Tamaki, Campbell and more win 2020 Joe Shuster Awards

The winners of the 2020 Joe Shuster Awards were announced this weekend, recognizing outstanding achievement in the creation of comic books, graphic novels and webcomics by Canadian creators.

Established in 2004, The Joe Shuster Awards are named in honor of Superman co-creator Joe Shuster. Nominees must be either Canadian citizens or permanent residents in Canada. The winners were chosen by a jury.

Congratulations to this year’s winners, whose names are in bold below:

Artist

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Note that there was a tie in this category this year.

• Yana Bogatch – Grimoire Noir (First Second)
• Jamal Campbell – Far Sector #1-2, Naomi #1-6 (DC Comics)
• Mike Del Mundo – Thor #9-10, 12-13, 15-16 (Marvel Comics)
• Dale Eaglesham – Shazam #3-8 (DC Comics)
• Faith Erin Hicks – Pumpkinheads (First Second)
• Karl Kerschl – Isola #6-9 (Image Comics)
• Ken Lashley – Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 5 #18.HU, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #7-10, 13-14 (Marvel Comics), Bloodshot: Rising Spirit #3 (Valiant Comics)
• Simon Leclerc – Jours D’attente (La Pastèque)
• François Miville-Deschênes – Zaroff (Lombard)

WRITER

• Ed Brisson – Contagion #1-5, Dead Man Logan #3-12, Ghost Rider Vol. 9 #1-3, Ghost Rider 2099 Vol. 2 #1, New Mutants Vol. 4 #1-4, Absolute Carnage: Symbiote of Vengeance #1, X-Force Vol. 5 #2-10, Age of X-Men: Nextgen #1-5,  Uncanny X-Men Vol. 5 Annual #1, plus contributions to Alpha Flight: True North #1, Marvel Comics #1000, Incoming #1, Uncanny X-Men Vol. 5 #8-10  (Marvel Comics)
• Cecil Castellucci – Batgirl #37-42, Female Furies #1-6, Mysteries of Love in Space #1 (DC Comics)
• Thomas Desaulnier-Brousseau – Jours D’attente (La Pastèque)
• Brendan Fletcher – Isola #6-9 (Image Comics), Robotech: Remix #1-3 (Titan)
• Jeff Lemire – Berserker Unbound #1-4, Black Hammer/Justice League #1-5, Black Hammer ’45 (with Ray Fawkes) #1-4 , Black Hammer: Age of Doom #9-12, Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy #1, The Quantum Age: From the World of Black Hammer #6 (Dark Horse Comics), The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage #1 (DC Comics), Ascender #1-8, Gideon Falls #10-19 (Image Comics), plus contributions to Marvel Comics #1000 (Marvel Comics)
• Jed Mackay – Black Cat #1-7, Annual #1, Absolute Carnage: Weapons Plus #1, Man Without Fear #1-5, plus contributions to Bizarre Adventures #1, Spider-Verse Vol. 3 #1, 3 (Marvel Comics)
• Mariko Tamaki – Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me (First Second), Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass (DC Comics), Spider-Man and Venom: Double Trouble (Marvel Comics), Archie #706-709 (Archie Comics)
• Darcy Van Poelgeest – Little Bird #1-5 (Image Comics)
• Chip Zdarsky – The White Trees #1-2 (Image Comics), Daredevil Vol. 6 #1-15, Spider-Man: Life Story 1-6, Invaders Vol. 3 #1-12,  Doom 2099 Vol. 2 #1, as well as contributions to Amazing Spider-Man: Full Circle #1,, Incoming #1, Marvel Comics #1000, War of the Realms: War Scrolls #1 (Marvel Comics)

CARTOONIST

• Brigitte Archambault – Le projet shiatsung (Mecanique Generale)
• Sophie Bedard – Les petits garcons (Pow Pow)
• Nina Bunjevac – Bezimena (Fantagraphics)
• Emily Carroll – When I Arrived at the Castle (Koyama Press)
• Michael Deforge – Stunt (Koyama Press)
• Sarah Leavitt – Agnes, Murderess (Freehand Books)
• Jeff Lemire – Frogcatchers (Simon and Schuster)
• Renee Nault – The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel (McClelland & Stewart) adapted from the novel by Margaret Atwood
• Jay Stephens – Dejects (Black Eye Books)

COVER ARTIST

• Kaare Andrews
• Sweeney Boo
• Nick Bradshaw
• Michael Cho
• Mike Del Mundo
• Dale Eaglesham
• David Finch
• Dale Keown
• Francis Manapul

WEBCOMICS/DIGITAL COMICS

• S.M. Beiko – Krampus is My Boyfriend
• Boum – Boumeries
• Tony Esteves – Cigarro & Cerveja
• Karl Kerschl – The Abominable Charles Christopher
• Isabelle Melançon (with Megan Lavey-Heaton – USA) – Namesake
• Ronn Sutton (with Martin Powell – USA) – Edgar Rice Burroughs’ The Man-Eater
• Chip Zdarsky, Jason Loo, et al. – Afterlift

GENE DAY AWARD FOR SELF-PUBLISHED COMICS / GRAPHIC NOVELS

• Daniel Brodie, Robert Jennex – Morgan’s Organs #3
• Naomi Cui, Janice Liu – Chicken Soup & Goji Berries
• A. Shay Hahn – Beaver Damn #3, Our Hearts Are Full, Vladiasaurs
• Becka Kinzie – Gehenna: Death Valley
• Jonathan Kociuba – Lover Man Vol. 1
• Minikim – Maman, Papa… et moi! et moi! et moi!
• Chris Sanagan, Jason Lapidus – Group of 7 #4-6

GENE DAY AWARD FOR ANTHOLOGY COLLECTIONS

• Cauldron Magazine #2 (Ricky Lima, Sam Noir, Shane Heron Publishers)
• Life Finds a Way (Cloudscape Comics Collective)
• RAID Two (RAID Studio)
• Shout Out (TO Comix)
• This Place: 150 Years Retold (Highwater Press)
• The Witching Hours (Cloudscape Comics Collective)

THE DRAGON AWARD (COMICS FOR YOUNGER READERS)

Works considered for this award are comic books and graphic novels by Canadian creators that are targeted at readers 14 and under. Nominees for this award are selected by a team of educators led by Jennifer Haines, MA, B.Ed., who is the proprietor of The Dragon comic book shop locations in Guelph and Milton, Ontario.

• Marvel Action: Captain Marvel – Sam Maggs, Sweeney Boo (IDW Publishing/Marvel Comics)
• Mort et Déterré T.1: Un cadavre en caval – Jocelyn Boivert, Pascal Colpron (Dupuis)
• Operatic / Opératique – Kyo Maclear, Byron Eggenschwiler (Groundwood Books/la Pastèque)  
• Peter and Ernesto: The Lost Sloths – Graham Annable (First Second Books)  
• Surviving the City Vol. 1 – Tasha Spillett-Sumner, Natasha Donovan (Highwater Press)
• Si on Était T.1 – Axelle Lenoir (Front Froid)

HARRY KREMER RETAILER RECOGNITION AWARD

The winner of this award is Comic Book Addiction in Whitby, Ontario, owned by Steve Quinnell and Nick Catros.

CANADIAN COMIC CREATOR HALL OF FAME

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Two creators were inducted into the fall of fame this year: Gregory Gallant, who creates graphic novels under the pen name Seth, and Bernard Edward “Bernie” Mireault, creator of The Jam.

TM MAPLE AWARD

The T.M. Maple Award goes to someone (living or deceased) selected from the Canadian comics community for achievements made outside of the creative and retail categories who have had a positive impact on the community. The award this year was given in honor of “the many creators, retailers, publishers, fans and others who stepped up to help others during the ongoing COVID-19 Crisis in 2020.”

Specifically called out were:

• Leonard Wong and Jay Bardyla for organizing the Canadian Comic Shop Relief Fund through the Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund (with assistance from this Awards Association).
• The Be Our Heroes, Canada telethon (Heroes World, Gotham Central, The Dragon and Cyber City Comix)
• To the many artists who donated work for auction to the above, as well as other fundraising for those in need like local food banks, and to those that supported these initiatives by purchasing work.