Olivia Stephens, ‘Ducks,’ ‘The God of Arepo’ and more win at the 2023 Ignatz Awards

The annual awards honoring excellence in independent comics, graphic novels and minicomics were presented last night at the Small Press Expo.

The annual Ignatz Awards, which are shaped like a brick, were handed out last night during a ceremony at the Small Press Expo.

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

Nominees were selected by a jury that included Ellen Lindner, Juniper Kim, L. Nichols, Ally Shwed, Jason Little and Kotaline Jones, with the winners being selected via an online ballot.

Congratulations to this year’s winners:

Continue reading “Olivia Stephens, ‘Ducks,’ ‘The God of Arepo’ and more win at the 2023 Ignatz Awards”

Sunday Comics | Looking at the Ignatz Awards nominees for ‘Outstanding Online Comics’

Check out webcomics by Jett Allen, Blue Delliquanti, Mara Ramirez, Reimena Yee and Lonnie Mann.

Here’s a round up of some of the best comics we’ve seen online recently. If we missed something, let us know in the comments below.

The nominees for the 2023 Ignatz Awards were announced earlier this month, with five comics being honored in the “Outstanding Online Comics” category. So let’s take a look at them.

Continue reading “Sunday Comics | Looking at the Ignatz Awards nominees for ‘Outstanding Online Comics’”

Nominees announced for the 2023 Ignatz Awards

The annual awards celebrate outstanding achievement in independent comics and cartooning.

The Small Press Expo, aka SPX, has announced the nominees for the 2023 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. The logo for this year was drawn by 2022 Ignatz Promising New Talent Winner Juni Ba.

The nominees were chosen by a panel of comics professionals that included Ellen Lindner, Juniper Kim, L. Nichols, Ally Shwed, Jason Little and Kotaline Jones.

Continue reading “Nominees announced for the 2023 Ignatz Awards”

‘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:

Continue reading “‘Laila Starr,’ ‘No One Else’ and more win 2022 Ignatz Awards”

Five Things | Ignatz minicomics

Here are five minicomics you can buy, read and vote for in this year’s Ignatz Awards.

Three Things spotlights, as the title states, three comic things. Usually it’s three things with links, no more, no less. Today, however, it is more, because it’s Five Things.

(Art up top by Alexander Laird)

To vote for: Your favorite Ignatz-nominated minicomics

On Sunday I ran down the five comics nominated in the “Outstanding Online Comic” category for the 2022 Ignatz Awards. With voting open to anyone on the internet, my assumption is that folks would like to make informed choices on their ballots, and webcomics are the most easily accessible comics out there, right? Just give me a URL and off I go.

But that got me thinking about some of the other categories, and whether it would be easy to read everything nominated. With the graphic novel category, for example, it would be easy enough for the ambitious sort to hunt down all five nominees, whether that’s via a good local book store or comic shop, or, of course, through online ordering. But the minicomics category might be a little more challenging, so here’s a rundown of where you can find all five of the nominees.

Continue reading “Five Things | Ignatz minicomics”

Sunday Comics | A closer look at the Ignatz Awards nominees

Check out some recent award-nominated comics by Adam de Souza, Mars Heyward, Evan Dahm, Reimena Yee and Amy Kurzweil.

Here’s a round up of some of the best comics we’ve seen online recently. If we missed something, let us know in the comments below.

The nominees for the 2022 Ignatz Awards came out a few days ago, with five webcomics being honored in the “Outstanding Online Comics” category. So let’s take a look at them!

Continue reading “Sunday Comics | A closer look at the Ignatz Awards nominees”

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:

Continue reading “Nominees announced for the 2022 Ignatz Awards”

Lee Lai, Michael DeForge, Pa-Luis and more win 2021 Ignatz Awards

Annual awards typically presented at the Small Press Expo honor excellence in independent comics, graphic novels and minicomics.

The Small Press Expo, or SPX, has announced the winners for the 2021 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 as a new artist draws the mouse and his weapon of choice, the brick. This year’s logo was created by Theo Stultz, last year’s winner in the “Most Promising Newcomer” category.

Nominees were determined by a jury that included Sunmi, Daniel Elkin and Nguyên Khôi Nguyễn. Anyone could register online to vote for the winners.

Congratulations to all the winners:

Continue reading “Lee Lai, Michael DeForge, Pa-Luis and more win 2021 Ignatz Awards”

Nominees announced for the 2021 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 2021 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 as a new artist draws the mouse and his weapon of choice, the brick. This year’s logo, seen above, is by Theo Stultz.

Nominees were determined by a jury that included Sunmi, Daniel Elkin and Nguyên Khôi Nguyễn. Anyone can vote on the winners, and SPX has said more details on the process will be shared soon.

Congratulations to all the nominees:

Continue reading “Nominees announced for the 2021 Ignatz Awards”

Ariel Ries, Eleanor Davis and more win 2020 Ignatz Awards

Annual awards typically presented at the Small Press Expo honor excellence in independent comics, graphic novels and minicomics.

The 2020 Ignatz Awards were presented tonight during a livestream on the Small Press Expo YouTube channel

The Ignatz Awards, which have been handed out since 1997, celebrate the outstanding achievements of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons. Typically the awards are voted on by SPX attendees and then given out at the event, but given the COVID-19 crisis, this year they opened voting up to anyone and went virtual with the awards ceremony.

Congratulations to all the winners, which you can find in bold below:

Continue reading “Ariel Ries, Eleanor Davis and more win 2020 Ignatz Awards”

2020 Ignatz Award nominees announced

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

The Small Press Expo has announced the 2020 Ignatz Award nominees. The Ignatz Awards, which have been handed out since 1997, celebrate the outstanding achievements of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons.

The nominees were determined by a panel that included Scott Cederlund, November Garcia, Malala Gharib and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell.

Voting for the annual Ignatz Awards is usually limited to the attendees of the Small Press Expo, but with no physical event being held this year, they are opening it up to everyone. You can register to vote here.

The awards presentation will be livestreamed Sept. 12. And here are the nominees:

Continue reading “2020 Ignatz Award nominees announced”

Comics Lowdown | ‘The Other History of the DC Universe’ gets a release date

Plus: News on Fantagraphics’ new logo, the CBLDF, Ignatz Awards and more.

Publishing: DC Comics’ long-delayed The Other History of the DC Universe finally has a release date: the first issue by 12 Years a Slave screenwriter John Ridley and artists Giuseppe Camuncoli, Andrea Cucchi and José Villarrubia will arrive in November. That issue will focus on Black Lightning, and Ridley spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about his history with the character:

When Black Lightning came out, I remember, as a younger person, how that felt to have a series that was led by a man of color, who in his regular identity was a teacher. Like I said, my mom was a teacher. It was a comic book that really, for me, for the first time, I felt like, “Oh, okay, this is for us as much as anybody else. The book, the universe, all of those things, you know, this is for us.” If I ever had at an age felt like, “Oh, I want to be a writer, I want to be a creator, I want to be a storyteller, I want to deal in the fantastic,” certainly when Black Lightning came out, it was a moment that galvanized that feeling.

Continue reading “Comics Lowdown | ‘The Other History of the DC Universe’ gets a release date”