As I’ve often said, I’m a complete and total horror junkie.  The first horror movie I remember seeing was Night of the Living Dead, thanks to a 2-year-old me waking up and wandering downstairs to the sound of my dad fixing the fireplace at 2am.  (Why 2am?  Your guess is as good as mine.)  I’ve been hooked ever since.

I got into comic books not because of the superheroes (not that they aren’t awesome), but because of the creepy-crawly horror issues I’d see every so often at my local bookstore.  Nowadays though, there are tons of good scare on the illustrated page.  So much so in fact , that there’s a new crop of awards to give them their good & proper.  The Ghastly Awards will reveal their first ever list of winners at the end of this month, and I’ve gotta say there are some really amazing professionals and titles getting the nod.  The Walking Dead!  The Goon (here’s hoping the movie gets a release)!  Locke & Key!  And my personal favorites, Crossed 3D &  I, Vampire!  Not to mention Robert Kirkman, Gabriel Rodriguez & Terry Moore!  Read on for a list of the 2011 nominees (and how, if you’re an industry pro, you can send a nomination for the 2012 awards)….

If you’re like me, you can use this list as a check-off sheet for what you should be reading.  Seriously, it’s that good.  The folks at the Ghastly Awards did their due diligence here.

Wanna nominate?  Are you a creator or a professional in comics/graphic novels?  Well clicky to nominate for the 2012 awards.  (Don’t worry, you’ve got all year.)  I can’t vote myself, but I’m already excited about the new Crossed: Wish You Were Here webcomic.  And it hasn’t even made it’s debut yet.  Probably best I can’t vote.  The wrap-up of Severed and the trade paperback of The Night Projectionist (coming in May) also has me rubbing my greedy little hands in glee.  (Heske’s 2012: Final Prayer is lookin’ pretty cool too.)

 

Here are the nominees for the  2011 Ghastly Awards:

Best Ongoing Title:
Animal Man (DC)
The Goon (Dark Horse)
Walking Dead (Image Comics)
Sixth Gun (Oni Press)
Hellblazer (Vertigo)

Best Mini-Series:
Hellboy: The Fury (Dark Horse)
Locke & Key: Keys to the Kingdom (IDW Publishing)
Witch Doctor (Image Comics)
The Vault (Image Comics)
’68 (Image Comics)

Best One-Shot:
Hellboy – Buster Oakley (Dark Horse)
Locke & Key: Guide to the Known Keys (IDW Publishing)
’68 Hardship (Image Comics)
Hellblazer Annual (Vertigo)
Fail of the Dead (Antarctic Press)

Best New Series:
Animal Man (DC)
Witch Doctor (Image Comics)
Green Wake (Image Comics)
Hellraiser (BOOM! Studios)
I, Vampire (DC)

Best Anthology:
Hellraiser Masterpieces (BOOM! Studios)
Creepy (Dark Horse)
Fubar 2 (Alterna Comics)
Strange Aeons Magazine (Strange Aeons)
A Very Zombie Christmas (Antarctic Press)

Best OGN:
Flesh & Blood (Monsterverse)
Crossed 3-D (Avatar)
Black Fire (Archaia)
Deadworld: Last Siesta (IDW Publishing)
Dear Creature (Tor)

Best Archival Collection:
Awakening Omnibus (Archaia)
Bob Powell’s Terror (IDW Publishing)
Creepy Archives Vol. 10 (Dark Horse)
Deadworld Classics Vol. 2 (IDW Publishing)
Creepy Presents: Bernie Wrightson (Dark Horse)

Best Writer:
Cullen Bunn – The Sixth Gun
Joe Hill – Locke & Key
Robert Tinnell – Flesh & Blood
Steve Niles – Doc Macbre, Criminal Macabre
Robert Kirkman – Walking Dead

Best Artist:
Gabriel Rodriguez – Locke & Key
Riley Rossmo – Green Wake
Neil Vokes – Flesh and Blood
Garrie Gastonny – The Vault
Jacen Burrows – Neonomicon

Best Inker:
Mark Bloodworth – Deadworld Last Siesta
Riley Rossmo – Green Wake
Jonathan Case – Dear Creature
Charlie Adlard – The Walking Dead
Terry Moore – Rachel Rising

Best Letterer:
Thomas Mauer – Awakening Omnibus
Kelly Tindall – Green Wake
Menton Matthews III – Monocyte
Marshal Dillion – Skullkickers
Terry Moore – Rachel Rising

Best Colorist:
Dave Stewart – BPRD
Matt Webb – Flesh and Blood
Jay Fotos – Locke & Key, ’68
Misty Coats – Skullkickers
Atilla Futaki – Severed

Best Web Comic:
Disappointing Monsters
Tales of Mr. Rhee
Romantically Apocalyptic
Sex and Monsters
Frankenstein Superstar

Hall of Fame Inductee:
Graham Ingles