Comics Lowdown: Mark Waid’s attorney asks for dismissal of Richard C. Meyer’s lawsuit

BOOM! Studios cancels ‘Husband and Husband’ collection after plagiarism charges! Image stops selling DRM-free digital comics directly! Chicago Sun-Times drops two pages of comics! Plus: Chip Zdarsky, NaNoWriMo, best of 2018 lists and more!

Mark Waid’s legal representative has asked the U.S. District Court for the Western district of Texas to dismiss the lawsuit filed against him by Richard C. Meyer. The civil lawsuit was filed in September and claims “tortious interference with contract and defamation.” You can read the motion on Newsarama.

“[Meyer] asserts claims against Mr. Waid for tortious interference with contract and defamation. These claims are completely meritless. But the problem at the outset, and which is proper to address, is that this Court lacks personal jurisdiction over Mr. Waid,” reads the motion. “Plaintiff’s Complaint fails to identify any allegations or facts establishing any connection between Mr. Waid and Texas. Instead, Plaintiff merely alleges a single phone call between Mr. Waid, who was in California at the time, and a San Antonio publishing company. That is far short of the necessary substantial connection with Texas to justify personal jurisdiction.”

Mark Waid and Richard Meyer have GoFundMe campaigns going to pay for their legal fees, both of which have reached their goals.

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‘Monstress,’ ‘Barrier’ and more win at the 2018 Harvey Awards

Streamlined awards featuring six categories presented during the New York Comic Con Friday night; Dave Gibbons and Roz Chast inducted into Hall of Fame.

The Harvey Awards returned last night in a new venue in conjunction with the New York Comic Con. The streamlined awards presented winners in six categories, as well as four other related awards and Hall of Fame inductions.

Joining the Hall of Fame this year were Roz Chast and Dave Gibbons. Harold Sakuishi received the 2018 International Spotlight Award, while Jackie Estrada (who runs the Eisner Awards) received the Comics Industry Pioneer award.

You can find the complete list of winners below.

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Joelle Jones, Tom King, Lee Weeks and more win 2018 Ringo Awards

Marc Andreyko receives the Dick Giordano Humanitarian of the Year Award, while Denny O’Neil receives the Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award.

The 2018 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards were presented this weekend at the Baltimore Comic-Con, celebrating the “creativity, skill and fun of comics.” The awards program is named for artist Mike Wieringo, who passed away in 2007.

This is the second year the awards were presented, and they include both “fan favorites,” which were selected by open voting, and “jury and fan winners,” selected by a combination of open nominations and jury voting. You can see the breakdown of how the winners were selected on the Ringo Awards website.

Congratulations to all the winners:

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Davis, Ostertag and more take home 2018 Ignatz Awards

Annual awards presented at the Small Press Expo honor excellence in independent comics.

Eleanor Davis, Richie Pope, Molly Ostertag and Carta Monir are among the winners of the 2018 Ignatz Awards, as presented last night at a ceremony held in conjunction with the Small Press Expo (SPX) in Bethesda, Maryland.

Ignatz image by 2017 Promising New Talent winner Bianca Xunise.

The Ignatz, named after George Herriman’s brick-wielding mouse from his long running comic strip Krazy Kat, recognizes exceptional work that challenges popular notions of what comics can achieve, both as an art form and as a means of personal expression. The nominees for the ballot were determined by a panel of comic artists: Mita Mahato, Carolyn Nowak, kevin czap, Leila Abdelrazaq and Taneka Stotts. The votes for the awards were cast by the attendees at the show

The complete list of nominees can be found below, with the winner in bold.

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‘Monstress’ takes home another Hugo; Takeda named best artist

In the “Graphic Story” category, Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda’s fantasy series beats out ‘Saga,’ ‘Black Bolt’ and more to win the award.

Monstress, the fantasy series written by Marjorie Liu, drawn by Sana Takeda and published by Image Comics, has again won the Hugo Award in the “Graphic Story” category for its second volume, Monstress, Volume 2: The Blood. In addition, Takeda also won in the “Best Professional Artist” category.

Presented annually since 1955, The Hugo Awards recognize the best science fiction in books, comics, movies, TV and more. The Hugo Awards are voted on annually by members of the World Science Fiction Convention. The Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story has been awarded annually since 2009, with previous winners including Saga, Ms. Marvel, Girl Genius and The Sandman: Overture. Other nominees in the category this year included Saga, Paper Girls, My Favorite Thing is Monsters, Bitch Planet and Black Bolt.

The 2018 Hugo Awards were presented this evening at a ceremony at the 76th World Science Fiction Convention in San Jose, California.

Monstress has been racking up awards left and right over the last year, winning an NCS Divisional Award, a British Fantasy Award and several Eisner Awards, among others. Congratulations to Liu, Takeda and the whole Monstress team.

Harvey Awards announce 2018 nominees

Streamlined awards will feature only six categories and will be presented during the New York Comic Con this October.

After taking a year off to regroup and prepare for arrival at their new home, the Harvey Awards have announced their nominees for 2018. It’s a very slimmed-down list of categories — just six, when typically they’ve had more than 20.

The most noticeable change is the lack of any awards recognizing creators; instead, the six categories recognize specific works. The other oddity is the addition of a “Best Adaptation” category, recognizing films, TV and any adaptations based on comics. Both of these changes have received criticism from comic creators since the nominees were announced yesterday.

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Fiona Staples nominated for a World Fantasy Award

The ‘Saga’ artist adds another award nomination to her long list, just as she and Brian K. Vaughan announce the book will go on hiatus for a year.

Saga artist Fiona Staples has been nominated for a World Fantasy Award, in the “Artist” category. Although other nominees have created comics or comic covers in the past, she’s the only nominee in the category who is known primarily for her comics work.

The winners will be announced at the World Fantasy Convention in November.

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For the first time, a graphic novel makes the longlist for the Man Booker Prize

Nick Drnaso’s ‘Sabrina,’ published by Drawn and Quarterly and Granta Books, up for the prestigious prize this year.

Nick Drnaso’s Sabrina, published by Drawn and Quarterly and Granta Books, has been nominated for the Man Booker Prize — the first such nomination for a graphic novel.

A baker’s dozen of books made the prize’s longlist, with the shortlist due out in September. The final winner will be announced in October.

The Man Booker Prize is awarded every year for the best original novel written in the English language and published in the UK. Established in 1969, the award includes £50,000 in prize money as well as the £2,500 awarded to each of the shortlisted authors.

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Monstress and Monsters rule the 2018 Eisner Awards

Diversity wins as ‘Monstress’ sweeps with 5 awards with Liu is the first woman to win Best Writer, and ‘My Favourite Thing is Monsters’ gets 3.

Last night at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel during Comic-Con International, the 2018 Eisner Awards were presented in a passionate and empowering three-hour ceremony.

It was the night for monsters as Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda won five Eisner Awards including best continuing series, best painter/multimedia artist, best cover artist and best publication for teens. Liu made history by becoming the first woman to ever win the best writer award in the 30-years of the Eisners being handed out. Liu was in attendance to receive all of the awards for Monstress, but used FaceTime so Sana Takeda, in Japan, can “be on stage” with her to receive the best continuing series award.

My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris won three including best graphic album, best coloring and best writer/artist. “You did it again. You made an old lady cry, ” declared Ferris as she accepted the best coloring award.

Mister Miracle by Tom King and Mitch Gerads, The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill, and the Akira 35th Anniversary Edition each received two of the coveted awards.

The award winners were noticeably diverse as a large number of people of colour, women, and LGBTQ+ creators all received awards.

Surprise celebrity guests graced the stage Nichelle Nichols, Phil Lamar, Cas Anvar, Benedict Wong, and Felicia Day were on hand to present awards.

Check out the complete list of winners and some reactions below.

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Nominees announced for the 2018 British Fantasy Awards

‘Bitch Planet,’ ‘Monstress,’ ‘The Wicked + The Divine’ among this year’s nominees for the comics category.

The British Fantasy Society has announced the nominees for the 2018 British Fantasy Awards, including the “Best Comic/Graphic Novel” category.

The entrants are selected after two rounds of nominations, and votes are tallied from the members of the British Fantasy Society and FantasyCon. Winners will be announced Oct. 21 at FantasyCon 2018. Monstress took home the award last year.

The nominees in the “Best Comic/Graphic Novel” category include:

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Nominees announced for the 2018 Ringo Awards

The nominees for the Ringo Awards have been announced, marking the second year for the awards program named for artist Mike Wieringo, who passed away in 2007.

While fans could participate in the nomination process, only comic book professionals can vote for the winners. The awards will be presented at Baltimore Comic-Con Sept. 29.

Congratulations to all the nominees:

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Nominees announced for the 2018 Russ Manning Award

Annual award for the “Most Promising Newcomer” comic artist will be presented during the Eisner Awards in July at Comic-Con International.

The nominees have been announced for the 2018 Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award, named for the creator of Magnus, Robot Fighter and illustrator of the Tarzan and Star Wars comic strips.

Presented annually since 1982, the award recognizes an artist who, early in his or her career, “shows a superior knowledge and ability in the art of creating comics.” Previous winners include Dave Stevens, Eleanor Davis, Jeff Smith, Marion Churchland, David Petersen, Tyler Crook, Dan Mora and Anne Szabla.

Congratulations to this year’s nominees:

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