Broken Frontier

Broken Frontier proudly unveils the winners of its 8th annual Broken Frontier Awards.

During the last couple of weeks of 2011, the BF staff went through piles of comics and graphic novels and carefully selected five nominees for each of its nine award categories, then took the ballot live for the comics community to vote on. Today, the popular comics news site unveils which creators and publications get a BF Award!

DC Comics dominated this year’s edition, taking home five. DC won Best Publisher and four other awards went to its talent (Jeff Lemire for Best Writer – Mainstream and J.H. Williams III for Best Artist – Mainstream) and comics (Detective Comics for Best Ongoing Series and Swamp Thing for Best Debut Book).

Winners were decided by votes from fans, creators and industry professionals, as well as the BF staff. Total votes from the comics community and the site staff each accounted for 50% of the final tally.

Here is a complete overview of the winners in each of the categories. Click the links to go to the spotlight articles on each winner.

Best Writer – Mainstream
Jeff Lemire (Animal Man, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Sweet Tooth)
Other nominees: Geoff Johns (Aquaman, Green Lantern, Justice League) • Grant Morrison (Action Comics, Batman Incorporated) • Jonathan Hickman (FF, S.H.I.E.L.D., Ultimate Comics Ultimates) • Scott Snyder (American Vampire, Batman, Detective Comics, Swamp Thing)

Best Writer – Independent
Cullen Bunn (The Sixth Gun)
Other nominees: Brian Clevinger (Atomic Robo) • Joe Hill (Locke & Key) • Nathan Edmondson (Who Is Jake Ellis?) • Nick Spencer (Morning Glories)

Best Artist – Mainstream
J.H. Williams III (Batwoman)
Other nominees: Adam Kubert (Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine, X-Men: Schism) • Esad Ribic (Ultimate Comics Ultimates, Uncanny X-Force) • Sara Pichelli (Ultimate Comics Spider-Man) • Yanick Paquette (Swamp Thing)

Best Artist – Independent
Gabriel Rodriguez (Locke & Key)
Other nominees: Craig Thompson (Habibi) • Duncan Fegredo (Hellboy: The Fury) • Mike Huddleston (Butcher Baker: The Righteous Maker, The Homeland Directive) • Nate Simpson (Nonplayer)

Best Ongoing Series
Detective Comics (Snyder/Jock/Francavilla; DC)
Other nominees:  Green Lantern (DC) • Scalped (DC/Vertigo) • The Sixth Gun (Oni) • The Walking Dead (Image)

Best Limited Series
Criminal: Last of the Innocent (Marvel/Icon)
Other nominees
The Red Wing (Image) • The Rocketeer Adventures (IDW) • Who Is Jake Ellis? (Image) • Witch Doctor (Image)

Best Debut Book
Swamp Thing (DC/Vertigo)
Other nominees: Butcher Baker, The Righteous Maker (Image) • Daredevil (Marvel) • Kirby: Genesis (Dynamite) • Ultimate Comics Spider-Man (Marvel)

Best Graphic Novel
Habibi (Pantheon)
Other nominees:  Infinite Kung Fu (Top Shelf) • Luchadoras (Blank Slate) • Nelson (Blank Slate) • Seeds (Com.x)

Best Publisher
DC Comics
Other nominees: Blank Slate • Dark Horse • Image Comics • Marvel Comics