"Amateurs" Nominated for Professional Recognition Awards

Is stuff that you can get for free on the Web -- Web-made comics and Web-only videos -- is it as worthy as comics by paid print, TV and movie professionals?

Like the Magic 8-Ball says, All signs point to yes.

The Nebula Awards recently nominated a half-dozen science fiction scripts for award consideration, like they do every year:

"Children of Men" by Alfonso Cuaron, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby (Universal Studios, Dec06)

"Blink" by Steven Moffat (Doctor Who, BBC/The Sci-Fi Channel, Sep07 (Aired on SciFi Channel 14Sep07))

"Pan's Labyrinth" by Guillermo del Toro (Time/Warner, Jan07)

"The Prestige" by Christopher Nolan & Jonathan Nolan (Newmarket Films, Oct06 (Oct 20, 2006 -- based on the novel by Christopher Priest))

"V for Vendetta" by Larry & Andy Wachowski (Warner Films, Mar06 (released 3/17/2006 -- Written by the Wachowski Brothers, based on the graphic novel illustrated by David Lloyd and published by Vertigo/DC Comics))

"World Enough and Time" by Marc Scott Zicree & Michael Reeves (Star Trek: New Voyages, http://www.startreknewvoyages.com, Aug07 (Aired 8/23/07))

That last nomination, for a STAR TREK amateur film made by fans that's available for viewing on the Web, is causing some professionals to cry foul. And that same Web video is also nominated for a Hugo.

Time Magazine named the Web comic Achewood as Best Graphic Novel of the year; "... so profoundly genius it would be a crime to put it anywhere but on this list, and at the top of it."

Webcomics, graphic novels -- TV, movies, streaming Webcasts --amateur, professional -- does it matter to people who consume it?

It doesn't matter to Time, or the Nebulas or the Hugos.