Very cool! Congrats, Joss! Never read an X-men until you wrote one. Actually, I never read any comic books until you created this little show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Damn you!

Harmalicious | April 14, 21:18 CET

Joss, you can do no wrong. Astonishing Xmen was the first comic I ever bought. Loved it. John Cassaday is great too. I was inspired to buy others, and they were cool, but none as good as Astonishing Xmen. And Fray, but that's a given. I'm biased, of course. But now I have this graphic novel thing, and my boyfriend teases me about my "picture books"...

WhoIsOmega? | April 14, 21:37 CET

Joss, I'm not a comics person, but I did buy a copy of your premiere issue of Astonishing X-men. Sorry, despite my appreciation of your writing and the skills of the artist, I'm still not a comics person. But I am persuaded as to the distinction of your contributions to this medium by the comments of fellow Whedonesquers and, now, by these nominations. Congratulations!

palehorse | April 14, 21:50 CET

Everybody should buy Astonishing X-Men (one of the joys of it is that you don't have to know much of the backstory) and congrats to Joss and John for getting so many nominations. Very well deserved.

Simon | April 14, 21:57 CET

Yes!! Joss so deserves these recognitions and awards. His brilliance has been far too ignored in the past and I always do a dance of joy when these nominators see the light. Great work, Joss!

Madhatter | April 14, 22:01 CET

Well deserved. I also noticed Brian K. Vaughn got a shitload of nominations, too. Also well deserved. Joss and Brian sure know how to write them funny books.

By the way, Vaughn ends every issue of "Y: The Last Man" with a cliffhanger or story hook that is much in the "Buffy"/"Angel" vein. It's almost always worth a stunned gasp.

[ edited by bobtaylor on 2005-04-14 20:26 ]

rbt | April 14, 22:25 CET

Good nominations; and the competition in several of the categories is very strong. (Maybe not as strong as last year or 2003, but still very good stuff.)

I've read most of the books/series Astonishing X-Men is up against. IMO, Planetary is up there AXM, and and Ex Machina is pretty close. (I've never warmed up to Y: The Last Man; could be the artist on that series isn't as strong as Tony Harris; could be I just like the political twists of Ex Machina more than Y.)

And God love The Goon -- anything that can get me to laugh like a madman deserves major kudos. The art is gorgeous, too. It's like EC's Mad and horror comics, combined into one sloppy, hilarious package.

In the writer category, I think Rucka is right up there with Joss (and I'm sorry to see Ed Brubaker wasn't nominated -- I think he had a hell of a good year in 2004.) Willingham? Ennhhh. I find Fables pretty slapdash, and not particularly deep.

And wow.... Brian Michael Bendis isn't mentioned anywhere. Let the conspiracy rumors begin. :-)

bookrats | April 14, 23:06 CET

I still haven't bought Astonishing yet but plan to buy the big book that puts all 12 issues together.

eddy | April 14, 23:14 CET

I also haven't bought it yet but plan too once it is all done. I waited to get Fray that way and was glad I did.

Firefly Flanatic | April 15, 05:20 CET

OK, you guys have done it. I have now dipped my toe into those murky waters known as "Comic Books"…

FYI, if you order "Fray" and "Tales of the Vampires" from amazon (us), your order total comes to $25.14, which is just enough to get the Super Saver shipping!

brownishcoat | April 15, 05:52 CET

"FYI, if you order "Fray" and "Tales of the Vampires" from amazon (us), your order total comes to $25.14, which is just enough to get the Super Saver shipping!"

I passed on Tales of the Vampires recently, but it was bothering me today, after picking up Ast Xmen 9, so I swung back around and got it anyway. I have to say, I like it alot. OK, it doesn't pack the punches like some others, but it's darn creative and a really good read. Some of the artwork is AWESOME. And there are some pleasantsurprisetwists. Not quite rocket launchers but close. I recommend it. And yes!! I got it because someone here said they liked it!! :)
edited to add: Brownishcoat, please find a new comic thread soon and tell us how you liked it!! I'm quite sure you'll love Fray if you love the Buffyverse too.

[ edited by April on 2005-04-15 08:07 ]

WhoIsOmega? | April 15, 10:04 CET

April, at the rate the comic news is churning out these days, I don't think that is going to be a problem!

brownishcoat | April 15, 17:57 CET

I just ordered Tales of the Slayers and Tales of the Vampires last night. I got Fray months back, and I'm waiting for the trade paperback before getting Astonishing X-Men. Comics are ace, and it's always struck me as odd that people say "I'm not a comics person" and such like. They're just stories, as with books, TV shows and films. There IS a lot of badly written crap about, but the medium as a whole still contains plenty of gems.

Gonnas | April 15, 22:58 CET

…but the medium as a whole still contains plenty of gems.

I'm not really a "comic snob"…just haven't really gone there yet. Same as not being familiar with Buffy before S6 premiered. And look at me now!*makes note to update user profile with pertinent information: comprehensive Joss-listing*

I worked at a bookshop when the first Batman movie came out and my (now) ex-husband filled me in on the comics side. There were other things I was reading at the time, so I never got around to reading them, but I remember glancing through and being impressed with the artwork.

brownishcoat | April 15, 23:35 CET