The National Cartoonists Society presented its Reuben Awards over the weekend at its annual convention in Memphis, Tennessee. Michael Ramirez, former editorial cartoonist for the Memphis Commercial Appeal, won the top honor, the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year.
Ethan Young's Nanjing: The Burning City received the award for best graphic novel, and DC Comics' Prez won the comic book award; while only artist Ben Caldwell was listed in the official results, he was quick to correct the record on Twitter, where he singled out writer Mark Russell, inker Mark Morales, colorist Jeremy Lawson and editor Marie Javins.
Dave Kellett's long-running webcomic Sheldon took the prize for best short-form online comic, while the long-form award went to Drew Weing's The Creepy Casefiles of Margo Maloo, which will be released in print later this year by First Second.
The NCS convention is held in a different city each year, and just before this year's event, the NCS board made a statement regarding a new Tennessee law that allows mental health providers to deny services to LGBTQ people:
We affirm to both our diverse membership, and to the public at large, that the NCS Board strongly opposes state-sponsored discrimination against any group or individual, and that the NCS itself does not discriminate in any way. We look forward to holding our annual Reuben Awards Ceremony and convention in Memphis, Tennessee this Memorial Day weekend. However, in the future when selecting a location for our annual convention, this Board will consider only states that do not have discriminatory laws.
In supporting Memphis, we are supporting ALL of its citizens, which includes members of the LGBT community and anyone else who may be adversely affected by HB1840.
The full list of winners is below:
Magazine Feature/Magazine Illustration: Anton Emdin
Newspaper Illustration: Anton Emdin
Greeting Card: Jim Benton
TV Animation: Drew Hodges, Creator, Director, Executive Producer (Tumble Leaf)
Feature Animation: Steve Martino, Director (The Peanuts Movie)
Advertising / Product Illustration: Anton Emdin
Book Illustration: Sydney Smith (Sidewalk Flowers)
Magazine Gag Cartoon: David Sipress
Graphic Novel: Ethan Young (Nanjing: The Burning City)
Comic Book: Ben Caldwell (Prez)
Online Comics – Short Form: Dave Kellett (Sheldon)
Online Comics – Long Form: Drew Weing (The Creepy Casefiles of Margo Maloo)
Newspaper Panel Cartoon: Dan Piraro (Bizarro)
Editorial Cartoon: Ann Telnaes
Newspaper Comic Strip: Terri Libenson (The Pajama Diaries)
The Reuben Award: Michael Ramirez