The 2002 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards have been announced and DC Comics leads the pack with the most nominations total this year. The winners will be announced the night of Friday, August 2nd at Comic-Con: International in San Diego. This year the awards ceremony switches from the Grand Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency to the San Diego Convention Center's new ballroom which has considerably more capacity. As usual CBR will be there to report the winners live and also to share real audio clips from each of the winners.
The full press release and winners list follows.
"Spread the wealth" seems to have been the theme for this year's Eisner Awards nominations. The judges for the 2002 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards chose works from nearly 40 different publishers for the 26 categories.
DC and its various imprints lead the pack with 22 nominations (and 2 partial nominations), with no one title dominating. Vertigo's 100 Bullets snagged three nominations (Best Single Issue, Best Continuing Series, Best Penciller/Inker for Eduardo Rizzo) plus parts of three others (Best Writer for Brian Azzarello, Best Cover Artist for Dave Johnson, and Best Coloring for Patricia Mulvihill). DC titles with two nominations include Bizarro Comics, Hellblazer, Planetary, and Out There.
Fantagraphics had 15 nominations on this year's ballot, with 4 of those going to Chris Ware and his Acme Novelty Library and 3 to Dan Clowes and Eightball. Drawn & Quarterly had its best showing ever, with 11 nominations, 4 of them for the company's namesake anthology and 2 each for James Sturm (The Golem's Mighty Swing) and Adrian Tomine (Optic Nerve).
Oni Press made an impressive showing with 10 nominations, including 3 for the new spy series Queen and Country (plus a shared nomination for Greg Rucka as Best Writer) and 2 for Judd Winick and The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius.
Also with 10 nominations, Dark Horse did well with Mike Mignola's Hellboy (3), the reprints of Otomo's Akira (2), and the reprint anthology Scatterbrain.
Slave Labor had 6 nominations, 3 of them for Evan Dorkin and Dork. CrossGen scored four nominations for the Sherlock Holmesian Ruse series (plus a shared nomination for Best Coloring). Marvel received 5 nominations (including the "Coming Home" story arc from Amazing Spider-Man and the "E Is for Extinction" story arc from New X-Men for Best Serialized Story), plus portions of 3 others.
Tying Chris Ware for the most individual nominations is Carla Speed McNeil, for her self-published science fiction series, Finder, nominated for Best Single Issue, Best Serialized Story, Best Continuing Series, and Best Writer/Artist.
The Jeff Smith/Charles Vess miniseries Rose garnered 2 nominations, as did Tom Beland's True Story, Swear to God and art spiegelman and Francois Mouly's Little Lit. Dave McKean's art book Pictures That Tick earned 3 nominations.
For the Hall of Fame, the judges chosen Charles Biro and Osamu Tezuka as automatic inductees. Voters will choose 4 more from a list of 15 nominees.
This year's Eisner Awards judges are retailer Matt Lehman (Comicopia, Boston), cartoonist Lee Marrs, online reviewer Greg McElhatton (icomics), journalist Calvin Reid (news editor, Publishers Weekly), and distributor Tim Stroup (Cold Cut).
Ballots will be going out in early May to some 4,000 comics publishers, creators, and retailers. The results will be announced in a gala awards ceremony at Comic-Con: International: San Diego on the night of Friday, August 2 at the San Diego Convention Center's new ballroom.
The Eisner Awards are presented under the auspices of Comic-Con International, San Diego, a nonprofit corporation devoted to promoting comics and related popular arts. Jackie Estrada has been administrator of the Awards since 1990. She can be reached at jackiee@mindspring.com.
2002 Eisner Award NomineesBest Short Story
"The Adventures of Hergé," by Boquet, Fromental, and Stanislas, in Drawn & Quarterly, vol. 4 (Drawn & Quarterly)
"The Eltingville Club in 'The Intervention,'" by Evan Dorkin, in Dork #9 (Slave Labor)
"His Story," by Dave McKean, in Bento #1 and Pictures That [Tick] (Hourglass/Allen Spiegel Fine Arts)
"Me and Edith Head," by Sara Ryan and Steve Lieber, in Cicada, vol. 4 no. 1 (Carus Publishing)
"Oh, To Celebrate," by Miriam Katin in Drawn & Quarterly, vol. 4 (Drawn & Quarterly)
"The Willful Death of a Stereotype," by Chris Staros and Bo Hampton, in Expo 2001 (The EXPO)
Best Single Issue
Eightball #22, by Dan Clowes (Fantagraphics)
The Fall, by Ed Brubaker and Jason Lutes (Drawn & Quarterly)
Finder #22: "Fight Scene," by Carla Speed McNeil (Lightspeed)
100 Bullets #27: "Idol Chatter," by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso (Vertigo/DC)
Optic Nerve #8: Bomb Scare," by Adrian Tomine (Drawn & Quarterly)
Best Serialized Story
Amazing Spider-Man #30-35: "Coming Home," by J. Michael Straczynski, John Romita Jr., and Scott Hanna (Marvel)
Hellblazer #164-167: "Highwater," by Brian Azzarello and Marcelo Frusin (Vertigo/DC)
Finder #18-22: "Talisman," by Carla Speed McNeil (Lightspeed)
New X-Men #114-117: "E Is for Extinction," by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Ethan Van Sciver, and Tim Townsend (Marvel)
Queen and Country #1-4: "Operation: Broken Ground," by Greg Rucka and Steve Rolston (Oni)
Best Continuing Series
Finder. by Carla Speed McNeil (Lightspeed)
100 Bullets, by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso (Vertigo/DC)
Planetary, by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday (Wildstorm/DC)
Queen & Country, by Greg Rucka and Steve Rolston (Oni)
Ruse, by Mark Waid, Butch Guice, and Michael Perkins (CrossGen)
Best Limited Series
Enemy Ace: War in Heaven, by Garth Ennis, Chris Weston, Christian Alamy, and Russ Heath (DC)
Hellboy: Conqueror Worm, by Mike Mignola (Dark Horse Maverick)
Hopeless Savages, by Jen Van Meter, Christine Norrie, and Chynna Clugston-Major (Oni)
Rose, by Jeff Smith and Charles Vess (Cartoon Books)
Scary Godmother: Ghouls Out for Summer, by Jill Thompson (Sirius)
Best New Series
Private Beach, by David Hahn (Slave Labor)
Queen & Country, by Greg Rucka and Steve Rolston (Oni)
Ruse by Mark Waid, Butch Guice, and Michael Perkins (CrossGen)
The Sandwalk Adventures, by Jay Hosler (Active Synapse)
True Story, Swear to God, by Tom Beland (Clib's Boy Comics)
Best Title for a Younger Audience
Courageous Princess: The Quest for Home, by Rod Espinosa (Antarctic)
Herobear and the Kid, by Mike Kunkel (Astonish)
Little Lit: Strange Stories for Strange Kids, edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly (HarperCollins)
Patty Cake & Friends, by Scott Roberts (Amaze Ink/Slave Labor)
The Return of Alison Dare, Little Miss Adventures, by J. Torres and J. Bone (Oni)
Best Humor Publication
The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius: Monkey Tales, by Judd Winick (Oni)
Bizarro Comics, edited by Joey Cavalieri (DC)
Dork #9, by Evan Dorkin (Slave Labor)
Hey, Mister: Dial "M" for Mister, by Pete Sickman-Garner (Top Shelf)
Jingle Belle: The Mighty Elves. by Paul Dini and J. Bone (Oni)
Radioactive Man, by Batton Lash, Abel Laxamana, Dan De Carlo, Mike DeCarlo, and Bob Smith (Bongo)
Best Anthology
Bizarro Comics, edited by Joey Cavalieri (DC)
Comics Journal Winter Special 2002, edited by Gary Groth and Anne Elizabeth Moore (Fantagraphics)
Drawn & Quarterly, vol. 4, edited by Chris Oliveros (Drawn & Quarterly)
Little Lit: Strange Stories for Strange Kids, edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly (HarperCollins)
Oni Press Summer Color Special 2001, edited by Jamie Rich (Oni)
Best Graphic Album-New
The Book of Leviathan, by Peter Blegvad (Overlook Press)
Fallout, by Jim Ottaviani, Janine Johnston, Steve Lieber, Vince Locke, Bernie Mireault, and Jeff Parker (GT Labs)
The Golem's Mighty Swing, by James Sturm (Drawn & Quarterly)
Hey, Wait . . . by Jason (Fantagraphics)
Mail Order Bride, by Mark Kalesniko (Fantagraphics)
The Name of the Game, by Will Eisner (DC)
Pictures That [Tick] by Dave McKean (Hourglass/Allen Spiegel Fine Arts)
Best Graphic Album-Reprint
Batman: Dark Victory, by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale (DC)
Berlin: City of Stones, by Jason Lutes (Drawn & Quarterly)
Box Office Poison, by Alex Robinson (Top Shelf)
Scatterbrain, edited by Phil Amara and Scott Allie (Dark Horse Maverick)
Stray Bullets: Other People, by David Lapham (El Capitan)
Best Archival Collection/Project
Akira, by Katsuhiro Otomo (Dark Horse)
Plastic Man Archives, vol. 3, by Jack Cole (DC)
Spy vs. Spy: The Complete Casebook, by Antonio Prohias (Watson Guptill)
Wendell All Together, by Howard Cruse (Olmstead Press)
The Complete Classic Adventures of Zorro, by Alex Toth (Image)
Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material
Akira, by Katsuhiro Otomo (Dark Horse)
Eagle, by Kaiji Kawaguchi (Viz)
Hey, Wait . . . by Jason (Fantagraphics)
Nogegon, by Luc and Francois Schuiten (Humanoids)
Uzumaki, byJunji Ito (Viz)
Best Writer
Brian Azzarello, 100 Bullets, Hellblazer (Vertigo/DC)
Brian Michael Bendis, Powers (Image); Alias, Daredevil, Ultimate Spider-Man (Marvel)
Grant Morrison, FF 1234, New X-Men (Marvel)
Greg Rucka, Queen & Country (Oni); Detective Comics (DC)
Mark Waid, Ruse (CrossGen)
Best Writer/Artist
Jessica Abel, La Perdida (Fantagraphics)
Dan Clowes, Eightball (Fantagraphics)
Carla Speed McNeil, Finder (Lightspeed)
James Sturm, The Golem's Mighty Swing (Drawn & Quarterly)
Adrian Tomine, Optic Nerve (Drawn & Quarterly)
Best Writer/Artist-Humor
Tom Beland, True Story, Swear to God (Clib's Boy Comics)
Chynna Clugston-Major, Blue Monday: Absolute Beginners (Oni)
Evan Dorkin, Dork (Slave Labor)
Makoto Kobayashi, "What's Michael?" in Super Manga Blast (Dark Horse)
Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library (Fantagraphics)
Judd Winick, The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius (Oni)
Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
John Cassaday, Planetary (Wildstorm/DC)
Butch Guice, Ruse (CrossGen)
Gene Ha, Top 10 (ABC)
Humberto Ramos/Sandra Hope, Out There (Wildstorm/DC)
Eduardo Risso, 100 Bullets (Vertigo/DC)
Francois Schuitten, Brusel (NBM); Nogegon (Humanoids)
Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
Allen Coulter and Snakebite, The Red Star (Image)
Dave McKean, Pictures That [Tick] (Hourglass/Allen Spiegel Fine Arts)
David Mack, Daredevil #16-19 (Marvel)
John Van Fleet, Batman: The Ankh (DC)
Charles Vess, Rose (Cartoon Books)
Best Coloring
Edgar Delgado/Studio F, Out There (Wildstorm/DC)
Laura DePuy, Ruse (CrossGen); Ministry of Space (Image)
Patricia Mulvihill, Wonder Woman (DC), 100 Bullets (Vertigo/DC)
Jose Villarrubia, Fantastic Four 1234 (Marvel)
Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #15 (Fantagraphics)
Best Lettering
Dan Clowes, Eightball #22 (Fantagraphics)
Todd Klein, Promethea, Tom Strong's Terrific Tales, Tomorrow Stories, Top 10, Greyshirt (ABC); The Sandman Presents: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Dreams But Were Afraid to Ask (Vertigo/DC); Detective Comics, The Dark Knight Strikes Again (DC); Castle Waiting (Olio); Universe X (Marvel)
Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo, Groo: Death & Taxes (Dark Horse Maverick)
Dave Sim, Cerebus (Aardvark-Vanaheim)
Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #15 (Fantagraphics)
Best Cover Artist
Tim Bradstreet, Hellblazer (DC)
Dave Johnson, Detective Comics (DC), 100 Bullets (Vertigo/DC)
J. G. Jones, Codename: Knockout, Transmetropolitan (Vertigo/DC)
Jae Lee, "Our Worlds at War" specials (DC); Fantastic Four 1234 (Marvel)
Mike Mignola, Hellboy: Conqueror Worm (Dark Horse Maverick)
Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition
Jen Benka and Kris Dresen (Manya)
Nick Bertozzi (The Masochists)
Arthur Dela Cruz (Kissing Chaos)
Dean Haspiel (Opposable Thumbs)
Dylan Horrocks (Hicksville, Atlas)
Best Comics-Related Periodical
Alter Ego, edited by Roy Thomas (TwoMorrows)
Comic Book Artist, edited by Jon Cooke (TwoMorrows)
The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth and Anne Elizabeth Moore (Fantagraphics)
Best Comics-Related Book
Hal Foster: Prince of Illustrators, Father of the Adventure Strip, by Brian M. Kane (Vanguard)
Jack Cole and Plastic Man, by Art Spiegelman (Chronicle Books)
Kimota! The Miracleman Companion, by George Khoury (TwoMorrows)
OPUS, vol. 2, by Barry Windsor-Smith (Fantagraphics)
Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz, edited by Chip Kidd (Pantheon)
Best Comics-Related Item
Dark Horse classic comic characters statuettes, sculpted by Yoe Studio (Dark Horse)
Hellboy PVC set (Dark Horse)
Little Enid Doll (Press-Pop Gallery)
R. Crumb Catholic Schoolgirl statue, sculpted by Ken Melton (Bowen designs)
Roman Dirge's Lenore lunchbox (Slave Labor)
Best Publication Design
Acme Novelty Library #15, designed by Chris Ware (Fantagraphics)
Drawn & Quarterly, vol. 4, designed by Chris Oliveros (Drawn & Quarterly)
Non #5, designed by Jordan Crane (Red Ink)
OPUS, vol. 2, designed by Barry Windsor-Smith (Fantagraphics)
Red Star vol. 1: The Battle of Kar Dathra's Gate, designed by Team Red Star (Image)
Scatterbrain, designed by Cary Grazzini and Craig Thompson (Dark Horse Maverick)
Hall of Fame
Judges' Choices: Charles Biro, Osamu Tezuka
Nominees (4 will be chosen):
Sergio Aragones
Vaughn Bode
John Buscema
Al Capp
Nick Cardy
Gene Colan
Dan De Carlo
Will Elder
Lou Fine
Herge
Bernie Krigstein
Joe Orlando
John Romita
John Severin
John Stanley