2014 Comic Book Awards Pt 1: Best Characters

Best Lead Character (Non-Superhero) Female: Velvet Templeton (Velvet) Created by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting
What if Miss Moneypenny was actually a bigger bad ass than Bond? That’s Velvet in a nutshell: I love that Bru made his protagonist an older woman who is shrewd and tough and smolderingly sexy as hell. 
Hon Mentions: Ladies ruled in 2014 and this only represents a handful of my favorites – Josephine (Fatale), Bandette, Becky Montcreif (The Sixth Gun), Forever Carlyle (Lazarus). 

Also I have to give a nod to magic powered Amelia Cole, who is kind of superheroic… but is not really a superhero (tough to define her)

Best Lead Character (Non-Superhero) Male: Jackson T Winters (Ghosted) created by Joshua Williamson 
The mysterious, smart mouthed thief, now reluctant supernaturalist who is haunted by ghosts and his own personal demons. 
Hon Mention: Jude (The Life After), Drum Hellar (Drumhellar)

Best Female Superhero: Wonder Woman as written and drawn by Azzarello & Chiang
Hands down, the Queen of them all! She’s a compassionate and wise leader, a master strategist and warrior, an Ambassador of Peace and a God of War. She juggles all these roles with a quiet strength that makes me respect and admire her above all others.
Honorable Mentions: Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk

Best Male Superhero: Iron Man as written by Jonathan Hickman (New Avengers, ect) and Tom Taylor (Superior) 
My boyhood favorite isn’t always nice, but the devilishly handsome genius with a dark side is rarely boring. Gillen’s “Invincible” was up and down for me, but Hickman was born to write Tony, and Taylor is off to a rousing start with “Superior”. 
Hon Mentions: Magnus: Robot Fighter, Moon Knight, Guy Gardner, Flash Gordon, Batman, Grayson

Best Super-team: All-New X-Men from Bendis & Immonen

Best Supporting Character, Female: Luci (The Wicked + The Divine) created by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie 
Foul mouthed, cheeky and always cool, Luci (aka Lucifer) dressed like Bowie’s Thin White Duke and was the best thing about the title... so of course Gillen killed her in issue 5. GRRRR! But in those brief encounters she left a lasting impression. RIP Luci, you will be missed.
Hon Mentions: Dale Arden (Flash Gordon), Molly (Strain), Anderson (Ghosted), Maps Mizoguchi (Gotham Academy), and Ayane (Wayward).

Best Supporting Character, Male: Albert Einstein and his twin (Manhattan Projects) written and drawn by Johnathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra. Einstein the Barbarian was an instant classic!
Hon Mentions: Zillius Zox (Red Lanterns), Ernest Hemingway (The Life After), Alfred (Batman) 

Best Sidekick: The Flying Squirrel (Night of the Red Panda) created by Gregg Taylor and Dean Kotz
Red Panda’s funny, feisty right hand woman in Monkeybrain’s homage to old time radio heroes. I love how she punches a zombie’s eye out… literally! In that scene above, ha ha!

Best Villain Male: First Born as seen in Azzarello & Chiang’s Wonder Woman – This guy was the stuff of nightmares. Merciless, cruel with the power to fell Olympus. 

Best Villain Female: Cerebella (Edison Rex) created by Roberson & Culver – cool, calculated and smarter than the smartest man on Earth.

Best Anti-Hero, Female: Catwoman 
In Batman Eternal she found a father and took up the mantle of Kingpin of Crime -which is now being explored in her own title, written by Genevieve Valentine- but even then she’s trying to do something good with that. 
Hon Mentions: Lead: Red Sonja. Supporting: Giganta (in Pandora)

Best Anti-Hero, Male: Magneto 
Such a complex person that even his writer Cullen Bunn can’t find a way to definitively define him. Still he’s still cool, even when broken, and makes for a fascinating character study.

Best Child/Pre-Teen Character: Zoe (Rachel Rising) created by Terry Moore 
This pint-sized psychopath steals every scene she’s in. She’s a sick puppy, but hilarious. Oh, and this year Moore has hosted a “Kill me Zoe” contest, the winner will have the honor of being murdered in the comic. Hon Mentions: Birdie (the Remains)

Best Couple: Alex & Ada (Alex + Ada)

Best Comic Book Version of “The Odd-Couple”: Hera and Zola in Wonder Woman – If you’d have told me 3 years ago that these two would eventually become pals, I’d have laughed in your face.
Hon Mention: Groot and Rocket

Best Siblings: Dana and Martha Cypress (Revival)

Best Ensemble Cast: Wonder Woman (with a nod to the cast of East of West, Trees and Batman Eternal)

Best Performances by a Feline: Chewie (Captain Marvel -- unseating last years winner, Dex-Starr)

Best Performance by a Canine: Cosmo in Nova (He was also briefly seen in the Guardians of the Galaxy film)

Most Happiest Return: Stephanie Brown as Spoiler in Batman Eternal. 
The shift from runaway to costumed crime fighter seems a steep leap in logic for some. But these sour grapes I eschew because I dig it and her. Stephanie Brown has ever been and continues to be a strong multifaceted figure. She makes mistakes, big ones. She can lose her bearings, but she always finds her way back. She never quits. Plus she’s a ray of light (but not a Mary Sue, she’s just a good positive, smart personality, not a empty headed perky Pollyanna). I’m glad she has made her return. She’s good for DC, good for Gotham and good for comics.
Hon Mention: Julia Pennyworth, also from Batman Eternal

Links

Part 1: 2014 Best Comic Book Characters 

Part 2: 2014 Best Writing, Art, Designs 

Part 3: 2014 Best Stories, Arcs, Events, Misc