Fanbase Press’ coverage of the 2018 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards continues with the “Countdown to the Eisners” series. From Monday, June 4, through Friday, July 13, 2018, 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 20.
Few teenage comic readers forget the power comics and graphic novels can have at that age, providing solace, excitement, and understanding not often found in adolescence, while also igniting a passion for the sequential art form that will stay with them for years, if not the rest of their lives. The Best Publication for Teens (Ages 13-17) category has been around since 2008 and has been awarded to notable titles like A Wrinkle in Time, Lumberjanes, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, and more.
Here are the 2018 Eisner Award nominees for the Best Publication for Teens (Ages 13-17) category:
The Dam Keeper by Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi (First Second/Tonko House)
A sequel to the 2014 Academy Award-nominated animated short film with the same name, The Dam Keeper continues the tale of the introverted Pig and artistic Fox, focusing on their adventure in the beyond with former bully, Hippo. Condo has been quoted as saying the continuation is “inspired by a personal anecdote of Tstusumi’s, [saying] that they’re interested in exploring how friendship evolves as [they] mature.”
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Jane by Aline Brosh McKenna and Ramón K. Pérez (Archaia)
A re-imagining of the classic novel, Jane Eyre, set in present day and written by McKenna (producer and writer for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Jane is her debut graphic novel with Eisner Award-winning illustrator Ramón K. Pérez (Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand). When Jane moves to New York with big dreams, she finds her plans upended when she’s hired to be a nanny and falls for the child’s father. As the publisher describes, “Jane learns that in the world of New York’s elite, secrets are the greatest extravagance, and she’ll have to decide if she should trust the man she loves or do whatever it takes to protect Adele from the consequences of his deception.”
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Louis Undercover by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault, translated by Christelle Morelli and Susan Ouriou (Groundwood Books/House of Anansi)
House of Anansi’ website states that “in this powerful new graphic novel from Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault, we meet Louis, a young boy who shuttles between his alcoholic dad and his worried mom, and who, with the help of his best friend, tries to summon up the courage to speak to his true love, Billie.” A grounded and realistic portrayal of complex family relationships, Louis Undercover has also been selected for the School Library Journal’s Top 10 Graphic Novels of 2017, the ALSC Notable Children’s Books 2018, and the Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children’s Books of the Year 2018.
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Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Image)
“Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda take Eastern and Western comics storytelling traditions and styles and create something wholly their own and remarkable: a beautifully told story of magic and fear, inhumanity and exploitation, of what it means to be human and the monsters we all carry inside us. Also, some of the best cats in comics. A delight.” -Neil Gaiman
As described on Image’s website, Monstress is set in an alternate matriarchal 1900s Asia, in a richly imagined world of art deco-inflected Steampunk. The title tells the story of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive the trauma of war and who shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, a connection that will transform them both and make them the target of both human and otherworldly powers.
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Spinning by Tillie Walden (First Second)
“These books can help build strong girls—and boys—for today’s world” – Washington Post
Named as one of New York City Public Library’s Notable Best Book for Teens and a Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2017, Spinning is a memoir chronicling her adolescent experiences as young figure skater. As the publisher’s website explains, Walden’s powerful graphic memoir “captures what it’s like to come of age, come out, and come to terms with leaving behind everything you used to know.”
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Stay tuned to the Fanbase Press website tomorrow 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 2018 Eisner Award Ceremony from the Hilton Bayfront Hotel at San Diego Comic-Con on the evening of Friday, July 20th!
