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Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Using Awards Lists As A RA Tool: Eisner Awards Edition

This is part of my ongoing series on using Awards Lists as a RA tool. Click here for all posts in the series in reverse chronological order. Click here for the first post which outlines the details how to use awards lists as a RA tool.  



The Eisner Awards are the top awards for the format of Graphic Novels and Comics. Below I will post the intro and then the link to the full list of nominees in 32 categories

I love these awards because they teach me about the industry as much as alert me to the leading titles. When you see the different categories, you can begin to understand the differences in titles for readers: ingle issues vs series vs reprint. You can also see artists and letterers show up over time and across different publications. In other words, the Eisner Awards nominees list hold a lot more information for you  than just a reason to get up some displays, update your collections, or make some lists.

Also, here is the link to the backlist of winners.

Now to the current list of nominees. Click here or after the reposted intro to see all 32 category nominees.

Nominees Announced for 2023 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards

Image and DC have the most nominations

SAN DIEGO – Comic-Con is proud to announce the nominees for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards 2023. The nominations are for works published between January 1 and December 31, 2022 and were chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges.

Once again, this year’s nominees in 32 categories reflect the wide range of material being published in the U.S. today in comics and graphic novels, representing some 150 print and online titles from over 50 publishers, produced by creators from all over the world.

Image and DC received the most nominations: Image with 20 (plus 6 shared) and DC with 11 (plus 5 shared). Image’s nominees span a spectrum of titles, with multiple nominations for Clementine, The Department of Truth, It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth, Killadelphia, Love Everlasting, Monstress, and Rain. Topping DC’s nominees are Human Target and Nightwing, with 3 each.

Fantagraphics has 13 nominations, led by Thomas Woodruff’s Francis Rothbart! The Tale of a Fastidious Feral, which received nods for Best Graphic Album–new, Best Painter/Multimedia Artist, Best Lettering, and Best Publication Design. In addition, Fantagraphics dominated the Archival Collection categories, with 3 in the Comic Strip category and 2 in the Comic Book category.

Marvel Comics received 9 nominations (plus 3 shared), including 2 each in the Short Story, Single Issue, and Continued Series categories. Dark Horse had 9 (plus 2 shared), led by 2 for Jeff Lemire’s Mazebook Dark Horse Direct Edition (Best Graphic Album–Reprint, Best Publication Design).

Other publishers with multiple nominations include Abrams (with 7 plus 1 shared), Drawn & Quarterly (6), Z2 (6), IDW (5), First Second(4 plus 1 shared), Penn State University/Graphic Mundi (4), Ablaze (3 plus 1 shared), Humanoids (3 plus 1 shared), Andrews McMeel (3), TwoMorrows (3), VIZ Media (3), and BOOM! (2 plus one shared).  Six companies have 2 nominations each, and another 33 companies or individuals have 1 nomination each.

Other projects with more than two nominations are The Night Eaters: She Eats the Night, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Best Graphic Album–New, Best Painter/Multimedia Artist, Best Letterer; Abrams), and Joe Hill’s Rain by David M. Booher and Zoe Thorogood (Best Adaptation from Another Medium, Best Painter/Multimedia Artist, Best Cover Artist; Syzygy/Image). Over 20 titles had 2 nominations.

When it comes to creators, Zoe Thorogood leads the pack with 5 nominations: the 3 for Rain plus 2 for her memoir It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth (Image), followed by Thomas Woodruff with his 4 for Francis Rothbart! and Tom King with 4 (Best Writer, Best Single Issue: Batman: One Bad Day: The Riddler; DC; Best New Series: Love Everlasting, Image; and Best Limited Series: The Human Target, DC). Six creators have 3 nominations. They are Sean Phillips (Best Penciller/Inker, and 2 for Parker: The Martini Edition, IDW), Bruno Redondo (Best Penciller/Inker, Best Cover Artist, and Best Continuing Series for Nightwing, DC), Mark Russell (Best Writer, Best Limited Series for Superman: Space Age, DC; and Best New Series for Traveling to Mars, Ablaze), Sana Takeda (Best Painter/Multimedia Artist, Best Cover Artist, Best Graphic Album–New for Night Eaters, Abrams), James Tynion IV (Best Writer, Best Continuing Series for The Department of Truth, Image; and Best Limited Series for The Nice House on the Lake, DC), and Chip Zdarsky(Best Writer, Best Continuing Series for Daredevil, Marvel; Best New Series for Public Domain, Image). Another thirteen creators had 2 nominations.

Named for acclaimed comics creator Will Eisner, the awards are celebrating their 35th year of bringing attention to and highlighting the best publications and creators in comics and graphic novels. The 2023 Eisner Awards judging panel consists of librarian Moni Barrette, educator/collector Peter Jones, retailer Jen King, journalist Sean Kleefeld, scholar/comics creator A. David Lewis, and comics instructor/curator TJ Shevlin.

Voting for the awards is being held online using a two-step process. The first step is for prospective voters to apply at https://https://form.jotform.com/230927489799177. After filling out the form, eligible voters will be invited to go to the ballot and cast their votes. Those who previously registered will automatically be invited to fill out the new ballot. All professionals in the comic book industry are eligible to vote. The deadline for voting is June 9. New voters must have registered by June 2 in order to be invited to the ballot. Questions about the voting process should be sent to the Eisner Awards administrator, Jackie Estrada at jackie@comic-con.org

The Eisner Award trophies will be presented in a gala awards ceremony to be held at the San Diego Hilton Bayfront Hotel during Comic-Con on the evening of July 21.

The Eisner Awards are presented under the auspices of San Diego Comic Convention, a California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation organized for charitable purposes and dedicated to creating the general public’s awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms, including nonprofit educational organizations dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contributions of comics to art and culture.

Click here to access the nominees

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