DC dominated the 2007 Eisner Awards winning an even dozen, while Ed Brubaker, Paul Pope, Bill Willingham and Bob Burden all won two Eisners each.  Brubaker's gritty Criminal won 'Best New Series' and Brubaker took home the coveted 'Best Writer' award, while Paul Pope won 'Best Writer/Artist' and his Batman: Year 100 was named 'Best Limited Series,' and Bill Willingham won both 'Best Short Story' and 'Best Anthology' for his writing in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall, while Burden won for Gumby and Flaming Carrot.  DC converted a huge share of its 18 nominations, while Fantagraphics, which had 22 nominations (a demonstration of the high quality of their output) managed only two solo and one shared award, a total that was matched by Dark Horse, and slightly ahead of Marvel's and Image's two awards a piece.

 

Other key awards include 'Best Graphic Novel,' which was won by Gene Luen Yang for American Born Chinese from First Second, a book that has already taken home numerous honors (see 'American Born Chinese Wins Printz Award'), 'Best Continuing Series' (Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely for All-Star Superman), and 'Best Reality-Based Work' (Fun Home by Alison Bechdel).

 

Although manga titles were nominated for a number of awards, the only winner was Dark Horse's Old Boy, which took top honors in a category specifically limited to comics from Japan.

 

Here are the 2007 Eisner Award winners: 

 

Best Short Story:  'A Frog's Eye View' by Bill Willingham and James Jean (DC)

 

Best Single Issue: Batman/The Spirit #1 by Jeph Loeb and Darwyn Cooke (DC)

 

Best Continuing Series: All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC)

 

Best Limited Series: Batman: Year 100 by Paul Pope (DC)

 

Best New Series: Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Marvel)

 

Best Title for a Younger Audience: Gumby by Bob Burden and Rick Geary (Wildcard)

 

Best Humor Publication: Flaming Carrot Comics by Bob Burden (Image)

 

Best Anthology: Fables 1001 Nights of Snowfall by Bill Willingham (DC)

 

Best Digital Comic: Sam and Max by Steve Purcell

 

Best Reality-Based Work: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin)

 

Best Graphic Album-New:  American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (First Second)

 

Best Graphic Album-Reprint: Absolute DC: New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke (DC)

 

Best Archival Collection-Strips: The Complete Peanuts 1959-1960, 1961-1962 (Fantagraphics)

 

Best Archival Collection-Comics: Absolute Sandman Vol. 1 by Neil Gaiman (DC)

 

Best U.S. Edition of International Work: The Left Bank Gang by Jason (Fantagraphics)

 

Best U.S. Edition of International Work-Japan: Old Boy by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi (Dark Horse)

 

Best Writer: Ed Brubaker, Captain America, Daredevil, Criminal (Marvel)

 

Best Writer/Artist: Paul Pope, Batman: Year 100.

 

Best Writer/Artist-Humor: Tony Millionaire, Billy Hazelnuts (Fantagraphics), Sock Monkey (Dark Horse)

 

Best Penciler/Inker or Penciler/Inker Team: Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Fables (DC)

 

Best Painter/Interior Art: Jill Thompson 'A Dog and His Boy' in The Dark Horse Book of Monsters; 'Love Triangle' in Sexy Chix (Dark Horse); 'Fair Division,' in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (Vertigo/DC)  

 

Best Cover Artist: James Jean, Fables (DC)

 

Best Coloring: Dave Stewart, BPRD, Conan, The Escapists, Hellboy (Dark Horse); Action Comics, Batman/The Spirit, Superman (DC)

 

Best Lettering: Todd Klein, Fables, Jack of Fables, Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall; Pride of Baghdad, Testament (Vertigo/DC); Fantastic Four: 1602, Eternals (Marvel); Lost Girls (Top Shelf)

 

Special Recognition: Hope Larson, Gray Horses (Oni)

 

Best Comics-Related Journalism: Alter Ego, edited by Roy Thomas (TwoMorrows)

 

Best Comics-Related Book: The Art of Brian Bolland, edited by Joe Pruett (Desperado/Image)

 

Best Publication Design: Absolute DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke (DC)

 

Russ Manning Newcomer Award: Dave Petersen, Mouse Guard

 

Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award: Neil Gaiman