Comic-Con: Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Winners Announced

The 27th Annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards were held Friday night at San Diego Comic-Con, recognizing achievements in the comic medium over the last twelve months. In a ceremony that featured Edward James Olmos, Orlando Jones and Battlestar Galactica‘s Kandyse McClure and Tahmoh Penikett, winners of the night included web cartoonist Emily Carroll, Image Comics’ Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples and the fan-favorite Lumberjanes series.

In addition to the winners of the categories announced in April, a number of other awards were handed out on Friday night, including the Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing — named after the legendary writer of DC’s Batman whose contributions to the character’s creation and mythos went officially unrecognized for decades — which went to Little Lulu writer John Stanley, and the Spirit of Comics Retailer Award, which was given to Packrat Comics in Hilliard, Ohio.

Four creators were inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame during the ceremony: legendary X-Men writer Chris Claremont, who joked that he’d gotten his start at Marvel because Stan Lee liked the idea of an unpaid college intern; artist John Byrne; publisher and cartoonist Denis Kitchen and writer/artist Frank Miller, whose award was accepted by DC Entertainment co-publisher Jim Lee. 

A full list of winners is below.

Best Short Story
?“When the Darkness Presses,” by Emily Carroll, http://emcarroll.com/comics/darkness/

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
?Beasts of Burden: Hunters and Gatherers, by Evan Dorkin & Jill Thompson (Dark Horse)

Best Continuing Series
?Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples (Image)

Best Limited Series
?Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland, by Eric Shanower & Garbriel Rodriguez (IDW)

Best New Series
?Lumberjanes, by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, & Brooke A. Allen (BOOM! Box)?

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7)
?The Zoo Box, by Ariel Cohn & Aron Nels Steinke (First Second)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12)
?El Deafo, by Cece Bell (Amulet/Abrams)

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)
?Lumberjanes, by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, & Brooke A. Allen (BOOM! Box)

Best Humor Publication
?The Complete Cul de Sac, by Richard Thompson (Andrews McMeel)

Best Digital/Web Comic
?The Private Eye by Brian Vaughan & Marcos Martin http://panelsyndicate.com/ 

Best Anthology
?Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream, edited by Josh O’Neill, Andrew Carl, & Chris Stevens (Locust Moon)

Best Reality-Based Work
?Hip Hop Family Tree, vol. 2, by Ed Piskor (Fantagraphics)

Best Graphic Album—New
?This One Summer, by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki (First Second)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint
?Through the Woods, by Emily Carroll (McElderry Books)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips (at least 20 years old)
?Winsor McCay’s Complete Little Nemo, edited by Alexander Braun (TASCHEN)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books (at least 20 Years Old)
?Steranko Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material
?Blacksad: Amarillo, by Juan Díaz Canales & Juanjo Guarnido (Dark Horse)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia
?Showa 1939–1955 and Showa 1944–1953: A History of Japan, by Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Writer
?Gene Luen Yang, Avatar: The Last Airbender (Dark Horse); The Shadow Hero (First Second)

Best Writer/Artist
?Raina Telgemeier, Sisters (Graphix/Scholastic)

Best Penciller/Inker
?Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
?J. H. Williams III, The Sandman: Overture (Vertigo/DC)

Best Cover Artist
?Darwyn Cooke, DC Comics Darwyn Cooke Month Variant Covers (DC)

Best Coloring
?Dave Stewart, Hellboy in Hell, BPRD, Abe Sapien, Baltimore, Lobster Johnson, Witchfinder, Shaolin Cowboy, Aliens: Fire and Stone, DHP (Dark Horse)

Best Lettering
?Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo: Senso, Usagi Yojimbo Color Special: The Artist (Dark Horse)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
Comics Alliance, edited by Andy Khouri, Caleb Goellner, Andrew Wheeler, & Joe Hughes, www.comicsalliance.com

Best Comics-Related Book
?Genius Animated: The Cartoon Art of Alex Toth, vol. 3, by Dean Mullaney & Bruce Canwell (IDW/LOAC)

Best Scholarly/Academic Work
?Graphic Details: Jewish Women’s Confessional Comics in Essays and Interviews, edited by Sarah Lightman (McFarland)

Best Publication Design
?Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream, designed by Jim Rugg (Locust Moon)

Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing
John Stanley, Little Lulu

Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award
Greg Smallwood, Jorge Corona (Tie)

Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award
Bill and Kayre Morrison

Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award
Packrat Comics, Hilliard, Ohio

Will Eisner Hall of Fame
Marjorie Henderson Buell, Bill Woggon, Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Denis Kitchen, Frank Miller