This has been a very busy weekend for comics, from DC FanDome to the Small Press Expo and the Ignatz Awards to the National Cartoonist Society‘s virtual NCSFest, their annual event where the winner of the Reuben Award is announced (as well as other awards).
As announced during NCSFest, cartoonist Lynda Barry has won the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year. The award has been presented annually since 1954 and was named for Rube Goldberg.
Barry’s extensive body of work includes the comic strip Ernie Pook’s Comeek, as well as graphic novels like Making Comics, The Good Times are Killing Me, Cruddy, What It Is and One! Hundred! Demons! She’s also a member of the Eisner Hall of Fame and received the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. In addition to being a cartoonist, she works as an associate professor of art and Discovery Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“We’re so thrilled to be able to honor Lynda and her work in this way,” said NCS President Jason Chatfield. “She is a treasure, and we’re lucky to be able to enjoy her wit, wisdom and artistic talent. She is a great light in dark times.”
In addition to the Reuben Award, the NCS also presented their 74th annual divisional awards across several categories. Those winners included Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo for “Best Comic Book” and They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott and Harmony Becker for “Best Graphic Novel.” You can see the complete list of winners below.
Comic Book
Stan Sakai – “Usagi Yojimbo”
Graphic Novel
Harmony Becker – “They Called Us Enemy”
Book Illustration
Stacy Curtis – “Karate Kakapo”
Magazine/Newspaper Illustration
Tom Richmond
Advertising
Luke McGarry
Online Comics – Long Form
Alec Longstreth – “Isle of Elsi”
Online Comics – Short Form
Jim Benton
Greeting Cards
Scott Nickel
Animation – Feature
“Missing Link” – Nelson Lowry, Santiago Montiel and Trevor Dalmer, production designers
Animation – Television
“Primal” – Genndy Tartakovsky, creator, writer, director
Animation – Online
“Pinocchio – A Modern Retelling” – Joe Bluhm, storyboard, concept design, art direction character design, director
Newspaper Comic Strip
Brian Crane – “Pickles”
Newspaper Panel
Dave Blazek – “Loose Parts”
Editorial Cartoon
Pat Bagley
Gag Cartoon
Amy Hwang
Variety Entertainment
Joe Wos – “Mazetoons”