Colleen Doran, Alex Ross, Sarah Andersen among this year’s NCS divisional nominees

The National Cartoonist Society announces the divisional nominees for the 77th Annual NCS Reuben Awards.

The National Cartoonists Society has announced the 2022 NCS Divisional finalists for the 77th Annual NCS Reuben Awards, which annually recognize creators of comic strips, illustrations, comic books and more. The winners will be announced Sept. 7, and the nominees for their biggest award, the Reuben itself, should be announced soon.

The awards recognize the artist or cartoonist, so you’ll see work, the writer or publisher aren’t called out in the nominations. The graphic novel category nominees for this year include Colleen Doran, artist of Chivalry; Alex Ross, creator of Fantastic Four: Full Circle; and Christian Meesey, artist of Time Shopper. For comic books, the nominees include Brett Bean, artist of I Hate Fairyland; Ben Bender, creator of The Littlest Viking; and Robert Goodin, creator of The Kurdles.

Webcomics creators are recognized in two categories — long form and short form. In the long-form category, the nominees include Phil Foglio, Brad Guigar and Sheldon creator Dave Kellett. In the short-form category, Sarah Andersen, Tex creator Jesse Atwell and Rich Powell have been nominated.

Below is the full list of the nominees.

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Comics Lowdown: Wakanda fashion show, marketplace celebrates artisans and Black Panther

Plus: Roxane Gay thoughts on diversity, Jeff Smith, Cully Hamner, public-domain comics and more!

Excited for the increasing spotlight on Black Panther with the feature film coming out in 2018, retailer Fantom Comics in Washington, D.C. hosted a unique event known as Move or You Will Be Moved: A Black Panther Fashion Show over the weekend. The haute couture show included cosplay and Wakandan street fashion, and a marketplace of local black creators selling their jewelry, clothing and other Afrofuturist fashion accessories. Plus of course, Black Panther comics and paraphernalia.

“Where’s all the Black Panther merchandise? We’re less than a year out, and we don’t have any Happy Meal toys or anything we can just get on hand,” Sellars asked, introducing the concept to the crowd. “So with that came this idea of what about an Afro-futuristic showcase of what it means to be great? Of what it means to be in Wakanda.”

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