Best Emerging Graphic Novelist
Benjamin Frisch
After a star turn creating the web-comic serial Ayn Rand's Adventures in Wonderland, in which the objectivist protagonist spouts all kind of bullhonkey, dramatically vomits, and chain smokes like the Industrial Revolution, Benjamin Frisch is now working towards his first full-fledged graphic novel. Entitled The Fun Family, this gem is inspired by the insipid values of Bil Keane's The Family Circus. Countering Keane's notions of the wholesome family, Frisch's story centers on a dissolving marriage and a full and robust variety of family crises. Like the greats that came before him, Frisch is attempting to infuse the form of serial comics with rich emotional resonance. If you're not hearing his name whispered in comic book stores in the years to come, we'll be shocked. Shocked.