Lend me your ear - Writer of the year

In recognition of writing excellence in 2005 by an Australian creator. Print or web.

With the Artist and Writer categories I’m really concentrating on the local creators working, you know, locally. The guys that work professionally already get money for their work and they devote a lot of time to their craft – they are expected to be good. The best analogy I can muster is; if I run into a burning building and save someone, then I’m a hero; if a fireman runs into a burning building and saves someone, they are doing their job.

Liz Argyle
Liz was one of the highlights of the somewhat underwhelming "Something Wicked" book. She's been appearing in numerous anthologies and her work never disappoints. Some work is stronger than others but writing 3-5 page stories is a hard thing to do. i think its got clear concepts which she executes well.

Daniel Reed
I think one problem with many writers is that they try to fit too much in to their stories, they weigh the work down and make it boring and a chore to read through, either trying to overexplain concepts that excite them or to make themselves look smart or they have incubated their stories so much they are overcooked with sometimes unnecessary baggage. I prefer writers that just tackle one theme/one concept in the 4 pages they have or if they have 22 pagesi prefer they complete a narrative. Daniel Reed is the exception, incredibly dense writing but the Crumpleton Experiments’ tone and environment just carry all the crazy stuff along.

Daren White
I wish we saw more of the Playwright instead of once a year. Last year Daren had Order of the Beast which was overlooked but coming up in Legends of the Dark Knight, he'll be writing issue 200, which is actually quite a boon.

Mandy Ord
The compassion and thoughtfulness of Flight Path, the whimsy and humour of Nose Bleed and the sensitivity and self awareness of Nanna Shower just show's Mandy's breadth as a writer. I'm of course waiting for her to do Wolverine vs Batman.

Matt Huynh
Matt has a great sense of what is needed in a story and how to pace it out. While some of his earlier work was a bit emo, his writing is maturing quite quickly and will soon be at a high level, just like his art. To me, Matt's a star.

I think I smell smoke.


But of course the idea is that other people nominate what they liked. There's plenty of time (nominations finish early january) so check out www.phasetwocomics.com and buy stuff.
Otherwise get ye to the nomination forms and nominate.