2010 was a very good year for the Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards. The entire cast of “Scott Pilgrim” stood on stage for the first round of awards. To have that big studio show of support is huge and shows how comics and movies are so inextricably linked. Not only that, but Hollywood is shaking off that compulsion to rely on boring formulas and is seeking out and respecting original content. That was brought home by the next big moment at the show, the announcement that Will Eisner’s “A Contract with God” will be turned into a movie. It was a very tasteful presentation by the producers and the four directors on the project.
The Eisners and the Oscars. You are not going to mistake one for the other but they share similar qualities. They both have a panel of industry professionals who decide the nominees and then those are voted on my a myriad of industry professionals. The choices for nominees are pretty accurate in acknowledging excellent work from the previous year and try to be as inclusive as possible. Voters will take a look and reach their own conclusion. Sometimes voters will make obvious choices and sometimes they will try to send a message. In the end, the voting results can be looked upon as a great source for where comics are heading.
Best Publication for Kids
Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute, by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Knopf)
The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook, by Eleanor Davis (Bloomsbury)
Tiny Tyrant vol. 1: The Ethelbertosaurus, by Lewis Trondheim and Fabrice Parme (First Second)
The TOON Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics, edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly (Abrams Comic Arts/Toon)
(WINNER) The Wonderful Wizard of Oz hc, by L. Frank Baum, Eric Shanower, and Skottie Young (Marvel)
Best Publication for Teens/Tweens
Angora Napkin, by Troy Little (IDW)
(WINNER) Beasts of Burden, by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson (Dark Horse)
A Family Secret, by Eric Heuvel (Farrar Straus Giroux/Anne Frank House)
Far Arden, by Kevin Cannon (Top Shelf)
I Kill Giants tpb, by Joe Kelly and JM Ken Niimura (Image)
Best Humor Publication
Drinky Crow’s Maakie Treasury, by Tony Millionaire (Fantagraphics)
Everybody is Stupid Except for Me, And Other Astute Observations, by Peter Bagge (Fantagraphics)
Little LuLu, vols. 19-21, by John Stanley and Irving Tripp (Dark Horse Books)
The Muppet Show Comic Book: Meet the Muppets, by Roger Langridge (Boom Kids!)
(WINNER) Scott Pilgrim vol. 5: Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe, by Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
Best Cover Artist
John Cassaday, Irredeemable (BOOM!); Lone Ranger (Dynamite)
Salavador Larocca, Invincible Iron Man (Marvel)
Sean Phillips, Criminal, Incognito (Marvel Icon); 28 Days Later (BOOM!)
(WINNER) J.H. Williams III, Detective Comics (DC)
Best Lettering
Brian Fies, Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? (Abrams ComicArts)
(WINNER) David Mazzucchelli, Asterios Polyp (Pantheon)
Tom Orzechowski, Savage Dragon (Image); X-Men Forever (Marvel)
Richard Sala, Cat Burglar Black (First Second); Delphine (Fantagraphics)
Adrian Tomine, A Drifting Life (Drawn & Quarterly)
Best Digital Comic
Abominable Charles Christopher, by Karl Kerschl
Bayou, by Jeremy Love
The Guns of Shadow Valley, by David Wachter and James Andrew Clark
Power Out, by Nathan Schreiber
(WINNER) Sin Titulo, by Cameron Stewart
Best Coloring
Steve Hamaker, Bone: Crown of Horns (Scholastic); Little Mouse Gets Ready (Toon)
Laura Martin, The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures (IDW); Thor, The Stand: American Nightmares (Marvel)
David Mazzucchelli, Asterios Polyp (Pantheon)
Alex Sinclair, Blacket Night, Batman and Robin (DC)
(WINNER) Dave Stewart, Abe Sapien, BPRD, The Goon, Hellboy, Solomon Kane, Umbrella Academy, Zero Killer (Dark Horse); Detective Comics (DC); Luna Park (Vertigo)
Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
Michael Kaluta, Madame Xanadu #11-15: “The Exodus Noir” (Vertigo/DC)
Steve McNiven/Dexter Vines, Wolverine: Old Man Logan (Marvel)
Fiona Staples, North 40 (Wildstorm)
(WINNER) J.H. Williams III, Detective Comics (DC)
Danijel Zezelj, Luna Park (Vertigo/DC)
Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
Emile Bravo, My mommy is in America and she met Buffalo Bill (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
Mauro Cascioli, Justice League: Cry for Justice (DC)
Nicolle Rager Fuller, Charles Darwin on the Origin of Species: A Graphic Adaptation (Rodale Books)
(WINNER) Jill Thompson, Beast of Burden (Dark Horse); Magic Trixie and the Dragon (Harper Collins Children’s Books)
Carol Tyler, You’ll Never Know: A Good and Decent Man (Fantagraphics)
Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
Alter Ego, edited by Roy Thomas (TwoMorrows)
ComicsAlliance, edited by Laura Hudson, http://www.comicsalliance.com
Comics Comics, edited by Timothy Hodler and Dan Nadel (PictureBox)
The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, Michael Dean, and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
(WINNER) The Comics Reporter, produced by Tom Spurgeon (www.comicsreporter.com)
Best Comics-Related Book
Alan Moore: Comics as Performance, Fiction as Scalpel, by Annalisa Di Liddo (University Press of Mississippi)
(WINNER) The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics, by Denis Kitchen and Paul Buhle (Abrams ComicArts)
The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga, by Helen McCarthy (Abrams ComicArts)
Manga Kamishibai: The Art of Japanese Paper Theater, by Eric P. Nash (Abrams ComicArts)
Will Eisner and PS Magazine, by Paul E. Fitzgerald (Fitzworld. US)
Best Publication Design
(WINNER) Absolute Justice, designed by Curtis King and Josh Beatman (DC)
The Brinkley Girls, designed by Adam Grano (Fantagraphics)
Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons, designed by Jacob Covey (Fantagraphics)
Life and Times of Martha Washington, designed by David Nestelle (Dark Horse Books)
Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz, designed by Philippe Ghielmetti (Sunday Press)
Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? designed by Neil Egan and Brian Fies (Abrams ComicArts)
Best Anthology
Abstract Comics, edited by Andrei Molotiu (Fantagraphics)
Bob Dylan Revisited, edited by Bob Weill (Norton)
Flight 6, edited by Kazu Kibuishi (Villard)
(WINNER) Popgun vol. 3, edited by Mark Andrew Smith, D. J. Kirkbride, and Joe Keatinge (Image)
Syncopated: An Anthology of Nonfiction Picto-Essays, edited by Brendan Burford (Villard)
What is Torch Tiger? edited by Paul Briggs (Torch Tiger)
Best Archival Collection/Project–Strips
(WINNER) Bloom County: The Complete Library, vol. 1, by Berkeley Breathed, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
Bringing Up Father, vol. 1: From Sea to Shining Sea, by George McManus and Zeke Zekley, edited by Bruce Canwell (IDW)
The Brinkley Girls: The Best of Nell Brinkley’s Cartoons 1913 – 1940, edited by Trina Robbins (Fantagraphics)
Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons, by Gahan Wilson, edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
Prince Valiant, vol. 1: 1937 – 1938, by Hal Foster, edited by Kim Thompson (Fantagraphics)
Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, Walt McDougall, and W.W. Denslow, edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press)
Best Archival Collection/Project–Comic Books
The Best of Simon & Kirby, by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, edited by Steve Saffel (Titan Books)
Blazing Combat, by Archie Goodwin et all., edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
Humbug, by Harvey Kurtzman et al., edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
(WINNER) The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures deluxe edition, by Dave Stevens, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
The TOON Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics, edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly (Abrams ComicArts/Toon)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material
My mommy is in America and she met Buffalo Bill, by Jean Regnaud and Emile Bravo (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
(WINNER) The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert, Didier Lefevre, and Frederic Lemerier (First Second)
Tiny Tyrant vol. 1: The Ethelbertosaurus, by Lewis Trondheim and Fabrice Parme (First Second)
West Coast Blues, by Jean-Patrick Manchette, adapted by Jacques Tardi (Fantagraphics)
Years of the Elephant, by Willy Linthout (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material–Asia
The Color Trilogy, by Kim Dong Hwa (First Second)
A Distant Neighborhood (2 vols.) by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
(WINNER) A Drifting Life, by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Drawn & Quarterly)
Oishinbo a la Carte, written by Tetsu Kariya and illustrated by Akira Hanasaki (VIZ Media)
Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka, by Naoki Urasawa, Takashi Nagasaki, Macoto Tezka, and Tezuka Productions (VIZ Media)
Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, by Naoki Urawawa (VIZ Media)
Best Writer
(WINNER) Ed Brubaker, Captain America, Daredevil, Marvel Project (Marvel), Criminal, Incognito (Marvel Icon)
Geoff Johns, Adventure Comics, Blackest Night, The Flash: Rebirth, Superman: Secret Origin (DC)
James Robinson, Justice League: Cry for Justice (DC)
Mark Waid, Irredeemable, The Incredibles, The Unknowns (BOOM!)
Bill Willingham, Fables (Vertigo/DC)
Best Writer/Artist
Darwyn Cooke, Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter (IDW)
R. Crumb, The Book of Genesis Illustrated (Norton)
(WINNER) David Mazzucchelli, Asterios Polyp (Pantheon)
Terry Moore, Echo (Abstract Books)
Naoki Urasawa, Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka (VIZ Media)
Best Writer/Artist–Nonfiction
Reinhard Kleist, Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness (Abrams ComicArts)
Willy Linthout, Years of the Elephant (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
(WINNER) Joe Sacco, Footnotes in Gaza (Metropolitan/Holt)
David Small, Stitches (Norton)
Carol Tyler, You’ll Never Know: A Good and Decent Man (Fantagraphics)
Best Short Story
“Because I Love You So Much,” by Nikoline Werdelin, in From Wonderland with Love: Danish Comics in the 3rd Millennium (Fantagraphics/Aben maler)
“Gentleman John,” by Nathan Greno, in What is Torch Tiger? (Torch Tiger)
“How and Why to Bale Hay,” by Nick Bertozzi, in Syncopated (Villard)
“Hurricane,” interpreted by Gradimir Smudja, in Bob Dylan Revisited (Norton)
(WINNER) “Urgent Request,” by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim, in The Eternal Smile (First Second)
Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
Brave & the Bold #28: “Blackhawk and the Flash: Firing Line,” by J. Michael Straczynski and Jesus Saiz (DC)
(WINNER) Captain America #601: “Red, White and Blue-Blood,” by Ed Brubaker and Gene Colan (Marvel)
Ganges #3, by Kevin Huizenga (Fantagraphics)
The Unwritten #5: “How the Whale Became,” by Mike Carey and Peter Gross (Vertigo/DC)
Usagi Yojimbo #123: “The Death of Lord Hikjii” by Stan Sakai (Dark Horse)
Best Adaptation from Another Work
The Book of Genesis Illustrated, by R. Crumb (Norton)
Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species: A Graphic Adaptation, adapted by Michael Keller and Nicolle Rager Fuller (Rodale)
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, adapted by Tim Hamilton (Hill & Wang)
(WINNER) Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter, adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)
West Coast Blues, by Jean-Patrick Manchette, adapted by Jacques Tardi (Fantagraphics)
Best Reality-Based Work
(WINNER) A Drifting Life, by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Drawn & Quarterly)
Footnotes in Gaza, by Joe Sacco (Metropolitan/Holt)
The Impostor’s Daughter, by Laurie Sandell (Little, Brown)
Monsters, by Ken Dahl (Secret Acres)
The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert, Didier Lefevre, and Frederic Lemerier (First Second)
Stitches, by David Small (Norton)
Best Graphic Album–Reprint
(WINNER) Absolute Justice, by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, and Doug Braithewaite (DC)
A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge, by Josh Neufeld (Pantheon)
Alec: The Years Have Pants, by Eddie Campbell (Top Shelf)
Essex County Collected, by Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
Map of My Heart: The Best of King-Cat Comics & Stories, 1996 – 2002, by John Porcellino (Drawn & Quarterly)
Best Graphic Album–New
(WINNER) Asterios Polyp, by David Mazzucchelli (Pantheon)
A Distant Neighborhood (2 vols.) by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
The Book of Genesis Illustrated, by R. Crumb (Norton)
My mommy is in America and she met Buffalo Bill, by Jean Regnaud and Emile Bravo (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert, Didier Lefevre, and Frederic Lemerier (First Second)
Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter, adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)
Best New Series
(WINNER) Chew, by John Layman and Rob Guillory (Image)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick, art by Tony Parker (BOOM!)
Irreedeemable, by Mark Waid and Peter Krause (BOOM!)
Sweet Tooth, by Jeff Lemire (Vertigo/DC)
The Unwritten, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross (Vertigo/DC)
Best Limited Series or Story Arc
Blackest Night, by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, and Oclair Albert (DC)
Incognito, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Marvel Icon)
Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka, by Naoki Urasawa, Takashi Nagasaki, Macoto Tezka, and Tezuka Productions (VIZ Media)
Wolverine, #66-72 and Wolverine Giant-Size Special: “Old Man Logan,” by Mark Millar, Steve McNiven, and Dexter Vines (Marvel)
(WINNER) The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young (Marvel)
Best Continuing Series
Fables, by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Andrew Pepoy et al. (Vertigo/DC)
Irredeemable, by Mark Waid and Peter Krause (BOOM!)
Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, by Naoki Urasawa (VIZ Media)
The Unwritten, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross (Vertigo/DC)
(WINNER) The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard (Image)
