The 2016 Eisner Award Nominees

Comic-Con International released the list of Eisner Award nominations today. For those unfamiliar, the Eisners are akin to the comics industry’s Academy Awards, nominated by a panel of six judges. Last year, the panel included Friend of Fanboy Planet (and owner of Earth-2 Comics in Sherman Oaks and Northridge, California) Carr D’Angelo.

Categories for the Eisners reflect a variety of areas that can put the spotlight on how truly diverse and versatile the comics industry can be. This year’s list prove exactly that, with few titles that would fall under the mainstream, but many that will turn out to be interesting reading if you choose to pick them up.

With notes where I can personally vouch, and without further ado:

Best Short Story

“Black Death in America,” by Tom King and John Paul Leon, in [amazon text=Vertigo Quarterly: Black&asin=B00SK81DSM](Vertigo/DC)
“Hand Me Down,” by Kristyna Baczynski, in 24 x 7 (Fanfare Presents)
“It’s Going to Be Okay,” by Matthew Inman, in The Oatmeal, theoatmeal.com/comics/plane
“Killing and Dying,” by Adrian Tomine, in Optic Nerve #14 (Drawn & Quarterly)
“Lion and Mouse,” by R. Sikoryak, in [amazon text=Fable Comics&asin=1626721076] (First Second)

Best Single Issue/One-Shot

A Blanket of Butterflies, by Richard Van Camp and Scott B. Henderson (HighWater Press)
I Love This Part, by Tillie Walden (Avery Hill)
Mowgli’s Mirror, by Olivier Schrauwen (Retrofit/Big Planet)
Pope Hats #4, by Ethan Rilly (AdHouse)
Silver Surfer #11: “Never After,” by Dan Slott and Michael Allred (Marvel) – editor’s note: Yes, some terrific work has been happening with this collaboration between Slott and Allred, a magical combination.

Best Continuing Series

[amazon text=Bandette&asin=1616552794], by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover (Monkeybrain)
[amazon text=Giant Days&asin=1608867897], by John Allison, Lissa Treiman, and Max Sarin (BOOM! Box)
[amazon text=Invincible&asin=158240500X], by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, and Cliff Rathburn (Image/Skybound) – editor’s note: Podcast announcer Nate Costa agrees with this most vehemently.
[amazon text=Silver Surfer&asin=0785188789], by Dan Slott and Michael Allred (Marvel) – editor’s note: See above note.
[amazon text=Southern Bastards&asin=1632150166], by Jason Aaron and Jason Latour (Image)

Best Limited Series

[amazon text=Chrononauts&asin=1632154064], by Mark Millar and Sean Murphy (Image)
[amazon text=The Fade Out&asin=1632151715], by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)
[amazon text=Lady Killer&asin=1616557575], by Joëlle Jones and Jamie S. Rich (Dark Horse)
[amazon text=Minimum Wage: So Many Bad Decisions&asin=1632157373], by Bob Fingerman (Image)
[amazon text=The Spire&asin=160886913X], by Simon Spurrier and Jeff Stokely (BOOM! Studios) – editor’s note: This team created Six-Gun Gorilla two years ago, a terrific work that opened my eyes to how good they are. So this is more of the same, yet different.

Best New Series

[amazon text=Bitch Planet&asin=1632153661], by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro (Image) – editor’s note: Kelly Sue De Connick is secretly taking over the comics industry one damned good book at a time.
[amazon text=Harrow County&asin=161655780X], by Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook (Dark Horse)
[amazon text=Kaijumax&asin=1620102706], by Zander Cannon (Oni)
[amazon text=Monstress&asin=1632157098], by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Image)
[amazon text=Paper Girls&asin=1632156741], by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang (Image) – editor’s note: It’s currently on hiatus as Vaughan and Chiang create the next arc, but definitely a compelling, fun sci fi book.
[amazon text=The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl&asin=0785197028], by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (Marvel) – editor’s note: Why do I love this book so much? It’s not meant for me, but it’s magnificent.

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8)

[amazon text=Anna Banana and the Chocolate Explosion&asin=1626720207], by Dominque Roques and Alexis Dormal (First Second)
[amazon text=Little Robot&asin=1626720800], by Ben Hatke (First Second)
[amazon text=The Only Child&asin=0553497049], by Guojing (Schwartz & Wade)
[amazon text=SheHeWe&asin=1467745782], by Lee Nordling and Meritxell Bosch (Lerner Graphic Universe)
[amazon text=Written and Drawn by Henrietta&asin=193517990X], by Liniers (TOON Books)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 9-12)

[amazon text=Baba Yaga’s Assistant&asin=076366961X], by Marika McCoola and Emily Carroll (Candlewick)
[amazon text=Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls Are Used in War&asin=1771381264], by Jessica Dee Humphreys, Michel Chikwanine, and Claudia Devila (Kids Can Press)
[amazon text=Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: The Underground Abductor&asin=1419715364], by Nathan Hale (Abrams Amulet)
[amazon text=Over the Garden Wall&asin=1608868362], by Pat McHale and Jim Campbell (BOOM! Studios/KaBOOM!) – editor’s note: This was a terrific side story to one of the best animated projects of the last couple of years.
[amazon text=Roller Girl&asin=0803740166], by Victoria Jamieson (Dial Books)
[amazon text=Sunny Side Up&asin=0545741661], by Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm (Scholastic Graphix)

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)

[amazon text=Awkward&asin=0316381306], by Svetlana Chmakova (Yen Press)
[amazon text=Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans&asin=054415777X], by Don Brown (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
[amazon text=March: Book Two&asin=1603094008], by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf/IDW) – editor’s note: Definitely a powerful book, a story well told, and a reminder how effective graphic fiction can be to explain history.
[amazon text=Moose&asin=1894994930], by Max de Radiguès (Conundrum)
[amazon text=Oyster War&asin=1620102625], by Ben Towle (Oni)
[amazon text=SuperMutant Magic Academy&asin=1770461981], by Jillian Tamaki (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Humor Publication

[amazon text=Cyanide %26 Happiness: Stab Factory&asin=1608867692], by Kris Wilson, Rob DenBleyker, and Dave McElfatrick (BOOM! Studios/BOOM! Box)
[amazon text=Deep Dark Fears&asin=1607748150], by Fran Krause (Ten Speed Press)
[amazon text=Sexcastle&asin=1632153009], by Kyle Starks (Image)
[amazon text=Step Aside, Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection&asin=1770462082], by Kate Beaton (Drawn & Quarterly) – editor’s note: Brilliant. Simply brilliant.
[amazon text=UR&asin=1935233300], by Eric Haven (AdHouse)

Best Digital/Webcomic

Bandette, by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover (Monkeybrain/comiXology)
Fresh Romance, edited by Janelle Asselin (Rosy Press/comiXology)
[amazon text=The Legend of Wonder Woman&asin=1401267289], by Renae De Liz (DC Digital)
Lighten Up, by Ronald Wimberly (The Nib)
These Memories Won’t Last, by Stu Campbell

Best Anthology

[amazon text=Drawn %26 Quarterly, Twenty-Five Years of Contemporary, Cartooning, Comics, and Graphic Novels&asin=177046199X], edited by Tom Devlin (Drawn & Quarterly)
Eat More Comics: The Best of the Nib, edited by Matt Bors (The Nib)
24 x 7, edited by Dan Berry (Fanfare Presents)
[amazon text=Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard, vol. 3&asin=B00U9RBRD8], edited by David Petersen (BOOM! Studios/Archaia)
[amazon text=Peanuts: A Tribute to Charles M. Schulz&asin=1608867145], edited by Shannon Watters (kaBOOM!)

Best Reality-Based Work

[amazon text=The Arab of the Future: A Childhood in the Middle East, 1978–1984&asin=1627793445], by Riad Sattouf (Metropolitan Books)
Displacement: A Travelogue, by Lucy Knisley (Fantagraphics)
[amazon text=Hip Hop Family Tree, Book 3: 1983–1984&asin=160699848X], by Ed Piskor (Fantagraphics)
Invisible Ink: My Mother’s Secret Love Affair with a Famous Cartoonist, by Bill Griffith (Fantagraphics)
March: Book Two, by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf/IDW)
[amazon text=The Story of My Tits&asin=1603090541], by Jennifer Hayden (Top Shelf/IDW)

Best Graphic Album—New

[amazon text=Long Walk to Valhalla&asin=1608866920], by Adam Smith and Matthew Fox (BOOM!/Archaia)
[amazon text=Nanjing: The Burning City&asin=1616557524], by Ethan Young (Dark Horse)
[amazon text=Ruins&asin=1906838984], by Peter Kuper (SelfMadeHero)
[amazon text=Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen&asin=1606997904], by Dylan Horrocks (Fantagraphics)
[amazon text=The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage&asin=0307908275], by Sydney Padua (Pantheon)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint

[amazon text=Angry Youth Comics&asin=B012HTZP1A], by Johnny Ryan (Fantagraphics)
[amazon text=Roses in December: A Story of Love and Alzheimer’s&asin=1606352644], by Tom Batiuk and Chuck Ayers (Kent State University Press)
The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal Omnibus, by E. K. Weaver (Iron Circus Comics)
[amazon text=Nimona&asin=0062278223], by Nicole Stevenson (Harper Teen)
[amazon text=Soldier’s Heart: The Campaign to Understand My WWII Veteran Father&asin=160699896X], by Carol Tyler (Fantagraphics)

Best Adaptation from Another Medium

[amazon text=Captive of Friendly Cove: Based on the Secret Journals of John Jewitt&asin=1936218119], by Rebecca Goldfield, Mike Short, and Matt Dembicki (Fulcrum)
[amazon text=City of Clowns&asin=1594633339], by Daniel Alarcón and Sheila Alvarado (Riverhead Books)
Ghetto Clown, by John Leguizamo, Christa Cassano, and Shamus Beyale (Abrams ComicArts)
[amazon text=Lafcadio Hearn’s “The Faceless Ghost” and Other Macabre Tales from Japan&asin=1611801974], adapted by Sean Michael Wilson and Michiru Morikawa (Shambhala) – editor’s note: I did read this last year and it’s filled with nicely creepy stories.
[amazon text=Two Brothers&asin=1616558563], by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá (Dark Horse)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

[amazon text=Alpha . . . Directions&asin=3551789800], by Jens Harder (Knockabout/Fanfare)
[amazon text=The Eternaut&asin=1606998501], by Héctor Germán Oesterheld and Francisco Solano Lòpez (Fantagraphics)
[amazon text=A Glance Backward&asin=1942367104] by Pierre Paquet and Tony Sandoval (Magnetic Press)
[amazon text=The March of the Crabs&asin=1608866890], by Arthur de Pins (BOOM! Studios/Archaia)
[amazon text=The Realist&asin=1608866882], by Asaf Hanuka (BOOM! Studios/Archaia)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia

Assassination Classroom, vols. 2–7, by Yusei Matsui (VIZ)
A Bride’s Story, by Kaoru Mori (Yen Press)
Master Keaton, vols. 2–4, by Naoki Urasawa, Hokusei Katsushika, and Takashi Nagasaki (VIZ)
Showa, 1953–1989: A History of Japan, by Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly)
A Silent Voice, by Yoshitoki Oima (Kodansha)
Sunny, by Taiyo Matsumoto (VIZ)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips

Beyond Mars, by Jack Williamson and Lee Elias, edited by Dean Mullaney (IDW/LOAC)
Cartoons for Victory, by Warren Bernard (Fantagraphics)
The Complete Funky Winkerbean, vol. 4, by Tom Batiuk, edited by Mary Young (Black Squirrel Books)
The Eternaut, by Héctor Germán Oesterheld and Francisco Solano Lòpez, edited by Gary Groth and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
Kremos: The Lost Art of Niso Ramponi, vols. 1 and 2, edited by Joseph P. Procopio (Picture This/Lost Art Books)
White Boy in Skull Valley, by Garrett Price, edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books

Frank Miller’s Ronin Gallery Edition, edited by Bob Chapman (Graphitti Designs/DC)
P. Craig Russell’s Murder Mystery and Other Stories Gallery Edition, edited by Daniel Chabon (Dark Horse)
The Puma Blues: The Complete Saga, by Stephen Murphy, Alan Moore, Michael Zulli, Stephen R. Bissette, and Dave Sim (Dover)
Walt Disney’s Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: The Don Rosa Library, vols. 3–4, edited by David Gerstein (Fantagraphics)
Walt Kelly’s Fairy Tales, edited by Craig Yoe (IDW)

Best Writer

Jason Aaron, Southern Bastards (Image), Men of Wrath (Marvel Icon), Doctor Strange, Star Wars, Thor (Marvel)
John Allison, Giant Days (BOOM Studios!)
Ed Brubaker, The Fade Out, Velvet, Criminal Special Edition (Image)
Marjorie Liu, Monstress (Image)
G. Willow Wilson, Ms. Marvel (Marvel)

Best Writer/Artist

Bill Griffith, Invisible Ink: My Mother’s Secret Love Affair with a Famous Cartoonist (Fantagraphics)
Nathan Hale, Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: The Underground Abductor (Abrams)
Sydney Padua, The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage (Pantheon)
Ed Piskor, Hip-Hop Family Tree, vol. 3 (Fantagraphics)
Noah Van Sciver, Fante Bukowski, Saint Cole (Fantagraphics)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team

Michael Allred, Silver Surfer (Marvel); Art Ops (Vertigo/DC)
Cliff Chiang, Paper Girls (Image)
Erica Henderson, Jughead (Archie), Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (Marvel)
Joëlle Jones, Lady Killer (Dark Horse), Brides of Helheim (Oni)
Nate Powell, March, Book Two (Top Shelf/IDW)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist

Federico Bertolucci, Love: The Tiger and Love: The Fox (Magnetic Press)
Colleen Coover, Bandette (Monkeybrain)
Carita Lupattelli, Izuna (Humanoids)
Dustin Nguyen, Descender (Image)
Tony Sandoval, A Glance Backward (Magnetic Press)

Best Cover Artist

David Aja, Hawkeye, Karnak, Scarlet Witch (Marvel)
Rafael Albuquerque, Ei8ht (Dark Horse), Huck (Image)
Amanda Conner, Harley Quinn (DC)
Joëlle Jones, Lady Killer (Dark Horse), Brides of Helheim (Oni)
Ed Piskor, Hip-Hop Family Tree (Fantagraphics)

Best Coloring

Laura Allred, Lady Killer (Dark Horse); Silver Surfer (Marvel); Art OPS (Vertigo/DC)
Jordie Bellaire, The Autumnlands, Injection, Plutona, Pretty Deadly, The Surface, They’re Not Like Us, Zero (Image); The X-Files (IDW); The Massive (Dark Horse); Magneto, Vision (Marvel)
Elizabeth Breitwiser, The Fade Out, Criminal Magazine, Outcast, Velvet (Image)
John Rauch, The Beauty (Image); Batman: Arkham Knight, Earth 2: Society (DC); Runaways (Marvel)
Dave Stewart, Abe Sapien, BPRD Hell on Earth, Fight Club 2, Frankenstein Underground, Hellboy in Hell, Hellboy and the BPRD, (Dark Horse); Sandman: Overture, Twilight Children (Vertigo/DC), Captain America: White (Marvel), Space Dumplins(Scholastic Graphix)

Best Lettering

Derf Backderf, Trashed (Abrams)
Steve Dutro, Blood-C, Midnight Society, Plants vs Zombies (Dark Horse)
Lucy Knisley, Displacement (Fantagraphics)
Troy Little, Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Top Shelf/IDW)
Kevin McCloskey, We Dig Worms! (TOON Books)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism

Alter Ego, edited by Roy Thomas (TwoMorrows)
Back Issue, edited by Michael Eury (TwoMorrows)
Comic Riffs blog by Michael Cavna, washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/
Hogan’s Alley, edited by Tom Heintjes (Hogan’s Alley)
Jack Kirby Collector, edited by John Morrow (TwoMorrows)

Best Comics-Related Book

Harvey Kurtzman: The Man Who Created Mad and Revolutionized Humor in America, by Bill Schelly (Fantagraphics)
King of the Comics: One Hundred Years of King Features Syndicate, edited by Dean Mullaney (IDW/LOAC)
Only What’s Necessary: Charles M. Schulz and the Art of Peanuts, by Chip Kidd and Geoff Spear (Abrams ComicArts)
Out of Line: The Art of Jules Feiffer, by Martha Fay (Abrams ComicArts)
Will Eisner: Champion of the Graphic Novel, by Paul Levitz (Abrams ComicArts)

Best Academic/Scholarly Work

The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art, edited by Frances Gateward and John Jennings (Rutgers)
Boys Love Manga and Beyond: History, Culture, and Community in Japan, edited by Mark McLelland et al. (University Press of Mississippi)
Graphic Medicine Manifesto, by M. K. Czerwiec et al. (Penn State University Press)
Superheroes on World Screens, edited by Rayna Denison and Rachel Mizsei-Ward (University Press of Mississippi)
Unflattening, by Nick Sousanis (Harvard University Press)

Best Publication Design

Beyond the Surface, designed by Nicolas André, Sam Arthur, Alex Spiro, and Camille Pichon (Nobrow)
The Eternaut, designed by Tony Ong (Fantagraphics)
Eventually Everything Connects, designed by Loris Lora, Sam Arthur, Alex Spiro, and Camille Pichon (Nobrow)
King of the Comics: One Hundred Years of King Features Syndicate, designed by Dean Mullaney (IDW/LOAC)
Only What’s Necessary: Charles M. Schulz and the Art of Peanuts, designed by Chip Kidd (Abrams ComicArts)
Sandman Gallery Edition, designed by Graphitti Designs and Josh Beatman/Brainchild Studios (Graphitti Designs/DC)