Super Bowl weekend, and no superheroes in sight! Pick Of The Week goes to Jeff Lemire for Sweet Tooth #30 (Vertigo)! Fast Five picks include O.M.A.C. #6 (DC), Locke & Key: Clockworks #4 (IDW), Animal Man #6 (DC), The Strange Talent of Luther Strode #5 (Image), and Swamp Thing #6 (DC).

Let’s go Giants!

In this intoxicating episode we have no Pick Of The Week, however we do have a Fast Five selection. Picks include All-Star Western #5 (DC), B.P.R.D.: Hell On Earth – Russia #5 (Dark Horse), American Vampire #23 (Vertigo), Fantastic Four #602 (Marvel), and The Walking Dead #93 (Image). Spoilers!

How much do I love thee, comics? Allow me to count the ways…Pick Of The Week goes to John Layman and Rob Guillory for CHEW #23 (Image). Fast Five picks include Batman #5 (DC), Daredevil #8 (Marvel), Wonder Woman #5 (DC), Moon Knight #9 (Marvel) and Catwoman #5 (DC). Spoilers!

Huzzah, I say! Huzzah! Pick Of The Week goes to Jason Aaron & Steve Dillon for PunisherMAX #21 (Marvel). Fast Five picks include Heart #3 (Image), Orchid #4 (Dark Horse), Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE #5 (DC), Amazing Spider-Man #677 (Marvel), and Scalped #55 (Vertigo). Spoilers!

My nose is stuffy. Send me citrus?

I’m baaack! With 2012 here, I return with the audio format until something I deem worthy of a video episode comes along. Pick Of The Week goes to Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips for Fatale #1 (Image). Fast Five picks include Animal Man #5 (DC), Swamp Thing #5 (DC), Sweet Tooth #29 (Vertigo), O.M.A.C. #5 (DC), and Justice League International #5 (DC). Spoilers!

Can I just say how great it feels to be back?

The First Annual Prestigious Cammy Awards! I present you with the winners in the following categories: Best Writer, Best Artist, Best Cover Artist, Best Series, Best Miniseries, Best Single Issue, and Best Graphic Novel.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Best Writer – Scott Snyder: 2011 was the rise of (much needed) new talent in comics, and Scott Snyder definitely led the way. Writing multiple series ranging from Detective Comics to American Vampire, he not only kept every title he was working on consistently good, but he also managed to find some time to help make the 52 Reboot a raging success with titles such as Batman and Swamp Thing. Did I mention he also had his own book Severed debut over at Image while all this was going on? I cannot wait to see what extraordinary things this man has planned for us in 2012.

Best Artist – Francesco Francavilla: It truly was love at first sight when I was first exposed to Francesco Francavilla’s art in the pages of Black Panther: The Man Without Fear. I recall my initial thoughts comparing his style as a looser, pulpier Jack Kirby. It was a style that I definitely was not used to, and yet it entranced me enough to seek out other titles he was illustrating at the time. I became the biggest Francavilla fanboy this year, that it was a dream come true meeting the man at Comic-Con this past summer, and thanking him for giving me multiple eyegasms. Francavilla isn’t going anywhere but up in 2012, and I plan on being right at his side and supporting him any way I can.

Best Cover Artist – Francesco Francavilla: Hey, I warned you that I fell in love with his art this year! The dynamic covers he produced week after week was just the cherry on top. Francavilla’s covers are constantly highlighted in my Cammy’s Favorite Covers segment every week because each one is a work of art, and he’s bringing back the notion that the cover should get you excited for the comic book itself. Every week when I go through my stack, I get so tired of the bland covers with the heroes in the same old action poses, bringing nothing new to the table. Then comes along Francesco Francavilla to restore my faith in humanity (well, comics anyway).

Best Series – Sweet Tooth (Vertigo): This category was a tough one; originally I had twelve titles selected, and I couldn’t even whittle it down to five, I just had to do six without feeling guilty. Alas though, Jeff Lemire’s Sweet Tooth stole my heart month after month with its fantastic ongoing adventure. We’re still not 100% positive of Gus’ origins, but we have a much better understanding of this post-apocalyptic world that it’s set in. Lemire’s story and art are the perfect combination, being the reason Sweet Tooth is the series I recommend the most to friends who ask me what’s good to read. It feels like it could go up to sixty issues, and I’ll be there every step of the way.

Best Miniseries – American Vampire: Survival Of The Fittest (Vertigo): As if the ongoing American Vampire series wasn’t entertaining enough, here comes Snyder bumping it up a notch to ‘epic’ with this miniseries. Set during World War II with a pair of familiar faces, this miniseries was created to show a much more in-depth look at the vampires of this world that Snyder has created. Ranging from ancient vampires to Nazi vampires, artist Sean Murphy does such a spectacular job illustrating every action-packed issue, that my mouth was watering month after month upon waiting for the stunning conclusion. With another American Vampire miniseries debuting this year by the same creative team, it’ll be very interesting to see if they can out-do themselves (which I have no doubts that they can).

Best Single Issue – Detective Comics #881 (DC): I believe that there are only a handful of good Batman stories that have come out in the past decade, the majority being written by Grant Morrison. Then comes along Snyder from out of the blue to tell an ongoing story throughout the pages of Detective Comics, then suddenly wrapping every loose-end up in a pretty little bow in issue #881. Add artists Jock and Francesco Francavilla into the mix, and their dueling styles dance and blend beautifully together in this series finale of sorts. It was such a suspenseful and majestic read from start to finish, that at the time I immediately went back to re-read it all over again. This issue proves that good storytelling isn’t dead in this industry that heavily relies on comic book events nowadays.

Best Graphic Novel – Infinite Kung Fu (Top Shelf): When I first heard about Infinite Kung Fu earlier this year, the description was short and sweet; “It’s long, but totally mind-blowing!” Consider me sold. The graphic novel itself took creator Kagan McLeod almost a decade to complete, and the love he puts into it can be seen throughout every page in this martial arts masterpiece. It’s the perfect blend of those old kung fu action flicks, blacksploitation and horror for the craziest comic book concoction you could ever dream of. I’ll go into more detail in my written review later this month, when I crown it my Book Of The Month selection for January.

In this special episode, Cammy the elf once again helps you with some gift suggestions for that special geek in your life. New this year; I highlight Kids / Young Adult comics!

It was an extremely light week for me. Pick Of The Week goes to Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo for Batman #3 (DC). Terrific Two picks include Avengers Academy #22 (Marvel) and Catwoman #3 (DC). Hopefully next week will be much heartier.

This episode has been brought to you by, Zombie Outlaw.

In this episode I compare and contrast both comic book events that debuted this past summer; Fear Itself (Marvel) and Flashpoint (DC). Event fatigue is one helluva drug. Spoilers!

This episode has been brought to you by, Utopiates.

Have you joined the Occupy Monster Planet movement yet? Pick Of The Week goes to Jeff Lemire & Alberto Ponticelli for Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE #3 (DC)! Fast Five picks include Incredible Hulk #2 (Marvel), Batwoman #3 (DC), Baltimore: The Plague Ships #4 (Dark Horse), Deathstroke #3 (DC), and Avenging Spider-Man #1 (Marvel).

This episode has been brought to you by, Zombie Outlaw.