Kate Beaton, Rachel Smythe + more win at the 2023 Harvey Awards

The awards were presented last night in conjunction with the New York Comic Con.

Last night the Harvey Awards were given out at New York Comic Con, in the six categories the awards program reintroduced in 2018.

Kate Beaton’s critically acclaimed Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands added another accolade to its shelf, taking home the award for “Book of the Year.” And Rachel Smythe’s Lore Olympus defended the “Digital Book of the Year” category, taking home the Harvey for a second year. And somehow the big blockbuster film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was able to squeak out a victory against The Stuff of Legend – The Board Game in the always odd “Best Adaptation” category.

Six creators were inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame: Chris Claremont, Walt Simonson, Louise Simonson, Marv Wolfman, George Pérez and Bill Griffith.

A committee of “diverse industry voices including creators, publishing professionals, retailers, educators and librarians” determined the nominees, and the winners were chosen by creators and other industry professionals. Check out the full list of winners below.

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Quick Hits | Rest in peace, Kim Jung Gi

Plus: Heavy Metal teams with Whatnot Publishing, Chuck D enters a ‘Rogue State’ and more news from New York Comic Con!

A lot of comics news came out this week in the buildup to the New York Comic Con, so here’s a round-up of some of the headlines. We start with some very tragic news about an artistic legend.

Artist Kim Jung Gi, who worked on manhwa like Tiger the Long Tail and drew covers for Marvel and DC, passed away from a heart attack this week as he prepared to travel to the New York Comic Con.

The 47-year-old artist was in Paris at the time, where his artwork was on display at the Daniel Maghen art gallery. One of his collaborators, Hyun Jin Kim, posted the news on social media:

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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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Comics Lowdown | Seuss settlement scotches mash-up

Plus: Politician under fire for threatening cartoonist, Al Plastino’s house is for sale, and more!

Dr. Seuss Enterprises and the creators of a Star Trek-themed parody of the perennial graduation gift Oh, the Places You’ll Go have settled out of court, and the news is not good for mash-up makers.

Johanna Draper Carlson has a quick summary, with links, at The Beat: Former Star Trek writer David Gerrold and artist Ty Templeton mashed up the Seuss book with Star Trek characters and themes to create Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go!, which was supposed to be published by ComicMix. The famously litigious Seuss estate sued on grounds of both trademark and copyright infringement; the courts dismissed the trademark case in 2017, and in 2019 a judge found the book was sufficiently “transformative” and met the conditions for fair use. The Seuss folks appealed, and the parties settled out of court this week.

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Comics Lowdown | Texas school district bans ‘The Breakaways’

Plus: Scout Comics launches Latinx imprint, Marvel’s legal battles, New York Comic Con and more!

Cathy G. Johnson’s The Breakaways joins the list of banned graphic novels making headlines over the past few weeks after Spring Branch Independent School District in Texas banned it from school libraries.

Spring Branch Independent School District, which serves part of Houston, told the Houston Chronicle that the graphic novel was removed from schools because it was “not age appropriate nor was it appropriate for its intended educational use.” A committee decided to ban it after receiving a letter from a parent.

The graphic novel is about a diverse 8th-grade soccer team that includes a trans character.

“The book includes kids of all sorts of identities to reflect the world that is around us,” creator Cathy G. Johnson told the Chronicle. “There is a transgender student who comes out in the book. He is just one of many characters who make up my book, as well as one of the identities that make up the world.”

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‘Cyclopedia Exotica,’ ‘The Magic Fish’ and more nominated for 2021 Harvey Awards

The winners will be announced during a virtual ceremony this fall.

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 awards are given out annually in conjunction with the October-held New York Comic Con. Like last year, this year they plan to livestream the ceremony rather than present them in person.

The winners will be chosen by creators and other industry professionals. If you’d like to apply to participate in selecting this year’s Harvey Awards, you can visit the Harvey Awards Apply to Vote page.

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‘Dragon Hoops,’ ‘Grass’ and more nominated in the 2020 Harvey Awards

The winners will be announced during a virtual ceremony later this year.

The Harvey Awards have revealed their nominees for 2020 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.”

While the awards would typically be announced at a ceremony at the New York Comic-Con, this year’s event will be virtual, just like the New York Comic-Con itself. More information about this year’s Harvey Awards ceremony event and an announcement regarding this year’s Harvey Awards Hall of Fame class will be released at a later date.

The winners will be chosen by creators and industry professionals If you’d like to apply to participate in selecting this year’s Harvey Awards, you can visit the Harvey Awards Apply to Vote page. Voting will conclude Sept. 21.

And the nominees are:

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New York Comic Con goes virtual for 2020

Just like everyone else.

As you probably expected, ReedPop has announced that they are canceling the in-person New York Comic Con and will hold a virtual event instead.

“We are thoroughly disappointed that we can’t gather together, in-person for the New York Comic Con we love to build and our fans love to revel in. We look forward to this weekend all year long, just like you, and with this being our 15th edition, we were particularly excited. I will miss walking up and down artist alley and seeing friends that I’ve made since we were in the basement at the Javits Center,” said Lance Fensterman, President of ReedPop, in a press release. “While this year will definitely be a different experience, we are going to look to bring the best and most engaging event to our fans, exhibitors and studios through our partnership with YouTube.”

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2019 Harvey Award nominees announced

Winners will be announced in October.

The nominees for the 2019 Harvey Awards have been revealed, across the six streamlined categories that were unveiled last year.

“This year marks the 31st presentation of the Harvey Awards and the third year working with our hosting partners at ReedPOP. We congratulate this year’s nominees, who have produced some of the best projects in the industry over the past year, and we’re looking forward to seeing the results of the voting and honoring the winners at the Harveys at NYCC,” said John Lind, co-chair of the Harvey Awards Steering Committee, in a press release.

The winners will be announced on Oct. 4 at the Harvey Awards gala in conjunction with the New York Comic-Con.

Congrats to this year’s nominees:

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Comics Lowdown: Remembering Stan ‘The Man’ Lee

Plus: ‘The Brotherhood’ writer revealed! Transformers’ growing female fan base! Plus Art Spiegelman, Stan Webb and the scariest comic panel in ages!

Following the death of Marvel legend Stan Lee on Monday, many outlets covered not only his death, but turned the focus on his wide-reaching life and legacy. Some of the mainstream coverage included:

  • The New York Times not only wrote a thorough obituary of “The Man,” but also featured a comic by Brian Michael Bendis, Bill Walko and Howie Noel.
  • Peter David, freelance comics writer and a former Marvel employee, wrote a remembrance of Lee for Vulture. “Still, there was a time where Stan became the incarnation of that line from The Dark Knight: You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain. In the ’80s and ’90s, it became increasingly stylish to bash Stan, to accuse him of hogging attention for his creations from the artists. But the fact is that before Marvel Comics, comics writers and artists were anonymous. It was Stan who made the artists the centerpieces of the work, giving them snappy nicknames like ‘Stainless’ Steve Ditko, ‘Genial’ Gene Colan, ‘Larrupin’’ Larry Lieber (no, even his brother wasn’t immune), and many others. We would come to know the artists (and other writers) as well as, if not better than, members of our only families. DC editors were so disdainful of this practice that they referred to him as ‘Stan Brag,’ before eventually following suit and crediting people.”
  • Roy Thomas, a legendary comics writer in his own right, shares the memory of his last Saturday spent with Lee at the Hollywood Reporter.
  • Marvel dedicated a special section of their website to Lee, with a tribute video.

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Comics Lowdown: Stan Lee speaks out on elder-abuse allegations

Patti LaBoucane-Benson appointed to Canada’s Senate! Finding Olivia James at CXC! Plus: Grant Morrison, Matthew Thurber and why we love Spider-Man so dang much!

People: In an interview subtitled “Those I Trusted Betrayed Me,” Stan Lee speaks to The Daily Beast about elder-abuse allegations against his daughter and the removal of several of his associates from his life.

“There really isn’t that much drama,” Lee said. “As far as I’m concerned, we have a wonderful life. I’m pretty damn lucky. I love my daughter, I’m hoping that she loves me, and I couldn’t ask for a better life. If only my wife was still with us. I don’t know what this is all about.”

People: The Outside Circle comic writer Patti LaBoucane-Benson has been appointed to Canada’s Senate by Prime Minister Trudeau.

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Comics Lowdown: Judge Dredd co-creator Carlos Ezquerra passes away

Mark Waid sued, and gets a new job! Vertigo prepares for NYCC! Plus Ryan Ferrier, Jason Lutes, John McCrea and more!

Passings: Carlos Ezquerra, 2000 AD artist and co-creator of Judge Dredd, has passed away, the Guardian and the Hollywood Reporter both reported this week. The 70-year-old artist was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2010, and the disease returned this year.

“It is difficult to put this into words, but we have lost someone who was the heart and soul of 2000AD. It is no exaggeration to call Carlos Ezquerra one of the greatest comic book artists of all time, and his name deserves to be uttered alongside Kirby, Ditko, Miller, Moebius and Eisner,” reads a statement issued by 2000AD. “Yet this doesn’t really do justice to someone whose work was loved by millions and has had an influence far beyond the comic book page. From Judge Dredd to Strontium Dog, from Rat Pack to Major Eazy, Carlos has left us with a legacy of stunning and distinctive work that was and always will be 2000 AD. He has been one of the pillars, producing the same dynamic, enthralling and arresting art we always loved him for. We thought we had many more adventures to come from the master, so we are devastated to discover we were wrong.”

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