I wrote last time about digital comics and I realize there was another big question for me as we cross the digital Rubicon into this brave new world: will there be letter columns?

Now you might point out to me, “John, most comics don’t have letter columns now.” I’ve always felt that was a mistake. In fact, I think it’s one of the reasons for the decline of comics, if not of the entire Western Civilization as we know it. My first work in comics appeared in a letter column. During the Overlord saga in Thor, I pretty much figured out who the mysterious Overlord really was. (I think it was Odin or some manifestation of Odin or something.) I even was awarded a Mighty Marvel No-Prize for my efforts, which was supposed to be for service above and beyond the call of duty to Marvel before they cheapened it for giving it out to every slob who wrote in and said, “Make Mine Marvel!” and yes it still burns me today that they did that but never mind. (For those of you who are interested, the No-Prize consisted of a an envelope mailed to you that clearly stamped “No Prize” on the front. You opened the envelope and it was empty – there was no prize! That was the gag. My first reaction was that somebody slipped up and forgotten to include my No-Prize in the envelope. I did eventually get the joke. I’m not always real swift but I get there.)

I had a better letter published in a Savage Sword Of Conan.  One story had Conan betrayed by his female companion and he snarled at her, “Waitress!” Of course, they meant to say “Traitress!” Obviously, an error no one caught but my letter tried to prove that it wasn’t an error but a nice bit of characterization, showing that Conan obviously had bad experiences with female serving staff; thus, the worst thing he could call the wench was “Waitress!” I remember my closing line was, “After all, have you ever seen the big Cimmerian lug tip?!” I figured the letter was clever enough to make the letter column, and it did.

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Just in time for the San Diego Comic-Con Masquerade tonight, we bring you the return of Crazy Sexy Geeks with special guest, fashion authority Tim Gunn! This episode, the Project Runway mentor looks at Green Lantern with hosts Jennifer Ewing and Alan Kistler, superhero historian & Agent of S.T.Y.L.E. columnist for Newsarama.com (@SizzlerKistler)!

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Be sure to listen to the weekly Crazy Sexy Geeks podcast (featuring Alan and Jill Pantozzi, @TheNerdyBird) on iTunes and at CrazySexyGeeks.libsyn.com

Welcome back to my angry little corner of the Interwebs, folks. Since my column last week seemed to find some harmonious affinity amongst the fine folks reading, I figured I’d continue riding my snarky-train one more week. Don’t fret, I’ve got plenty of anger to dispense at Marvel, Image, Todd MacFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Robert Kirkman, and the new Voltron show on Nickelodeon.

For today, though? I’m shining my hate-fueled lantern of justice on my favorite hero. Yes my friends, this li’l rant is on Green Lantern. Let’s start appropriately, shall we?

In Brightest Day,
In Blackest Night,
Hal Jordan beamed as he soared in flight,
The other lanterns can’t seem to be
Treated just as equally.
Rayner’s got heart,
And Garnder’s got ‘tude,
And John Stewart’s still the one black dude…
Geoff Johns and the DC Elite,
Think the Silver Age is totally neat!
But Sinestro now wears the crown,
For a few months, until sales are down.
Then Jordan’s back, to fight all fears,
And retcon the last two damned years!

The summer before my Bar Mitzvah I was hauled off to a Jewish summer camp, where my bunkmate loaned me his copies of the Green Lantern. Rayner, the newly crowned emerald knight, was DC’s answer to Peter Parker. An every-kid who had actual fun being a superhero. Long story short? It sold me on comics. Soon thereafter, I declared him my BFF in fiction, and I’ve maintained a subscription to the Green Lantern books since the mid-to-late 90s. Not to be just a one-Lantern guy, I’ve since read tons of stories starring (amongst others…) Hal Jordan. I even own the first volume of his “archived” appearances. Suffice to say, I “get” Hal and why he’s the number one ring bearer. From his cocksure attitude to his “not the black guy, Irish guy, or 90s kid with stubble and girl problems” whiteyness, he’s the model DCU hero. An inoffensive guy with a “this was cool in the 60s” secret identity, who Geoff Johns could angst up. I guess the question to ask here is simple: Is Hal Jordan any better than Barry Allen right now?
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2:40: And that’s the way to end the show! Enjoy the after parties, everybody!

2:35: Best Graphic Album-New: TIE! Return of the Dapper Men, by Jim McCann and Janet Lee (Archaia); Wilson, by Daniel Clowes (Drawn & Quarterly)

2:31: Best Graphic Album-Reprint: Wednesday Comics, edited by Mark Chiarello (DC)

2:28: Best Adaptation from Another Work: The Marvelous Land of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, adapted by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young (Marvel)

2:18: Best Continuing Series: Chew, by John Layman and Rob Guillory (Image)

2:13: Best Limited Series: Daytripper, by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá (Vertigo/DC)

2:11: That King fella on American Vampire has talent. Of course, he’s no Joe Hill…

2:08: Best New Series: American Vampire, by Scott Snyder, Stephen King, and Rafael Albuquerque (Vertigo/DC)

2:06: Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award: Nate Simpson for Nonplayer

2:03 AM: Best Reality Based Work: It Was the War of the Trenches, by Jacques Tardi (Fantagraphics)

2:00 AM: Best Single Issue (or One-Shot): Hellboy: Double Feature of Evil, by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben (Dark Horse)

1:56: Best Short Story:“Post Mortem,” by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark, in I Am an Avenger #2 (Marvel)

1:52: Best Writer/Artist: Darwyn Cooke, Richard Stark’s Parker: The Outfit (IDW)

1:48: Best Writer: Joe Hill, Locke & Key (IDW)

1:41: Hey, look, everybody! It’s John Stewart, Virgil Hawkins, Remy LeBeau and Samurai Jack!

1:36: In Memoriam. Can we have a year where we don’t need this segment, please?

1:31: Voters’ Choice for Eisner Hall Of Fame: Roy Thomas, and Marv Wolfman.

1:28: Voters’ Choice for Eisner Hall Of Fame: Harvey Pekar.

1:23: Voters’ Choice for Eisner Hall Of Fame: Mort Drucker! Congratulations to one of the usual gang of idiots.

1:16: Hall Of Fame Inductees: Ernie Bushmiller, Jack Johnson, Martin Nodell, and Lynd Ward.

1:04: Best U.S. Edition of International Material-Asia: Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, by Naoki Urasawa (VIZ Media)

1:00 AM: Best U.S. Edition of International Material: It Was the War of the Trenches, by Jacques Tardi (Fantagraphics)

12:51: Best Archival Collection/Project-Strips: Archie: The Complete Daily Newspaper Strips, 1946–1948, by Bob Montana, edited by Greg Goldstein (IDW)

12:47: Best Anthology: Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard, edited by Paul Morrissey and David Petersen (Archaia)

12:44: Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award, presented by Ruth Clampett to Patrick McDonnell (Mutts)

12:41: Best Publication Design: Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer Artist’s Edition, designed by Randall Dahlk (IDW)

12:38: Best Archival Collection/Project-Comic Books: Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)

12:35: Best Comics-Related Book: 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking, by Paul Levitz (TASCHEN)

12:31: Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism: ComicBookResources, produced by Jonah Weiland (www.comicbookresources.com)

12:28: Best Cover Artist: Mike Mignola, Hellboy, Baltimore: The Plague Ships (Dark Horse)

12:25: Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art): Juanjo Guarnido, Blacksad (Dark Horse)

12:22: Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team: Skottie Young, The Marvelous Land of Oz (Marvel)

12:11: The Bill Finger Excellence in Comics Writing Awards go to Bob Haney and Del Connell.

12:08: Best Digital Comic: Abominable Charles Christopher, by Karl Kerschl, www.abominable.cc

12:05: Best Lettering: Todd Klein, Fables, The Unwritten, Joe the Barbarian, iZombie (Vertigo/DC); Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom (WildStorm/DC); SHIELD (Marvel); Driver for the Dead (Radical)
Best Coloring: Dave Stewart, Hellboy, BPRD, Baltimore, Let Me In (Dark Horse); Detective Comics (DC); Neil Young’s Greendale, Daytripper, Joe the Barbarian (Vertigo/DC)

12:02: Best Humor Publication: I Thought You Would Be Funnier, by Shannon Wheeler (BOOM!)

11:57: Best Publication for Teens: Smile, by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic Graphix)

11:54: Best Publication for Kids: Tiny Titans, by Art Baltazar and Franco (DC)

11:30 EDT: And awaaaaay we go! Fellow NYU classmates Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant take the stage.

Welcome to our coverage of the 2011 Eisner Awards ceremony from the San Diego Comic-Con. We’ll be updating this post throughout the evening, boldfacing the winners as they’re announced. You can also follow our updates by following ComicMix on Twitter or Facebook.

Leading the 2011 nominees with five nominations is Return of the Dapper Men, a fantasy hardcover by writer Jim McCann and artist Janet Lee and published by Archaia, with nominations for Best Publication for Teens, Best Graphic Album–New, Best Writer, Best Artist, and Best Publication Design. Two comics series have four nominations:Morning Glories by Nick Spencer and Joe Eisma (published by Shadowline/Image) and Locke & Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (published by IDW). A variety of titles have received three nominations, including the manga Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys(VIZ Media), John Layman and Rob Guillory’s series Chew (Image), Daniel Clowes’s graphic novel Wilson (Drawn & Quarterly), and Mike Mignola’s Hellboy titles (Dark Horse).

The creator with the most nominations is Mignola with five (including cover artist), followed by Spencer and Hill, each with four. Several creators received three nominations: McCann & Lee, Rodriquez, Urasawa, and Clowes, plus writer Ian Boothy (for Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book and other Bongo titles) and cartoonist Jimmy Gownley (for Best Publication for Kids plus coloring and lettering on his Amelia Rules! series). 15 creators have two nominations each, a new record.

Good luck to all the nominees!

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