Over at Ain’t It Cool News, the manic, self-proclaimed, assholes–err–@$$Holes, sorry–bloggers ran an “AICN COMICS: SIXTH ANNUAL @$$IE AWARDS“, where each of them picked their best in comics over the past year. I’m thrilled that Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning came up a couple times and the @$$Holes also made it a point to mention Darkhawk within their reviews.

First up was “Best Writer Award”. Abnett and Lanning landed not just one @$$Hole’s pick, but two. “BottleImp” and Ambush Bug” had the following to say:

BottleImp:

Anyone who can make Nova, Quasar, Darkhawk…hell, even Rocket Raccoon cool again is okay in my book. Abnett and Lanning have turned Marvel’s third and fourth-string heroes from the jokes of the Marvel Bullpen into compelling, entertaining reading every month in the pages of NOVA, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, and the WAR OF KINGS and REIGN OF KINGS miniseries. It’s not just their obvious love for the characters that makes these books great, though—Abnett and Lanning have brought back the classic long-lost style of Marvel Comics storytelling, where a new reader could jump right into a series at any point of the storyline (as I did on both NOVA and GOTG) and be brought up to speed right within the span of that one issue. In this age of drawn-out event books and plodding storylines that seem to be geared towards selling trade paperbacks rather than single issues, Abnett and Lanning are an example to the rest of the comic publishing world of how to do a monthly series right.

Ambush Bug:

My pick for bet writers of the year was easy: Abnett & Lanning continue to adopt old school comic book writing techniques and adapt them to modern day standards. This writing team has taken the Marvel Cosmic line to levels of cool never before achieved by such second tier characters such as Starlord, Nova, Rocket Raccoon, Darkhawk, The Inhumans, Imperial Guard, Quasar, Gladiator…the list goes on. These may not be the superstar names in the Marvel U, but Lanning and Abnett treat them as such in their interstellar opera “Reign of Kings.” Here’s hoping Lanning and Abnett stick to the stars of the Marvel U forever!

Next up was “Best Ongoing Comic Book” and yet again Guardians of the Galaxy managed to find a rightful place on the list given by “Irish Rican”.

Irish Rican:

Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning continue to put out stories full of amazing characters (Micronauts’ Bug! Rocket Racoon!) and exquisite scenery in Guardians of the Galaxy. Each issue is jam packed with the best Marvel space characters that put most of the stories on Earth to shame. If you aren’t reading Guardians then you are missing out on truly the best ongoing series any publisher has to offer. Did I mention Bug is in the comic? *TIK!*

That’s not all folks! As the awards continue they get a placement for “Best One Shot/Special/Annual” with Realm of Kings where “Matt Adler” and “BottleImp” place the one-shot on the list.

Matt Adler:

A mix of traditional Marvel cosmic adventure with Lovecraftian style horror, this one-shot by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning introduces the next phase in Marvel’s updated cosmic setting. It also serves to reintroduce one of my personal favorite characters, Quasar, with a cool new costume and a dangerous secret. Add in beautiful art by Leonardo Manco and Mahmud Asrar, and you’ve got an excellent done-in-one story with the promise of more to come.

BottleImp:

H.P. Lovecraft references in comic books are nothing new, but rarely do those references manage to capture the prevalent theme of Lovecraft’s Mythos stories: Man’s insignificance in the vast, cosmic reaches of unknowable space and time. More often, the comics tend to focus on tentacles and pentagrams. But Abnett and Lanning’s One-Shot plants Lovecraft’s Mythos firmly within Marvel’s own tapestry of cosmic superheroes and places the emphasis on the eldritch and the alien in a way that I think even the Old Gent himself would have approved. Of course, anything Lovecraft still needs those tentacles, rendered here with ghastly beauty by Leonardo Manco. This comic is a brilliant marriage of two genres that makes a fantastic read for Lovecraft fans and superhero comic fans alike.