It’s officially awards season in the wonderful world of comics! Last week, the nominations for this years Eisner Awards were announced to the public. For those who aren’t familiar, the Eisner Awards are the single greatest comic book award ceremony that none of us are invited to and isn’t televised! But we are comic readers with vivid imaginations, so on July 21st when I sit in my room with my rented tuxedo on, I will sob uncontrollably at every acceptance speech that may or may not be happening at that time. It will be a life-changing affair and the social event of the season!
However, one of my favorite takeaways from the Eisners as an avid comic fan is being reminded about books that I may have missed or just didn’t get around to reading over the course of the past year. Here’s a few creators that are up for an Eisner this year that I am ALSO handing out imaginary Anthony Awards* to:
*A Tony Award is already something else, ugh.
ZOE THOROGOOD
Zoe Thorogood’s auto-bio-graphic novel, It’s Lonely At The Centre Of The Earth is probably already on your favorite writer’s list of their favorite books for the year. It’s the story of a 6-month period of time in Thorogood’s life, hot off the heels of her first book, The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott which was beginning to earn her some recognition in the industry before the pandemic saw her career and life come to a screeching halt. I found it to be one of the most eccentric comics of the year, detailing very intense mental health issues in ways that I found to both heartbreakingly blunt and uniquely metaphorical throughout the entire story. It’s no surprise that Thorogood is up for the most Eisners this year with FIVE for not only this book, but Joe Hill’s Rain that she created the cover and interior artwork for. Both of these books are available to order at your nearest Graham Crackers Comics!
TOM KING
It’s been a heck of a year for Eisner-regular Tom King. The crown jewel being his and Greg Smallwood’s effort, DC Comics’ Human Target. If you’ve been to a Graham Crackers shop in the past 18 months or so and asked the fellow behind the counter “What comics should I be reading that are on the shelves right now?”, Human Target would more than likely be one of the first titles they rattle off for you. Near-universally beloved, Human Target is a pulp-y roller coaster ride as Christopher Chance is lethally poisoned and has a mere 12 days to unravel the mystery of who is responsible for his impending doom. The story is gripping, but Smallwood’s art steals the show in every single issue. King’s self -contained story, Batman One Bad Day: The Riddler also received Eisner recognition this year that deserves your good-comic-lovin’ time! Volume One of Human Target is available as a hardcover at your local GCC, with volume two due out in July and Batman One Bad Day the Riddler is also due out in hardcover in June.
MARK RUSSELL
Literally everyone has come up to me and screamed “Wow, you have Mark Russell up for a prestigious Anthony Award this year!? I don’t know what that is!”. AND THE ANSWER IS YES, YES I DO! Little do they know, he’s also up for a few Eisners as well. One of my favorite comics of the year that not enough people read was a mini-series called Traveling To Mars. It’s an emotionally poignant story of a terminally ill man wrought with a regretful past being manipulated by an evil corporation to assign meaning to his life and be unceremoniously shot into space for their own personal gain! Holy run-on sentence, Batman! It really is a great story and I hope people give it some time. Issues #1-5 of this 9-issue series are available now for you to catch up on. Russell also wrote Superman Space Age that I really loved. The Michael Allred drawn miniseries is what I put in the hands of any comic fan that finds themselves lapsed in the “capes and tights” genre. It reminded me of everything I already loved about Superman. Pick up your hardcover copy of Superman Space Age at GCC shops today!
That’s all I have time for you today, true believers! Next year, you’re all invited to my house for the first annual Anthony Awards ceremony, where I will be the MC as well as playing the characters of all the nominees and you will be required to clap for me or be escorted off the premises by in-house private security (also me). Just kidding, you can stay forever and live on my couch if you want! See ya next year!