‘Nubia: Real One’ wins an Ignyte Award

The DC graphic novel by L. L. McKinney and Robyn Smith was honored during an awards ceremony this past weekend.

L. L. McKinney and Robyn Smith, who re-imagined Wonder Woman’s sister in the YA graphic novel Nubia: Real One, have won a 2022 Ignyte Award.

The awards “celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the current and future landscapes of science fiction, fantasy and horror by recognizing incredible feats in storytelling and outstanding efforts toward inclusivity of the genre.”

The creative team won in the “Best Comics Team” category. Other nominees this year included the creative teams on Abbot: 1973, Count, Shadow Life and Squad. Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, which was adapted into a graphic novel by Damian Duffy and John Jennings, won the award last year.

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‘The Girl from the Sea’ wins a British Fantasy Award

The awards recognize fantasy and horror lit across a variety of categories.

The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag and published by Graphix has won a British Fantasy Award in the Best Comic/Graphic Novel category.

The British Fantasy Awards recognize fantasy and horror literature across a range of categories, including the “Best Comic/Graphic Novel” category. You can see the complete list of winners across all categories on the British Fantasy Awards website.

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‘Laila Starr,’ ‘No One Else’ and more win 2022 Ignatz Awards

The annual awards honoring excellence in independent comics, graphic novels and minicomics returned in person at the Small Press Expo.

For the first time since 2019, the annual Ignatz Awards returned to a live, in-person event at the Small Press Expo last night, presenting awards in 10 categories to small press creators.

The Ignatz Awards, which have been handed out since 1997, celebrate the outstanding achievements of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons. They are named for the mouse that appears in the Krazy Kat comics by George Herriman.

Nominees were determined by a jury that included Cuyler Hedlund, Breena Nunez, Josh O’Neil, Alex Hoffman and Hazel Newlevant. Anyone could vote on the winners, which was done over email rather than in person at the show, like it’s been in previous years.

Congratulations to this year’s winners, marked in bold below:

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‘Far Sector’ wins the Hugo Award

N.K. Jemisin wins a fifth Hugo for her work with artist Jamal Campbell on the DC title.

Far Sector, the critically acclaimed Green Lantern story written by N.K. Jemisin with art by Jamal Campbell, has added another award to the Oan trophy case, as it took home the Hugo Award in the Best Graphic Story or Comic category this past weekend.

The winners of the annual awards were announced during a ceremony at Chicon 8, the 80th World Science Fiction Convention.

“Well, that’s some nice news to get surprised by at 3 am!” Jemisin posted to Twitter. “Woo hoo, Hugo #5! I’m super-proud of the work we did there, so nice to get some extra recognition! Congrats fellow Far Sector folks!”

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Nominees announced for the 2022 Ringo Awards

The awards will be presented during the Baltimore Comic-Con on Oct. 29.

The nominees for the 2022 Ringo Awards have been announced, marking the sixth year for the awards program named for artist Mike Wieringo, who passed away in 2007.

Nominees were chosen by fans, along with a panel of judges. The awards presentation will take place at The Baltimore Comic-Con on Oct. 29.

And the nominees are …

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Quick Hits | Graphic novels face scrutiny in Texas schools

Plus: Todd McFarlane wants ‘Batman/Spawn’ to be the biggest comic of the century! ‘Still Alive’ wins another award! And a look at Alan Moore’s funny funnybooks!

Book challenges | A police officer employed by Katy ISD, a suburb of Houston, Texas, removed a copy of the graphic novel Flamer by Mike Curato from high school shelves after a woman filed a criminal complaint alleging the district was providing “harmful” material to minors. The removal occurred last month, when school wasn’t in session, and was later returned to shelves after police concluded “the claim was unsubstantiated.”

The book had previously been challenged, reviewed and approved for high schools by a committee after earlier challenges by parents — although it was removed from junior high shelves at the time. The woman also threatened to report the district to the Texas Rangers if they didn’t remove the book.

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Nominees announced for the 2022 Ignatz Awards

The annual Ignatz Awards celebrate outstanding achievement in independent comics and cartooning.

The Small Press Expo, or SPX, has announced the nominees for the 2022 Ignatz Awards.

The Ignatz Awards, which have been handed out since 1997, celebrate the outstanding achievements of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons. Named for the mouse that appears in the Krazy Kat comics by George Herriman, the logo changes each year as a new artist draws the mouse and his weapon of choice, the brick. This year’s logo is by Pa Luis.

Nominees were determined by a jury that included Cuyler Hedlund, Breena Nunez, Josh O’Neil, Alex Hoffman and Hazel Newlevant. Anyone can vote on the winners, which will be done over email rather than in person at the show, like it’s been in previous years. You can find more details on the SPX website.

Congrats to all the nominees:

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Nominees announced for the 2022 Dragon Awards

The awards, which include categories for comics and graphic novels, have been presented annually during DragonCon since 2016.

The nominees have been announced for the 2022 Dragon Awards, which have been presented annually during DragonCon since 2016.

The awards include multiple categories for books, media tie-ins like movies and video games, and two categories for comics — “Best Comic Book” and “Best Graphic Novel.”

The nominees in the comics and graphic novel categories are:

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2022 Harvey Awards nominees announced

The annual awards will be given out later this year during the New York Comic Con.

The Harvey Awards have revealed their nominees for 2021 across the six categories they reintroduced in 2018, as chosen by a nominating committee “of diverse industry voices including creators, publishing professionals, retailers, educators and librarians.” The winners will be announced during ReedPop’s New York Comic Con later this fall.

“We are honored to once again shine a light on the best and brightest work within the comics industry through the prestigious Harvey Awards. This year’s list of nominees are bringing fresh, original storytelling and unique voices to the industry and we are looking forward to celebrating their work at this year’s New York Comic Con,” said ReedPop’s Lance Fensterman.

Congrats to this year’s nominees:

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Quick Hits | Behind the scenes at Oni Press

Plus: News on Ron Zimmerman, Paul Coker Jr., Frederik L. Schodt, Ed Brubaker and more.

Publishers | Although it might be hard to believe that there’s anyone left at the Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Company to speak anonymously at this point, Popverse has an interview up with one such staffer, who gives more details on what’s been going on behind the scenes — and offers some context about that not-at-all-thought-out statement that was released on social media. The statement, the anonymous source says, came from parent company Polarity. “They thought it was so good. They did not listen to anyone who told them it was not, and then we reaped the whirlwind of their failure, like pretty much every week this month.”

This unsurprising account by the anonymous staffer follows several rounds of layoffs and departures from the Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Company. Associate publisher Michelle Nguyen left the company voluntarily, following the layoffs of James Lucas Jones, Charlie Chu, Alex Segura, Amanda Meadows, Jasmini Amiri and Henry Barajas in July.

Publishers | Both The Beat and Popverse have reported that webcomics platform Tapas Media has laid off several staff in what’s being described as both a consolidation with sister companies Radish and Wuxiaworld, as well as a shift toward more user-generated content. Bleeding Cool reports that Tapas Media Chief Creative Officer Michele Wells is one of the people impacted by the layoffs. All three companies are owned by Kakao Entertainment, which acquired them in 2021.

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Your 2022 Eisner Award winners

Barry Windsor-Smith, Phil Jimenez, James Tynion IV and more take home awards.

The winners were announced tonight in San Diego for the 2022 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. After two years of filmed ceremonies due to the COVID pandemic, the awards show returned to its traditional, multi-hour live show hosted during Comic-Con.

Barry Windsor Smith took home multiple awards for his graphic novel Monsters, including Best Lettering, Best Graphic Album – New and Best Writer/Artist, while James Tynion IV received awards for Best Continuing Series (Something is Killing the Children), Best Limited Series (The Nice House by the Lake) and for Best Writer. Other multiple award winners included Phil Jimenez and You Died: An Anthology of the Afterlife.

Inductees into the Hall of Fame included six chosen by the judges: Marie Duval, Rose O’Neill, Max Gaines, Mark Gruenwald, Alex Nino and P. Craig Russell, and six chosen by voters: Howard Chaykin, Kevin Eastman, Moto Hagio, David Mazzucchelli, Grant Morrison and Larry Hama.

Several other awards were presented during the ceremony. Bob Bolling and Don Rico received the 2022 Bill Finger Award, while Annie Koyama received the 2022 Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award. The Spirit of Comics Retailer Award was given to Books and Pictures in Portland, Oregon. And Luana Vecchio won the Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award.

Check out the winners in bold below.

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Quick Hits | Hotel strike impacts Comic-Con events

Plus: Rick Veitch, Noah Van Sciver, Jeff Smith, Coagula and the infamous Hall H line!

Conventions | Both Voice of San Diego and ICv2 report on the workers’ strike at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel in San Diego, which is adjacent to the convention center where Comic-Con International is held every year and where many CCI events and panels are held. According to Voice of San Diego, workers and management have been negotiating for months, but could not come to an agreement.

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