Hilary B. Price wins the 2023 Reuben Award

Jay Stephens, Evan Dahm, Sarah Andersen and more win NCS divisional awards.

Hilary B. Price, creator of Rhymes with Orange and the youngest woman to ever have a nationally syndicated comic strip, has won this year’s Reuben Award.

The National Cartoonists Society presented the award last weekend at their annual conference in San Diego. Price was one of six nominees for the award this year, in a field that also included Daniel Clowes, Darrin Bell, Dana Simpson, Mark Tatulli and Will Henry.

Price launched the comic strip in 1995, and it’s remained an award-winning staple of the comics page ever since, winning multiple divisional awards from the National Cartoonists Society. She’s also been nominated for the Reuben Award multiple times in the past.

Rhymes With Orange has been my expressive outlet from my mid-twenties through my mid-forties,” Price told us back in 2018. “There’s a lot of change in that time – from sleeping on a futon to having a box spring and mattress, from negotiating roommates to negotiating a mortgage, from weddings to divorces. I remember a relative noting that when the strip first started, it was a window into the life of a twenty-something, but as I aged, the topics hit a broader audience. For example, more people are in the settled down phase than in the just starting out phase, so gags about long term relationships hit a wider mark than the hook-up at parties gags.”

Continue reading “Hilary B. Price wins the 2023 Reuben Award”

Nominees announced for this year’s Reuben Award

The winner will be announced in August.

The National Cartoonist Society has announced the nominees for the 2023 Cartoonist of the Year, commonly known as The Reuben Award. These follow the NCS divisional award nominees, which were announced earlier this year.

This year’s list includes six cartoonists rather than the traditional five, due to a tie in voting.

Congrats to this year’s nominees:

Continue reading “Nominees announced for this year’s Reuben Award”

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

The National Cartoonist Society has announced the divisional nominees for the 78th Annual NCS Reuben 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 AndersenJim Benton and Dee Fish have been nominated.

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

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

‘Zippy the Pinhead’ creator Bill Griffith wins the Reuben Award

The National Cartoonist Society recognized cartoonists and artists across several categories this week.

The National Cartoonists Society has awarded Zippy the Pinhead creator Bill Griffith with its prestigious Reuben Award. The award was presented last night at a ceremony and awards dinner in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Griffith was one of five cartoonists nominated for the award, chosen from a field that included Jeff Smith, Hilary B. Price, Will Henry and Mark Tatulli.

Griffith began his career in 1969, with his strips appearing in publications like East Village Other and Screw Magazine. He moved to San Francisco in the early 1970s to become part of the underground comix movement, which is where Zippy was born. The strip first appeared in Real Pulp #1, then became a weekly in 1976.

Continue reading “‘Zippy the Pinhead’ creator Bill Griffith wins the Reuben Award”

The Reuben Award: NCS announces nominees for Cartoonist of the Year

The winner will be revealed in September.

The National Cartoonist Society has announced the nominees for the 2022 Cartoonist of the Year, commonly known as The Reuben Award. These follow the NCS divisional award nominees, which were announced in early June.

This year’s list includes several cartoonists who have been previously nominated, and one notable new addition for comic book fans:

Continue reading “The Reuben Award: NCS announces nominees for Cartoonist of the Year”

Colleen Doran, Alex Ross, Sarah Andersen among this year’s NCS divisional nominees

The National Cartoonist Society announces the divisional nominees for the 77th Annual NCS Reuben Awards.

The National Cartoonists Society has announced the 2022 NCS Divisional finalists for the 77th Annual NCS Reuben Awards, which annually recognize creators of comic strips, illustrations, comic books and more. The winners will be announced Sept. 7, 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 work, the writer or publisher aren’t called out in the nominations. The graphic novel category nominees for this year include Colleen Doran, artist of Chivalry; Alex Ross, creator of Fantastic Four: Full Circle; and Christian Meesey, artist of Time Shopper. For comic books, the nominees include Brett Bean, artist of I Hate Fairyland; Ben Bender, creator of The Littlest Viking; and Robert Goodin, creator of The Kurdles.

Webcomics creators are recognized in two categories — long form and short form. In the long-form category, the nominees include Phil Foglio, Brad Guigar and Sheldon creator Dave Kellett. In the short-form category, Sarah Andersen, Tex creator Jesse Atwell and Rich Powell have been nominated.

Below is the full list of the nominees.

Continue reading “Colleen Doran, Alex Ross, Sarah Andersen among this year’s NCS divisional nominees”

Edward Sorel awarded the Reuben; Powell, Petersen + more win NCS awards

The National Cartoonist Society recognized cartoonists and artist across several categories this past weekend.

The National Cartoonist Society has named Edward Sorel as the 2021 Cartoonist of the Year, presenting him with their annual Reuben Award.

The Reuben, along with the annual NCS Divisional Awards, were announced over the weekend during the Reuben Awards gala dinner.

Sorel’s work has appeared in The Nation, New York Magazine, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Village Voice, National Lampoon, Fortune, Forbes, Time, Esquire and countless other publications. The 92-year-old artist’s memoir, Profusely Illustrated, was published last year.

Continue reading “Edward Sorel awarded the Reuben; Powell, Petersen + more win NCS awards”

Nominees announced for the 2021 Reuben, NCS awards

Winners will be revealed in September.

The National Cartoonist Society has announced the nominees for the 2021 Cartoonist of the Year, commonly known as The Reuben Award, as well as the many divisional awards they give out each year.

Keith Knight, Edward Sorel, Bill Griffith, Hilary B. Price and Mark Tatulli are all up for the Reuben the year, with several of them being nominated in years past. Last year Curtis creator Ray Billingsley won the award.

The divisional awards cover everything from comics and graphic novels to comic strips, editorial cartoons and even greeting cards. They also nominate the cartoonist or artist, vs. the work or the entire creative team. I’ve included the nominations that are relevant to the world of comics below, but you can see the full list on the NCS website.

Continue reading “Nominees announced for the 2021 Reuben, NCS awards”

Ray Billingsley wins the Reuben Award

The creator of the comic strip ‘Curtis’ is the first African-American cartoonist to win the Reuben Award.

Ray Billingsley, creator of the long-running comic strip Curtis, has won the 2021 Reuben Award. He’s the first Black man to win the award since it was first established in the 1940s.

“This has been a huge step for me, and also a momentous step for the NCS because I’m the first Black guy to win the prestigious Reuben Award, and for that I’m very grateful,” Billingsley said in his acceptance speech. “This has been a very long journey, and I have literally lived my life on a deadline.”

Billingsley started his career drawing for KIDS Magazine when he was 12. After college and an internship with Disney, he went on to work on the nationally syndicated strip Lookin’ Fine, which ran from 1980 to 1982. He has also worked in animation, advertising and for various magazines and greeting card companies. Curtis launched in 1988 at King Feature Syndicate and is still published today. You can read it on the Comic Kingdom website.

You can watch the announcement of Billingsley’s win below, which includes his acceptance speech:

Continue reading “Ray Billingsley wins the Reuben Award”

75th annual NCS Reuben Awards nominees announced

Winners will be revealed in October.

The National Cartoonist Society has trickled out the nominees for this year’s Reuben Award and the accompanying NCS Divisional Awards over the last few months, as they prepare for the big awards ceremony in October.

The divisional awards include categories that cover comic books, webcomics, political cartoons and more. I’ve included the nominations that are relevant to the world of comics, but you can find the complete nominations lists here and here.

Continue reading “75th annual NCS Reuben Awards nominees announced”

Lynda Barry wins the Reuben Award

‘Usagi Yojimbo,’ ‘They Called Us Enemy’ recognized in the NCS divisional awards.

This has been a very busy weekend for comics, from DC FanDome to the Small Press Expo and the Ignatz Awards to the National Cartoonist Society‘s virtual NCSFest, their annual event where the winner of the Reuben Award is announced (as well as other awards).

As announced during NCSFest, cartoonist Lynda Barry has won the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year. The award has been presented annually since 1954 and was named for Rube Goldberg.

Continue reading “Lynda Barry wins the Reuben Award”

Pastis wins the Reuben; ‘Kafkaesque,’ ‘Vampironica’ win NCS division awards

Winners of the annual awards presented by the National Cartoonists Society given out this weekend in Huntington Beach.

The National Cartoonists Society announced the winners of the annual Reuben Award and other divisional awards this weekend during NCS Fest in Huntington Beach, California.

After 11 nominations,Pearls Before Swine creator Stephan Pastis took home the Reuben Award, beating out Lynda Barry, Hilary Price, Brain Basset and Mark Tatulli for the honor.

Continue reading “Pastis wins the Reuben; ‘Kafkaesque,’ ‘Vampironica’ win NCS division awards”