Top 9 recommendations - Eisner Awards nominations 2024

Walt's Comic Shop Team What should I read next?
06/13/2024 12:00pm 12 minute read

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The Eisner Awards take place in late July at the San Diego Comic Con. This year comics, graphic novels and mangas that were published in 2023 have been nominated and have the chance to win an Eisner Award in 32 categories.

We've been happy to see that a lot of works and authors that we appreciated last year have been nominated! Some of yours too? Not sure yet? Well, there's are a few Eisner Awards themed collections that we've created for you. And magic man Walt put an additional 10% on all the 2024 nominated books, so really go check it out!

But what is all the fuss about the Eisner Awards? Aside from being one of the most prestigious comics awards, it is also a sign. A sign that the book you're reading, or thinking about reading, is soooo good that it was nominated for one of the 32 Eisner Awards that can be won each year.

And what's great about working in a comic book store? Aside from the weekly critiques of each other's tastes, there's also the daily appreciation and recommendations of great comics, manga, and graphic novels we've read. And a lot of the books I've read were personal recommendations from my dear colleagues, from our newsletters, or from Heiko's weekly comic recommendations.

So we thought, hey, why not recreate that, but for everyone? So here are our very personal, very unsolicited favorite Eisner Awards nominated books of 2024.

Heiko's Eisner Awards recommendation

Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees

Well, I was asked to pick one of the 2024 Eisner Awards nominees to write a few praising words about it so that you good people get inspired.
I had the option of choosing two as well. But then that doesn't make any difference. It's on the same gut-wrenching level as "What's your favorite band?" or "Can you recommend a good song?".

But hey, I'm willing to go through this agony for you.
So I did. And I chose one.
I then simply decided on the series that inspired me most current. And since that wasn't enough to make a clear choice, I decided on the greatest effort.

Thus, the Heiko Award clearly goes to Patrick Horvath's Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees. Simply because Horvath is solely responsible for the idea, story and artwork. And simply masters in all of these.

Okay, the idea is not necessarily mint for a Dexter enthusiast like me, but the realization is unique enough to let it pass as near mint.

Beneath The Trees, the fabulous comic thriller about small-town serial killer Samantha is one of those rare pieces that has no panel, stroke or splash of color, no speech bubble and not one word too many.
The plot is gripping right from the start and remains surprising until the end. Not a shocking wow-surprise, but a gentle one.
The humor is subliminal, the thrills straight on. The characters are unique and thanks to the fable concept, the horror always remains a little sweet.

But, to bring the whole thing to a close here (because even though Gloriana wrote that fateful phrase: there is no word limit, I'll try to keep it short-ish) I was most impressed by Patrick Horvath's incredible artwork. And I don't need to explain why, it's obvious.

So, Beneath The Trees is not only a welcome methadone program for Dexter fans, but also an exciting, flawlessly entertaining gem for anyone who likes … well, comics!

Beneath Trees Where Nobody Sees #1 3RD Printing

€7,90

Don't. Murder. The locals. This is small-town serial killer, upstanding citizen, and adorable brown bear Samantha Strong's cardinal rule. After all, there's a sea of perfectly ripe potential victims in the big city just beyond the forest, and when you've… read more

Jakob's Eisner Awards recommendation

Local Man

On the surface this looked to me like just another (more recent) meta commentary on the superhero genre in the vein of Invincible (if you like it more earnest) or the boys (for all the cynical types out there).

But Local Man by Tony Fleecs and Tim Seeley built a wonderful quiet and grown-up emotional core for their spandex superhero extravaganza.

You’ve seen and read this before: The small town guy goes to the big city. He was the special one. The one who made it. Not like the rest of us. At some point you would be the one telling a reporter that you knew this guy before he was famous.

Well this is a different kind of story. This is a homecoming in shame. Our hero didn’t make it. He fell from grace and sneaked back home.

Of course there are lots of mysteries and fights. There is the past, you can’t run from, catching up. But there is always our hero. The local man, trying to reconnect with his parents, with friends and foes from his past. There is all this resentment and shame, which is beautifully told in the scenes between the hero and his parents. They feel realistic. Everything was said. What is left is uncomfortable silence and emptiness.

And the disconnect between the expectation you have from yourself and the reality of your life and who it turned out to be.

Where did these two poles drift so far apart? Sometimes you have to go back to the beginning, you have to go back home to find out where and how it all started to go wrong.

Back to the time, when you were not a hero, but just a man - a local man.

Local Man TP Heartland Vol 01

€9,99 ~~€16,99~~

STRAY DOGS creator TONY FLEECS teams with REVIVAL's TIM SEELEY for a widely critically acclaimed story that combines rural crime noir and superhero action. Once, JACK XAVER, star recruit of the media sensation super-team THIRD GEN, had it all. But… read more

Transformers

In 2023 the Transformers license went to Robert Kirkman's Skybound Entertainment, where it would give writer and artist Daniel Warren Johnson (who made you cry with DO A POWERBOMB) the chance to develop his own unique take on the classic struggle between Autobots and Decepticons.

And Warren loses now time. The two battling Robot Gangs have crash landed on earth. Low on energy they have no choice but to seek out their new environment. The clock is ticking!

Which of the two camps will rebuild their forces faster. Which group will make alleys and find more resources to gain that all-important advantage for the inevitable final confrontation?

So far, so familiar.

But here Warren transforms (pun not intended) the classic struggle of these to Groups. Their fight soon becomes much more than a mere battle between two armies. This fight is between two competing ideas - two ways of looking at the world.

This is wonderfully illustrated (pun intended), when we crosscut between Optimus Prime (Leader of the Autobots) and Starscream (Leader of the Decepticons) as they discover their new environment.

While Starscream is rampaging through a power plant and crushing every human in his way, he notes laughingly about this world and its inhabitants: they are so fragile!

He sees the possibility of his power.

At the same time Optmus sits beside his human companion holding a deer gently in his metal hands. An animal he accidentally injured. respectfully he looks at the laches nature in front of him and declares: it is all so fragile!

He comes to understand the responsibility of his power.

Autobots and Deceptecons are gigantic powerful robots, often equally matched. Their difference lies in the way they use their might.

The Decepticons just take - because they can and only look out for themselves and their own survival. Everything else is just an enemy to be exterminated or a resource to be exploited.

In saving the humans (who in the beginning pay them back for their kindness with only violence) the Autobots on the other hand risk everything.

But in the end they don’t lose! Not the battle and not who they are.

Transformers TP Vol 01

€14,44 ~~€16,99~~

THE TRANSFORMERS JOIN THE ENERGON UNIVERSE!?**Optimus Prime was supposed to have led the Autobots to victory. Instead, the fate of Cybertron is unknown, and his allies have crash-landed far from home, alongside their enemies—the Decepticons.?As these titanic forces renew their… read more

Gloriana's Eisner Awards recommendations

The Cull

When I started working at Walt's Comic Shop in July 2023, my boss had a subscription to a series called "The Cull". He opened it for a few seconds and said no and asked me if I wanted to read it. I said yes, only because I make a spiteful effort to love everything he doesn't love, but now that effort has resulted in one of my favorite reads of 2023, that has been nominated in the 'Best Limited Series' category of the Eisner Awards!

Although I have to admit that Mattia De Iulis art was unusual for me at first, I came to love it. Even more so Kelly Thompson's writing and the characters.

The worst thing about The Cull is that it's only a limited series. Even though it's a limited series, you get to know our five main characters and enough of their backstories to empathize with them, but never too much to keep you hooked.

You'll want to know more about their broken relationships, their broken family life, this weird forbidden place on the beach where they want to shoot their movie, why this place is forbidden, why Cleo is so emo, and why, why, why?

This graphic novel has put Kelly Thompson on my life list of must-read authors.

The Cull TP Vol 01

€12,74 ~~€14,99~~

Eisner-winning writer KELLY THOMPSON re-teams with superstar artist MATTIA DE IULIS for their first creator-owned work together—a dark tale of five friends setting off in the middle of the night to shoot a short film on a forbidden rock near… read more

Black Cloak

Surprise, Kelly Thompson makes the list again, with Black Cloak. It's a detective solving mysterious murders story with enough lightness to not make it dark and gloomy. And yet it is sometimes dark and gloomy. And Kelly Thompson makes it work!

You're thrown into the story, all at once. A new world, a war ridden history, different factions, royal and love drama, a murder, human eating mermaids with fangs and a detective duo that reminds of Jake and Terry in Brooklyn 99.

I think what I like most about Black Cloak is that it reminds me that stories don't have to be serious, comics and graphic novels don't have to be serious, they can be funny. Even though I often feel that comics have to be more to prove to people that they are not just for kids, it is really nice to see great and funny works like Black Cloak nominated for an Eisner Award.

Black Cloak TP Vol 01

€8,99 ~~€14,99~~

From Eisner Award-winning writer KELLY THOMPSON (Black Widow, Captain Marvel) and superstar artist MEREDITH McCLAREN (HINGES, Jem & The Holograms), BLACK CLOAK is a delectable fantasy and sci-fi blend with a detective procedural shot straight through its heart. Essex and… read more

Walt's Eisner Awards Recommendations

Marvel Comics #1000

Anthologies tend to be a mixed bag (duh!), and this one is no exception. Mixed it is, but only with greatness and timelessness. An absurdly long list of top creators pay tribute to Marvel's eternal legacy. Long-forgotten Golden Age heroes make their resurrection, and classic characters are revisited, reminding us what defines their essence. In just a few pages, the creative teams manage to make these diamonds shine briefly... Probably the best value-for-money Marvel decision you can make.

Marvel Age #1000

€12,00

IT'S A CELEBRATION OF THE MARVEL AGE OF COMICS - AND YOU ARE INVITED! This massive commemorative issue includes contributions from some of the most storied creators in Marvel history, as well as a few surprises, as the classic days… read more

Barnstormers: A Ballad Of Love And Murder

It's been a while since Tula Lotay has produced not just (admittedly extremely beautiful!) covers, but also interior art. Her illustrative, slightly nostalgic Art Deco pin-up style couldn't be more fitting for this story set between the World Wars, which (spoiler!) features neither ghosts nor flying people — well, not quite; but without giving too much away, I can only say: If it belongs to any genre, it's a Bonnie-and-Clyde drama. At its core, though, it's simply a captivating love story. And who knew Scott Snyder could do this so well? Certainly not me. For me, this is one of the best series of recent years and I just wish this coudl travel back in time and get a Hollywood adaptation with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in the leading roles…

Barnstormers: A Ballad Of Love And Murder TP

€21,99 ~~€24,99~~

A high-flying, post WWI-era historical fiction graphic novel that’s an intimate portrait of love and war—and a meditation on the dangerous level of trust required in both romance and aviation. It’s 1927—the late days of the barnstorming era, when pilots… read more

Simone's Eisner Awards recommendations

Great Beyond

How many people know your name?

If your very life depended on the answer to the previous question, would you sleep peacefully?

The premises of the world that Léa Murawiec builds are captivating, with obvious parallels to the reality we live in. However, what truly drew me into the pages of “Great Beyond” is the sense of vertigo experienced when observing the megalopolis illustrated by the author: immense skyscrapers with perspectives that stretch into infinity, an incessant sequence of neon lights and billboards that obsessively repeat the names of the inhabitants. Even the bodies stretch and expand, trying to grasp their surroundings. But in “Great Beyond,” even though everything gains its own volume, a tangible corporeality on the pages of the comic, the feeling you get is that of being lost: Of being a name among many others.

One of the most beautiful graphic novels I've read recently.

Great Beyond HC

€29,66 ~~€32,95~~

How would you live with nothing but your name?Manel Naher wants out. In a world where your name is currency, it’s tough to make ends meet. It’s even tougher when you share a name with a rising pop star. The… read more

Goodbye, Eri

I love stories where authors play with the narrative itself, with the rules that distinguish a good story, and with the medium they use. Tatsuki Fujimoto shows us that the success achieved with Chainsaw Man is not a fluke, but the result of an author who understands well what it means to create a comic.

Fujimoto plays with two mediums at the same time, taking the space of a comic to unfold on paper what is effectively a film. Or rather: a film within a film within a film. A narrative that might seem complex but follows a clear line for the reader. This is what happens when stories talk to us about something that concerns us all, such as losing a loved one.

How do we process grief? What happens when we try to tell that pain? Is there a way to tell someone's story without betraying their true nature?
I can't wait to read the next story from this author.

Goodbye, Eri GN

€13,49 ~~€14,99~~

An explosive story from the mad genius behind Chainsaw Man and Look Back! Young filmmaker Yuta contemplates suicide after the death of his mother, but a chance meeting with a mysterious girl will alter his life in an explosive way.… read more

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