Fanbase Press’ coverage of the 2019 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards continues with the “Countdown to the Eisners” series. From Wednesday, May 29, through Wednesday, July 10, 2019, Fanbase Press 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. Stay tuned for Fanbase Press’ continued coverage of the Eisner Awards, including live coverage of the ceremony at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, July 19.
In the 30 years of the Eisner Awards, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Brian K. Vaughan, Ed Brubaker, and Brian Michael Bendis have all been repeat winners and have won the Best Writer award 22 of those times, with Moore taking the honor nine times. The 2018 Awards saw unprecedented firsts for Best Writer, with a tie between Marjorie Liu and Tom King and Liu being the first woman to take home the Eisner for writing.
Here are the 2019 Eisner Award nominees for the Best Writer category:
Alex de Campi, Bad Girls (Gallery 13), Twisted Romance (Image)
Alex de Campi has previously earned a nomination for the Eisner Awards’ Best Limited Series (Smoke) in 2005. In addition to also directing music videos, “voice work/audiobook recording,” and drawing, her work as a comics writer includes, but is not limited to, Archie vs. Predator, Kat & Mouse, Grindhouse, Valentine, and the two stories for which she’s nominated for Best Writer – Bad Girls and Twisted Romance.
Comicbook.com’s Chase Magnet describes Twisted Romance as a comic that has “everything you want” and goes on to highlight how “Image Comics and curator Alex de Campi really work their magic.”
Click here to purchase. (Twisted Romance)
Click here to purchase. (Bad Girls)
Tom King, Batman, Mister Miracle, Heroes in Crisis, Swamp Thing Winter Special (DC)
Tom King is a former CIA officer who has earned multiple Eisner Awards, including Best Short Story (“Good Boy”) and Best Limited Series (The Vision) in 2017 and Best Writer in 2018. Tom King is well known for several works, including The Vision, Mister Miracle, and his extensive run on Batman.
Referencing Batman, Cory Webber from Rogue’s Portal explains, “King continues to craft a wonderful, thought-provoking story of love, relationships, honor, and trust. I honestly think we will look back on this run as one of the all-time greats, if not the greatest.”
Click here to purchase. (Batman)
Click here to purchase. (Mister Miracle)
Click here to purchase. (Heroes in Crisis)
Click here to purchase. (Swamp Thing Winter Special)
Jeff Lemire, Black Hammer: Age of Doom, Doctor Star & the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows, Quantum Age (Dark Horse), Descender, Gideon Falls, Royal City (Image)
Jeff Lemire won an Eisner Award for Best New Series (Black Hammer) in 2017. In addition to the popular comic book series, Black Hammer is being adapted to both television and movie mediums with Legendary Entertainment.
Phillip Kelly from Fanbase Press expands on Lemire’s talent: “Jeff Lemire is one of the best comic writers out there right now. His works defy the genres they at first embrace and become works of art and portrayals of humans facing their own existence. He not only explores the characters and situations he presents but also explores the depths of the medium he entertains.”
Click here to purchase. (Black Hammer: Age of Doom)
Click here to purchase. (Doctor Star & the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows)
Click here to purchase. (Quantum Age)
Click here to purchase. (Descender)
Click here to purchase. (Gideon Falls)
Click here to purchase. (Royal City)
Mark Russell, Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, Green Lantern/Huckleberry Hound, Lex Luthor/Porky Pig (DC), Lone Ranger (Dynamite)
Mark Russell has won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book (Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles) in 2019. Russell is also known for The Wonder Twins and his 2018 Eisner-nominated The Flintstones (Best Continuing Series, Best Humor Publication, Best Writer).
John Seven from comicsbeat.com compares Russell to Shakespeare: “Masks are not just the tools of the acting trade, but central to the human condition itself, and the stage, in Russell’s evocation of Shakespeare’s idea, becomes a microcosm of the world, a related universe similar talents are used for different things. In the real world, masks often mean survival.”
Click here to purchase. (Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles)
Click here to purchase. (Green Lantern/Huckleberry Hound)
Click here to purchase. (Lex Luthor/Porky Pig)
Click here to purchase. (Lone Ranger)
Kelly Thompson, Nancy Drew (Dynamite), Hawkeye, Jessica Jones, Mr. & Mrs. X, Rogue & Gambit, Uncanny X-Men, West Coast Avengers (Marvel)
Kelly Thompson has received an Eisner Award nomination for Best Continuing Series (Hawkeye) in 2018. In addition to her Eisner-nominated works from this year, Thompson is also known for Jem and the Holograms, Heart in a Box, A-Force, and Star Wars: Captain Phasma.
Newsrama’s Matthew Sibley writes about Thompson’s success during a review of Nancy Drew: “There’s a confident sense of character that comes across in her narration — Thompson always seems to have a solid handle on her protagonist’s interiority, and her approach to narration fits well within the detective story archetype.”
Click here to purchase. (Nancy Drew)
Click here to purchase. (Hawkeye)
Click here to purchase. (Jessica Jones)
Click here to purchase. (Mr. & Mrs. X)
Click here to purchase. (Rogue & Gambit)
Click here to purchase. (Uncanny X-Men)
Click here to purchase. (West Coast Avengers)
Chip Zdarsky, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, Marvel Two-in-One (Marvel)
Chip Zdarsky has won an Eisner Award as a writer for Best Humor Publication (Jughead) in 2017, while also winning as an artist for Best New Series (Sex Criminals) in 2014. Zdarsky is also known for Howard the Duck, Star-Lord, and his current runs of Daredevil and Invaders.
Jesse Schedeen at IGN describes Zdarsky’s abilities within a story: “Writer Chip Zdarsky strikes just the right balance between melancholy and the sense of wonder and adventure that’s driven so many great FF comics.”
Click here to purchase. (Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man)
Click here to purchase. (Marvel Two-in-One)
Stay tuned to the Fanbase Press website each day as we continue our “Countdown to the Eisners” coverage! Plus, follow Fanbase Press’ Facebook, Twitter (@Fanbase_Press), and Instagram (@fanbasepress) with the hashtag #FPSDCC to stay up to date on our SDCC and Eisner Awards updates, including a live-tweet of the 2019 Eisner Award Ceremony from the Hilton Bayfront Hotel at San Diego Comic-Con on the evening of Friday, July 19th!
