Superhero of the Year Prizes

It took long enough, but I finally squared everything away and got the prizes taken care of for our Superhero of the Year contest. I appreciate all of our sponsors, but Big Shiny Robot! were huge heroes in this one, enabling us to get prizes to the top three rankings for the contest. The prizes are as follows:

Grand Prize

Ross Radke's stunning X-23 snagged him the upcoming Marvel Bishoujo 1/7 Scale X-23 Statue, courtesy of Big Shiny Robot! via Dr. Volt's Comics.

"A KOTOBUKIYA Japanese import! The popular Marvel Bishoujo collection (combining iconic superheroines and villains with traditional Japanese stylings) continues to bring you the amazing beauties of the Marvel Comics universe as you’ve never seen them before. The line returns to heroic mutants with the beautiful and lethal X-23!" - bigbadtoystore.com

Available in March, we'll be getting this to Ross as soon as she arrives at Dr. Volt's.

Courtesy of Dr. Volt's Comic Connection is X-23: Innocence Lost.

"Now it can be told. The full story behind the origin of X-23 – who she is, where she came from and the exact nature of her relationship to Wolverine. You think you know, but you have no idea! Collects X-23 #1-6." - Marvel.com

Ross' X-23 was an all-around stunner, taking the top spot in May 2011 and riding that wave throughout the Superhero of the Year contest, garnering consistently high marks, and setting a high standard for contests yet to come.

Second Place

Speaking of high standards, Daniel Heard set the bar impossibly high when he sent in his killer Robin redesign for our inaugural contest in October 2010. His redesign came back with a strong finish for Superhero of the Year, and snagged him the following, both courtesy of Big Shiny Robot! via Dr. Volt's Comics:

DC Direct knocks out some killer action figures, and their Arkham City Robin is a shining example of that.

"Yes, Batman fans… a hooded Robin! Tim Drake battles crime as The Boy Wonder, delivering punches and signature quips to aid in the Caped Crusader's mission to shut down Arkham City. Based on the highly anticipated Batman: Arkham City video game, this remarkable Robin Action Figure stands approximately 6 1/2-inches tall and comes in blister-card packaging." - EntertainmentEarth.com

Not a bad redesign itself, this version of Tim Drake shares some elements of Daniel's Damian Wayne redesign, but is wholly fitting for the dark, gritty Arkham world.

Robin: Year One details the earliest adventures of Dick Grayson at Batman's side.

"Dick Grayson, now Nightwing, whose untold earliest adventures as the Boy Wonder, sidekick to the mysterious Batman, are now revealed in ROBIN: YEAR ONE[.] Already entrenched in the Batcave and his official training complete, young Dick Grayson has a world of experience to gain, and a ton of new enemies to make, beginning with the truly insane Mad Hatter! Ultimately, over the course of YEAR ONE, Robin crosses paths with many crazed villains in Batman's Rogues Gallery and makes a new deadly enemy for himself, one whose impact will be felt in the present-day pages of NIGHTWING! ROBIN: YEAR ONE explores many facets of Dick's early days as Robin, including his struggle to live a "normal" childhood while continuing to serve not only as the Boy Wonder, but also as the ward of one of the world's most visible, richest and eligible businessmen, Bruce Wayne. Not unlike BATMAN: YEAR ONE, which became an enduring classic because of its account of a hero in the making, ROBIN: YEAR ONE will reveal how Dick became the hero he is today." - comicvine.com

Third Place Prize

Nipping right on the heels of Daniel Heard's Robin, Sally Felton's Wonder Woman soared to the top of our lists back in August 2010, where she maintained the iconography of Wonder Woman, while sensibly giving her pants. 

Courtesy of Scott's Comics and Big Shiny Robot!, Sally walked away with a $30 gift card to Scott's Comics to spend on whatever she pleases. 

Again, I'd like to thank our sponsors for their kindness and generosity in sponsoring the Superhero of the Year contest, and everyone who participated in it. I'm sorry it took so long to get this information out there; I will try to be much more on the ball next time!

Hey, it's New Year's Eve! Thanks for a great year! Enjoy yourselves, but be safe out there. I hope to see you all back in 2012!