@@@ 12th ANNUAL @$$IE AWARDS! @@@
Welcome, all, to the 12th Annual AICN COMICS @$$IE AWARDS, where comics’ best and brightest are recognized for stellar (and sometimes not so stellar) performances in comic bookdom. I’m Mark L. Miller, aka Ambush Bug. There was a time when we could fit all of the @$$ies into one lengthy column, but the @$$Holes’ ranks have grown too big for that and the awards have grown in number through the years, so I decided to spread it out all week to post the @$$Holes’ picks for the best of the best in comics. Most awards are given around the turn of the year, but we think ours is kind of special, so while those outside of the know celebrate the time of the Oscar, we here at AICN COMICS celebrate the time of the coveted @$$ie Award. So sit back, crack the knuckles in your browsing hand, and scroll down as the @$$Holes pick the @$$ies!
(Click title to go directly to the category)
Best Crossover!
Favorite Hero!
Best Ongoing Series!
Masked Man - SECRET WARS, Marvel ComicsFor a balls out, epic adventure this year, look no further than Marvel’s (latest) SECRET WARS. As the universe crumbles to dust, Dr. Doom saves it all and refashions it into something only he could understand. Villains and heroes own their own countries, Thor is now a police force, and it takes the combined might of two Reed Richards to bring him down. So while the publishing schedule and the tie-in issues often left people unsatisfied, Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic’s series was as good as crossover events gets these days.
Lyzard - SHERLOCK HOLMES VS. HARRY HOUDINI, Dynamite EntertainmentThought not a crossover in regards to cross-publication, SHERLOCK HOLMES VS. HARRY HOUDINI combined fiction and reality rather than just putting two literary figures together. While this isn’t a unique form of crossover, as many present-day figures of our world have found their ways into comics, the historical aspect brought a different level of intrigue. Not only did the comic feature two of the most famous detectives living, dead, or never alive, but it also featured one of history’s most famous villains as well.
Ambush Bug - VADER DOWN, STAR WARS/DARTH VADER, Marvel ComicsJust when I thought Marvel didn’t know how to do a proper crossover anymore, the company goes ahead and proves me wrong with the one property they are doing right. In November and December, just in time for the STAR WARS movie release, Marvel released a tightly woven, short and sweet crossover that highlighted the best of the core titles it involved. VADER DOWN has a simple concept: Darth Vader is shot down and alone in the middle of a desolate planet, and it’s the Rebellion’s one chance to take out the Sith Lord, so Princess Leia decides to take this opportunity to rid the galaxy of him. Meanwhile there’s a desperate search by Han and Chewie to find Luke, and Vader’s secret Lieutenant Dr. Aphra is determined to rescue him. Wookie bounty hunter Black Krrsantan tries to overthrow the Millenium Falcon resulting in an all-out, fur-flying Wookie fight with Chewbacca. The evil droids Triple Zero and Bee Tee meet C-3P0 in a rather “disarming” scene. The stakes are high and the action quotient is higher. It all was wrapped up in two months, and the two titles dealt with the ramifications afterwards. Why in fuck’s sake can’t Marvel do this type of satisfying, relevant, and fun crossover with its superhero titles?
Optimous Douche - MULTIVERSITY, DC ComicsSince this category is about as much fun as picking my favorite disease each year, and since Bug won't let us abstain from voting, I pick the books that annoyed me the least. I hated the thematic totality of these titles (fuck the critics, yeah we get it, we suck), but individually they were the best "cross" between events in '14 and '15, with some impactful as hell changes. Like basically ending continuity. PAX AMERICANA was what the “Watchmen” movie should have been, and for that book alone I herald this as best event.
Humphrey Lee – SECRET WARS, Marvel ComicsI admittedly kind of lost my way with Jonathan Hickman’s AVENGERS material a little after INFINITY concluded. Not that I had qualms with the quality of the material overall, but it was a lot of content to throw money at monthly, and INFINITY itself didn’t quite justify the buildup to that event. SECRET WARS in many ways, though, paid off in a multitude of ways despite my lack of context going into it, from just being a great little nod to many different facets of the Marvel universe that have been built over the years to being more of a conclusion to what Hickman built during his brilliant FANTASTIC FOUR run as well as his AVENGERS tenure. Yeah, the shipping issues marred it a bit and I feel like editorial kind of took it more to the soft-rebooting opportunity it ended up being than what was probably pitched at first, but it had exceptional character moments, fantastic art, and was a nice final stroke to the architectural blueprint for the Marvel U that Hickman has been drawing for this decade.
Lionel Putz - SECRET WARS, Marvel ComicsI’m not sure what to say about this series for better or worse that hasn’t already been said, but the bottom line is this: if you like alternate universe/Elseworld-style tales, hate continuity, and love high-concept limited series featuring familiar heroes, you probably loved this event. That’s me.
If you don’t love those things, you probably stopped reading Marvel Comics for 6-8 months. That’s fair, too.
The Kid Marvel - SECRET WARS, Marvel ComicsSecret Wars had the best ties, the best main arc and was just better done than most of the other events. The tie ins were solid and had a lot of crazy ideas that were just really fun. Plus we got series like RENEW YOUR VOWS to ease the pain of prior main continuity choices within Marvel.
Then, of course, the main SECRET WARS arc was pretty dope as well, and if you haven’t already noticed…
…God Doom is one of the those plusses.
The Kid Marvel - Pre-New 52 Superman, SUPERMAN: LOIS & CLARK, DC ComicsI’m really, really happy DC decided to carry Pre-FLASHPOINT/New 52 Superman over from CONVERGENCE. Having him back during CONVERGENCE was awesome; then for him to be carried over in SUPERMAN: LOIS AND CLARK was a great decision on DC’s part. It’s been a phenomenal series. Like most, I can’t stand the current Superman for a variety of reasons, so it’s nice to have the one everyone associates with back in action. I mean, having him state he watched the Justice League form and fight Darkseid but didn’t intervene even if he could have won easily--you almost wish DC had this idea or plan way back when and he did intervene.
Masked Man - Lady Mechanika, LADY MECHANIKA, Benitez ProductionsI’m more surprised than you that I picked the steampunk-powered cyborg Lady Mechanika as my favorite hero of the year. Her bang-up miniseries, THE TABLET OF DESTINIES by new writer M. M. Chen put her in an Indiana Jones-like adventure, giving Joe Benitez’ character a great chance to shine, as she protected young Fred and traveled the world kicking butt. Of course, Joe Benitez’ pages didn’t hurt in making her a stand-out hero this year.
Lyzard - Thor, THOR, Marvel ComicsDon’t call her Lady Thor. That’s what her enemies say right before she whacks ’em across the jaw with Mjölnir. Regardless of how you feel about the reveal of Jane Foster being the Goddess of Thunder, the new Thor kicked some ass and I’m happy to see that even after her own individual storyline was finished that the Aaron-Dauterman series was not the last we saw of her.
Ambush Bug - Lando Calrissian, LANDO, Marvel ComicsIt wasn’t until this miniseries by Marvel uber-writer Charles Soule was released that I remembered how cool and how badass Lando Calrissian really is. He will steal your ride, your woman, and your wallet all with a smile on his face, and leave you thinking that you did him a favor. That’s how slick Lando is. And while some heroes are nice to look up to for doing the right thing, there’s something to be said about the hero who is able to get away with the wrong thing and still have you cheering for him. This LANDO miniseries came and went too quickly for my tastes this year. Here’s hoping there’s more tales to be told about this opportunist hero by happenstance in the upcoming year!
Optimous Douche - Invincible, INVINCIBLE, Image ComicsMark is pure. Mark is good. Mark has flaws, but he owns them and they tear him up inside. He sacrifices without ever being pious, and the man genuinely loves.
Everyone wants to know what happened to Superman. Well, I think he moved to Image.
Humphrey Lee – Doctor Strange, DOCTOR STRANGE, Marvel ComicsThe Doctor of Marvel’s mystical realms always seems to be a fan favorite character in a secondary sense, but rarely has any cohesive or extended run on the surgeon turned defender of the realm manifested itself this century. But while the new push of the character into the limelight is most likely movie-driven, that nudge really has breathed some much-needed life into Stephen Strange. Jonathan Hickman did some wonders with the character in SECRET WARS, raising Strange’s importance in the events of the Marvel Universe in the role of sheriff to Dr. Doom’s king of his own realm. The best and brightest turn for the better when it comes to Marvel’s Doctor is this latest run by Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo that, while still fledgling, has instilled a ton of energy into the character. Their unbridled creativity in what threats Strange faces while defending the Earthly plane with his own nonchalant (but slightly egotistical) flair just creates an absolute charm around the book and character. It’s been a great resurgence for a character that does not always get his time in the limelight, and things are only looking up from here with the motion picture on its way.
Lionel Putz - Spider-Man 2099, SPIDER-MAN 2099, Marvel ComicsPeter David continues his renaissance with his early 90s Spider-Creation, and I have to admit, it’s great having him back writing this character. I enjoy his work in general, but he’s certainly better with Miguel O’Hara than anywhere else--supremely comfortable with the character’s voice, a potentially toxic mix of casual misanthropy and largely unchecked narcissism. This is a very flawed character, and one that would easily become unlikeable—or worse, just a cliché—in another, lesser writer’s hands.
Henry Higgins is My Homeboy – Grayson, GRAYSON, DC ComicsSince becoming DC’s Bond, Dick Grayson has been a delight. He’s running, quipping and flipping, fighting people all over the world while still being the beating heart of the DC universe.
Also, he flipped Lex Luthor off. That was great.
Vroom Socko - Miracleman, MIRACLEMAN, Marvel ComicsHave we gotten to the new stuff from Gaiman yet?
No. Do I care?
Again, no. Is it a bad sign that the most engaging, interesting, and complex superhero character on the stands today is from material produced over 25 years ago?
Draw your own conclusions. Me? I’ll be sitting over here, waiting for the next issue.
Vroom Socko - LAZARUS, Image ComicsThis has been my pick for the past few years. If you want to read a solid SF comic, or a political thriller, or a story of personal identity and growth, or a warning against the possible rise of a dystopian oligarchy in this country...
Well, LAZARUS is all of that and more.
The Kid Marvel - SAGA, Image ComicsSAGA is freaking awesome and I’m so upset I didn’t hop on the hype train prior to this year. Everything about this series is solid, top to bottom. When you see a comic series winning award after award and everyone telling you that you need to read this series, sometimes it’s best to cave to the peer pressure. I’m really excited to see where SAGA goes as a whole, and hope it doesn’t end anytime soon--it may even end up winning my @$$ie for next year at this rate.
Masked Man - DAREDEVIL, Marvel ComicsOddly enough, the best series of 2015 also came to a close as well. For the past few years Mark Waid has removed Daredevil from the grim and gritty world and put him back in the highflying superhero world. And instead of ignoring everything written by other writers (like some people), Waid used it to fuel Daredevil’s new take on life as a public figure while protecting his friends, dealing with The Kingpin and the totally unpredictable Shroud. With clever plot twists and Chris Samnee’s iconic artwork it’s easy to see why this is the second time (2012) I’ve given DAREDEVIL the honor.
Lyzard - THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA, Archie ComicsSABRINA is a big part of the reason why I named Archie Comics as my favorite publisher. If the company had an MVP of 2015 it would be Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Combine his writing with Robert Hack’s haunting drawings and you have one of my favorite horror comics of all time.
But where is SABRINA #5? That’s all I want. Is that too much to ask for?!
Ambush Bug - THE VISION, Marvel ComicsAre there any ongoing series left? With comics moving more and more towards the UK TV series route, any comic that lasts more than six months could almost be considered ongoing these days. I understand writer Tom King has just signed an exclusive deal with DC and that means his run on Marvel’s THE VISION will be coming to a close soon, but dammit if this isn’t the most compelling read in comics right now. Month in and month out, King unravels an unconventional story of a family destined for crisis of mammoth proportions as the Vision has created his own family of synthezoids and is attempting to acclimate them to the modern world. With his two kids running into all sorts of bigotry and bullying in school, his wife is stressed to the breaking point trying to keep the family together all by herself while her husband is out saving the world. It’s social commentary at its finest, but with a futuristic edge that screams about all kinds of issues that we face today in the world. I never expected to feel so strongly about this comic, but it is the one I’m going to miss the most once King passes the reigns over to Warren Ellis (who isn’t too shabby either, but his erratic schedule and lack of commitment to his Marvel titles concerns me). Looking for a smarter and more compelling type of comic that pushes the medium forward? THE VISION is it!
Optimous Douche - INVINCIBLE, Image ComicsThis category is moot; there are no more ongoing series.
I'll pick INVINCIBLE since it has the decency to own its continuity clusterfucks as much as its successes.
Humphrey Lee – SOUTHERN BASTARDS, Image ComicsTwo years into this creative endeavor by the tandem of Jasons (Aaron and Latour) and the only complaint I could even feasibly level at SOUTHERN BASTARDS is that it does not come out anywhere near often enough. The book is such a fascinating examination of a corrupt small town and its culture, with some of the most distinct characters and personalities I have seen in any medium. Arguably the most riveting material of this country-fried tale of crime has come from this past year while telling the backstory of its villain, Coach Boss. When you can take a figure that has been nothing but vicious and intimidating like Boss has been since the day you introduced them and simultaneously humanize them while solidifying them as being the pure bastard they are, that is some storytelling talent. And that has just been one element of a book that excels in so many, making this SOUTHERN BASTARDS nod one of the few “gimmes” for me this year as we present these awards.
Lionel Putz - SUPERMAN: AMERICAN ALIEN, DC ComicsProbably a bit of a cheat, as this book is slated to run just seven issues, but as it is currently ongoing, I’m going to shoehorn in my love of it here.
I’ve reviewed the first and third issues already, and plan to review each forthcoming issue, but to recap: Max Landis really gets Superman, and the simple joy of this book is how it humanizes Clark Kent in such a refreshing and modern way while never once betraying the earnestess that is the root of the character.
This is easily the best Superman book I’ve ever read.
Well, that’s it for the 12th Annual @$$ie Awards! Now it’s time to pick your own @$$ies in the Talkbacks. Thirsty for more @$$ie Awards? Check out these categories from earlier in the week!
Best Miniseries!
Best Publisher!
Best One-Shot/Annual/Special/OGN!
Favorite Super Team!
Best Artist/Art Team!
Best Comic Book TV Show!
Best Comic Book Character Realized in TV/Film!
Best Comic Book Movie!
In Memoriam…
Best Cover Art/Cover Artist!
Favorite Villain!
Best Writer!
Special thanks to the readers, the talkbackers, and the wide world of comics!
Proofs, co-edits & common sense provided by Sleazy G
