Cam Smith
We’re delighted to report British comic book artist and inker Cam Smith – known for his work at Marvel UK, 2000AD and for US publishers – has been nominated for an Inkwell Award – and there are other British nominees, too.
The Inkwell Awards are the only non-profit organisation devoted to public education and promotion of the art of comic book inking, invites everyone to vote for the industry’s best of the year.
The official public ballot will be available on the Inkwells’ homepage until 1st March 2019.
Voting is open to fans and professionals alike. The five categories are “Favourite Inker,” “Most Adaptable,” “Props” (inkers deserving more attention), the “S.P.A.M.I.” (Small Press And Mainstream/Independent) and “All-In-One” for pencillers who ink their own work, who this year also include two other former Marvel UK creators, Mike Perkins, whose recent credits include Green Lantern for DC, and Liam Sharp, also busy on Green Lantern for DC with Grant Morrison. The ballot covers all printed American comic books cover-dated 2018.
Cam Smith has been nominated for his recent work on books such as Wolverine, Claws of A Killer (Butch Guice – finishes), Amazing Spider-Man #800 and X-Men Gold #25.
Amazing Spider-Man 800
Wolverine, Claws of A Killer © Marvel
X-Men Gold #25 © Marvel
Cam has previously worked on Uncanny X-Men, Superman, Batman, the Fantastic Four and many other titles. He describes himself as a solitary creature who spends his days in a book-filled room making black marks on white paper. The idea that he can make a living from this activity is a constant source of bemusement….
Perhaps best known for his collaborations with artist Gary Frank, inking that would earn him an Eisner Award nomination, Cam started out at Marvel UK, on work that included illustrations for Doctor Who Magazine and inking some of its strips.
His work with Gary Frank on early issues of Marvel UK’s Motormouth earned him critical attention and he would go on to work with Gary on The Incredible Hulk at Marvel Comics in 1993. The pair would be reunited in 1997 at DC Comics for the start of the Supergirl series, which earned Cam an Eisner nomination for “Best Inker”. The artists also worked together for Image Comics imprint Wildstorm on Gen¹³ in late 1997.
The cover of The Incredible Hulk #416, pencilled by Gary Frank, inked by Cam Smith © Marvel
Cam’s other work includes Action Comics, Detective Comics, Green Lantern, Superman and X-Men and he has run Inking Workshops at Orbital Comics and elsewhere to pass on the skills of his long-developed trade.
• The winners of this year’s Inkwell Awards will be announced at the live awards ceremony at The Great Philadelphia Comic Con! in Oaks, PA the weekend of 12th – 14th April 2019
• Cam Smith art on ComicArtFans
THE 2019 INKWELL AWARDS – ALL NOMINEES
• Vote here on the Inkwell Awards web site
Favourite Inker: Favourite ink artist over the pencil work of another artist – cannot also be nominated for the “Props” award
A) Jay Leisten: Suicide Squad (DC); Astonishing X-Men, Avengers, Incredible Hulk, Return of Wolverine, Spider-Geddon, Venom Inc.: Omega (Marvel)
B) Mark Morales: Justice League (DC); Avengers (Marvel)
C) Joe Prado: Superman (DC)
D) Trevor Scott: Damage (DC)
E) Dexter Vines: The Wild Storm: Michael Cray (DC/Wildstorm)
F) Walden Wong: Astonishing X-Men, Captain America Annual, Incredible Hulk, Marvel Two-In-One, Venom (Marvel)
Most-Adaptable Award: Artist showing exceptional ink style versatility over other pencil artists.
A) Marc Deering: Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, The Black Order, Black Panther, Legion (Marvel)
B) Jay Leisten: Suicide Squad (DC); Astonishing X-Men, Avengers, Incredible Hulk, Return of Wolverine, Spider-Geddon, Venom Inc.: Omega (Marvel)
C) Norm Rapmund: Action Comics, Batgirl, Batman Beyond, Deathstroke, Mera, Teen Titans, Titans (DC)
D) Cam Smith: Hal Jordan And The Green Lantern Corps, Nightwing (DC); Amazing Spider-Man, Hunt For Wolverine: Claws of a Killer, X-Men Gold (Marvel)
E) Walden Wong: Justice League (DC); Astonishing X-Men, Black Panther, Captain America Annual, Incredible Hulk, Marvel Two-In-One, Venom (Marvel)
Props Award: Ink artist deserving of more attention for their work over other pencil artists. (Those nominated for, or past winners of, “Favorite Inker” are ineligible.)
A) Elisabetta D’Amico: G.I. Joe (IDW); Avengers, Fantastic Four, Spider-Men II (Marvel)
B) Eber Ferreira: Detective Comics, Hal Jordan And The Green Lantern Corps (DC)
C) Ruy Jose: Avengers, Immortal Hulk (Marvel)
D) Daniel Henriques: Aquaman, Hawkman, Justice League, Supergirl (DC)
E) Jordi Tarragona: Hal Jordan And The Green Lantern Corps (DC)
F) Le Beau Underwood: Noble, Superb (Lion Forge); Immortal Hulk (Marvel)
The S.P.A.M.I: Favorite Small Press And Mainstream/Independent ink work over another pencil artist (non-Marvel/DC work).
A) Stefano Guadiano: Walking Dead (Image)
B) Andrew Pepoy: The Simpsons (Bongo Comics); Dinosaucers (Lion Forge); Yellow Submarine (Titan Books)
C) Brian Albert Thies: X-O Manowar: Barbarians (Valiant)
D) Le Beau Underwood: Noble, Superb (Lion Forge)
E) Ryan Winn: Bloodshot: Rising Spirit, Ninja-K (Valiant)
All-in-One Award: Favourite artist known for inking his/her own pencil work.
A) Joelle Jones: Batman, Catwoman (DC)
B) Mike Perkins: Green Lantern (DC)
C) Andrew Pepoy: Dinosaucers (Lion Forge)
D) Liam Sharp: Brave And The Bold, Green Lanterns (DC)
E) Lee Weeks: Batman, Batman Annual (DC)
As a courtesy, also listed on the ballot are the nominees for two lifetime achievement honours. The first is the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame (“HoF”) award for an outstanding inking career of 25 or more years in American comics, whose winners are chosen by an internal committee (to avoid a “popularity contest” where recent names have more influence than past masters). Two nominees are awarded each year.
The other is the Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award (SASRA), which differs from the HoF due to the artist being out of the “public eye,” having limited name-recognition due to semi- or full retirement or death, limited-yet-influential output, social barriers such as gender/race, or other factors that might otherwise limit their consideration for the traditional HoF award. It was posthumously named in honor of the first female member of the Inkwells who, according to Almond, “was the heart and soul of our organization.”
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, US Comics
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An inker can either turn great pencilling into sublime artwork or if the two styles don’t quite match into a disaster 🙂 Think of some of the inker’s the great Jack Kirby had over the years where when you bought the comic opened the page and thought to yourself “That’s Kirby”???