Small Press Expo – SMASH PAGES

Anders Nilsen, ‘Precious Rubbish’ + more win at the 2025 Ignatz Awards

The annual small-press awards were given out at SPX in Maryland this weekend.

The 2025 Ignatz Awards, which recognize the best in small press comics, were presented last night as part of this weekend’s Small Press Expo festivities. The event featured a keynote by cartoonist Mimi Pond, which you can watch in the replay of their livestream.

Creator Anders Nilsen took home two awards for his supplemental comic to his Tongues series, while Kayla E. won the graphic novel category for Precious Rubbish. While most of the winners were self-published, Fantagraphics took home two awards and Silver Sprocket received one.

The Ignatz Awards have been presented since 1997 and celebrate the outstanding achievements of independent comics, graphic novels and minicomics. They are named for the brick-throwing mouse that appeared in the Krazy Kat comics by George Herriman.

Congratulations to this year’s winners:

Nominees announced for the 2025 Ignatz Awards

The Ignatz Awards, given out at the Small Press Expo in September, honor outstanding achievement in independent comics and cartooning.

The Small Press Expo, or SPX, has announced the nominees for the 2025 Ignatz Awards.

The Ignatz Awards recognize independent/alternative comics, graphic novels and more, 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 Léa Murawiec, who won the award in 2024 for Most Promising New Talent.

Anyone can vote in the Ignatz Awards, as it is all done over email. Ballots were mailed to the existing SPX mailing list today, and those not on their list can sign up for a ballot and get added to our email lists at the SPX website. Voting ends on Friday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. Eastern.

Congrats to all the nominees:

Robyn Smith, ‘Roaming,’ ‘CosmoKnights’ + more win at the 2024 Ignatz Awards

The annual awards honoring excellence in independent comics, graphic novels and minicomics were presented last night at the Small Press Expo.

The annual Ignatz Awards, which recognizes the best in small press comics with a brick-shaped award, were presented last night as part of this weekend’s Small Press Expo festivities.

The awards were presented during a live ceremony that included a keynote by cartoonist Jeffrey Brown. A replay of the livestream is available on YouTube:

Nominees announced for the 2024 Ignatz Awards

The Ignatz Awards, given out annually at SPX, honor outstanding achievement in independent comics and cartooning.

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:

Nominees announced for the 2023 Ignatz Awards

The annual awards celebrate outstanding achievement in independent comics and cartooning.

The Small Press Expo, aka SPX, has announced the nominees for the 2023 Ignatz Awards.

The Ignatz Awards, which have been handed out since 1997, celebrate the outstanding achievements of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons. 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 2022 Ignatz Promising New Talent Winner Juni Ba.

The nominees were chosen by a panel of comics professionals that included Ellen Lindner, Juniper Kim, L. Nichols, Ally Shwed, Jason Little and Kotaline Jones.

‘Laila Starr,’ ‘No One Else’ and more win 2022 Ignatz Awards

The annual awards honoring excellence in independent comics, graphic novels and minicomics returned in person at the Small Press Expo.

For the first time since 2019, the annual Ignatz Awards returned to a live, in-person event at the Small Press Expo last night, presenting awards in 10 categories to small press creators.

The Ignatz Awards, which have been handed out since 1997, celebrate the outstanding achievements of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons. They are named for the mouse that appears in the Krazy Kat comics by George Herriman.

Nominees were determined by a jury that included Cuyler Hedlund, Breena Nunez, Josh O’Neil, Alex Hoffman and Hazel Newlevant. Anyone could vote on the winners, which was done over email rather than in person at the show, like it’s been in previous years.

Congratulations to this year’s winners, marked in bold below:

Nominees announced for the 2022 Ignatz Awards

The annual Ignatz Awards celebrate outstanding achievement in independent comics and cartooning.

The Small Press Expo, or SPX, has announced the nominees for the 2022 Ignatz Awards.

Nominees were determined by a jury that included Cuyler Hedlund, Breena Nunez, Josh O’Neil, Alex Hoffman and Hazel Newlevant. Anyone can vote on the winners, which will be done over email rather than in person at the show, like it’s been in previous years. You can find more details on the SPX website.

Congrats to all the nominees:

Nominees announced for the 2021 Ignatz Awards

The annual Ignatz Awards celebrate outstanding achievement in independent comics and cartooning.

The Small Press Expo, or SPX, has announced the nominees for the 2021 Ignatz Awards.

The Ignatz Awards, which have been handed out since 1997, celebrate the outstanding achievements of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons. Named for the mouse that appears in the Krazy Kat comics by George Herriman, the logo changes each as a new artist draws the mouse and his weapon of choice, the brick. This year’s logo, seen above, is by Theo Stultz.

Nominees were determined by a jury that included Sunmi, Daniel Elkin and Nguyên Khôi Nguyễn. Anyone can vote on the winners, and SPX has said more details on the process will be shared soon.

Congratulations to all the nominees:

Ariel Ries, Eleanor Davis and more win 2020 Ignatz Awards

Annual awards typically presented at the Small Press Expo honor excellence in independent comics, graphic novels and minicomics.

The 2020 Ignatz Awards were presented tonight during a livestream on the Small Press Expo YouTube channel

The Ignatz Awards, which have been handed out since 1997, celebrate the outstanding achievements of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons. Typically the awards are voted on by SPX attendees and then given out at the event, but given the COVID-19 crisis, this year they opened voting up to anyone and went virtual with the awards ceremony.

Congratulations to all the winners, which you can find in bold below:

2020 Ignatz Award nominees announced

The Ignatz Awards celebrate outstanding achievement in independent comics and cartooning.

The Small Press Expo has announced the 2020 Ignatz Award nominees. The Ignatz Awards, which have been handed out since 1997, celebrate the outstanding achievements of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons.

The nominees were determined by a panel that included Scott Cederlund, November Garcia, Malala Gharib and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell.

Voting for the annual Ignatz Awards is usually limited to the attendees of the Small Press Expo, but with no physical event being held this year, they are opening it up to everyone. You can register to vote here.

The awards presentation will be livestreamed Sept. 12. And here are the nominees:

Comics Lowdown: Can Disney stop cops from using the Punisher symbol?

Plus: News on Al Jaffe, Uncivilized Books, awards and more.

With police brutality once again in the public eye, many fans on social media have called out Disney/Marvel to put their litigious muscles to work and prevent cops from using the Punisher logo — a popular emblem with some members of law enforcement, despite the fact that Frank Castle is a criminal and a killer.

First, you can find some history of both the character and its popularity with police here. That piece’s writer, Brian Cronin, is not only a contributor to CBR, but also a lawyer, and he offers his thoughts on why he doesn’t think Disney would have much success in an article titled “There’s Not Much Marvel Can Do About Cops Using Punisher’s Logo.” Cronin writes:

Tamaki, Valero-O’Connell and more win 2019 Ignatz Awards

Annual awards presented at the Small Press Expo honor excellence in independent comics, graphic novels and minicomics.

The winners of the 2019 Ignatz Awards were announced this weekend at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland.

The big winners of the night were Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me writer Mariko Tamaki and artist Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, who took home three awards between them, including “Outstanding Graphic Novel.” The political cartoon site The Nib also continued its recent winning streak, taking home the award for “Outstanding Series.”

The Ignatz, named after George Herriman’s brick-wielding mouse from the classic 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 awards have been presented annually since 1997.

The awards presentations were hosted by cartoonist Keith Knight:

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