Given the positive impact of the Eisner Awards, their importance to the comic book industry, and Fanbase Press’ own mission to “Celebrate Fandoms,” today marks the launch of Fanbase Press’ annual “Countdown to the Eisners” series. With “Countdown to the Eisners,” we will highlight each of the Eisner Awards’ 31 nomination categories, providing comic book industry members and readers alike the opportunity to learn more about the nominees and their work.
Despite the unpredictable and chaotic nature of the year 2020 so far, it is once again time to celebrate the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. Even in the face of the cancellation of San Diego Comic-Con International 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Eisners will proceed, even if it means foregoing the annual Eisner Award Ceremony from the Hilton Bayfront Hotel during the comic industry’s biggest event of the year.
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, often referred to simply as “the Eisners,” are generally accepted as the most prestigious recognition one can receive in the comic book field. Named in honor of comic book pioneer Will Eisner, the creator of The Spirit and the man who helped to popularize the term “graphic novel,” the Eisner Awards span over two dozen categories, including everything from Best Artist and Best Writer to Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism. As mentioned previously, in typical years, the awards are presented at the San Diego Comic-Con International convention during a ceremony that is open to not only comic book professionals, but all convention attendees.
The recent release of this year’s nominees sees publishers IDW Publishing and Image Comics coming out on top with the majority of nominations, but there are a number of other creators and titles making a strong showing so far, including First Second Books’ Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me and Dark Horse Comics’ Invisible Kingdom.
Given the cancellation of Comic-Con, it’s remains unknown how this year’s winners will be announced, but more information regarding a replacement for the award ceremony is expected to be shared in July. It would not be a huge surprise if some sort of virtual ceremony is being crafted, much like the conversion we’ve seen for the convention itself into a virtual con.
We may have to wait and see what the future brings in regards to the announcement of the winners, but, in the meantime, the full list of 2020 nominations is below:
Best Short Story
“Hot Comb,” by Ebony Flowers, in Hot Comb (Drawn & Quarterly)
“How to Draw a Horse,” by Emma Hunsinger, The New Yorker, https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/how-to-draw-a-horse
“The Menopause,” by Mira Jacob, The Believer, https://believermag.com/the-menopause/
“Who Gets Called an ‘Unfit’ Mother?” by Miriam Libicki, The Nib, https://thenib.com/who-gets-called-an-unfit-mother/
“You’re Not Going to Believe What I’m About to Tell You,” by Matthew Inman, The Oatmeal, https://theoatmeal.com/comics/believe
Best Single Issue/One-Shot
Coin-Op No. 8: Infatuation, by Peter and Maria Hoey (Coin-Op Books)
The Freak, by Matt Lesniewski (AdHouse)
Minotäar by Lissa Treiman (Shortbox)
Our Favorite Thing Is My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)
Sobek, by James Stokoe (Shortbox)
Best Continuing Series
Bitter Root, by David Walker, Chuck Brown, and Sanford Greene (Image)
Criminal, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)
Crowded, by Christopher Sebela, Ro Stein, and Ted Brandt (Image)
Daredevil, by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto (Marvel)
The Dreaming, by Simon Spurrier, Bilquis Evely et al. (DC)
Immortal Hulk, by Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, and Ruy José et al. (Marvel)
Best Limited Series
Ascender, by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen (Image)
Ghost Tree, by Bobby Curnow and Simon Gane (IDW)
Little Bird, by Darcy Van Poelgeest and Ian Bertram (Image)
Naomi, by Brian Michael Bendis, David Walker, and Jamal Campbell (DC)
Sentient, by Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Walta (TKO)
Best New Series
Doctor Doom, by Christopher Cantwell and Salvador Larocca (Marvel)
Invisible Kingdom, by G. Willow Wilson and Christian Ward (Berger Books/Dark Horse)
Once & Future, by Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora (BOOM! Studios)
Something Is Killing the Children, by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera (BOOM! Studios)
Undiscovered Country, by Scott Snyder, Charles Soule, Giuseppe Camuncoli, and Daniele Orlandini (Image)
Best Publication for Early Readers
Comics: Easy as ABC, by Ivan Brunetti (TOON)
Kitten Construction Company: A Bridge Too Fur, by John Patrick Green (First Second/Macmillan)
The Pigeon HAS to Go to School!, by Mo Willems (Hyperion Books)
A Trip to the Top of the Volcano with Mouse, by Frank Viva (TOON)
¡Vamos! Let’s Go to the Market, by Raúl the Third (Versify/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Who Wet My Pants?, by Bob Shea and Zachariah Ohora (Little, Brown)
Best Publication for Kids
Akissi: More Tales of Mischief, by Marguerite Abouet and Mathieu Sapin (Flying Eye/Nobrow)
Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls, by Dav Pilkey (Scholastic Graphix)
Guts, by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic Graphix)
New Kid, by Jerry Craft (Quill Tree/HarperCollins)
This Was Our Pact, by Ryan Andrews (First Second/Macmillan)
The Wolf in Underpants, by Wilfrid Lupano, Mayana Itoïz, and Paul Cauuet (Graphic Universe/Lerner Publishing Group)
Best Publication for Teens
Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass, by Mariko Tamaki and Steve Pugh (DC)
Hot Comb, by Ebony Flowers (Drawn & Quarterly)
Kiss Number 8, by Colleen AF Venable and Ellen T. Crenshaw (First Second/Macmillan)
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell (First Second/Macmillan)
Penny Nichols, by MK Reed, Greg Means, and Matt Wiegle (Top Shelf)
Best Humor Publication
Anatomy of Authors, by Dave Kellett (SheldonComics.com)
Death Wins a Goldfish, by Brian Rea (Chronicle Books)
Minotäar, by Lissa Treiman (Shortbox)
Sobek, by James Stokoe (Shortbox)
The Way of the Househusband, vol. 1, by Kousuke Oono, translation by Sheldon Drzka (VIZ Media)
Wondermark: Friends You Can Ride On, by David Malki (Wondermark)
Best Anthology
ABC of Typography, by David Rault (SelfMade Hero)
Baltic Comics Anthology š! #34-37, edited by David Schilter, Sanita Muižniece et al. (kuš!)
Drawing Power: Women’s Stories of Sexual Violence, Harassment, and Survival, edited by Diane Noomin (Abrams)
Kramer’s Ergot #10, edited by Sammy Harkham (Fantagraphics)
The Nib #2–4, edited by Matt Bors (Nib)
Best Reality-Based Work
Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations, by Mira Jacob (One World/Random House)
Grass, by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, translation by Janet Hong (Drawn & Quarterly)
Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos, by Lucy Knisley (First Second/Macmillan)
Moonbound: Apollo 11 and the Dream of Spaceflight, by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm (Hill & Wang)
My Solo Exchange Diary, vol. 2 (sequel to My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness), by Nagata Kabi, translation by Jocelyne Allen (Seven Seas)
They Called Us Enemy, by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker (Top Shelf)
Best Graphic Album—New
Are You Listening?, by Tillie Walden (First Second/Macmillan)
Bezimena, by Nina Bunjevac (Fantagraphics)
BTTM FDRS, by Ezra Claytan Daniels and Ben Passmore (Fantagraphics)
Life on the Moon, by Robert Grossman (Yoe Books/IDW)
New World, by David Jesus Vignolli (Archaia/BOOM!)
Reincarnation Stories, by Kim Deitch (Fantagraphics)
Best Graphic Album—Reprint
Bad Weekend, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)
Clyde Fans, by Seth (Drawn & Quarterly)
Cover, vol. 1, by Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack (DC/Jinxworld)
Glenn Ganges: The River at Night, by Kevin Huizenga (Drawn & Quarterly)
LaGuardia, by Nnedi Okorafor and Tana Ford (Berger Books/Dark Horse)
Rusty Brown, by Chris Ware (Pantheon)
Best Adaptation from Another Medium
Giraffes on Horseback Salad: Salvador Dali, the Marx Brothers, and the Strangest Movie Never Made, by Josh Frank, Tim Hedecker, and Manuela Pertega (Quirk Books)
The Giver, by Lois Lowry and P. Craig Russell, (HMH Books for Young Readers)
The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel, by Margaret Atwood, adapted by Renee Nault (Nan A. Talese)
HP Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness, vols. 1–2, adapted by Gou Tanabe, translation by Zack Davisson (Dark Horse Manga)
The Seventh Voyage, by Stanislaw Lem, adapted by Jon Muth, translation by Michael Kandel (Scholastic Graphix)
Snow, Glass, Apples, by Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran (Dark Horse Books)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material
Diabolical Summer, by Thierry Smolderen and Alexandre Clerisse, translation by Edward Gauvin (IDW)
Gramercy Park, by Timothée de Fombelle and Christian Cailleaux, translation by Edward Gauvin (EuroComics/IDW)
The House, by Paco Roca, translation by Andrea Rosenberg (Fantagraphics)
Maggy Garrisson, by Lewis Trondheim and Stéphane Oiry, translation by Emma Wilson (SelfMadeHero)
Stay, by Lewis Trondheim and Hubert Chevillard, translation by Mike Kennedy (Magnetic Press)
Wrath of Fantômas, by Olivier Bouquet and Julie Rocheleau, translation by Edward Gauvin (Titan)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia
BEASTARS, by Paru Itagaki, translation by Tomo Kimura (VIZ Media)
Cats of the Louvre, by Taiyo Matsumoto, translation by Michael Arias (VIZ Media)
Grass, by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, translation by Janet Hong (Drawn & Quarterly)
Magic Knight Rayearth 25th Anniversary Edition, by CLAMP, translation by Melissa Tanaka (Kodansha)
The Poe Clan, by Moto Hagio, translation by Rachel Thorn (Fantagraphics)
Witch Hat Atelier, by Kamome Shirahama, translation by Stephen Kohler (Kodansha)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips
Cham: The Best Comic Strips and Graphic Novelettes, 1839–1862, by David Kunzle (University Press of Mississippi)
Ed Leffingwell’s Little Joe, by Harold Gray, edited by Peter Maresca and Sammy Harkham (Sunday Press Books)
The George Herriman Library: Krazy & Ignatz 1916–1918, edited by R.J. Casey (Fantagraphics)
Krazy Kat: The Complete Color Sundays, by George Herriman, edited by Alexander Braun (TASCHEN)
Madness in Crowds: The Teeming Mind of Harrison Cady, by Violet and Denis Kitchen (Beehive Books)
Pogo, Vol. 6: Clean as a Weasel, by Walt Kelly, edited by Mark Evanier and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books
Alay-Oop, by William Gropper (New York Review Comics)
The Complete Crepax, vol. 5: American Stories, edited by Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
Jack Kirby’s Dingbat Love, edited by John Morrow (TwoMorrows)
Moonshadow: The Definitive Edition, by J. M. DeMatteis, Jon J Muth, George Pratt, Kent Williams, and others (Dark Horse Books)
Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo: The Complete Grasscutter Artist Select, by Stan Sakai, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
That Miyoko Asagaya Feeling, by Shinichi Abe, translation by Ryan Holmberg, edited by Mitsuhiro Asakawa (Black Hook Press)
Best Writer
Bobby Curnow, Ghost Tree (IDW)
MK Reed and Greg Means, Penny Nichols (Top Shelf)
Mariko Tamaki, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass (DC); Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me (First Second/Macmillan); Archie (Archie)
Lewis Trondheim, Stay (Magnetic Press); Maggy Garrisson (SelfMadeHero)
G. Willow Wilson, Invisible Kingdom (Berger Books/Dark Horse); Ms. Marvel (Marvel)
Chip Zdarsky, White Trees (Image); Daredevil, Spider-Man: Life Story (Marvel); Afterlift (comiXology Originals)
Best Writer/Artist
Nina Bunjevac, Bezimena (Fantagraphics)
Mira Jacob, Good Talk (Random House); “The Menopause” in The Believer (June 1, 2019)
Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, Grass (Drawn & Quarterly)
James Stokoe, Sobek (Shortbox)
Raina Telgemeier, Guts (Scholastic Graphix)
Tillie Walden, Are You Listening? (First Second/Macmillan)
Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
Ian Bertram, Little Bird (Image)
Colleen Doran, Snow, Glass, Apples (Dark Horse)
Bilquis Evely, The Dreaming (DC)
Simon Gane, Ghost Tree (IDW)
Steve Pugh, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass (DC)
Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me (First Second/Macmillan)
Best Painter/Digital Artist
Didier Cassegrain, Black Water Lilies (Europe Comics)
Alexandre Clarisse, Diabolical Summer (IDW)
David Mack, Cover (DC)
Léa Mazé, Elma, A Bear’s Life, vol. 1: The Great Journey (Europe Comics)
Julie Rocheleau, Wrath of Fantômas (Titan)
Christian Ward, Invisible Kingdom (Berger Books/Dark Horse)
Best Cover Artist
Jen Bartel, Blackbird (Image Comics)
Francesco Francavilla, Archie, Archie 1955, Archie Vs. Predator II, Cosmo (Archie)
David Mack, American Gods, Fight Club 3 (Dark Horse); Cover (DC)
Emma Rios, Pretty Deadly (Image)
Julian Totino Tedesco, Daredevil (Marvel)
Christian Ward, Machine Gun Wizards (Dark Horse), Invisible Kingdom (Berger Books/Dark Horse)
Best Coloring
Lorena Alvarez, Hicotea (Nobrow)
Jean-Francois Beaulieu, Middlewest, Outpost Zero (Image)
Matt Hollingsworth, Batman: Curse of the White Knight, Batman White Knight Presents Von Freeze (DC); Little Bird, November (Image)
Molly Mendoza, Skip (Nobrow)
Dave Stewart, Black Hammer, B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know, Hellboy and the BPRD (Dark Horse); Gideon Falls (Image); Silver Surfer Black, Spider-Man (Marvel)
Best Lettering
Deron Bennett, Batgirl, Green Arrow, Justice League, Martian Manhunter (DC); Canto (IDW); Assassin Nation, Excellence (Skybound/Image); To Drink and To Eat, vol. 1 (Lion Forge); Resonant (Vault)
Jim Campbell, Black Badge, Coda (BOOM Studios); Giant Days, Lumberjanes: The Shape of Friendship (BOOM Box!); Rocko’s Modern Afterlife (KaBOOM!); At the End of Your Tether (Lion Forge); Blade Runner 2019 (Titan); Mall, The Plot, Wasted Space (Vault)
Clayton Cowles, Aquaman, Batman, Batman and the Outsiders, Heroes in Crisis, Superman: Up in the Sky, Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen (DC); Bitter Root, Pretty Deadly, Moonstruck, Redlands, The Wicked + The Divine (Image); Reaver (Skybound/Image); Daredevil, Ghost-Spider, Silver Surfer Black, Superior Spider-Man, Venom (Marvel)
Emilie Plateau, Colored: The Unsung Life of Claudette Colvin (Europe Comics)
Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo (IDW)
Tillie Walden, Are You Listening? (First Second/Macmillan)
Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
Comic Riffs blog, by Michael Cavna, www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/comics/
The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, RJ Casey, and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
Hogan’s Alley, edited by Tom Heintjes (Hogan’s Alley)
Inks: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society, edited by Qiana Whitted (Ohio State University Press)
LAAB Magazine, vol. 4: This Was Your Life, edited by Ronald Wimberly and Josh O’Neill (Beehive Books)
Women Write About Comics, edited by Nola Pfau and Wendy Browne, www.WomenWriteAboutComics.com
Best Comics-Related Book
The Art of Nothing: 25 Years of Mutts and the Art of Patrick McDonnell (Abrams)
The Book of Weirdo, by Jon B. Cooke (Last Gasp)
Grunt: The Art and Unpublished Comics of James Stokoe (Dark Horse)
Logo a Gogo: Branding Pop Culture, by Rian Hughes (Korero Press)
Making Comics, by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)
Screwball! The Cartoonists Who Made the Funnies Funny, by Paul Tumey (Library of American Comics/IDW)
Best Academic/Scholarly Work
The Art of Pere Joan: Space, Landscape, and Comics Form, by Benjamin Fraser (University of Texas Press)
The Comics of Rutu Modan: War, Love, and Secrets, by Kevin Haworth (University Press of Mississippi)
EC Comics: Race, Shock, and Social Protest, by Qiana Whitted (Rutgers University Press)
The Peanuts Papers: Writers and Cartoonists on Charlie Brown, Snoopy & the Gang, and the Meaning of Life, edited by Andrew Blauner (Library of America)
Producing Mass Entertainment: The Serial Life of the Yellow Kid, by Christina Meyer (Ohio State University Press)
Women’s Manga in Asia and Beyond: Uniting Different Cultures and Identities, edited by Fusami Ogi et al. (Palgrave Macmillan)
Best Publication Design
Grunt: The Art and Unpublished Comics of James Stokoe, designed by Ethan Kimberling (Dark Horse)
Krazy Kat: The Complete Color Sundays, by George Herriman, designed by Anna-Tina Kessler (TASCHEN)
Logo a Gogo, designed by Rian Hughes (Korero Press)
Madness in Crowds: The Teeming Mind of Harrison Cady, designed by Paul Kopple and Alex Bruce (Beehive Books)
Making Comics, designed by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)
Rusty Brown, designed by Chris Ware (Pantheon)
Best Digital Comic
Afterlift, by Chip Zdarsky and Jason Loo (comiXology Originals)
Black Water Lilies, by Michel Bussi, adapted by Frédéric Duval and Didier Cassegrain, translated by Edward Gauvin (Europe Comics)
Colored: The Unsung Life of Claudette Colvin, by Tania de Montaigne, adapted by Emilie Plateau, translated by Montana Kane (Europe Comics)
Elma, A Bear’s Life, vol. 1: The Great Journey, by Ingrid Chabbert and Léa Mazé, translated by Jenny Aufiery (Europe Comics)
Mare Internum, by Der-shing Helmer (comiXology; gumroad.com/l/MIPDF)
Tales from Behind the Window, by Edanur Kuntman, translated by Cem Ulgen (Europe Comics)
Best Webcomic
Cabramatta, by Matt Huynh, http://believermag.com/cabramatta/
Chuckwagon at the End of the World, by Erik Lundy, https://hollowlegcomics.tumblr.com/chuckwagon
The Eyes, by Javi de Castro, https://www.javidecastro.com/theeyes
Fried Rice Comic, by Erica Eng, https://friedricecomic.tumblr.com
reMIND, by Jason Brubaker, https://is.gd/T7rafM
Third Shift Society, by Meredith Moriarty, https://www.webtoons.com/en/supernatural/third-shift-society/list?title_no=1703
We hope that Fanbase Press readers will join us on the road to the 2020 Eisner Awards, as we celebrate the sequential art medium and the dedicated individuals who make it as phenomenal as it is. Please visit Fanbase Press tomorrow, June 23rd, for the first entry in our “Countdown to the Eisners” series or follow the hashtag #FPSDCC to follow our Eisner-related content on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
You can learn more about the Eisner Awards at the following links:
https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards-current-info
https://www.comic-con.org/awards/faq
