Back in April, Big Shiny Robot reported on the 2014 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award nominees. It is now San Diego Comic Con season and that means that some of those nominees became winners. That happened this weekend, July 25th, in San Diego at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront inside the Indigo Ballroom. The event was sponsored by cable tv powerhouse Showtime and included presents like Olando Jones, Jonathan Ross, Thomas Lennon, Reginald Hudlin, Kelly Hu, Kevin Eastman, Benoit Peeters, Francois Shuiten, Matt Fraction, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Sergio Aragones, Terry oore, Bill Morrison, Phil LaMarr, and Vanessa Marshall. The presenters were made up of people from the world of entertainment in television, movies, writing, and comic books. That’s fitting because the Eisner’s are widely regarded as the Academy Awards of the comic book industry.
The winners of this years Eisner’s come from many different mediums and publishers. The publisher with the most wins was IDW. With the announcement of the great successes for artists and publishers there were also some prestigious awards given to industry greats and new comers. The winner of the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award went to Joe Field. Joe was the creative mind behind the annual Free Comic Book day. The next big award for the night was the Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award. That award went to Aaron Conley. The Bill Finger Award for Comic Book Writing went to Robert Kanigher for his work with DC Comics, Bill Mantlo, who created Rocket Raccoon, and the last Bill Finger award went to Jack Mendelsohn for his work with “Mad” and many others.
The last big award for the night was the Will Eisner Hall of Fame Award. The inductee’s into the Hall of Fame include Orrin C. Evans (first black comic book publisher), Irwin Hasen (co-creator of the comic strip “Dondi”), Sheldon Moldoff (co-creator of Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze & Batm-mite), Hayao Miyazaki (“Nausicaa of the Valle of the Wind)”, Alan Moore (“Watchmen”, Dennis O’Neill (DC Comics) and Bernie Wrightson (co-creator of Swamp Thing).
Followed below are the list of the winners for creative categories. For a full list of the nominees click here.
Best Short Story
“Untitled,” by Gilbert Hernandez, in Love and Rockets: New Stories #6 (Fantagraphics
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
Hawkeye #11: “Pizza Is My Business,” by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Marvel)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Continuing Series
Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Limited Series
“The Wake, by Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy (Vertigo/DC)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best New Series
Sex Criminals, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky (Image)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7)
Itty Bitty Hellboy, by Art Baltazar and Franco (Dark Horse)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12)
The Adventures of Superhero Girl, by Faith Erin Hicks (Dark Horse)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)
Battling Boy, by Paul Pope (First Second)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Humor Publication
Vader’s Little Princess, by Jeffrey Brown (Chronicle)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Anthology
Dark Horse Presents, edited by Mike Richardson (Dark Horse)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Digital/Webcomic
The Oatmeal by Matthew Inman, theoatmeal.com
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Reality-Based Work
The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story, by Vivek J. Tiwary, Andrew C. Robinson, and Kyle Baker (M Press/Dark Horse)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Graphic Album—New
The Property, by Rutu Modan (Drawn & Quarterly)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Adaptation from Another Medium
Richard Stark’s Parker: Slayground, by Donald Westlake, adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Graphic Album—Reprint
RASL, by Jeff Smith (Cartoon Books)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips
Tarzan: The Complete Russ Manning Newspaper Strips, vol. 1, edited by Dean Mullaney (LOAC/IDW)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books
Will Eisner’s The Spirit Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best U.S. Edition of International Material
Goddam This War! by Jacques Tardi and Jean-Pierre Verney (Fantagraphics)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia
The Mysterious Underground Men, by Osamu Tezuka (PictureBox)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Writer
Brian K. Vaughan, Saga (Image)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Writer/Artist
Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets New Stories #6 (Fantagraphics)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
Sean Murphy, The Wake (DC/Vertigo)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Cover Artist
David Aja, Hawkeye (Marvel)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Coloring
Jordie Bellaire, The Manhattan Projects, Nowhere Men, Pretty Deadly, Zero (Image); The Massive (Dark Horse); Tom Strong (DC); X-Files Season 10 (IDW); Captain Marvel, Journey into Mystery (Marvel); Numbercruncher (Titan); Quantum and Woody (Valiant)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Lettering
Darwyn Cooke, Richard Stark’s Parker: Slayground (IDW)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
Comic Book Resources, produced by Jonah Weiland, www.comicbookresources.com
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Comics-Related Book
Genius, Illustrated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth, by Dean Mullaney and Bruce Canwell (LOAC/IDW)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Scholarly/Academic Work
Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation, edited by Sheena C. Howard and Ronald L. Jackson II (Bloomsbury)
Image: Comic-Con International
Best Publication Design
Genius, Illustrated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth, designed by Dean Mullaney (LOAC/IDW)
Image: Comic-Con International