Art Baxter

In the brief history of the City Paper Comics Issue, this one was a turning point. For the first time since starting the thing back in 2008, we enlisted an actual, real-life comics-making giant as our celebrity judge. (Until now, the evaluation process involved staffers sitting in a circle passing submissions around and giggling.) A Philly artist with decades of experience, Art Baxter was a joy to work with. He did the amazing cover, too.

Also new this year was the $5 submission fee. Oh man, what a terrible idea. We wanted to "reward" the artists whose stuff we liked enough to print, but probably ended up discouraging some fence-sitters from taking a shot. Lesson learned.

Somehow — OK, we know how, and his initials are A.B. — we still ended up with a fantastic Comics Issue. It's got whimsy and bliss, destruction and humor. It's got monsters, animals, ham and a solution to the facial pants problem. Needless to say, we wanted to print way more comics than we had space for, so look for bonus content — plus an interview with Mike Sgier, whose best-in-show submission appears below — on our A&E blog, Critical Mass. (Click on the comics below to enlarge them.)

(pat@citypaper.net) (@mission2denmark)

ABOUT THE JUDGE: Art Baxter is a Philadelphia cartoonist, illustrator and graphic designer best known for comics like "Spud" and "Screw." In addition to his home base, artbaxter.com, you can also find him at two brand-new online destinations: comics-philadelphia.com, a news blog covering the Philly comics scene; and phinkwell.com, a webcomics collective featuring Baxter and three other Philly cartoonists.

Click on any comic to enlarge it.

WINNER: Mike Sgier

JUDGE'S COMMENT: Mike Sgier's monster strip was clearly the cream that rose to the top of the submission stack. This comic really shines, from the beautiful brush line work in his depiction of the old-school monsters to the melancholy mood of alienation many experience in the yuletide season. I was immediately drawn to the lonely plight of these miserable creatures who have been shunned from society. They can finally let go of what they were and the connections they once had. They now accept the here and now among their fellow travelers of the dark. Sgier's strip does what all good comics should. It plunges the reader into the miasma of the strange and fascinating otherworld of dreams. Kudos!

Riley Luce

Carolyn Belefski

M. Jacob Alvarez

Dennis Lingg

Andy Hood

B.H. Mills

JoJo Sherrow