The Eisner Awards – the comics’ version of the Oscars or Emmys – are given out at San Diego Comic-Con. They cover every aspect of comics – pencilling, inking, editing, anthologies and collections, cover art – and generally speaking, if you reead Eisner winning titles, you’re reading material on a par with any writing award out there.
The 2014 Eisner Award Nominations have been announced and include titles as diverse as Marvel’s Hawkeye to Dark Horse’s 47 Ronin, from Little, Brown’s The Encyclopedia of Early Earth to Top Shelf’s March (Book One). The complete list of nominees follows the jump. Check ‘em out.
Continuing series
“East of West,” by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta (Image)
“Hawkeye,” by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Marvel)
“Nowhere Men,” by Eric Stephenson and Nate Bellegarde (Image)
“Saga,” by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image)
“Sex Criminals,” by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky (Image)
New series
“High Crimes,” by Christopher Sebela and Ibrahim Moustafa (Monkeybrain)
“Lazarus,” by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark (Image)
“Rat Queens,” by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch (Image/Shadowline)
“Sex Criminals,” by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky (Image)
“Watson and Holmes,” by Karl Bollers, Rick Leonardi, Paul Mendoza, et al. (New Paradigm Studios)
Limited series
“The Black Beetle: No Way Out,” by Francesco Francavilla (Dark Horse)
“Colder,” by Paul Tobin and Juan Ferreyra (Dark Horse)
“47 Ronin,” by Mike Richardson and Stan Sakai (Dark Horse)
“Trillium,” by Jeff Lemire (Vertigo/DC)
“The Wake,” by Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy (Vertigo/DC)
Digital comic
“As the Crow Flies,” by Melanie Gillman
“Failing Sky,” by Dax Tran-Caffee
“High Crimes,” by Christopher Sebela and Ibrahim Moustafa (Monkeybrain)
“The Last Mechanical Monster,” by Brian Fies
“The Oatmeal” by Matthew Inman
Writer
Kelly Sue DeConnick, “Pretty Deadly” (Image); “Captain Marvel” (Marvel)
Matt Fraction, “Sex Criminals” (Image); “Hawkeye,” “Fantastic Four,” “FF” (Marvel)
Jonathan Hickman, “East of West,” “The Manhattan Projects” (Image); “Avengers,” “Infinity” (Marvel)
Scott Snyder, “Batman” (DC); “American Vampire,” “The Wake” (DC/Vertigo)
Eric Stephenson, “Nowhere Men” (Image)
Brian K. Vaughan, “Saga” (Image)
Writer-artist
Isabel Greenberg, “The Encyclopedia of Early Earth” (Little, Brown)
Jaime Hernandez, “Love and Rockets New Stories” No. 6 (Fantagraphics)
Terry Moore, “Rachel Rising” (Abstract Studio)
Luke Pearson, “Hilda and the Bird Parade” (Nobrow)
Matt Phelan, “Bluffton: My Summers With Buster” (Candlewick)
Judith Vanistendael, “When David Lost His Voice” (SelfMadeHero)
Penciller/inker or penciller/inker team
Nate Bellegarde, “Nowhere Men” (Image)
Nick Dragotta, “East of West” (Image)
Sean Murphy, “The Wake” (DC/Vertigo)
Nate Powell, “March (Book One)” (Top Shelf)
Emma Ríos, “Pretty Deadly” (Image)
Thomas Yeates, “Law of the Desert Born: A Graphic Novel” (Bantam)
Emma Rios’ cover for “Pretty Deadly” No. 4. (Image)
Cover artist
David Aja, “Hawkeye” (Marvel)
Mike Del Mundo, “X-Men Legacy” (Marvel)
Sean Murphy/Jordie Bellaire, “The Wake” (DC/Vertigo)
Emma Ríos, “Pretty Deadly” (Image)
Chris Samnee, “Daredevil” (Marvel)
Fiona Staples, “Saga” (Image)
Painter/multimedia artist (interior art)
Andrew C. Robinson, “The Fifth Beatle” (Dark Horse)
Sonia Sanchéz, “Here I Am” (Capstone)
Fiona Staples, “Saga” (Image)
Ive Svorcina, “Thor” (Marvel)
Marguerite Van Cook, “7 Miles a Second” (Fantagraphics)
Judith Vanistendael, “When David Lost His Voice” (SelfMadeHero)
Coloring
Jordie Bellaire, “The Manhattan Projects,” “Nowhere Men,” “Pretty Deadly,” “Zero” (Image); “The Massive” (Dark Horse); “Tom Strong” (DC); “X-Files Season 10? (IDW); “Captain Marvel,” “Journey Into Mystery” (Marvel); “Numbercruncher” (Titan); “Quantum and Woody” (Valiant)
Steve Hamaker, “Mylo Xyloto” (Bongo), “Strangers in Paradise 20th Anniversary” Issue 1 (Abstract Studio), “RASL” (Cartoon Books)
Matt Hollingsworth, “Hawkeye,” “Daredevil: End of Days” (Marvel); “The Wake” (DC/Vertigo)
Frank Martin, “East of West” (Image)
Dave Stewart, “Abe Sapien,” “Baltimore: The Infernal Train,” “BPRD: Hell on Earth,” “Conan the Barbarian,” “Hellboy: Hell on Earth,” “The Massive,” “The Shaolin Cowboy,” “Sledgehammer 44? (Dark Horse)
Lettering
Darwyn Cooke, “Richard Stark’s Parker: Slayground” (IDW)
Carla Speed McNeil, “Bad Houses”; “Finder” in “Dark Horse Presents” (Dark Horse)
Terry Moore, “Rachel Rising” (Abstract Studio)
Ed Piskor, “Hip Hop Family Tree” (Fantagraphics)
Britt Wilson, “Adventure Time With Fiona and Cake” (kaBOOM!)
Graphic album – new
“Bluffton: My Summers With Buster,” by Matt Phelan (Candlewick)
“The Encyclopedia of Early Earth,” by Isabel Greenberg (Little, Brown)
“Good Dog,” by Graham Chaffee (Fantagraphics)
“Homesick,” by Jason Walz (Tinto Press)
“The Property,” by Rutu Modan (Drawn & Quarterly)
“War Brothers,” by Sharon McKay and Daniel LaFrance (Annick Press)
Graphic album – reprint
“The Creep,” by John Arcudi and Jonathan Case (Dark Horse)
“Hand-Drying in America and Other Stories,” by Ben Katchor (Pantheon)
“Heck,” by Zander Cannon (Top Shelf)
“Julio’s Day,” by Gilbert Hernandez (Fantagraphics)
“RASL,” by Jeff Smith (Cartoon Books)
“Solo: The Deluxe Edition,” edited by Mark Chiarello (DC)
“Hawkeye” No. 11, which follows Lucky (a.k.a. Pizza Dog), is nominated for the Eisner for single issue. Among “Hawkeye’s” other nominations: continuing series, Matt Fraction for writer and David Aja for cover artist. (Marvel)
Single issue (or one-shot)
“Demeter,” by Becky Cloonan (self-published)
“Hawkeye” No. 11: “Pizza Is My Business,” by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Marvel)
“Love and Rockets: New Stories” No. 6, by Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez (Fantagraphics)
“Viewotron” No. 2, by Sam Sharpe (self-published)
“Watson and Holmes” No. 6, by Brandon Easton, and N. Steven Harris (New Paradigm Studios)
Anthology
“Dark Horse Presents,” edited by Mike Richardson (Dark Horse)
“Nobrow #8: Hysteria,” edited by Sam Arthur and Alex Spiro (Nobrow)
“Outlaw Territory,” edited by Michael Woods (Image)
“Smoke Signal,” edited by Gabe Fowler (Desert Island)
“Thrilling Adventure Hour,” by Ben Acker, Ben Blacker et al. (Archaia/BOOM!)
Humor publication
“The Adventures of Superhero Girl,” by Faith Erin Hicks (Dark Horse)
“The Complete Don Quixote,” by Miguel de Cervantes and Rob Davis (SelfMadeHero)
“The (True!) History of Art,” by Sylvain Coissard and Alexis Lemoine (SelfMadeHero)
“Vader’s Little Princess,” by Jeffrey Brown (Chronicle)
“You’re All Just Jealous of My Jetpack,” by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly)
The cover of “March: Book One,” the first in a graphic novel trilogy by Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell, based on Lewis’ life and the civil rights movement. (Top Shelf Comix)
Reality-based work
“A Bag of Marbles,” by Joseph Joffo, Kris, and Vincent Bailly (Graphic Universe/Lerner)
“The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story,” by Vivek J. Tiwary, Andrew C. Robinson, and Kyle Baker (M Press/Dark Horse)
“Hip Hop Family Tree, vol. 1,” by Ed Piskor (Fantagraphics)
“March (Book One),” by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf)
“Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life,” by Ulli Lust (Fantagraphics)
“Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story,” by Peter Bagge (Drawn & Quarterly)
Short story
“Go Owls,” by Adrian Tomine, in Optic Nerve #13 (Drawn & Quarterly)
“Mars to Stay,” by Brett Lewis and Cliff Chiang, in Witching Hour (DC)
“Seaside Home,” by Josh Simmons, in Habit #1 (Oily)
“Untitled,” by Gilbert Hernandez, in Love and Rockets: New Stories #6 (Fantagraphics)
“When Your House Is Burning Down, You Should Brush Your Teeth,” by Matthew Inman
U.S. edition of international material
“Adventures of a Japanese Businessman,” by Jose Domingo (Nobrow)
“Goddam This War!” by Jacques Tardi and Jean-Pierre Verney (Fantagraphics)
“Incidents in the Night, Book One,” by David B. (Uncivilized Books)
“Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life,” by Ulli Lust (Fantagraphics)
“When David Lost His Voice,” by Judith Vanistendael (SelfMadeHero)
U.S. edition of international material – Asia
“The Heart of Thomas,” by Moto Hagio (Fantagraphics)
“The Mysterious Underground Men,” by Osamu Tezuka (PictureBox)
“Showa: A History of Japan, 1926–1939,” by Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly)
“Summit of the Gods, vol. 4,” by Yemmakura Baku and Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
“Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist,” by Asumiko Nakamura (Vertical)
The cover for “Django Unchained” No. 1. (DC Comics)
Adaptation from another medium
“The Castle,” by Franz Kafka, adapted by David Zane Mairowitz and Jaromír 99 (SelfMadeHero)
“The Complete Don Quixote,” by Miguel de Cervantes, adapted by by Rob Davis (SelfMadeHero)
“Django Unchained,” adapted by Quentin Tarantino, Reginald Hudlin, R. M. Guéra et al. (DC/Vertigo)
“Richard Stark’s Parker: Slayground,” by Donald Westlake, adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)
“The Strange Tale of Panorama Island,” by Edogawa Rampo, adapted by Suehiro Maruo (Last Gasp)
Archival collection/project – comic books
“Best of EC Artist’s Edition,” edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
“Canteen Kate,” by Matt Baker (Canton Street Press)
“In the Days of the Mob,” by Jack Kirby (DC)
“MAD Artist’s Edition,” edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
“Will Eisner’s The Spirit Artist’s Edition,” edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
Archival collection/project – comic strips
“Barnaby, vol. 1,” by Crockett Johnson, edited by Philip Nel and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
“Percy Crosby’s Skippy Daily Comics, vol. 2: 1928–1930,” edited by Jared Gardner and Dean Mullaney (LOAC/IDW)
“Prince Valiant vols. 6-7,” by Hal Foster, edited by Kim Thompson (Fantagraphics)
“Society Is Nix: Gleeful Anarchy at the Dawn of the American Comic Strip,” edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press)
“Tarzan: The Complete Russ Manning Newspaper Strips, vol. 1,” edited by Dean Mullaney (LOAC/IDW)
“VIP: The Mad World of Virgil Partch,” edited by Jonathan Barli (Fantagraphics)
The cover for “Battling Boy,” by Paul Pope. (First Second Books)
Publication for teens
“Battling Boy,” by Paul Pope (First Second)
“Bluffton: My Summers With Buster,” by Matt Phelan (Candlewick)
“Boxers and Saints,” by Gene Luen Yang (First Second)
“Dogs of War,” by Sheila Keenan and Nathan Fox (Graphix/Scholastic)
“March (Book One),” by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf)
“Templar,” by Jordan Mechner, LeUyen Pham, and Alex Puviland (First Second)
Publication for kids
“The Adventures of Superhero Girl,” by Faith Erin Hicks (Dark Horse)
“Hilda and the Bird Parade,” by Luke Pearson (Nobrow)
“Jane, the Fox, and Me,” by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault (Groundwood)
“The Lost Boy,” by Greg Ruth (Graphix/Scholastic)
“Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard, vol. 2,” edited by David Petersen, Paul Morrissey, and Rebecca Taylor (Archaia/BOOM!)
“Star Wars: Jedi Academy,” by Jeffrey Brown (Scholastic)
Publication for early readers
“Benjamin Bear in Bright Ideas,” by Philippe Coudray (TOON Books)
“The Big Wet Balloon,” by Liniers (TOON Books)
“Itsy Bitsy Hellboy,” by Art Baltazar and Franco (Dark Horse)
“Odd Duck,” by Cecil Castellucci and Sara Varon (First Second)
“Otto’s Backwards Day,” by Frank Cammuso (with Jay Lynch) (TOON Books)
Publication design
“The Art of Rube Goldberg,” designed by Chad W. Beckerman (Abrams ComicArts)
“Beta Testing the Apocalypse,” designed by Tom Kaczynski (Fantagraphics)
“Genius, Illustrated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth,” designed by Dean Mullaney (LOAC/IDW)
“The Great War: July 1, 1916: The First Day of the Battle of the Somme: A Panorama,” by Joe Sacco, designed by Chin-Yee Lai (Norton)
“Little Tommy Lost, Book 1,” designed by Cole Closser (Koyama)
Scholarly/academic work
“Anti-Foreign Imagery in American Pulps and Comic Books, 1920–1960,” by Nathan Vernon Madison (McFarland)
“Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation,” edited by Sheena C. Howard and Ronald L. Jackson II (Bloomsbury)
“Drawing From Life: Memory and Subjectivity in Comic Art,” edited by Jane Tolmie (University Press of Mississippi)
“International Journal of Comic Art,” edited by John A. Lent
“The Superhero Reader,” edited by Charles Hatfield, Jeet Heer, and Ken Worcester (University Press of Mississippi)
Comics-related book
“Al Capp: A Life to the Contrary,” by Michael Schumacher and Denis Kitchen (Bloomsbury)
“The Art of Rube Goldberg,” selected by Jennifer George (Abrams ComicArts)
“Co-Mix: A Retrospective of Comics, Graphics, and Scraps,” by Art Spiegelman (Drawn & Quarterly)
“Genius, Illustrated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth,” by Dean Mullaney and Bruce Canwell (LOAC/IDW)
“The Love and Rockets Companion,” edited by Marc Sobel and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
Comics-related journalism
Comic Book Resources, produced by Jonah Weiland
The Comics Journal #302, edited by Gary Groth and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
Comics and Cola, by Zainab Akhtar
Multiversity Comics, edited by Matthew Meylikhov
tcj.com, edited by Dan Nadel and Timothy Hodler (Fantagrapahics