Held Friday night in the Indigo Ballroom, the 30th Annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards have crowned a new annual batch of stand-out artists, writers and publishers. The 2018 ceremony presenters included Star Trek star Nichelle Nichols, film critic/historian Leonard Maltin, cartoonist Sergio Aragones, Elfquest creators Wendy & Richard Pini, and voice actor/comedian Phil LaMarr, among others.
A notable trend in the awards this year is the increasing representation of people of color — both creating stories and taking the spotlight in a titles ranging from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, to Run for It, and Italian historical title about slavery in the US; to a new graphic adaptation of Octavia Butler’s Kindred.
The winningest title was Monstress, which won five awards including Best Continuing Series and two artist awards for Sana Takeda; the series is written by Marjorie Liu. Graphic album My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris received three awards, and Katie O’Neil’s webcomic The Tea Dragon Society won two.
This year’s Hall of Fame inductees include Charles Addams, Looney Tunes animator Bob Clampett, prolific manga-ka Rumiko Takahashi, and Torchy Brown creator Jackie Ormes, known as the first black woman cartoonist in America.
2018 Eisner Winners:
Best Short Story A Life in Comics: The Graphic Adventures of Karen Green, by Nick Sousanis, in Columbia Magazine (Summer 2017)
Best Single Issue/One-Shot Hellboy: Krampusnacht, by Mike Mignola and Adam Hughes (Dark Horse)
Best Continuing Series Monstress, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Image)
Best Limited Series Black Panther: World of Wakanda, by Roxane Gay, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Alitha E. Martinez (Marvel)
Best New Series Black Bolt, by Saladin Ahmed and Christian Ward (Marvel)
Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8) Good Night, Planet, by Liniers (Toon Books)
Best Publication for Kids (ages 9–12) The Tea Dragon Society, by Katie O’Neill (Oni)
Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17) Monstress, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Image)
Best Humor Publication Baking with Kafka, by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly)
Best Anthology Elements: Fire, A Comic Anthology by Creators of Color, edited by Taneka Stotts (Beyond Press)
Best Reality-Based Work Spinning, by Tillie Walden (First Second)
Best Graphic Album—New My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)
Best Graphic Album—Reprint Boundless, by Jillian Tamaki (Drawn & Quarterly)
Best Adaptation from Another Medium Kindred, by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy and John Jennings (Abrams ComicArts)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material Run for It: Stories of Slaves Who Fought for Their Freedom, by Marcelo D’Salete, translated by Andrea Rosenberg (Fantagraphics)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia My Brother’s Husband, vol. 1, by Gengoroh Tagame, translated by Anne Ishii (Pantheon)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips Celebrating Snoopy, by Charles M. Schulz, edited by Alexis E. Fajardo and Dorothy O’Brien (Andrews McMeel)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books Akira 35th Anniversary Edition, by Katsuhiro Otomo, edited by Haruko Hashimoto, Ajani Oloye, and Lauren Scanlan (Kodansha)
Best Writer (2) Tom King, Batman, Batman Annual #2, Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1, Mister Miracle (DC)
Marjorie Liu, Monstress (Image)
Best Writer/Artist Emil Ferris, My Favorite Thing Is Monsters (Fantagraphics)
Best Penciller/Inker Mitch Gerads, Mister Miracle (DC)
Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art) Sana Takeda, Monstress (Image)
Best Cover Artist Sana Takeda, Monstress (Image)
Best Coloring Emil Ferris, My Favorite Thing Is Monsters (Fantagraphics)
Best Lettering Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo, Groo: Slay of the Gods (Dark Horse)
Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism The Comics Journal, edited by Dan Nadel, Timothy Hodler, and Tucker Stone, tcj.com (Fantagraphics)
Best Comics-Related Book How to Read Nancy: The Elements of Comics in Three Easy Panels, by Paul Karasik and Mark Newgarden (Fantagraphics)
Best Academic/Scholarly Work Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics, by Frederick Luis Aldama (University of Arizona Press)
Best Publication Design Akira 35th Anniversary Edition, designed by Phil Balsman, Akira Saito (Veia), NORMA Editorial, and MASH•ROOM (Kodansha)
Best Digital Comic Harvey Kurtzman’s Marley’s Ghost, by Harvey Kurtzman, Josh O’Neill, Shannon Wheeler, and Gideon Kendall (comiXology Originals/Kitchen, Lind & Associates)
Best Webcomic The Tea Dragon Society, by Katie O’Neill, teadragonsociety.com (Oni Press)
Hall of Fame:
Judges’ Choices: Carol Kalish, Jackie Ormes
Voters’ Choices: Charles Addams, Karen Berger, Dave Gibbons, Rumiko Takahashi Bob Clampett
Humanitarian Award: Frederick Joseph; Comics4Kids
Bill Finger Excellence in Comic Book Writing Award: Joe Murchison Kelly; Dorothy Woolfolk
Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award: Hamish Steele (writer/artist, Pantheon), Pablo Tunica (artist, TMNT Universe)
Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award: Norma Comics, Barcelona, Spain
