THE FORCEYS (Kona Kai Resort San Diego) This year's 10th Annual Forcey Awards took place on the Friday night of the 2015 Comic Con. This was one of our most beautiful venues in the decade of Forceys. The group of five representatives gathered with beer, whiskey and wine to celebrate the best of 2014/2105. After a decade we're still going strong . . .
BEST MOVIE - Guardians of the Galaxy. Beating out "Birdman" and "Mad Max Fury Road", this wasn't a huge surprise. In the past ten years, The Forceys have rewarded superhero films like "Iron Man", "The Dark Knight" and "The Avengers". This was a solid Marvel entry and won by a landslide.
BEST COMIC - Southern Bastards. Marvel superheroes win the Best Movie category but it's a small story about folks in rural Alabama that takes the Best Comic category. Previous winners Hawkeye and Sandman stepped aside for this interesting and powerful title. The Spider-Man fans split their votes among multiple Spider titles and this Bastard snuck in for the victory.
BEST MUSIC - John Carpenter - Lost Themes. There were some solid releases from Basement Jaxx, Failure and Giorgio Moroder but this first release from director, John Carpenter are moody pieces that could have come from any of the classic 1970s horror films. Previous winners - St. Vincent, Daft Punk and Broken Bells among others shows the eclectic tastes of this group. This collection of themes is a fine addition.
BEST OF TV - The Flash. The comic book genre dominates the TV section again. The new show on the block beat out a solid run from "Daredevil", "Better Call Saul" and "Veep". Previous winners including "The Walking Dead" and the original winner "Heroes" also come from the comic/superhero genre.
BEST OF THE WEB - Netflix. The best location on the web came down to three candidates. There was the upstart of Comixology, the Forcey champion and three time winner, YouTube and the movie streaming game changer, Netflix. Netflix on the heels of such great work as "Daredevil" tied YouTube as a three time winner this year. It's hard to imagine a new winner in the years to come.
COOLEST ITEM OF THE YEAR - Gay Marriage. A year after we were able to celebrate Legal Weed in this category, we awarded the Coolest Item to something that didn't seem possible when the Forceys started in 2005. The world isn't such a bad place after all. Just not as cool were the Lego Batman Tumbler and Pop Dolls.
STRIKEFORCE HALL OF DOOM - the highest honor is also known as "The Kirby". Last year we inducted five honorees. This year was also a solid crop of 5 inductees. Each very deserving of the honor.
Christopher Lee. Actor
Clint Eastwood. Actor, director.
H.P. Lovecraft. Author
Late Night / Late Show w/David Letterman
The Cure / Robert Smith. Music.
Just missing the vote this year and hoping for further consideration - Carl Sagan, Doctor Who, HR Giger, Looney Tunes and Steve Ditko
THE KINNEY - Cosby. This category "celebrates" the worst / pathetic items of the year and there was a huge battle between Bill Cosby, Civil Unrest Because of Racism and simply something labelled Trump. It was a single vote that kept Cosby atop the race.
BLAST FROM THE PAST - BEST REISSUE - 1966 Batman Show / Decline of Western Civilization Series Box Set. (Tie). These two very different reissues both deserved recognition and voters couldn't decide. This category recently celebrated Creepy, Roger Corman, Thor and Bone.
The Forceys took place late in the drinking evening but there was still plenty of post-awards fun to be had. This gathering of the tribe is always the highlight of the weekend. Guests are welcomed and encouraged for the 2016 version.
"If only I'd have thought of the right words / I could have held onto your heart / If only I'd thought of the right words / I wouldn't be breaking apart all my pictures of you." Stay hard.
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