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.
One of the often under-appreciated talents by readers, the work of inkers is something you may not notice when it’s done skillfully, but will stick out like a sore thumb when done poorly. One of the oldest of all Eisner Award categories, previous winners of the award for Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team include Steve Rude (three times), Brian Bolland, David Gibbons, Fiona Staples, and more.
Here are the 2018 Eisner Award nominees for the Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team category:
Isabelle Arsenault, Louis Undercover (Groundwood Books/House of Anansi)
An award-winning Canadian illustrator, Isabelle Arsenault’s career has included numerous honors and recognition for her work, including a Governor General’s Award, the Joe Shuster Award, and more.
House of Anansi’s 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 Top 10 Graphic Novels of 2017, the ALSC Notable Children’s Books 2018, and the Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year 2018.
Click here to purchase.
Mitch Gerads, Mister Miracle (DC)
Mitch Gerads is an American comic book artist and colorist. He has a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Wisconsin-Stout and spent some of his earlier years in the packaging industry, illustrating for brands like Teddy Grahams and Lucky Charms.
Mister Miralce offers a unique new take on one of Jack Kirby’s most beloved works, New Gods. Having escaped his dangerous home world of Apokolips, Scott Free and his wife, Big Barda, make their way to Earth where Scott uses the stage name of “Mister Miracle” to make a career out of his acrobatic escape techniques. As the official description lays out, “Mister Miracle has mastered every illusion, achieved every stunt, pulled off every trick – except one. He has never escaped death. Is it even possible? Our hero is going to have to kill himself if he wants to find out.”
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Gary Gianni, Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea (Dark Horse)
Gary Gianni is an American comic artist who is best known for his work on the newspaper comic strip, Prince Valiant. Other notable comic book credits include 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Dark Horse’s Indiana Jones and the Shrine of the Sea Devil.
Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea is described on the publisher’s website as a story where “Hellboy sets sail from the wreckage of a deserted island only to cross paths with a ghost ship. Taken captive by the phantom crew that plans to sell him to the circus, Hellboy is dragged along by a captain who will stop at nothing in pursuit of a powerful sea creature.”
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Ramón K. Perez, Jane (Archaia)
A previous Eisner Award winner for his work on Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand, artist and writer Ramón K. Pérez has previously worked for both Marvel and DC, with credits including Captain America, The Amazing Spider-Man, Star Wars, JSA: Classified, and more.
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 Pérez. 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 what ever it takes to protect Adele from the consequences of his deception.”
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David Rubín, Black Hammer #9 & #12, Ether, Sherlock Frankenstein #1–3 (Dark Horse); Beowulf (Image)
A comic author and illustrator, David Rubin was born in Ourense, Spain. Having studied graphic design, Rubin also has a background working in the animation field.
Rubin’s work on the titles he’s been nominated for this year has been described as “addictive,” “unlike anything else in this earthly realm,” and “just flat-out amazing.’’
“David Rubín’s singular style is unlike anything else in this earthly realm. Rubín, whose two-volume anachronistic (and incredibly graphic) Hercules adaptation, The Hero, is also published by Dark Horse, merges aspects of Paul Pope and Jack Kirby into a madcap cosmic mind-trip all his own. With such promising creators at the helm, Ether seems destined to join Black Hammer and Kindt’s own Dept. H among the ranks of new Dark Horse classics in the making.”
– Paste Magazine
Click here to purchase. (Black Hammer #9)
Click here to purchase. (Black Hammer #12)
Click here to purchase. (Ether)
Click here to purchase. (Sherlock Frankenstein)
Click here to purchase. (Beowulf)
Stay tuned to the Fanbase Press website tomorrow as we continue our “Countdown to the Eisners!” 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!
