The writer of The Battle of Blood & Ink (Tor Books, 2012), Axelrod’s debut work has already gone from hardcover to paperback and is an inspired piece of transmedia storytelling, complete with two prequel novellas in the form of 44 podcast episodes.
Category: Comic Creator of the Year
Comic Creator of the Year spotlights the publishers, writers, and artists involved in creating the beautiful works all of us geeks love to read, whether it’s on the web or in print.
Jared Axelrod
Mario Candelaria
Exploring the struggles of firefighters in New York City, Mario Candelaria ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to publish the book, “Ashes.” It was released in fall 2013, delivering a moving story accompanied by stunning black and white artwork. A Philadelphia jack of all trades, Candelaria dabbles in stand-up comedy, acting, and more, but has found his calling working in comics. At least we think so.
Bob Schofield
“The Inevitable June” takes readers into Bob Schofield’s surrealistic world, with beautiful black and white illustrations and moving poems. An artist who experiments with art and prose in a unique, striking way, Schofield creates work unlike anything else.
Box Brown
Everyone remembers Andre the Giant from his extensive career in professional wrestling and his role in The Princess Bride. Using his skills as an amazing artist and biographer, Box Brown created a graphic novel that draws from historical records about Andre Roussimoff’s life to paint a picture of the larger-than-life character that was Andre the Giant. Since its release, Brown’s “Andre the Giant” (published by FirstSecond) has sat on The New York Times bestseller list, enjoying critical acclaim in the world of comics.
Brad Guigar
Brad Guigar is one of a very small handful of webcomic creators whose work has been online for a decade or more, Brad Guigar first caught the web’s attention with Greystone Inn in 2000.
In 2005 he ended Greystone Inn and spun several of the characters off into his current webcomic Evil Inc., which features the story of a corporation for super-villains run by super-villains.
In 2007 his much missed comic Phables, which told stories about the people of Philadelphia, was nominated for an Eisner Award for best digital comic.
Andrew Goletz
The publisher and editor at GrayHaven Comics, Andrew Goletz’s beautiful You Are Not Alone series was created after the horrible tragedy at Sandyhook. This anthology comic book with real life stories regarding social issues like bullying, abuse, and drug use was created to inspire young folks not to give up, and that there is hope despite adversity.