The 25th annual Anthony Award winners were announced on Sunday at the 2011 Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in St. Louis, MO.
THE CHILL by novelist Jason Starr, with art by Mick Bertilorenzi and cover by Lee Bermejo, won in the category Best Graphic Novel.
The Anthony Awards are among the most prestigious awards in the mystery genre. For the full list of winners head over to OmniMystery News.
Congratulations to all the winners!
The 25th annual Anthony Award nominees were announced today. Vertigo leads the 2011 BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL category with three nominees:
Best Graphic Novel
Sickness in the Family - Denise Mina – Vertigo Crime
Beasts of Burden – Jill Thompson/Evan Dorkin – Dark Horse
Richard Stark's Parker, Vol. 2: The Outfit –Darwyn Cooke - IDW Press
The Chill - Jason Starr – Vertigo Crime
Scalped Vol 6 - The Gnawing - Jason Aaron – Vertigo
Tumor - Joshua Hale Fialkov/ Noel Tuazon - ARCHAIA STUDIOS PRESS
The awards are named after Anthony Boucher, a book reviewer and early champion of the mystery genre. The winners will be announced at the 2011 Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in St. Louis on the morning of September 18th.
Congratulations to all the nominees!
For the full list of nominees and more information about the Anthony Awards and the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention, please visit www.Bouchercon2011.com.
By Jason Starr
Martin Cleary, one of the main characters in my new graphic novel THE CHILL, has lived a difficult life. He's an ex- Boston cop who has never been able to forget a traumatic event from his past in Ireland. His obsession has manifested as a nasty drinking habit, and when he comes to New York to investigate a couple of suspicious murders, the habit persists...
So here are the top six bars in Manhattan where Martin Cleary would get tanked.
1. McSorley's Old Ale House
In the THE CHILL, there is a scene at a bar called O'Reilley's. O'Reilley's is the name of the fictional bar where Tommy Russo from my novel FAKE I.D. works, but Mick Bertilorenzi drew O'Reilley's to look like McSorley's Old Ale House. Cleary would love drinking at McSorley's, but he'd probably pick fights with the tourists and wind up tossed by the bouncer.
2. The Playwright
On 35th Street, off Fifth Avenue. It's an OTB bar/restaurant so you can bet on horse races day and night, but Cleary would just go there to drink.
3. The Subway Inn
Okay, it's not Irish, but this classic Upper East Side dive bar scores points for seediness and Cleary would park himself at the bar and wind up drinking into the wee hours of the night.
4. The Molly Wee Pub
Speaking of wee, the Molly Wee Pub on Eighth Avenue is one of my favorite Irish bars in the city. A great place to grab a beer before or after a game at Madison Square Garden. Cleary would love it too, I'm sure, because of it's authenticity.
5. Kinsale Tavern
Upper East Side Irish bar with great burgers. An unreliable source (Ken Bruen) told me that Irish bars don't close when Irish people are there and still want to drink. I don't know if this is true or not, but Cleary would have to be asked to leave this place.
6. That Little Bar on Houston Street
Another one that's not Irish, but there's a narrow bar on Houston Street with a cool jukebox that stays open really late, especially when DC Comics people are partying and Brian Azzarello is in town. Cleary would like that place a lot.
JASON STARR, AUTHOR OF THE CHILL PICKS HIS SIX MOST INFLUENTIAL CRIME NOVELS
There have been so many crime novels that have influenced me, that it was a struggle to narrow this list down to just 5, so I extended the list to 6 and it still feels like I'm leaving a few out. I'm sure once this is posted I'll want to add more, but these 6 have definitely been major influences. And I'm sticking to prose novels rather than graphic novels and pure literary fiction.
THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE by George V. Higgins
Every aspiring crime novelist (or any kind of novelist really) should read this book, as it's a flawless example of how to move a plot forward with dialogue.
THE KILLER INSIDE ME by Jim Thompson
Thompson's masterpiece showed me how to tell a crime story inside out, from the point of view of the bad guy. He wasn't the first to write from this point of view (James M. Cain is the other master), but it's the definitive anti-hero novel of the 20th Century.
THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY by Patricia Highsmith
The ultimate psychological thriller. Highsmith shows us that what happens inside a character's head can be just as compelling and gripping as great physical suspense.
THE SHARK-INFESTED CUSTARD by Charles Willeford
Few list this as Willeford's best novel but, trust me, it is. The structure and the multi point of view style blew me away (and it was a big influence on Tarantino for Pulp Fiction, I've heard). Also, Willeford has a great "voice" for crime fiction, and that talent shines here.
GET SHORTY by Elmore Leonard
Like Donald Westlake, Leonard is a great satirical crime writer. While Leonard gets tons of praise for his dialogue, his plotting and characterizations are just as impressive. He's the ultimate crime writer in my opinion, a living legend. I could have picked a dozen Leonard novels as most influential.
THE GUARDS by Ken Bruen
One of the most unique stylist in crime fiction--think Raymond Chandler meets Samuel Beckett. Bruen can do more in less space than any other crime writer.
--Jason Starr
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY magazine puts THE CHILL on The Must List saying, "In the heat of summer, a serial killer sends cold shivers down the spines of New Yorkers in this slashingly drawn graphic novel, with art by Mick Bertilorenzi. It's brutal but funny, hard boiled but sexily romantic."
And USA WEEKEND raves, “[Jason Starr] mixes hard-boiled detectives and the mean streets with a little bit of Celtic magic from the land of Guinness and leprechauns. . . . [An] engaging and excellent first foray into the comics world.”
To see more pages, check out the preview here. And be on the lookout for more coverage of THE CHILL!
I think I've ever read," says Ed Brubaker, co-author of GOTHAM CENTRAL
People are talking about THE CHILL, by Jason Starr and artist Mick Bertilorenzi, the next Vertigo Crime book to hit the streets in January 2010.
It’s a murder mystery steeped in Celtic mythology that is bound to heat up the winter. But you don’t have to take my word for it:
"THE CHILL is full of more grisly surprises than a backwoods fun house, fusing a noir cop sensibility to a balls-out supernatural thriller. Crime fiction legend Jason Starr makes twin debuts here—comics and horror—and shows he's a master of both, right out of the gate. And Mick Bertilorenzi is his perfect partner in crime, with art that refuses to flinch." —Duane Swierczynski, author of EXPIRATION DATE
"Anyone who misses eerie and creepy comics as much as I do is going to love THE CHILL. It's dark, it's sexy, it's violent, it's funny, it's twisted as hell -- THE CHILL is a blast."
—Barry Eisler, New York Times bestselling author of FAULT LINE
"A great addition to the best new line in comics, THE CHILL is shadowy and sexy—and pulp in all the best ways. Comics readers are in for a dark delight if they've not yet met Jason Starr, a razor-sharp master of the crime novel. Bertilorenzi's art and layouts manage to be beautifully conventional and innovative at the same time. All in all, a terrific goddamn read." —Gregg Hurwitz, author of TRUST NO ONE
And check out my post with a 3 page preview here.
Now, once you’ve read Vertigo Crime’s FILTHY RICH and DARK ENTRIES be on the lookout for Jason Starr’s first graphic novel THE CHILL with art by Mick Bertilorenzi coming in January 2010.
THE CHILL is bound to heat up the winter.
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The Vertigo Crime Line is launching this August with FILTHY RICH by Brian Azzarello and artist Victor Santos and DARK ENTRIES by Ian Rankin and artist Werther Dell'Edera.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY raves about DARK ENTRIES, saying “Dell'Edera's work is expressive and crisp, done almost entirely in sharp pure black inks with barely a hint of shading in sight, with an elegance to horror sequences that's far more Dante than slasher film. Possibly the best Hellblazer work in years and a strong ghost story in its own right.”
The GRAPHIC NOVEL REPORTER chose DARK ENTRIES and THE NOBODY as two of the Hottest Graphic Novels of Summer 2009. Click here for the complete list.
This line of compact, black and white hardcover graphic novels with covers by superstar Lee Bermejo is sure to consist of everything crime and mystery fans crave: the police procedural, the murder mystery, the sci-fi thriller, and straight up hardboiled noir—and next Spring’s releases are no exception.
Here’s a sneak peek at the cover to the next book in the Crime Line. THE CHILL by Jason Starr and artist Mick Bertilorenzi:
Check back starting at noon as I reveal another.
