The Small Press Expo, or SPX, has announced the nominees for the 2024 Ignatz Awards.
The Ignatz Awards recognize the outstanding achievements of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons and are typically given out during the Small Press Expo every Fall. 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 2023 Ignatz Promising New Talent Winner Deb JJ Lee.
This year’s nominees were chosen by a panel of comics professionals that included Caroline Cash, Martha Kuhlman, Dawn Bond, Lawrence Lindell, Kriota Wilberg and Emma Jensen. And here are their choices:
OUTSTANDING ARTIST
- Flippy, Nate Garcia (Domino Books)
- Night Fever (from Gladiolus Magazine #1), Robyn Smith (Black Josei) Press
- Portrait of a Body, Julie Delporte (Drawn & Quarterly)
- Spiral and Other Stories, Aidan Koch (New York Review Comics)
- The Great Beyond, Léa Murawiec (Drawn & Quarterly)
OUTSTANDING ANTHOLOGY
- Let Her Be Evil, Cassandra Jones, ed. (Zoop)
- Pulping, Jenn Woodall, Jon Iñaki, Jonathan Rotsztain, Mitch Lohmeier and Paterson Hodgson, ed. (Pulping Collective)
- We Belong, Viktor T. Kerney and William O. Tyler, ed. (Stacked Deck Press)
- Wheels on the Bus, Lucio Luiz, ed. (Jupati Books)
- Won’t Back Down: An Anthology of Pro-Choice Comics, Trina Robbins, ed. (Last Gasp)
OUTSTANDING COLLECTION
- Buzzelli Collected Works Vol. 1: The Labyrinth, Guido Buzzelli, translated by Jamie Richards (Floating World Comics)
- Complete and Utter Malarkey, November Garcia (Fieldmouse Press)
- Gender Studies: The Confessions of an Accidental Outlaw, Ajuan Mance (Rosarium Press)
- Offshore Lightning, Saito Nazuna, translated by Alexa Frank (Drawn & Quarterly)
- Resenter, Gigi Murakami (Self-Published)
OUTSTANDING COMIC
- Fielder #2, Kevin Huizenga (Drawn & Quarterly)
- Follow the Doll Issue 2, Daryl Seitchik (Parsifal Press)
- My Body Unspooling, Leo Fox (Silver Sprocket)
- Sunflowers, Keezy Young (Silver Sprocket)
- The Audra Show #7: The Love Issue, Audra Stang (Self-Published)
OUTSTANDING GRAPHIC NOVEL
- Optometry, Xiang Yata (Driftwood Press)
- Roaming, Jillian Tamaki & Mariko Tamaki (Drawn & Quarterly)
- The Talk, Darrin Bell (Macmillan Publishers)
- Time Under Tension, M.S. Harkness (Fantagraphics)
- Unended, Josh Bayer (Uncivilized Books)
OUTSTANDING MINICOMIC
- Find a Seat, Faye Stacey (Quindrie Press)
- Hyper Fawnus, Anna Two (Self-Published)
- Lullaby, Jordan Jeffries (Cosmic Dog House Press)
- Manga Cube, LEHUO (Self-Published)
- Pauline Newman, Greer de Maglie (Self-Published)
OUTSTANDING ONLINE COMIC
- Buuza!!, Shazleen Khan
- In the Shadow of Giants, Aria Villafranca and Matthew Fisher
- Marigold, Emily Zilber
- Rigsby Wi, SE Case
- The Legend of Mariposa, James Lawrence
OUTSTANDING SERIES
- CosmoKnights, Hannah Templer (Top Shelf Productions)
- CRAM, Andrew Alexander, ed. (CRAM Books)
- Jaywalk, Floyd Tangeman, ed. (Domino Books)
- Kuš! Baltic Comics Magazine, Various (Kuš)
- Tongues, Anders Nilsen (Self-Published)
OUTSTANDING STORY
- “The Happy Art”, Sami Alwani (Pulping Collective)
- “And When I See You, I’ll Tell You Everything” (from You Are Not a Guest), Leela Corman (Fieldmouse Press)
- Scorpio Venus Rising #1, Corinne Halbert (Self-Published)
- The Gift, Jamila Rowser & Sam Wade (Black Josei Press)
- The Super Hero’s Journey, Patrick McDonnell (Abrams Books)
PROMISING NEW TALENT:
- 10-10 To The Wind, Cole Degenstein (Fieldmouse Press)
- Gift Box, Pingnan Lu (Self-Published)
- Optometry, Xiang Yata (Driftwood Press)
- Tales of the Orishas, Hugo Canuto (Abrams)
- The Great Beyond, Léa Murawiec (Drawn & Quarterly)
The winners will be decided by an online vote, as they have over the last few years. Anyone can request a ballot. There will be no in-person voting at the show, as voting for the Ignatz Awards “is open to all fans of indie comics,” according to SPX.
The winners will be announced during SPX weekend, Sept. 14-15.