Your 2026 Eisner Award winners

The winners of the 2026 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards were announced Friday night in San Diego, after being accidentally leaked a few days before. That didn’t stop the event from happening, however, or the excitement for the winners, and we carried on posting results on BlueSky.

Javier Rodriguez had a big night, taking home three Eisners, all tied to Absolute Martian Manhunter: Best Limited Series, Best Penciller/Inker and Best Cover Artist. His collaborator, Deniz Camp, wasn’t far behind with two wins for, again, Best Limited Series for Absolute Martian Manhunter and Best New Series for Assorted Crisis Events. Overall DC walked away with the most wins of any publisher. Abrams and Fantagraphics also had multiple wins at the event.

In addition to the Eisners, other awards given out included:

• The Bill Finger Award, which went to Jenny Blake Isabella and Martin Pasko.
• The Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award, which went to Stipan Morian.
• The Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award, presented to Richard and Wendy Pini.
• The Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing Award, which went to Books With Pictures in Eugene, Oregon.
• And of course the Will Eisner Hall of Fame, which had 23 inductees this year.

Congrats to this year’s winners!

Cheers to my pal Shintaro Kago. Like all people who make the most vile things, you are the nicest person.Glad I could do right by you!

— Zack Davisson (@zackdavisson.com) 2026-07-25T04:08:50.666Z

Best Short Story: “Blood Harvest,” from Brain Damage by Shintaro Kago, translated by Zack Davisson (Fantagraphics)

I Drew Batman's Butt and All I Got Was This Eisner.TM

— Meredith McClaren (@iniquitousfish.bsky.social) 2026-07-25T04:17:42.334Z

Best One-Shot/Single Issue: Absolute Batman 2025 Annual #1 by Daniel Warren Johnson, James Harren and Meredith McClaren (DC)

Best Continuing Series: Absolute Batman by Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, Frank Martin and others (DC)

Best Limited Series: Absolute Martian Manhunter by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez (DC)

Best New Series: Assorted Crisis Events by Deniz Camp and Eric Zawadski (Image)

Best Publication for Early Readers: All the Hulk Feels by Dan Santat (Abrams Fanfare/Marvel)

Best Publication for Kids: The Cartoonists Club by Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud (Scholastic Graphix)

Best Publication for Teens: This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki and Nicole Goux (Abrams Fanfare)

Best Humor Publication: Physics for Cats by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Anthology: DC Pride 2025 edited by Andrea Shea and Jillian Grant (DC)

Best Reality-Based Work: Black Arms to Hold You Up: A History of Black Resistance by Ben Passmore (Pantheon)

Best Graphic Memoir: It Rhymes with Takei by George Takei, Harmony Becker, Steven Scott and Justin Eisinger (Top Shelf)

Best Graphic Album–New: Drome by Jesse Lonergan (23rd St. Books)

Best Graphic Album–Reprint: Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen: The Deluxe Edition by Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber (DC)

Best Adaptation from Another Medium: Lord of the Flies: The Graphic Novel by William Golding, adapted by Aimée De Jongh (Penguin Classics)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material: Nocturnos by Laura Perez, translated by Andrea Rosenberg (Fantagraphics)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material–Asia: Purgatory Funeral Cakes by Sanho, translated by Danny Lim (Dark Horse)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips: The George Herriman Library: Krazy & Ignatz 1928–1930, edited by J. Michael Catron and Bill Blackbeard (Fantagraphics)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books: AKIRA Volumes 1–5 Hardcover Collection, by Katsuhiro Otomo, edited by Haruko Hashimoto, Ajani Oloye, and Lauren Scanlan (Kodansha USA Publishing)

Best Academic/Scholarly Work: Manga’s First Century: How Creators and Fans Made Japanese Comics, 1905–1989, by Andrea Horbinski (University of California Press)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism: SKTCHD by David Harper

Best Comics-Related Book: Crumb: A Cartoonist’s Life by Dan Nadel (Scribner)

Best Publication Design: The Essential Peanuts, designed by Shawn Dahl with Chip Kidd (Abrams ComicArts)

Best Webcomic: Tiger, Tiger by Petra Erika Nordlund

Best Digital Comic: Practical Defense Against Piracy by Tony Cliff

Best Writer: Mariko Tamaki, This Place Kills Me (Abrams Fanfare)

Best Writer/Artist: Jamal Campbell, Zatanna (DC)

Best Penciller/Inker: Javier Rodriguez, Absolute Martian Manhunter (DC)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist: Martin Simmonds, The Department of Truth (Image)

Best Cover Artist: Javier Rodriguez, Absolute Martian Manhunter, Batman & Robin: Year One #7, The New Gods #8 (DC)

Best Coloring: Jordie Bellaire, Absolute Wonder Woman, The Nice House by the Sea (DC); The Exorcism at 1600 Penn (IDW); Assorted Crisis Events, The Department of Truth, Exquisite Corpses, W0RLDTR33 (Image); GI Joe (Image/Skybound); EC Catacomb of Torment, EC Epitaphs from the Abyss (Oni Press)

Best Lettering: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Ill Vacation, Stillman (Comixology Originals); Absolute Martian Manhunter, Challengers of the Unknown, DC K.O., The Flash, Green Arrow, Poison Ivy (DC); Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, Starship Godzilla (IDW); Author Immortal (Image); Our-Soot-Stained Heart (Mad Cave)