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The Isotope Communique
Daily news and updates by Proprietor James Sime & the Isotope Staff
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Thursday, July 26, 2007
 Lots to get Excited About @ this Friday's Awards
& My One Last Final Word on the Nominations
Tomorrow's the big night, so let's talk about the Eisners, shall we?
For the uninitiated, the Eisner Awards are the comic industry's highest honor and the annual ceremony is something of an Oscars-like star-studded extravaganza. There just isn't anything bigger in the biz.
This year I was chosen to be one of the judges of these prestigious awards, along with my fellow judges Whitney Matheson, Chris Reilly, Jeff VanderMeer , and Robin Brenner. Back in April we were each flown into San Diego, put up in a truly palatial hotel, and spent one hell of a grueling weekend of nomination choosing. So grueling, in fact, that it quite literally put one of us in the emergency room!
So, you know what... if you don't like the nominations this year, you know who to blame! Oh, and I think you're utterly wrong so I'm not buying your first round next time we go out. Just so you know.
Personally, I'm really proud of the nominations we came up with, the diversity of books and publishers, and the sheer number of "firsts" my fellow judges and I are responsible for. For the first time ever the awards now have a dedicated manga category, also the first time in Eisner Award history Stan Lee is nominated for new work, and even I was surprised to hear that we had nominated a record number of female cartoonists this year (24 total). Heck, even legendary Eisner critic Kim Thompson couldn't complain this year!
And as unlikely as some may think it is I didn't have much of anything to do with either of our Isotope Mini-Comic Award winners getting the Eisner nod, Josh Cotter and Danica Novgorodoff, I even opted out of voting on their books. But I *am* telling you right now... I've got a feeling Danica is taking home the gold!
I've written about my experience judging these awards twice before, but for those who want a candid behind the scenes look at how the nomination process works and want to hear the full story about the hair-raising trip to the emergency room, you're definitely going to want to check out the following links.
READ: Pulse Interview w/ 2007 Eisner Judges
LISTEN: Kryptographics Podcast Interview w/ Reilly & Sime
OBSERVE: 2007 Judges Panel In Their Natural Habitat
Also...
 Presenting @ This Year's Eisner Ceremony
Isotope's Kirsten Baldock and James Sime
That's right, Kirsten and I will be up on stage under the spotlight presenting three of these awards tomorrow night. We'll be handing out the awards for Best Lettering, Best Coloring, and Best Anthology. What an honor!
Other presenters include the legendary Neil Gaiman, Eric Powell, Alison Bechdel, Sergio Aragones, Whitney Matheson, Bill Morrison, the hilarious Brian Posehn, Reno 911's Tom Lennon and Ben Garant, and the lovely Jane Wiedlin of Go-Gos fame!
Do I actually tell you this one is "not to be missed?" Yeah... I didn't think so. See you there!Labels: Danica Novgorodoff, Eisner Awards, glory, Josh Cotter, podcasts, San Diego Comic Con
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