Eisner week is in full swing here at Sound on Sight and it is my great pleasure to present to you the Eisner Award winning work of famed author Brian Michael Bendis. After starting out writing crime comics, Bendis crossed over to the realm of super heroes with great success. His dialogue focused writing and ability to juggle multiple year long story lines make him a super star that truly embodies Eisner’s beliefs. He’s served as one of the architects of Marvel’s Ultimate universe. His run on Ultimate Spider-man helped re-introduced the wall crawler to a new millennium and a whole generation of new fans in the process. His creator based work Powers is soon to be a television show and is still ongoing, a feat quite rare for indie books. His years of work on New Avenger’s are culminating this month with the Age of Ultron mega event and if buzz is any indication, the series appears to be a huge step in the right direction for cross-over events. In 1999 Bendis was awarded his first Eisner for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition and since then, he has certainly garnered the attention he deserves. So without further to do, I present to you the Eisner Award winning works of Brian Michael Bendis:
2001 Best New Series
Powers
A perfect blend of super-heroism, noir and police procedural, Powers tells the tale of Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, two homicide detectives who cover special cases. Those cases are the kind that involve superheroes. Marvel was kind enough to collect the first three trades into a handy hardcover collection called Powers: The Definitive Hardcover Collection Vol. 1. Powers also started a new chapter in February with the launch of Powers: Bureau which serves as a great jumping on point if you haven’t been following the series.
2002 Best Writer (Powers, Alias, Daredevil, Ultimate Spider-Man)
Alias
No not a comic continuation of the television show, Alias is a Marvel Max series by Bendis that tells the tale of Jessica Jones who hangs up her cape to become a private investigator. Instead of a straight up police procedural like Powers, Alias focuses on Jessica’s personal turmoil and her reconciliation with her mistakes of the past. This is collected in a number of trades and a nifty Omnibus which are pretty easy to find.
Ultimate Spider-Man
Bendis’s most recognizable work and also my personal favourite, Ultimate Spider-Man took Peter Parker and brought him right back to high school. This invigorating take has become the new cannon for many comic readers who prefer this younger version to the continuity bogged 616 Spider-Man. With over 200 issues under his belt and no sign of stopping, Ultimate Spider-Man, albeit Peter or Miles, is a must read for any fan and a rare example of a reboot done right. I recommend checking out Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 6 Venom trade, a great re-telling of Venom’s origin story and an excellent showcase for what the series has to offer.
2003 Best Continuing Series
Daredevil
While critics were more than kind to Bendis for his run on Daredevil, the same can’t be said for what Bendis put the Man Without Fear through. He outed Daredevil’s identity to the press, married him, made him Kingpin of Hell’s kitchen, all to just take it away. Marvel has collected the entire run into three massive trades that are worth every penny. His current stand-alone Daredevil series Daredevil: End of Days is just about to conclude and if Bendis sticks the landing don’t be surprised to see another Eisner award added to this list.