I gotta say, I'm pretty happy with this year's Eisner nominees. For the past couple of years, I've been a little disappointed by what the Eisner judges have come up with, but this year's lineup is solid. Of course, it was hard to go totally wrong, since 2006 was an exceptional year for comics. It was the year one comic was nominated for a National Book Award, and another, completely different comic was named Time magazine's book of the year. It was the year Gilbert Hernandez published a complete original graphic novel with DC, and everyone forgot about it because there was too much other good stuff going on. It was the year of the Great Outdoor Fight.

Anyway, I'm into this year's Eisners enough to post my picks for each of the ten million billion zillion categories. Because I'm nerdy that way.



Best Short Story

"The Black Knight Glorps Again," by Don Rosa, in Uncle Scrooge #354 (Gemstone)
"Felix," by Gabrielle Bell, in Drawn & Quarterly Showcase 4 (Drawn & Quarterly)
"A Frog’s Eye View," by Bill Willingham and James Jean, in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (Vertigo/DC)
"Old Oak Trees," by Tony Cliff, in Flight 3 (Ballantine)
"Stan Lee Meets Spider-Man," by Stan Lee, Oliver Coipel, and Mark Morales, in Stan Lee Meets Spider-Man (Marvel)
"Willie: Portrait of a Groundskeeper," by Eric Powell, in Bart Simpsons’s Treehouse of Horror #12 (Bongo)

I have to admit I haven't read most of the nominees in this category, and I'm not blown away by the ones I have read. Really good short comics tend to be few and far between. I'm probably going to track down the Don Rosa story and the Gabrielle Bell story (I like Bell, but I haven't been following the D&Q Showcases) and pick whichever of those I like better. Or else the Flight story, which is beautifully drawn.


Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)

Batman/The Spirit #1: "Crime Convention," by Jeph Loeb and Darwyn Cooke (DC)
A Late Freeze, by Danica Novgorodoff (Danica Novgorodoff)
The Preposterous Adventures of Ironhide Tom, by Joel Priddy (AdHouse)
Skyscrapers of the Midwest #3, by Joshua Cotter (AdHouse)
They Found the Car, by Gipi (Fantagraphics)

As much as I like Darwyn Cooke, we can't just give him an Eisner every damn time he draws something, and his solo Spirit series has been leagues better than the Batman/Spirit one-shot nominated here. Skyscrapers of the Midwest is good, kind of reminiscent of early Robert Crumb, but I loved the hell out of Ironhide Tom, Joel Priddy's ridiculous Free Comic Book Day comic set on the high seas. Priddy's flippin' funny, and I appreciate that.


Best Continuing Series

All Star Superman, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC)
Captain America, by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting (Marvel)
Daredevil, by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, and Stefano Gaudiano (Marvel)
Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, by Naoki Urasawa (Viz)
The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard (Image)
Young Avengers, by Allan Heinberg, Jim Cheung, and various inkers (Marvel)

Excuse me, but how cool is it to get a manga in there? And a good manga, even? I gave Monster the thumbs-up in the Overlooked Manga Festival, so you know I'm into that. But All Star Superman is the best superhero comic running (and has no serious competition for the title now that Marvel's cancelled Nextwave). So, for me, this category comes down to Monster or All Star Superman.


Best Limited Series

Batman: Year 100, by Paul Pope (DC)
The Looking Glass Wars: Hatter M, by Frank Beddor, Liz Cavalier, and Ben Templesmith (Desperado/Image)
The Other Side, by Jason Aaron and Cameron Stewart (Vertigo/DC)
Scarlet Traces: The Great Game, by Ian Edginton and D’Israeli (Dark Horse)
Sock Monkey: The Inches Incident, by Tony Millionaire (Dark Horse)

Can I just call a moratorium on "dark" reinterpretations of Alice in Wonderland? I mean, have you read Alice in Wonderland? It's a palindromic mathematical nightmare written by a mad-genius pedophile that's been traumatizing children since the Victorian era. You don't need to scary it up!

Anyway, this category belongs to Tony Millionaire, the drunken uncle of comics, and his incredibly creepy Sock Monkey story. The Inches Incident features both dead-eyed talking dolls and swarms of ants, which makes it even scarier than Alice in Wonderland.


Best New Series

Criminal, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Marvel Icon)
East Coast Rising, by Becky Cloonan  (Tokyopop)
Gumby, by Bob Burden and Rick Geary (Wildcard)
Jack of Fables, by Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges, Tony Akins, and Andrew Pepoy (Vertigo/DC)
The Lone Ranger, by Brett Matthews and Sergio Cariello (Dynamite)

Do I vote for up-and-comer Becky Cloonan and the breath of fresh air that her stylishly skewed artwork brings to comics, or criminally underappreciated old hands Bob Burden and Rick Geary drawing a freakin' Gumby comic? I like Cloonan, but it's hard to turn your back on Gumby. I dunno...maybe I should actually read the nominees.


Best Publication for a Younger Audience

Chickenhare, by Chris Grine (Dark Horse)
Drawing Comics Is Easy (Except When It’s Hard), by Alexa Kitchen (Denis Kitchen Publishing)
Gumby, by Bob Burden and Rick Geary (Wildcard)
Moomin, by Tove Jansson (Drawn & Quarterly)
To Dance: A Ballerina’s Graphic Novel, by Sienna Cherson and Mark Siegel (Simon & Schuster)

Ah, the category where the comics industry briefly pretends that it isn't geared toward an audience of guys in their 30s and 40s who can't figure out why Spider-Man doesn't give them as much of a woody as he did when they were twelve. This year, the nominees include a comic by an actual kid, nine-year-old Alexa Kitchen. And there's Gumby again. I fear, however, that my vote will probably go to the Moomin collection, which I loved, as you can see from my LJ icons. Yeah, it's an archival reprint, but it's good stuff.


Best Humor Publication

Flaming Carrot Comics, by Bob Burden (Desperado/Image)
Onionhead Monster Attacks, by Paul Friedrich (Hellcar)
Schizo #4, by Ivan Brunetti (Fantagraphics)
Tales Designed to Thrizzle, by Michael Kupperman (Fantagraphics)
Truth Serum, by Jon Adams (City Cyclops)

Two special humor categories always feels like overkill, but I guess otherwise everyone would ignore the funny comics and just keep voting for Daredevil and Fables. It's usually an odd mix of nominees, because the mainstream American comics market really doesn't publish a lot of humor. I liked both Onionhead Monster and Tales Designed to Thrizzle, so I'll probably go for one of those, even though Ivan Brunetti is the one undisputed genius in this lineup.

Best Anthology

Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall, by Bill Willingham and various (Vertigo/DC)
Hotwire Comix and Capers #1, edited by Glenn Head (Fantagraphics)
Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators, edited by Frédéric Boilet (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
Kramers Ergot 6, edited by Sammy Harkham (Buenaventura Press)
Project: Romantic, edited by Chris Pitzer (AdHouse)

On one hand, I just got done raving about Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators in the last Overlooked Manga Festival. On the other hand, my friend Derek Kim is in the Fables anthology. On the other other hand, Derek's contribution is only three pages long, because he had other, more important projects, like working at his uncle's hamburger place (I wish I were making this stuff up). On the other other other hand, he worked really hard on those three pages. He went weeks over deadline. Every time we went to his place, they'd be out on the drawing table, and he'd have added three more careful little lines. I guess what I'm trying to say is, Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators is really good.


Best Digital Comic

Bee, in "Motel Art Improvement Service," by Jason Little, beecomix.com
Girl Genius, by Phil and Kaja Foglio, www.girlgeniusonline.com
Minus, by Ryan Armand, www.kiwisbybeat.com/minus1.html
Phables, by Brad Guigar, www.phables.com
Sam and Max, by Steve Purcell, telltalegames.com/community/comics/samandmax/issue-3
Shooting War, by Anthony Lappe and Dan Goldman, www.shootingwar.com

Holy crap! A list of Digital Comic nominees that's really good! Obviously, I'm fond of Girl Genius, the other webcomic about a blonde, bespectacled female mad scientist, to the point that I've written GG stories for Phil Foglio and he's drawn Narbonic stories for me. But I also love Bee and Minus. So this will be a tough call.

Webcomics cruelly and unfairly overlooked this year include Templar, Dicebox, Family Man, Grace, and of course all comics written and/or drawn by me.


Best Reality-Based Work

Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin)
I Love Led Zeppelin, by Ellen Forney (Fantagraphics)
Mom’s Cancer, by Brian Fies (Abrams)
Project X Challengers: Cup Noodle, by Tadashi Katoh (Digital Manga)
Stagger Lee, by Derek McCulloch and Shepherd Hendrix (Image)

"Reality-Based" is a weird euphemism for "nonfiction," isn't it? It's like all the other cartoonists are history's actors, and Alison Bechdel and Ellen Forney will be left to just study what they do. Anyway, it's a solid category, although I call shenanigans on the Cup Noodle manga being anything beyond an amusing novelty. It's hard to see how Fun Home can lose this one, but I do want to show some love for I Love Led Zeppelin, Forney's latest collection of short comics. There is never anything bad about Ellen Forney putting out a new book.


Best Graphic Album—New

American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang (First Second)
Billy Hazelnuts, by Tony Millionaire (Fantagraphics)
Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin)
Ninja, by Brian Chippendale (Gingko Press)
Scrublands, by Joe Daly (Fantagraphics)
The Ticking, by Renée French (Top Shelf)

Again, in a lesser year, The Ticking might have been the best graphic novel of the year. But we're talking about 2006, and that means a showdown between the Time book of the year and the National Book Award nominee and ALA Printz Award winner. I'll be voting for Gene because he's a friend and American Born Chinese is a fantastic book, but damn, there are some strong contenders here. At the same time, there are at least as many great graphic novels that got left out.


Best Graphic Album—Reprint

Absolute DC: The New Frontier, by Darwyn Cooke (DC)
Castle Waiting, by Linda Medley (Fantagraphics)
Mom’s Cancer, by Brian Fies(Abrams)
Shadowland, by Kim Deitch (Fantagraphics)
Truth Serum, by Jon Adams (City Cyclops)

Not only do I have the deluxe tricked-out edition of Castle Waiting, with the color plates and ribbon bookmark, I have Linda Medley's own display copy, which she gave me after accidentally spilling ink all over my copy at Wondercon. Gosh, she's nice. As snazzy as the Absolute New Frontier looks, Castle Waiting wins this category hands-down for me; it's a beautiful edition of one of my longtime favorites.


Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips

The Complete Peanuts, 1959–1960, 1961–1962, by Charles Schulz (Fantagraphics)
Mary Perkins On Stage, by Leonard Starr (Classic Comics Press)
Moomin, by Tove Jansson (Drawn & Quarterly)
Popeye: I Yam What I Yam, by E. C. Segar (Fantagraphics)
Walt & Skeezix, vol. 2, by Frank King (Drawn & Quarterly)

The Archival Collection Project category has been broken into Strips and Non-Strips this year. I don't know anything about the Leonard Starr book, but all the others are certified fantastic, and you can't go wrong voting for any of them. I'll probably pick Moomin.


Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books

Abandon the Old In Tokyo, by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Drawn & Quarterly)
Absolute Sandman, vol. 1, by Neil Gaiman and various (Vertigo/DC)
Art Out of Time: Unknown Comics Visionaries, 1900–1969, by Dan Nadel (Abrams)
The Eternals, by Jack Kirby (Marvel)
Ode to Kirihito, by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)

The Yoshihiro Tatsumi collections from D&Q are amazing, and Ode To Kirihito scored an Overlooked Manga Festival entry, but I'll probably be voting for Art Out of Time. It's a wild collection of forgotten and obscure old comics, it introduced me to the jaw-dropping insanity of Fletcher Hanks and Ogden Whitney, and it reprints every extant Naughty Pete strip. It's more than an anthology; it's a public service.


Best U.S. Edition of International Material

A.L.I.E.E.E.N., by Lewis Trondheim (First Second)
De:TALES, by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá (Dark Horse)
Hwy 115, by Matthias Lehmann (Fantagraphics)
The Left Bank Gang, by Jason (Fantagraphics)
Pizzeria Kamikaze, by Etgar Keret and Asaf Hanuka (Alternative)

Again, the Foreign Material category has been split into two factions: Japan and not-Japan. European comics represent the biggest gap in my comics education, and it is with some chagrin that I admit I've only read one of these nominees, A.L.I.E.E.E.N. (which one doesn't exactly "read," anyway). But it was really good, so I'll vote for that. Sorry, I'm lame. Also, how come no Joann Sfar?


Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Japan

After School Nightmare, by Setona Mizushiro (Go! Comi)
Antique Bakery, by Fumi Yoshinaga (Digital Manga)
Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, by Naoki Urasawa (Viz)
Old Boy, by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi (Dark Horse Manga)
Walking Man, by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)

Here I'm on considerably surer ground. Three of these nominees--Antique Bakery, Monster, and The Walking Man--have been featured in the Overlooked Manga Festival. Which will I vote for? Probably Antique Bakery, which may well be one of the greatest manga ever, not to mention the one with the creamiest cakes and men. But all of them are top-drawer material.

Andrew doesn't want the Old Boy manga in the house because we saw the movie and it freaked him out hardcore. Over a year later, I can still sidle up to him and be all, "Hey, remember the end of Old Boy?" and make him wig out. Thank you, Korea!


Best Writer

Ed Brubaker, Captain America, Daredevil (Marvel); Criminal (Marvel Icon)
Bob Burden, Gumby (Wildcard)
Ian Edginton, Scarlet Traces: The Great Game (Dark Horse)
Grant Morrison, All Star Superman, Batman, 52, Seven Soldiers (DC)
Bill Willingham, Fables, Jack of Fables, Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (Vertigo/DC)

Arrgh...now we're getting into the least fun categories, at least from where I'm sitting: the "mainstream"-oriented awards, recognizing the various cogs in the traditional DC/Marvel production machine. The clear winner here is Grant Morrison, consistently the most interesting writer in the superhero end of the industry, unless you want to give another nod to that awesome Gumby comic. Beyond that, a lot of these guys are kind of the same guy.


Best Writer/Artist

Allison Bechdel, Fun Home (Houghton Mifflin)
Renée French, The Ticking (Top Shelf)
Gilbert Hernandez, Love and Rockets, New Tales of Old Palomar (Fantagraphics); Sloth (Vertigo/DC)
Paul Pope, Batman: Year 100 (DC)
Joann Sfar, Klezmer, Vampire Loves (First Second)

I swear Gilbert Hernandez put out this book called Sloth. I did not hallucinate it! Anyway, here's Sfar, and he's probably getting my vote thanks to his mysterious absence from any other category. Klezmer and Vampire Loves are both spectacular books, and Sfar is a genius. But really, you can't go wrong voting for any of these folks.


Best Writer/Artist—Humor

Ivan Brunetti, Schizo (Fantagraphics)
Lilli Carré, Tales of Woodsman Pete (Top Shelf)
Michael Kupperman, Tales Designed to Thrizzle (Fantagraphics)
Tony Millionaire, Billy Hazelnuts (Fantagraphics); Sock Monkey: The Inches Incident (Dark Horse)
Lewis Trondheim, A.L.I.E.E.E.N. (First Second); Mr. I (NBM)

Another of those odd humor categories, which seem to exist in their own pocket universe. I'm not familiar with Lilli Carré, but I love everyone else on this list. Maybe I'll vote for Brunetti on this one. Why not?


Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team

Mark Buckingham/Steve Leialoha, Fables (Vertigo/DC)
Tony Harris/Tom Feister, Ex Machina(WildStorm/DC)
Niko Henrichon, Pride of Baghdad (Vertigo/DC)
Michael Lark/Stefano Gaudiano, Daredevil (Marvel)
Sonny Liew, Wonderland (SLG)
Steven McNiven/Dexter Vines, Civil War (Marvel)

I kept reading Fables for way too long because of the lovely art, so Buckingham and Leialoha might have to get my vote. Plus, Steve's a groovy guy. On the other hand, I love Sonny Liew's adorable artwork, even if I'm not especially jazzed about Wonderland for any other reason.


Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)

Nicolas De Crecy, Glacial Period (NBM)
Melinda Gebbie, Lost Girls (Top Shelf)
Ben Templesmith, Fell (Image); The Looking Glass Wars: Hatter M (Desperado/Image); Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse (IDW)
Jill Thompson, "A Dog and His Boy" in The Dark Horse Book of Monsters; "Love Triangle" in Sexy Chix (Dark Horse);"Fair Division," in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (Vertigo/DC)
Brett Weldele, Southland Tales: Prequel Saga (Graphitti); Silent Ghost (Markosia)

Gotta be Melinda Gebbie, don't you think? Internet opinion seems divided between those who think her art was the worst thing about Lost Girls and those who think it was the book's only saving grace. I'm more on the latter side, and we can't give this one to Jill Thompson every year.


Best Cover Artist

John Cassaday, Astonishing X-Men (Marvel); The Escapists (Dark Horse); The Lone Ranger (Dynamite)
Tony Harris, Conan (Dark Horse); Ex Machina (WildStorm/DC)
James Jean, Fables, Jack of Fables, Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (Vertigo/DC)
Dave Johnson, 100 Bullets (Vertigo/DC); Zombie Tales, Cthulu Tales, Black Plague (Boom!)
J. G. Jones, 52 (DC)

When you're someone like me, who reads monthly pamphlet-style comics but doesn't have a strong emotional investment in the format and its supposedly storied history, sometimes it's really hard to care about categories like this. Of the above nominees, James Jean is the one with the most arresting style and sense of design, which is what a cover artist is supposed to provide. And he's a fantastic illustrator overall. So I'm voting for him, even though he probably already has five or six of these awards.


Best Coloring

Kristian Donaldson, Supermarket (IDW)
Hubert, The Left Bank Gang (Fantagraphics)
Lark Pien, American Born Chinese (First Second)
Dave Stewart, BPRD, Conan, The Escapists, Hellboy (Dark Horse); Action Comics, Batman/The Spirit, Superman (DC)
Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #17 (ACME Novelty)

Let's give the Eisner committee some credit for recognizing Lark Pien's bright, appealing, understated flat colors for American Born Chinese. She's a friend, she did a great job on this one, I'm voting for her. If you don't like that, you can go for Chris Ware. (And, no, I don't know why Ware lands here and not in, say, Writer/Artist. The Eisners are weird sometimes.)


Best Lettering

Ivan Brunetti, Schizo(Fantagraphics)
Todd Klein, Fables, Jack of Fables, Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall, Pride of Baghdad, Testament  (Vertigo/DC); Fantastic Four: 1602, Eternals (Marvel); Lost Girls (Top Shelf)
Clem Robins, BPRD, The Dark Horse Book of Monsters, Hellboy (Dark Horse); Loveless, 100 Bullets, Y: The Last Man (Vertigo/DC)
Richard Sala, The Grave Robber’s Daughter, Delphine (Fantagraphics)
Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #17 (ACME Novelty)

Todd Klein is easily the best industry letterer, but he's won twelve of the last thirteen lettering Eisners--really--so I'll try voting for somebody else. Maybe Chris Ware. He's a hell of a letterer, that Chris Ware. And a colorist. Sigh.


Special Recognition

Ross Campbell, Abandoned (Tokyopop); Wet Moon 2 (Oni)
Svetlana Chmakova, Dramacon(Tokyopop)
Hope Larson, Gray Horses (Oni)
Dash Shaw, The Mother’s Mouth (Alternative)
Kasimir Strzepek, Mourning Star (Bodega)

This category used to be "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition," but this year the judges decided that the name wasn't confusing enough. I'm going for Svetlana Chmakova or Hope Larson, both very good, if radically different, cartoonists.


Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism

Alter Ego, edited by Roy Thomas (TwoMorrows)
Comic Art 8, edited by Todd Hignite (Buenaventura Press)
The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, Dirk Deppey, Michael Dean, and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
The Comics Reporter, produced by Tom Spurgeon and Jordan Raphael (www.Comicsreporter.com)
¡Journalista!, produced by Dirk Deppey (Fantagraphics, www.tcj.com/journalista/)

Even some of the people nominated in this category think that it and "Best Comics-Related Book" should be eliminated so the Eisners can focus on, you know, actual comics. Still, we've come up a bit from the years of "Best Comics-Related Merchandise" and other total fluff non-comics categories. I'll be voting for The Comics Journal, which is consistently good if endlessly infuriating, but I'm sure I'm not the only member of the Web community who's happy to see the two best comics blogs score well-deserved nominations.


Best Comics-Related Book

The Art of Brian Bolland, edited by Joe Pruett (Desperado/Image)
Cartoon America: Comic Art in the Library of Congress, edited by Harry Katz (Abrams)
Dear John: The Alex Toth Doodle Book, by John Hitchcock (Octopus Press)
In the Studio: Visits with Contemporary Cartoonists, by Todd Hignite (Yale University Press)
Wally’s World, by Steve Sarger and J. David Spurlock (Vanguard)

Okay, I have to come out and admit that I don't care about any of these nominees. In the Studio seems at least kind of useful and interesting, but check out the cover: that's three drawings of the same guy, plus Dan Clowes. Sad dudes in old-timey hats are exactly the kind of thing that makes me bored with comics. If I weren't rereading the Great Outdoor Fight while writing this, seeing that cover would make me quit comics right now.


Best Publication Design

Absolute DC: The New Frontier, designed by Darwyn Cooke (DC)
Castle Waiting graphic novel, designed by Adam Grano (Fantagraphics)
Lost Girls, designed by Matt Kindt and Brett Warnock (Top Shelf)
Popeye: I Yam What I Yam, designed by Jacob Covey (Fantagraphics)
The Ticking, designed by Jordan Crane (Top Shelf)

These are all well-designed publications, so take your pick. On the logic that a really good publication design is one that results in a book I can actually afford, I'm going to eliminate New Frontier and Lost Girls and vote for one of the others. Probably the Popeye book. Who doesn't love Popeye?


Hall of Fame

Judges’ Choices: Robert Kanigher and Ogden Whitney

Voters will choose four from among:

Ross Andru & Mike Esposito
Dick Ayers
Bernard Baily
Matt Baker
Wayne Boring
Creig Flessel
Harold Gray
Irwin Hasen
Graham Ingels
Joe Orlando
Lily Renée (Peters) Phillips
Bob Powell
Gilbert Shelton
Cliff Sterrett

Man, the Hall of Fame is getting weird. Even the judges' wave-throughs this year are bizarre. You've probably never seen an Ogden Whitney comic unless you read Art Out of Time, but he's mainly known for the eerily flat, stilted comic-book style he developed after his brain degenerated from alcoholism, a style his editor exploited for comic effect in the stunningly peculiar "Herbie the Fat Fury" stories. Robert Kanigher is known primarily for writing those convoluted Silver Age DC comics where Lois Lane has to kiss all the members of the Justice League with magic lipstick for some reason that takes three pages to explain at the end. Together, they could have created either the greatest or the worst comic in history.

As for the other nominees, we might as well vote in "Ghastly" Graham Ingels, the last of the major EC artists not already in the Hall of Fame. Harold Gray and Cliff Sterrett are two great comic-strip creators who deserve to get in. Gilbert Shelton is probably the biggest underground cartoonist who isn't in yet. Creig Flessel is a good choice mainly because he's 95 years old, he's a helluva guy, and I'm sure he'd get a kick out of it. Lily Renée only drew comics for a few years in the 1940s; she's on the list because she's going to be at Comic-Con this year. Still, I might vote for her, partly because I like her work, and partly out of my strange fascination with the Fiction House comics of the '40s. I based part of the plot of the Narbonic Victorian serial on her series The Lost World.

So there you are. That's what I like in the Eisner nominations this year. How about you?