This was another difficult choice. We're thrilled that the Marvel heroes are back where they belong, and we were intrigued by Alan Moore's murder mystery story in Judgment Day. Uncle Sam was simply phenomenal, and we're enjoying the heck out of JLA: Year One. But in the end, it was this thirteen-issue look back at the serial killer Holiday's quiet rampage during the first year of Batman's career that won the day. It had great characterization of Batman, his villains, and his supporting cast courtesy of writer Jeph Loeb, and dark, moody visuals from artist Tim Sale. And the ending was a surprise shocker that none of us saw coming. We're just waiting for the collected edition now!

Best Writer: Kurt Busiek

While all of the writers on the ballot are excellent ones, we actually found this to be one of our easier decisions. Busiek has had an incredible year, from launching Thunderbolts with the biggest surprise ending comics have seen in years and wrapping up his look at Spider-Man's early days in Untold Tales of Spider-Man to helming the relaunched versions of Avengers and Iron Man. On top of all that, Astro City is a labor of love that's met with great success -- no small feat in today's comics market.

But there's one other thing about Busiek that appeals to us. He steadfastly refuses to reveal important details of upcoming stories. While this is frustrating to us as journalists, it's a nice change as fans. In an age where interviews and previews and the like routinely reveal what's going to happen in comics months before they actually ship, Busiek is doing his darndest to make the books he writes retain some surprises and curveballs. No one knew that the Thunderbolts were really the Masters of Evil; no one knew Techno was going to die and return as a machine; no one even knows who the new Avengers will be and the first issue has already come out. You never, ever know what's going to happen when you turn the page of a comic that Busiek writes, and that's one of the big reasons we picked him as best writer for 1997.

Best Artist: Alex Ross

As much as we love all of the artists on the ballot, Alex Ross' distinctive photo-realistic painting wins him our nod as the best artist of 1997. In addition to the quality of his work, we also love the fact that he's exploring both unconventional projects, like the recent Uncle Sam mini-series he painted for Vertigo, as well as projects that explore the history of comics, like his recent lithograph of the Justice Society for the Warner Bros. Studio Stores.

Best Toy Company: Kenner

This was perhaps our toughest call. Every toy company had a pretty good year. We were especially impressed by the turnaround at Playmates, with the end of their limited edition figures and the appearance of long-awaited figures like Spock from "Mirror, Mirror". Toy Biz also made a splash with their new Avengers and Silver Surfer lines. But Kenner finally won our hearts. First of all, they've really listened to fan input by producing figures like Grand Moff Tarkin, Harley Quinn, and Batgirl. And they're also planning great new additions to their animated Superman and Batman lines like Bizarro, Supergirl, and Nightwing. Finally, they've re-released some of the classic G.I. Joe figures that we grew up with. We like Kenner; they give us cool toys.

Best Action Figure Line: Star Wars

While we had to argue long and hard to pick our best toy company, picking a toy line was almost a no-brainer. The Star Wars juggernaut rolled on this year, producing great figures like Slave Leia, Bespin Han, Tarkin, the Snowtrooper, the Imperial Guard...heck, if they hadn't made a figure of the Rancor Keeper, this would have been a perfect line.

Best Action Figure: Leia as Jabba's Prisoner and Huntress (TIE)

That's right, a tie. We couldn't decide between these two figures so we agreed to disagree and picked both of them as best figure of the year. Leia scores points for being both a long-requested fan favorite and for sporting a spiffy new head sculpt that doesn't look like a monkey. Huntress we picked in recognition of the sheer craftsmanship of the figure, from the stance to the paint scheme to the detail of the costume. And being part of the late, lamented Total Justice line didn't hurt her, either.

Best Movie: Austin Powers

Yeah, BABY! This movie won out for taking its completely insane premise -- a 60s swinger/secret agent revived in the present -- completely seriously. From its letter-perfect recreation of late Sixties London to Mike Myers' deliberately awful Cockney accent, Austin Powers was a hoot and a half. And Elizabeth Hurley as a modern-day silver lame-clad Emma Peel didn't hurt, either.

Best TV Series: King of the Hill

The competition for Best TV Series was especially fierce; every show on Fox's Sunday night lineup had its partisans. But King of the Hill won out narrowly over X-Files and The Simpsons. Very narrowly. We think that the most amazing thing about King of the Hill is that its characters and world are more real, more immediate, and more touching than the so-called "real people" on shows like Seinfeld or Friends. We actually care about Hank and Peggy and Bobby and Boomhauer. We can't say the same about Chandler or Kramer.

Best TV Newcomer: South Park

Well, duh.

Best Video Game: Interstate 76

This dark horse candidate won our hearts with its bizarre, yet charming, mix of Seventies cop show car chases and giant, huge, enormous guns and rocket launchers. We always did wonder what Starsky and Hutch would have been like if they'd had any heavy artillery, and Interstate 76 gave us the answer.

Best Breakfast Cereal: Cocoa Puffs

Mmmmm...Cocoa Puffs. They give you a direct hit of chocolate and sugar first thing in the morning. What more could you ask for from a breakfast cereal? Aside from, like, nutrition, of course.