In the “Sins Past” storyline, Marvel had promised to shake things up for Spider-Man. They couldn’t have been more right!
Writer J. Michael Straczynski turned Spider-fans’ worlds upside down with the shocking revelation that before her death, the innocent girl next door - Gwen Stacy - gave birth to twins! However, the biggest shocker of all was the identity of the twins’ father! Not Peter Parker! The twins’ father? Norman Osborn, a.k.a. the Green Goblin!
Peter discovered that these twins had Osborn’s Goblin serum in their blood, accelerating their aging. When the twins came to kill the man they believed murdered their mother, Peter was able to convince Sarah otherwise, while Gabe headed off to embrace his father’s planned destiny as a new Green Goblin!
After the smoke cleared, Comic Fanatics were left looking at Gwen Stacy in a different, less favorable light. And many Comic Fanatics are still having a hard time swallowing the fact that Gwen would show Norman Osborn any affection, much less allow him to father her children…
Runners-Up:
Footprints in Sue Dibny’s brain (DC’s Identity Crisis #6)
Nightwing allowing Tarantula to kill Blockbuster (DC’s Nightwing #93)
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Best Moment Of 2004:
The return of Colossus (Marvel’s Astonishing X-Men #4) - X-fans were saddened when Peter Rasputin gave his life to end the Legacy Virus back in Uncanny X-Men #390. But Colossus’ death meant something, so we Comic Fanatics could always take solace in that. So, it came as a HUGE surprise when writer Joss Whedon brought back Colossus within the pages of Astonishing X-Men!
Marvel - with the help of a little teaser art by John Cassaday - purposely misled Comic Fanatics by making everyone believe that Jean Grey would be returning, rather than Colossus. It ended up being one of Marvel’s best kept secrets in years and one of the biggest surprises for Comic Fanatics…until a few days before the issue hit the stands, the variant cover was leaked to several websites.
Despite the early leak, Whedon brought back Colossus with all the dignity the armored X-Man left the Marvel Universe with. And it was only appropriate that the one character who found Peter was his longtime love, Kitty Pryde. Not only was this the Best Moment Of 2004, it was also one of the most heartfelt moments in decades!
Runners-Up:
She-Hulk ripping the Vision in half (Marvel’s Avengers #500)
The return of the Thing (Marvel’s Fantastic Four #511)
Chuck Austen off Marvel’s X-Men with issue #164
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Most Promising Book For 2005:
Green Lantern (DC) - Sure, the Green Lantern series has been cancelled, but unless you have been living under a rock and haven’t been reading Green Lantern: Rebirth, the next Green Lantern series should be the biggest and best of them all!
Writer Geoff Johns has been redefining and bringing back Hal Jordan as Green Lantern in the pages of Rebirth. Along the way, we have seen the return of Green Lanterns like Kilowog, Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner. So far, every issue of Rebirth has been a complete sellout, with the first issue now in a fourth printing! With Johns slated to write the new Green Lantern series that will spin out of this miniseries, do you really need another reason to preorder your copies of Green Lantern #1 as soon as possible?!
Runners-Up:
Astonishing X-Men (Marvel)
New Avengers (Marvel)
Dorothy (Illusive Productions)
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Most Promising Writer For 2005:
Robert Kirkman - Many of us Comic Fanatics have been singing the praises of Robert Kirkman for awhile thanks to his work on Image’s The Walking Dead, Invincible and Brit one-shots. Now that this writer has gone Marvel exclusive, all of Comicdom is seeing what Kirkman is capable of!
While the sales of Jubilee aren’t indicative of what I’m talking about, Marvel’s confidence in Kirkman is. Already, Kirkman is at the helm of the new Marvel Team-Up and has just kicked off a Fantastic Four miniseries called Foes. For those who haven’t been reading Kirkman’s Invincible, you will soon discover that this is your next big superhero writer! Kirkman is clearly a Comic Fanatic and he gets superheroes like few other writers do!
In addition to his Marvel projects, Kirkman will continue to write Invincible and The Walking Dead for Image, further solidifying this writer’s spot as one of the premier scribes in the industry today!
Runner-Up:
Joss Whedon
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Most Promising Artist For 2005:
Steve McNiven - This selection should come as no surprise to CrossGen fans who have seen McNiven’s work before. For Marvel Comic Fanatics who are only now becoming familiar with McNiven’s work thanks to Marvel Knights 4 and his upcoming work on the Ultimate Secret miniseries, you are in for a huge treat in 2005! This is an artist who truly gets better with each new project. And as one of Marvel’s Young Guns, expect big things from McNiven in 2005!
Runners-Up:
Greg Land
Essad Ribic
Clayton Crain
Chris Moreno
Taki Soma
Chris Sprouse
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Character To Watch In 2005:
Hal Jordan (DC) - Comic Fanatics are excited about Hal’s return as Green Lantern! Every issue of Green Lantern: Rebirth has sold out, and Comic Fanatics are chomping at the bit for the new Green Lantern series written by Rebirth writer Geoff Johns! Expect this heat to continue wherever Hal shows up as Green Lantern - in the pages of JLA or anywhere else in the DC Universe!
Runners-Up:
Spider-Woman (Marvel)
Batman (DC)
Captain Marvel (DC)
X-23 (Marvel)
The Flash (DC)
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Sorry To See You Go In 2004:
Thor (Marvel) - Forget about the “Avengers Disassembled” tie-in! Writers Michael Avon Oeming and Daniel Berman and artist Andrea Di Vito came aboard this title and turned it into “Thor Disassembled”! No one was safe from Oeming’s wrath as many fan favorite characters were killed off - including Defender Valkyrie - and one of the greatest wars to ever grace a comic book page was waged within this title’s final storyline!
Before the smoke cleared, Thor was blinded, Loki was beheaded and all of Asgard died - yes, including Thor! There is already talk of bringing a Thor series back to the shelves, but nothing will ever be able to compare with the series that Oeming, Berman and Di Vito sent out in style! This one was just too good to ever come to an end…but it did!
Runners-Up:
Thanos (Marvel)
Weapon X (Marvel)
H-E-R-O (DC)
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Character Most In Need Of A Return In 2005:
Ghost Rider (Marvel) - Aside from being my personal favorite character in Comicdom, Ghost Rider seems to strike a chord with many Comic Fanatics! In 2004 while talking with artist Tony Moore, an amazing image of a Moore illustrated Ghost Rider was discovered! This, coupled with some stunning images of a Ben Templesmith illustrated Ghost Rider that made the rounds in 2004, only served to add fuel to the fire in the desire to see the Spirit Of Vengeance back in a Marvel ongoing series. However, the only true appearance in the Marvel Universe of ole Flame Head was an alternate reality version of Zarathos found in recent issues of Marvel’s Exiles. Here’s hoping that with a Ghost Rider movie on the way, 2005 will be the year Ghost Rider rides again!
Runners-Up:
Moon Knight (Marvel)
The “real” Silver Surfer (Marvel)
Howard The Duck (Marvel)
Bone (Cartoon Books)
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Publisher Of 2004:
DC - With events like Identity Crisis, Batman’s “War Games” and Jim Lee’s Superman, DC takes the honor of Publisher Of 2004! DC kept Comic Fanatics talking and guessing with Identity Crisis, surprised us with a new female Robin, shocked us with the death of the Spoiler in “War Games”, awed us with Lee’s artwork on Superman and amazed us with artist Michael Turner’s cover work and art on Superman/Batman. With consistently good stories in books like The Flash, Nightwing, JSA and Teen Titans combined with revitalized titles with new creative teams like Wonder Woman, the Superman books and JLA, and hit Vertigo titles like Y: The Last Man and Fables, DC performed solidly in 2004.
New series like Manhunter, miniseries like Green Lantern: Rebirth, an upcoming sequel to the hit Formerly Known As The Justice League, Identity Crisis fallout, Countdown, a new Crisis event and the new All Star Batman and Robin and All Star Superman series all show unlimited promise going into 2005...and sets DC up as a powerhouse with a huge advantage to three-peat as Publisher Of 2005!
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