Official Press Release
Comic-Con International (Comic-Con), the largest comic book and popular arts event of its kind in the world, has announced that the Eisner Awards judges have selected two individuals to automatically be inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Awards Hall of Fame for 2013. These inductees are Golden Age artist Mort Meskin (Vigilante, Wildcat, Johnny Quick for DC) and the late underground cartoonist Spain Rodriguez (Trashman, Nightmare Alley).
The judges have also chosen 13 nominees from which voters will select 4 to be inducted in the Hall of Fame this summer. These nominees are Marjorie Henderson Buell ("Marge"), Howard Cruse, Lee Falk, Bud Fisher, Bill Griffith, Al Jaffee, Jesse Marsh, Tarpe Mills, Thomas Nast, Gary Panter, Trina Robbins, Joe Sinnott, and Jacques Tardi. More information on the nominees can be found on the Eisner Awards website.
Online voting is now open. To vote, you must be a professional working in the comics or related industries as a creator (writer, artist, cartoonist, colorist, letterer), a publisher or editor, a retailer (comics store owner or manager), a graphic novels librarian, or a comics historian/educator. Eligible voters can visit www.eisnervote.com to register and then select up to four picks in the Hall of Fame category. The deadline for voting is March 4. Further eligibility information is provided on the Eisner Awards page.
The 2013 Eisner Awards judging panel consists of reviewer Michael Cavna ("Comic Riffs," Washington Post), academic/author Charles Hatfield (Cal State Northridge), retailer Adam Healy (Cosmic Monkey, Portland, OR), author/educator Katie Monnin (Teaching Graphic Novels), cartoonist/critic Frank Santoro (Storeyville; TCJ), and Comic-Con International registrar John Smith.
The online voting process is being conducted by Mel Thompson and Associates, the official tabulators of the Eisner Awards. Submissions are currently being accepted in the other Eisner categories; the deadline is March 20. The nominees for these categories will be announced in mid-April.
The Eisner Awards will be presented at a gala awards ceremony to be held on July 19 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel.
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are presented under the auspices of Comic-Con International, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular artforms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contributions of comics to art and culture.