ComicCon@Home: The 2020 Eisner Award Winners

July 25, 2020 Derek McCaw Comics 0

In a normal Comic-Con in San Diego, Friday night would be an evening where the industry gathers to celebrate some of the best in comics through the Will Eisner Awards ceremony. Everybody dresses up, camaraderie is high, and for fans, books they may have missed get highlighted. It’s a reminder that there’s a lot of important and cool work happening in the comics industry. This year, the virtual awards were hosted by actor Phil LaMarr from his home studio, with guest appearances from awards coordinator Jackie Estrada and legendary cartoonist Sergio Aragones. Instead of a 3-hour party, it was a crisp 1-hour broadcast that highlighted the strength and the weakness of a virtual convention: LaMarr kept things moving, but it was weird not to have the energy of a live audience showing love.

Below is the official list of winners, with links if you want to explore the work further. (As always, these are in case you cannot find them at your local comics shop.) Congratulations to all, but I admit, especially to Emil Ferris for Best One-Shot, because my favorite graphic novel in the last decade is [amazon text=My Favorite Thing Is Monsters&asin=B01D5H511C]. Anything related to it will automatically be my next favorite thing.

Best Short Story: “Hot Comb,” by Ebony Flowers, in [amazon text=Hot Comb&asin=B087YLZ7VS] (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Single Issue/One-Shot: [amazon text=Our Favorite Thing Is My Favorite Thing Is Monsters&asin=B07Q3ZCY59], by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)

Best Continuing Series: [amazon text=Bitter Root&asin=1534312129], by David Walker, Chuck Brown, and Sanford Greene (Image)

Best Limited Series: [amazon text=Little Bird&asin=1534313451] by Darcy Van Poelgeest and Ian Bertram (Image)

Best New Series: [amazon text=Invisible Kingdom&asin=1506712274], by G. Willow Wilson and Christian Ward (Berger Books/Dark Horse)

Best Publication for Early Readers: [amazon text=Comics: Easy as ABC,&asin=1943145393] by Ivan Brunetti (TOON)

Best Publication for Kids: [amazon text=Guts&asin=0545852501], by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic Graphix)

Best Publication for Teens: [amazon text=Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me&asin=1626722595], by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell (First Second/Macmillan)

Best Humor Publication: [amazon text=The Way of the Househusband,&asin=197470940X] vol. 1, by Kousuke Oono, translation by Sheldon Drzka (VIZ Media)

Best Anthology: [amazon text=Drawing Power: Women’s Stories of Sexual Violence, Harassment, and Survival,&asin=1419736191] edited by Diane Noomin (Abrams)

Best Reality-Based Work: [amazon text=They Called Us Enemy&asin=1603094709], by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker (Top Shelf) – note: this has a new expanded edition coming August 25 — the link here is for that version.

Best Graphic Album—New: [amazon text=Are You Listening?&asin=1250207568] by Tillie Walden (First Second/Macmillan)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint: [amazon text=LaGuardia&asin=1506710751], by Nnedi Okorafor and Tana Ford (Berger Books/Dark Horse)

Best Adaptation from Another Medium: [amazon text=Snow, Glass, Apples&asin=1506709796], by Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran (Dark Horse Books)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material: [amazon text=The House&asin=168396263X], by Paco Roca, translation by Andrea Rosenberg (Fantagraphics)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia (TIE): [amazon text=Cats of the Louvre&asin=1974707083], by Taiyo Matsumoto, translation by Michael Arias (VIZ Media) AND [amazon text=Witch Hat Atelier&asin=163236770X], by Kamome Shirahama, translation by Stephen Kohler (Kodansha)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips: [amazon text=Krazy Kat: The Complete Color Sundays,&asin=3836566362] by George Herriman, edited by Alexander Braun (TASCHEN)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books:
Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo: The Complete Grasscutter Artist Select, by Stan Sakai, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)

Best Writer: Mariko Tamaki, [amazon text=Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass&asin=1401283292] (DC); Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me (First Second/Macmillan); Archie (Archie)

Best Writer/Artist: Raina Telgemeier, Guts (Scholastic Graphix)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team: Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me (First Second/Macmillan)

Best Painter/Digital Artist: Christian Ward, Invisible Kingdom (Berger Books/Dark Horse)

Best Cover Artist: Emma Rios, Pretty Deadly (Image)

Best Coloring: Dave Stewart, Black Hammer, B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know, Hellboy and the BPRD (Dark Horse); Gideon Falls (Image); Silver Surfer Black, Spider-Man (Marvel)

Best Lettering: Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo (IDW)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism: Women Write About Comics, edited by Nola Pfau and Wendy Browne, www.WomenWriteAboutComics.com

Best Comics-Related Book: [amazon text=Making Comics&asin=1770463690], by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Academic/Scholarly Work: [amazon text=EC Comics: Race, Shock, and Social Protest,&asin=0813566312] by Qiana Whitted (Rutgers University Press)

Best Publication Design: Making Comics, designed by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Digital Comic: [amazon text=Afterlift&asin=B07VHK42LY], by Chip Zdarsky and Jason Loo (comiXology Originals)

Best Webcomic: Fried Rice Comic, by Erica Eng, https://friedricecomic.tumblr.com

Hall of Fame: Judges’ choices: Nell Brinkley, E. Simms Campbell; voters’ choices: Alison Bechdel, Howard Cruse, Stan Sakai, Louise Simonson, Don and Maggie Thompson, Bill Watterson

Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award: Hero Initiative; Creators4Comics; Comic Book United Fund

In addition, yesterday, the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award was given to:
Nostromo Sevilla, Sergio López, Seville, Spain.

Comic-Con thanks the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Judges: Troy-Jeffrey Allen (Diamond Comic Distributors), Cecil Castellucci (Writer, Batgirl, The Plain Janes), Alejandro Gonzalez (La Revisteria Comics, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2019 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award winner), Ross Richie (Publisher, BOOM! Studios), and Steve Saffel (Editor, Titan Books), and Facilitator, Joe Ferrara (Atlantis Fantasyworld, Santa Cruz, CA).

Comic-Con congratulates all of the award recipients and nominees. You’re all winners in our book!
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About Derek McCaw 2519 Articles
In addition to running Fanboy Planet, Derek has written for ActionAce, Daily Radar, Once Upon A Dime, and The Wave. He has contributed stories to Arcana Comics (The Greatest American Hero) and Monsterverse Comics (Bela Lugosi's Tales from the Grave). He has performed with ComedySportz and Silicon Valley Shakespeare, though relocated to Hollywood to... work in an office? If you ever played Eric's Ultimate Solitaire on the Macintosh, it was Derek's voice as The Weasel that urged you to play longer. You can buy his book "I Was Flesh Gordon" on the Amazon link at the right. Email him at [email protected].