Jay Stephens, Jesús Hervás, Daniel Clowes, Darren Bell + more nominated in this year’s NCS divisional awards

The National Cartoonists Society has announced the 2023 NCS Divisional finalists for the 78th Annual NCS Reuben Awards, which annually recognize creators of comic strips, illustrations, comic books and more. The winners will be announced Aug. 23, 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 that the specific work, the writer and the publisher aren’t called out in the nominations. This year’s nominees in the comic book category include Jesús Hervás, artist of Invasive and What If? Venom; Kelly Phillips, creator of Apricot Dumplings; and Jay Stephens, creator of Dwellings. In the graphic novel category, the nominees include The Talk creator Darren Bell, Monica creator Daniel Clowes and Sarah Bollinger, artist of Malcolm Kid and the Perfect Song.

Webcomics creators are recognized in two categories — long form and short form. In the long-form category, the nominees include Brad Guigar, Evan Dahm and Jason Chatfield. In the short-form category, Sarah Andersen, Jim Benton and Dee Fish have been nominated.

Here’s the full list of nominees across all the categories for this year:

Editorial cartoons

• Ruben Bolling
• Michael de Adder
• Michael Ramirez

Magazine/Newspaper Illustration

• Jason Chatfield
• Nick Galifianakis
• Johnny Sampson

Newspaper Panels

• Dave Blazek
• Nick Galifianakis
• Wayno

Gag Cartoons

• Tyson Cole
• Dan Misdea
• Benjamin Schwartz

Advertising / Product Illustration

• Chuck Dillon
• Sam Grinberg
• Pashur House

Comic Books

• Jesús Hervás
• Kelly Phillips
• Jay Stephens

Graphic Novels

• Darren Bell
• Sarah Bollinger
• Daniel Clowes

Online Comics – Long Form

• Jason Chatfield
• Brad Guigar
• Evan Dahm

Online Comics – Short Form

• Sarah Andersen
• Jim Benton
• Dee Fish

Book Illustration

• Landis Blair
• Danesh Mohiudden
• Tom Richmond

Newspaper Strips

• Liniers
• Hector Cantu
• Tauhid Bondia

Variety Entertainment

• Kieron Castano
• Chuck Dillon
• Bob Weber Jr. and Scott Underwood