Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 14:33:41 -0500
To: [c--m--x] at [europe.std.com]
From: [b--ea--y] at [po-box.mcgill.ca] (bart)
Subject: Goodies: Some Closing Comments

This post presumes that you've already read the results. If you haven't
done that, do that now.

The 1997 Good Taste Awards banquet was held, as in previous years, in
lovely (and snow-bound) Montreal. Delayed an evening by the late arrival of
the representatives of the accounting firm Beaty and Beaty, the evening was
nonetheless a smashing success. Revellers ate lamb and sipped Leyrat
cognac. Speeches from the winners were kept mercifully short as only one
winner bothered to attend.

On with the comments:

This year's fifty-nine voters is a significant increase over participation
from the past few years -- which is either indicative that the Goodies have
come to hold a significant position in the sensibility of the list or that
all of you people need to get out more. Smart money is on the latter.

Best Writer:

Will anyone ever stop Alan Moore? Now that From Hell is over the answer is
probably, but despite the fact that the man writes primarily for Extreme
these days he still walks away with a third straight Goodie. Fellow Brit
Dave McKean and Canadian Seth keep the Americans out of the top-three for
the first time. Dave Lapham's nine votes is the best ever showing by an
American in this category. Moore's four vote margin of victory is his best
so far -- he beat Gaiman by one and Campbell by three.

Best Artist:

The first Goodie ever awarded to material originally published in a
language other than English goes to Baru, a stunning reaffirmation in the
belief that constant Euro chit-chat can have some impact if it's backed up
by a publisher with a commitment to a quality anthology. Oh well. Baru
becomes the third winner in this category (McKean and Vess being the other
two). The second-place tie between Lutes and Ware is an encouraging sign
for the future. Chris Ware's twelve votes was his best ever in this
category (he'd previously gotten nine twice)

Best Cartoonist:

Seth powers to a win over Chris Ware as Americans are shut out of the
winner's circle in the big three individual categories. 1996 was the first
year that Seth had made the finals of the big three and he had one win and
a second place tie with Dave McKean (plus one other win and another two
ties for second below), good year. Interestingly Cooper got eight more
votes in this category than in artist, but Ware's support was almost
identical in both.

Best Publisher:

Black Eye becomes the third winner of this category in three years (DQ then
FBI being the other two). This was Black Eye's first appearance in the
finals and also the most votes ever gained in the category -- a huge
accomplishment. Drawn and Quarterly had their best ever showing --
improving even on their winning 1994 effort -- and Kitchen Sink's fourth
was their best outing. Fantagraphics, however, took a beating relative to
years past, losing more than half of their votes from last year.

Best Continuing Series:

Is it time to begin wondering what will ever be able to dethrone Acme
Novelty Library? Second in 1994 then a winner in 1995 and 1996, ANL has
seen its votes rise every year (8,12,16) and demonstrates no sign of
slowing down. Palookaville fought a good fight but ultimately couldn't slow
down "un genie nomme Chris Ware" (as Thierry Groensteen called him)

Best New Series:

Berlin smashed all comers with 24 votes in this category (forty percent of
the vote) for a very convincing win. Black Eye also took second (Land of
Nod) and fifth (The Sands) in this category for a grand total of 38 of the
53 votes cast in this category. What do we have for the voters in 1997
Michel?

Best Finite Series:

What can stop From Hell? How about "the end" because nothing else has
really ever come close. In its three wins in this category From Hell has
never managed to get fewer than 18 votes. Cages, an early favourite, made
it tighter than ever this year (cutting the margin of victory in half) but
>From Hell still made it look easy.

Best Mini:

Antisocialman joins Optic Nerve and Artbabe as a winner in this category,
soaring to an easy victory over the combined might of Hart, Lasky,
Chiappetta, Henderson, Lewis and Brubaker. Third place finisher Manya has
become the list's  new love-it-or-hate-it mini choice.

Best Antholgy:

Our third threepeat was a real blood-bath as Drawn and Quarterly got more
votes than all other nominees combined and almost tripled the second place
finisher. One more time for DQ next year predicts this observer (who could
stand up against a final issue that includes both Baru and Max?) and then
we'll cast around looking for a replacement. None of the continuing
anthologies in this category are really generating strong voter support at
the moment.

Best Short Piece:

This was real close for a long time (it was a four way tie when I left for
France) but late voters gave Gilbert Hernandez the nod. Hernandez joins
Evan Dorkin and Dan Clowes as a winner in this category. Second-place was
the best finish for all three of our tied contenders this year (Woodring,
Abel, Tomine).

Best Single Issue:

How prone are the voters to changing their minds? Check this out:

1995: ANL 2, Black Hole 13
1996: ANL 17, Black Hole 3

We be a fickle bunch. Berlin and Artbabe also turned out double digit
performances this year in what has become the most difficult category to
predict. Mark may now make one final comment about how sad it is that Land
of Nod #1 didn't make the finals.

Best Ongoing Serialized Story:

Seth takes his second award in this category, having beaten Tardi last
year. A virtual four way tie for second

Best One Shot:

A two way race for a while between Revival and Seven Miles a Second, then
Revival put the pedal down and blew everything else out with a fifteen
point win.

Best Original Graphic Novel:

Total two way race as Suckle and King of Persia flip-flopped the lead a
number of times before Cooper took the award. "No opinion", however, beat
everything with eighteen in a category that voters berated for offering up
little of interest this year.

Best Reprint Collection:

This could have gone to any of the Drechlser, Seth, Watterson trio that
jockeyed for the win all the way. Ultimately the nod goes to Drechsler's
well-packaged collection of hard to find material rather than to Seth's
well-packaged collection of easy to find material. I thought Jaime
Hernandez' two votes was a stunner, btw, given how good that material was.

Best Strip:

With two time winner Calvin and Hobbes out of the way it's time for The
Goodies to salute another over-marketed commercial strip: Dilbert. A true
step down in this vote-collector's opinion, I would go so far as to say
that Dilbert is the least interesting thing ever to win a Goodie. Putting
up the good fight were This Modern World and Julius Knipl, both of which
are only about a thousand times better than the winner.

Best Guilty Pleasure:

When I went to France this was a five way tie with Preacher trailing by
one. When all was said and done not much had changed. Unlike past years
(Batman Adventures, Astro City) nothing dominated the voting at all. There
was, however, considerable consternation from the voters about the word
"Guilty". Expect a re-examination of this category for next year.

Best Publication About Comics:

The Comics Journal pulls a three-peat in this category as not even the
beloved Send Info could slow it down. The Journal's 30 votes is the best
ever showing by a finalist in any category. Roger Sabin's beautiful but
expensive book pulled the Goodies first-ever goose egg.

Best Poster:

What can I say? People *really* like snot-nosed humour. Defending champ
Mark (Makr, MOKF, Nev-Dog) equalled his winning number from last year (26)
but Send Info delivered yours truly an added 25 votes from last year.
Arthur and CH (who last year were separated by a single vote) tie for third
and challenge the man from Java.

On behalf of the ruling class allow me to extend a hand of welcome to the
newest member of the elite legion of comix@, Denise Voskuil. Denise you can
get your badge from Glenn, we'll forward you the hat.

Interesting note: All five of the top vote getters in this category
reviewed at least one Euro-comic this year. Hmmm.

For the record: twenty-two people received between two and seven votes in
this category, and another dozen or so got one. Servidor got four. "Anyone
from juno.com" got three.

The Prizes:

Quickdraw Prize: First vote was cast, Petri Maarinen.
Pokey Prize: Last vote was cast, Chris Stults
Verbose Prize: Best Ballot Annotations, Gene Kannenberg
Database Prize: Most Nominations in the First Round, Don Marks
Mr. Comix: Voted for Most Winners, Staffars Serier (11)
Bleeding Edge Taste: Voted for Fewest Winners, Jeff Curtis (3)

Your prizes will be in the mail sometime soon (yeah, right)

That be it. Again, my quite serious thanks for all the people who took the
time to vote this year. I quite enjoy tallying these things up every
January so expect me to do it again next year. My apologies to people who
sent thoughtful comments about their votes after I went to France and who
received only a form response from me this morning -- rest assured that I
appreciate your comments (they're one of the things that make this deal
interesting to me) but I'm simply too swamped in old email to respond any
time soon. Sorry.

bart