The comics and anime communities have noticed the new Graphic Story Hugo and are getting excited about it in various ways. (Including people who assumed that anime had been banned from the Hugos up until now.) However, most of these folks are people who have never been to Worldcon and quite probably never will go to Worldcon. Many of them probably also think that it is the duty of the “Hugo judges” to give the rocket to the “right” graphic story (by which they mean “the one I like best”).
But of course those “Hugo judges” are people like you and me. Many of us are not exactly experts in graphic story telling. And I don’t want to see the Graphic Story Hugo go the same way as the abortive Video Game Hugo that L.A.Con IV ran. So we need help. I shall be doing something a bit more formal over on SF Awards Watch towards the end of the year, but of anyone has any suggestions of things that I should be reading now, please let me know.
Meanwhile Kevin has had a few wise things to say about the process.
Mouse Guard Winter:1152
Anna Mercury
Aetheric Mechanics
Black Summer
The latter 3 are all by Warren Ellis-Anna Mercury is at issue 3 of 6.
Aetheric Mechanics, which is steampunkish from what I’ve seen isn’t out yet(it’s a one volume thing that’s novella length.
Black Summer is political and current.
Mouse Guard is by David petesen, who does both the art and sscript and is about mice.
Possibly Mice Templar, very different from Mouse Guard.
Freakangels (www.freakangels.com)–It’s by Warren Ellis and an elegant artist named Paul Duffield, and it might be called an updated mash up of John Wyndham’s “The Midwich Cuckoos” and one of his post-disaster novels. The first volume, which just completed, might be called stage-setting for some readers.
La Muse (www.bigheadpress.com/lamuse)–Adisakdi Tantimedh and Hugo Petrus ask what would happen to the world when a leftist activist with the power to bend time and space decides to parlay her sudden celebrity into a drive to change the world. It’s a smart comedy which pushes politics front and center into the superhero genre.
Forgot to add Garth Ennis and Gary Erskine’s revamping of Dan Dare (Virgin Comics). The first mini-series just concluded, and it was one of the most exciting science fiction action-adventure comics I’d seen in a while.
From the Vertigo/DC Comics line:
DMZ–Brian Wood’s tale of urban combat in a future New York City caught in a nasty civil war. I’ve read and been impressed by the early issues, but I haven’t kept up.
Air–This G. Willow Wilson and MK Perker series just released its first issue last week, but it definitely offers fantasy about flight that’s a whole lot different from the usual stuff. Its heroine, Blythe, is an acrophobic airline stewardess whose involvement with a mysterious passenger leads to places she never expected to visit. Neil Gaiman has already written a cover blurb for the first issue.
Fantagraphics is rumored to be coming out with a new Billy Hazelnuts graphic novel from Tony Millionaire.
I don’t have suggestions at the moment but I thank you for covering this, and in this way.
I strongly suggest commenters go post at the hugo recommend lj (it was recommended to me when I mentioned to a friend that there are two stories I would be pleased to see on the ballot if folks expressed interest…which reminds me that I have to post about the second one there).
Will awards watch have a recommendation thread at some point? I can’t remember if you guys do that…
agh, I read too fast. Please disregard the in a hurry on my lunch break goofup since you already mentioned the thread.
I second Freakangels as being worth looking at, btw, based on the opener, which I saw. The art at least is quite interesting.
Peter:
La Muse -smacks head- Of course! And it even looks like the dead tree edition will be out in time to avoid confusion over the year of qualification.
Val:
SFAW does have a Graphic Novel recommendation list. We’ll be opening all the lists up as soon as we get a chance to do some serious work on the site.
Val:
And I answer too fast, apparently. 🙂