Catholic Skywalker Awards - Best in COMICS 2023

With 2023 coming to a close, it is time for us to choose what the best entertainment of the year was.  And just as the Academy Awards have their "Oscars, " so too the Catholic Skywalker Awards have their "Kal-El's"

Now, if you are new to this blog you may be wondering why a blog called Catholic Skywalker would choose a Superman statue as it's award, and not something from Star Wars.   The reasons are 3-fold:

1.  The Catholic Skywalker Awards will cover movies, television, and comic books.  Superman is an icon for all three.

2.  The pose he has here, revealing his inner hero, is symbolic of the revelation of truth and beauty that we should find in all good art.

3.  It's a statue I actually own, so I can use this photo on my blog.

Catholic Skywalker: Best in Comics:

Best Series

The Flash

For the third year in a row, The Flash is the best comic book series out there.  This is primarily to Jeremy Adams, who might be the best writer in comics right now.  As I wrote last year:

"Whenever I get my comics on Wednesday, if The Flash is out that day, it will be the very first comic I read when I get home.  

"One of the things that is immediately evident from the way Adams writes this book is that he has an incredible respect for the history of the Flash and he loves these characters.  It reminds me of when Geoff Johns took over the book soon after Mark Waid's legendary run.  Waid had taken Wally West from being an unlikeable wannabe to cementing him as his generations Flash.  Johns had big shoes to fill, but his clear love for this world and respect for the lore elevated him to writing one of the greatest runs on a character in comic book history."

Adams recently ended his run on the book with his epic "1-Minute War" storyline.  An alien race invades Earth while mainlining the speed-force.  In the space of one minute to everyone else, the entire Flash family has to band together to save the planet.  One of the great things about the story is that it was one that could only be done by the speedsters.  For that reason they are held up front and center but they are also completely isolated from any other help.  On top of this, Adams brought Barry Allen back to the fold as a central protagonist to the events.  All the while, the story maintained a strong emotional core so that we cared about the stakes.  It was a great send-off to Adams' run.

RUNNERS UP
Fantastic Four

Batman/Superman: World's Finest

Nightwing

Justice Society of America

Best Mini-Series

DCeased: War of the Undead Gods

RUNNERS UP
Wolverine vs. Predator

Stargirl: The Lost Children

Junkyard Joe

Best One-Shot or Single Issue

Nightwing #105

This was the most unique issue of a comic book series I have read since The Flash #776.  

The entire issue was drawn from the 1st person perspective of Nightwing himself.  This could have been a simple gimmick.  But what makes this issue so interesting and compelling is that for the briefest of moments, you actually feel a little like Nightwing.  You get to see what it looks like for him to swing through the towers of Bludhaven or to brawl in a close-quarters train car.  

In that sense, the issue was transportive.  Like all good escapist entertainment, I left my ordinary world and entered one that was extraordinary for a little while and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Best Artist

Gary Frank (Junkyard Joe, Geiger)

Gary Frank is one of the best artists working in the industry today.  One of the testaments to his work is this past year's Junkyard Joe.  Writer Geoff Johns gave Frank the unenviable task of turning drawing the main hero as an expressionless robot with PTSD.  One of the talents of Frank is his ability to do a lot with facial expressions.  Johns robbed him of that with Junkyard Joe and Frank still delivered.

He was able to sell us on Joe's personality with his body language and his action.  He set up shots that were emotional and dynamic in a way that showed that Frank does not need to give you a character's facial expression to let us know what he is feeling or to make us feel something as well.  Amazing job.

RUNNERS UP
Bruno Redondo: Nightwing
Alan Robinson: New Fantastic Four

Mark Silvestri: Batman/Joker: Deadly Duo

Best Writer

Tom Taylor (Nightwing, DCeased: War of the Undead Gods, Dark Knights of Steel, Titans, Titans: Beast World)

photo by RazorboltBruce

I will be the first to say that I am not a fan of everything Tom Taylor writes.  But I would not let that fact get in the way of acknowledging the man's talent and the power of his writing.

I've already mentioned above how he was able to bring home the emotional hammer in DCeased and how he is able to new and innovative things with comic storytelling as he has in Nightwing.  I know some of the comics reviewers I admire who do not like his Nightwing run, but I think they overlook how fun it is.  He has taken elements from the previous runs of the character and woven them into an enjoyable narrative.  He has even taken the much maligned "Ric Grayson" era and morphed it into a very charming pirate adventure.  Yes, you have to suspend your disbelief quite a bit, but that only allows you to truly enjoy the fun.

I've also greatly enjoyed his work on the new Titans ongoing.  He starts with a bit of mystery that pushes the others to action.  One of the things that I like about what Taylor is doing is that he is writing all of the characters "in character."  They all don't sound the same.  Each has their own perspective and way of seeing the world.  Not only that, but they are not stupid.  Not all of them are geniuses on Nightwing's level, but they are not easily duped into the plot of the villain simply because the plot needs it to happen.

Between these three books, Tom Taylor has made my comic-reading of 2023 very enjoyable and I think that it would be the same for any reader.

RUNNERS UP
Jeremy Adams: The Flash, Green Lantern, Jay Garrick: Flash
Mark Waid: World's Finest: Batman/Superman, Batman vs. Robin, SHAZAM!
Geoff Johns: Junkyard Joe, Geiger, Justice Society of America, Stargirl: The Lost Children
Ryan North: Fantastic Four