Nominations have been announced for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's 22nd annual Media Awards, which honor outstanding portrayals of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities.

The nominees for outstanding comic book are:

Avengers: The Children's Crusade, by Allan Heinberg, Jimmy Cheung and others (Marvel)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, by Joss Whedon, Brad Meltzer, Georges Jeanty, Scott Allie and others (Dark Horse)

Fogtown, by Andersen Gabrych and Brad Rader (DC Comics/Vertigo)

Veronica, by Dan Parent (Archie Comics)

X-Factor, by Peter David, David Yardin and others (Marvel)

This is the third nomination in a row for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the second for X-Factor. Buffy won in 2008.

In addition, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, director Edgar Wright's adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's Oni Press series, was nominated for outstanding film-wide release. Winners in all categories will be presented during ceremonies in New York City (March 10), Los Angeles (April 16) and San Francisco (May 14). It's unclear at which event the comics category will be presented.

Christopher Butcher offers commentary: "Every year I agonize over these awards because they specifically reward the ‘straightest’ material that happens to be nice to gays, rather than doing anything to recognize the work of actual gay cartoonists. I’m trying hard not to do this, this year, because hey, at least they’ve nominated gay writers Allan Heinberg and Andersen Gabrych. And I don’t want to minimize the support or work of vocally queer-friendly creators like David, Meltzer, or Whedon."