The winers of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards 2018 were announced at San Diego Comic Con recently. The nominees were for works published between 1st January and 31st December 2017 and were chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges.

This year’s nominees in 31 categories, who included a number of British creators and titles, reflect a wide range of material being published in the United States today in comics and graphic novel form, representing over 120 print and online titles from more than 50 publishers and produced by creators from all over the world.

Eisner Award winner Tom Gauld

Congratulations to Scottish cartoonist Tom Gauld for his award for Baking with Kafka, published by Drawn & Quarterly. He’ll he at the Edinburgh Book Festival next month talking comics, on stage with Hamish Steele – details here. Hie appearance the Festival is part of their “Stripped” events, which include creator talks, the Edinburgh Comic Art Fair and numerous comics workshops.

All professionals in the comic book industry were eligible to vote, and the results were announced at a gala awards ceremony on the evening of Friday 20th July at San Diego Comic-Con.

2018 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Winners

Best Short Story
”A Life in Comics: The Graphic Adventures of Karen Green,” by Nick Sousanis, in Columbia Magazine (Summer 2017)

Best Single Issue/One-Shot
Hellboy: Krampusnacht, by Mike Mignola and Adam Hughes (Dark Horse)

Best Continuing Series
Monstress, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Image)

Best Limited Series
Black Panther: World of Wakanda, by Roxane Gay, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Alitha E. Martinez (Marvel)

Best New Series
Black Bolt, by Saladin Ahmed and Christian Ward (Marvel)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8)
Good Night, Planet, by Liniers (Toon Books)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 9–12)
The Tea Dragon Society, by Katie O’Neill (Oni)

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)
Monstress, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Image)

Crammed with literary jokes – Baking with Kafka by Tom Gauld

Best Humour Publication
Baking with Kafka, by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Anthology
Elements: Fire, A Comic Anthology by Creators of Color, edited by Taneka Stotts (Beyond Press)

Best Reality-Based Work
Spinning, by Tillie Walden (First Second)

Best Graphic Album — New
My Favourite Thing Is Monsters, by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)

Best Graphic Album — Reprint
Boundless, by Jillian Tamaki (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Adaptation from Another Medium
Kindred, by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy and John Jennings (Abrams ComicArts)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material
Run for It: Stories of Slaves Who Fought for the Freedom, by Marcelo D’Salete, translated by Andrea Rosenberg (Fantagraphics)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material — Asia
My Brother’s Husband, vol. 1, by Gengoroh Tagame, translated by Anne Ishii (Pantheon)

Best Archival Collection/Project — Strips
Celebrating Snoopy, by Charles M. Schulz, edited by Alexis E. Fajardo and Dorothy O’Brien (Andrews McMeel)

Best Archival Collection/Project — Comic Books
Akira 35th Anniversary Edition, by Katsuhiro Otomo, edited by Haruko Hashimoto, Ajani Oloye, and Lauren Scanlan (Kodansha)

Best Writer
Tom King, Batman, Batman Annual #2, Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1, Mister Miracle (DC), Marjorie Liu, Monstress (Image)

Best Writer/Artist
Emil Ferris, My Favorite Thing Is Monsters (Fantagraphics)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
Mitch Gerads, Mister Miracle (DC)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
Sana Takeda, Monstress (Image)

Best Cover Artist
Sana Takeda, Monstress (Image)

Best Colouring
Emil Ferris, My Favorite Thing Is Monsters (Fantagraphics)

Best Lettering
Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo, Groo: Slay of the Gods (Dark Horse)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
The Comics Journal, edited by Dan Nadel, Timothy Hodler, and Tucker Stone, tcj.com (Fantagraphics)

Best Comics-Related Book
How to Read Nancy: The Elements of Comics in Three Easy Panels, by Paul Karasik and Mark Newgarden (Fantagraphics)

Best Academic/Scholarly Work
Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics, by Frederick Luis Aldama (University of Arizona Press)

Best Publication Design
Akira 35th Anniversary Edition, designed by Phil Balsman, Akira Saito (Veia), NORMA Editorial, and MASH•ROOM (Kodansha)

Best Digital Comic
Harvey Kurtzman’s Marley’s Ghost, by Harvey Kurtzman, Josh O’Neill, Shannon Wheeler, and Gideon Kendall (comiXology Originals/Kitchen, Lind & Associates)

Best Webcomic
The Tea Dragon Society, by Katie O’Neill, teadragonsociety.com (Oni Press)

Hall of Fame:

Judges’ Choices: Carol Kalish, Jackie Ormes

Voters’ Choices: Charles Addams, Karen Berger, Dave Gibbons, Rumiko Takahashi

Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award: Frederick Joseph; Comics4Kids

Bill Finger Excellence in Comic Book Writing Award: Joe Murchison Kelly; Dorothy Woolfolk

Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award: Hamish Steele (writer/artist, Pantheon), Pablo Tunica (artist, TMNT Universe)

Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award: Norma Comics, Barcelona, Spain

The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are presented under the auspices of Comic-Con, a nonprofit educational organizsation dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular artforms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contributions of comics to art and culture.

• Jackie Estrada has been administrator of the Awards since 1990. She can be reached at jackie@comic-con.org

Web: www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards-current-info

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John Freeman

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.

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Categories: British Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, US Comics

Tags: Awards, downthetubes News, Drawn & Quarterly, Tom Gauld, Will Eisner, Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards 2018