Harvey Nominees For 2009 Named

Posted by keithpatrick on Jun 30, 2009 in News

The 2009 Harvey Awards Nominees have been announced with the release of the final ballot, presented by the Executive Committees of the Harvey Awards and the Baltimore Comic-Con. Named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, one of the industry’s most innovative talents, the Harvey Awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art. They will be presented October 10, 2009 in Baltimore, MD, in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con.

Nominations for the Harvey Awards are selected exclusively by creators – those who write, draw, ink, letter, color, design, edit or are otherwise involved in a creative capacity in the comics field. They are the only industry awards both nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals. Professionals who participate will be joining nearly 2,000 other comics professionals in honoring the outstanding comics achievements of 2008. Thank you to all that have already participated by submitting a nomination ballot.

Final ballots are due to the Harvey Awards by Friday, August 28, 2009. Full details for submission of completed ballots can be found on the final ballot. Voting is open to anyone professionally involved in a creative capacity within the comics field. Final ballots are available for download at www.harveyawards.org. Those without Internet access may request that paper ballots be sent to them via mail or fax by calling the Baltimore Comic-Con (410-526-7410) or e-mailing baltimorecomicccon@yahoo.com.

This will be the fourth year for the Harvey Awards in Baltimore, MD. Our Master of Ceremonies this year will be Scott Kurtz (www.pvponline.com). Look for more details soon on how you can attend the Harvey Awards dinner.

This year’s Baltimore Comic-Con will be held October 10-11, 2009. The ceremony and banquet for the 2008 Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, October 10.

Without further delay, the 2008 Harvey Award Nominees:

BEST WRITER

Kyle Baker, NAT TURNER, Abrams books
Ed Brubaker, CAPTAIN AMERICA, Marvel Comics
John Gallagher, BUZZBOY, Sky Dog Comics
Jeff Kinney, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
Grant Morrison, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics

BEST ARTIST

Gabriel Ba, UMBRELLA ACADEMY, Dark Horse Comics
Kyle Baker, NAT TURNER, Abrams Books
Jimmy Gownley, AMELIA RULES, Renaissance Press
Jason Kruse, WORLD OF QUEST, Yen Press
Frank Quitely, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics

BEST CARTOONIST

Lar deSouza, LEAST I COULD DO
John Gallagher, BUZZBOY, Sky Dog Comics
Al Jaffee, TALL TALES, Abrams Books
Jeff Kinney, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
Thom Zahler, LOVE & CAPES, Maerkle Press

BEST LETTERER

Jimmy Gownley, AMELIA RULES, Renaissance Press
Rob Leigh, THE SPIRIT, DC Comics
Doug Sherwood, LOCAL, Oni Press
John Workman, MARVEL 1985, Marvel Comics
Thom Zahler, BUZZBOY, Sky Dog Comics

BEST INKER

Rich Faber, BUZZBOY, Sky Dog Comics
Jamie Grant, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics
Jeff Kinney, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
Mark Morales, THOR, Marvel Comics
Ryan Winn, THE DARKNESS, Image Comics

BEST COLORIST

Frank Cammuso, OTTO’S ORANGE DAY, Raw Junior, LLC
Jamie Grant, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics
Laura Martin, THOR, Marvel Comics
Wil Quintana, THE MICE TEMPLAR, Image Comics
Dave Stewart, UMBRELLA ACADEMY, Dark Horse Comics

BEST COVER ARTIST

Frank Cho, BUZZBOY: SIDEKICKS RULE!#3, Sky Dog Press
James Jean, FABLES, Vertigo Comics
Jay Lynch, MINDSHAFT #23, Mindshaft Publishing
Ken Rocafort, PILOT SEASON: CORE #1, Top Cow
Alex Ross, JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA, DC Comics

BEST NEW SERIES

THE DREAMER, IDW
ECHO, Abstract Studios
HIGH MOON
NIGHT OWLS
SUPERTRON

BEST CONTINUING OR LIMITED SERIES

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics
CAPTAIN AMERICA, Marvel Comics
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
MICE TEMPLAR, Image Comics
UMBRELLA ACADEMY, Dark Horse Comics

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL OR JOURNALISTIC PRESENTATION

DRAW!, edited by Mike Manley, Twomorrows Publishing
HOW TO MAKE WEBCOMICS, Brad Guigar, Dave Kellett,
Scott Kurtz, and Kris Straub, Image Comics
KIRBY: KING OF COMICS, Mark Evanier, Abrams Books
SCORCHY SMITH AND THE ART OF NOEL SICKLES,
edited by Dean Mullaney, IDW
WORDLESS BOOKS: THE ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVELS,
edited by David A. Berona, Abrams Books

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

BEST ANTHOLOGY

COMIC BOOK TATTOO, edited by Rantz Hoseley, Image Comics
FLIGHT VOLUME 5, edited by Kazu Kibuishi, Villard
MOME VOLUME 10, edited by Eric Reynolds, Fantagraphics Books
PIXU #1, edited by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon, Self-Published
POPGUN VOLUME 2, edited by Joe Keatinge and Mark Andrew Smith,
Image Comics

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM – ORIGINAL

BOTTOMLESS BELLY BUTTON, Fantagraphics Books
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES, Amulet Books
ESSEX COUNTY: THE COUNTRY NURSE, Top Shelf
SKIM, Groundwood Books
TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN, Top Shelf
WORLD OF QUEST: VOL. 2, Yen Press

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM – PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED

AMELIA RULES!: FUNNY STORIES, Renaissance Press
M, Abrams Books
NAT TURNER, Abrams Books
THE MICE TEMPLAR: VOL. 1, Image Comics
QUEEN AND COUNTRY: VOLUME 3, Oni Press
SKYSCRAPERS OF THE MIDWEST (HARDCOVER), Adhouse Books

BEST SINGLE ISSUE OR STORY

ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY #19, Self-Published
FIRST BORN: AFTERMATH #1, Top Cow
LOVE AND ROCKETS, VOL. 3 #1, Fantagraphics Books
M, Abrams Books
NASCAR HEROES #5, NASCAR Comics
NAT TURNER, Abrams Books
THE AMAZING REMARKABLE MONSIEUR LEOTARD, First Second
Y: THE LAST MAN #60, Vertigo Comics

BEST DOMESTIC REPRINT PROJECT

ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS, IDW
COMPLETE PEANUTS, Fantagraphics Books
COMPLETE TERRY AND THE PIRATES, IDW
SCORCHY SMITH AND THE ART OF NOEL SICKLES, IDW
WACKY PACKAGES, Abrams Books

BEST AMERICAN EDITION OF FOREIGN MATERIAL

GUS AND HIS GANG, First Second
POCKET FULL OF RAIN, Fantagraphics Books
RED COLORED ELEGY, Drawn and Quarterly
SOLANIN, Viz
WITCHBLADE TAKERU MANGA #’s 11 & 12, Top Cow

BEST ON-LINE COMICS WORK

BLACK CHERRY BOMBSHELLS, Tony Trovarello and
John Zito, www.zudacomics.com
HIGH MOON, Scott O. Brown, www.zudacomics.com
LEAST I COULD DO, Lar deSouza and Ryan Sohmer, www.leasticoulddo.com
NIGHT OWLS, Bobby & Peter Timony, www.zudacomics.com
PVP, Scott Kurtz, www.pvponline.com

SPECIAL AWARD FOR HUMOR IN COMICS

Lar deSouza, LEAST I COULD DO, www.leasticoulddo.com
John Gallagher, BUZZBOY, Sky Dog Comics
Al Jaffee, TALL TALES, Abrams Books
Jeff Kinney, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
David Malki, WONDERMARK, www.wondermark.com

SPECIAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRESENTATION

COMPLETE LOCAL: HARDCOVER EDITION, Ryan Kelly and
Brian Wood, Oni Press
KIRBY: KING OF COMICS, Mark Evanier, Abrams Books
QUEEN AND COUNTRY: VOLUME 3, Greg Rucka, Mike Norton,
Steve Rolston, and Chris Samnee, Oni Press
TALL TALES, Al Jaffee, Abrams Books
WONDERMARK, VOL. 1: BEARDS OF OUR FOREFATHERS,
David Malki, Dark Horse Comics

BEST NEW TALENT

Matt Cassan, NASCAR: HEROES, nascar comics
Bryan J.L. Glass, THE MICE TEMPLAR, image books
Laura Innes, THE DREAMER, Idw
Tim Sievert, THAT SALTY AIR, top shelf
Bobby Timony, NIGHT OWLS, www.zudacomics.com

Congratulations to all the nominees! If you know a nominee, please pass on the good news!

Weekend Boxoffice Chart

Posted by keithpatrick on Jun 29, 2009 in Movies, News

No so much a surprise that Transformers took the top spot, let’s see how long it can hang on.

Weekend Boxoffice Chart for the weekend of June 26th to June 28th.

1.Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen $112.0/$201.2
2.The Proposal $18.4/$69.0
3.The Hangover $17.2/$183.2
4.Up $13.0/$250.2
5.My Sister’s Keeper $12.0/$12.0
6.Year One $5.8/$32.2
7.The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 $5.4/$53.4
8.Star Trek $3.6/$246.2
9.Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian $3.5/$163.2
10.Away We Go $1.6/$4.0
11.Land of the Lost $1.1/$46.7
12.Terminator Salvation $1.0/$121.9

Gareb Shamus Buys Toronto Comicon

Posted by keithpatrick on Jun 26, 2009 in Conventions, News

Not so much news, but if this is ‘your’ show it’s huge news.

Press Release

Gareb Shamus, CEO of New York based Wizard Entertainment, announces today that he has purchased the Toronto Comicon, a show that has been consistently awarded The Best International Comic Book Convention (non-USA) by ComicBookConventions.com, for the last 5 years.

“We’ve always had a strong following in Canada, so buying the Toronto Comicon is something that allows me to give back to our fans. These attendees are known to be serious collectors and comic industry followers,” said Shamus. “I am thrilled to offer the guests, celebrities, artists, dealers and exhibitors to our Canadian audience for the very first time.”

Peter Dixon, owner of Paradise Conventions and former owner of the Toronto Comicon, will still be intimately involved in the show production, his friendly manner ensuring the continuation of the trademarked relaxed atmosphere of the show.

“Wizard brings greater industry recognition and star power to the show. I’m excited about having the fans get this bigger experience,” said Dixon.

The next show dates have not been set yet, but the newly managed Toronto Comicon is expected to debut in 2010.

Bryan Fuller is Leaving Heroes

Posted by keithpatrick on Jun 24, 2009 in News

Just as Heroes was gaining some creative momentum with the show’s end-of-season creative rebirth, comes word of another setback: Bryan Fuller is exiting Heroes(Again)

“Development was really starting to heat up, And it appears like I may be writing multiple pilots for NBC so that wasn’t leaving a ton of room for ‘Heroes,’ unfortunately,”

And

“I’m crafting two pilots right now and it’s a lot of work,” admits Fuller, who has an overall deal with NBC. “It was just too hard to [juggle] Heroes and my development; something had to give.”

Fuller is under contract with NBC Universal for another year and a half, and has been preparing new series pitches for the media giant since he left Warner Bros. He’s also expressed an ambition to eventually create, or help create, a new Paramount TV series set in J.J. Abrams’ new “Star Trek” universe.

2009 Best of E3 Game Critics Awards Announced

Posted by keithpatrick on Jun 23, 2009 in News

2009 Winners

The winners for the Game Critics Awards: Best video games of E3 2009 are as follows.

I already knew Scribblenauts would kill it after all the hype from the show floor, but I was shocked to see Uncharted walk away being the biggest winner.

Best of Show
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
(Naughty Dog/Sony Computer Entertainment America for PlayStation 3)

Best Original Game
Scribblenauts
(5TH Cell/Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment for Nintendo DS)

Best Console Game
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
(Naughty Dog/Sony Computer Entertainment America for PlayStation 3)

Best PC Game
Star Wars: The Old Republic
(BioWare Austin/LucasArts)

Best Handheld Game
Scribblenauts
(5TH Cell/Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment for Nintendo DS)

Best Hardware/Peripheral
” Project Natal”
(Microsoft for Xbox 360)

Best Action Game
Modern Warfare 2
(Infinity Ward/Activision for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)

Best Action/Adventure Game
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
(Naughty Dog/Sony Computer Entertainment America for PlayStation 3)

Best Role Playing Game
Mass Effect 2
(BioWare/Electronic Arts for Xbox 360, PC)

Best Racing Game
Split/Second
(Black Rock/Disney Interactive Studios for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)

Best Sports Game
Fight Night Round 4
(EA Canada/EA Sports for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Fighting Game
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
(Eighting/Capcom for Nintendo Wii)

Best Strategy Game
Supreme Commander 2
(Gas Powered Games/Square-Enix for Xbox 360, PC)

Best Social/Casual/Puzzle
DJ Hero
(Freestyle/Red Octane/Activision for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii)

Best Online Multiplayer
Left 4 Dead 2
(Valve/EAP for Xbox 360, PC)