The Eisner Award ceremony joined other aspects of Comic-Con this year to be presented virtually in Comic-Con@Home. The event was held on Friday, July 24, 2020, hosted by Phil LaMarr. Here are the winners:
Best Short Story
Winner: “Hot Comb” by Ebony Flowers in Hot Comb (Drawn & Quarterly)
Nominees:
“How to Draw a Horse” by Emma Hunsinger, The New Yorker
“The Menopause” by Mira Jacob, The Believer
“Who Gets Called an ‘Unfit’ Mother?” by Miriam Libicki, The Nib
“You’re Not Going to Believe What I’m About to Tell You” by Matthew Inman, The Oatmeal
Best Single Issue/One-Shot
Winner: Our Favorite Thing Is My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)
Nominees:
Coin-Op No. 8: Infatuation by Peter and Maria Hoey (Coin-Op Books)
The Freak by Matt Lesniewski (AdHouse)
Minotäar by Lissa Treiman (Shortbox)
Sobek by James Stokoe (Shortbox)
Best Continuing Series
Winner: Bitter Root by David Walker, Chuck Brown, and Sanford Greene (Image)
Nominees:
Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)
Crowded by Christopher Sebela, Ro Stein, and Ted Brandt (Image)
Daredevil by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto (Marvel)
The Dreaming by Simon Spurrier, Bilquis Evely et al. (DC)
Immortal Hulk by Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, and Ruy José et al. (Marvel)
Best Limited Series
Winner: Little Bird by Darcy Van Poelgeest and Ian Bertram (Image)
Nominees:
Ascender by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen (Image)
Ghost Tree by Bobby Curnow and Simon Gane (IDW)
Naomi by Brian Michael Bendis, David Walker, and Jamal Campbell (DC)
Sentient by Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Walta (TKO)
Best New Series
Winner: Invisible Kingdom by G. Willow Wilson and Christian Ward (Berger Books/Dark Horse)
Nominees:
Doctor Doom by Christopher Cantwell and Salvador Larocca (Marvel)
Once & Future by Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora (BOOM! Studios)
Something Is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera (BOOM! Studios)
Undiscovered Country by Scott Snyder, Charles Soule, Giuseppe Camuncoli, and Daniele Orlandini (Image)
Best Publication for Early Readers
Winner: Comics: Easy as ABC by Ivan Brunetti (TOON)
Nominees:
Kitten Construction Company: A Bridge Too Fur by John Patrick Green (First Second/Macmillan)
The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! by Mo Willems (Hyperion Books)
A Trip to the Top of the Volcano with Mouse by Frank Viva (TOON)
¡Vamos! Let's Go to the Market by Raúl the Third (Versify/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Who Wet My Pants? by Bob Shea and Zachariah Ohora (Little, Brown)
Best Publication for Kids
Winner: Guts by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic Graphix)
Nominees:
Akissi: More Tales of Mischief by Marguerite Abouet and Mathieu Sapin (Flying Eye/Nobrow)
Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls by Dav Pilkey (Scholastic Graphix)
New Kid by Jerry Craft (Quill Tree/HarperCollins)
This Was Our Pact by Ryan Andrews (First Second/Macmillan)
The Wolf in Underpants by Wilfrid Lupano, Mayana Itoïz, and Paul Cauuet (Graphic Universe/Lerner Publishing Group)
Best Publication for Teens
Winner: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O'Connell (First Second/Macmillan)
Nominees:
Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki and Steve Pugh (DC)
Hot Comb by Ebony Flowers (Drawn & Quarterly)
Kiss Number 8 by Colleen AF Venable and Ellen T. Crenshaw (First Second/Macmillan)
Penny Nichols by M.K. Reed, Greg Means, and Matt Wiegle (Top Shelf)
Best Humor Publication
Winner: The Way of the Househusband vol. 1 by Kousuke Oono, translation by Sheldon Drzka (VIZ Media)
Nominees:
Anatomy of Authors by Dave Kellett (SheldonComics.com)
Death Wins a Goldfish by Brian Rea (Chronicle Books)
Minotäar by Lissa Treiman (Shortbox)
Sobek by James Stokoe (Shortbox)
Wondermark: Friends You Can Ride On by David Malki (Wondermark)
Best Anthology
Winner: Drawing Power: Women’s Stories of Sexual Violence, Harassment, and Survival edited by Diane Noomin (Abrams)
Nominees:
ABC of Typography by David Rault (SelfMade Hero)
Baltic Comics Anthology š! #34-37 edited by David Schilter, Sanita Muižniece et al. (kuš!)
Kramer’s Ergot #10 edited by Sammy Harkham (Fantagraphics)
The Nib #2-4 edited by Matt Bors (Nib)
Best Reality-Based Work
Winner: They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker (Top Shelf)
Nominees:
Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob (One World/Random House)
Grass by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, translation by Janet Hong (Drawn & Quarterly)
Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos by Lucy Knisley (First Second/Macmillan)
Moonbound: Apollo 11 and the Dream of Spaceflight by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm (Hill & Wang)
My Solo Exchange Diary vol. 2 (sequel to My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness) by Nagata Kabi, translation by Jocelyne Allen (Seven Seas)
Best Graphic Album—New
Winner: Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden (First Second/Macmillan)
Nominees:
Bezimena by Nina Bunjevac (Fantagraphics)
BTTM FDRS by Ezra Claytan Daniels and Ben Passmore (Fantagraphics)
Life on the Moon by Robert Grossman (Yoe Books/IDW)
New World by David Jesus Vignolli (Archaia/BOOM!)
Reincarnation Stories by Kim Deitch (Fantagraphics)
Best Graphic Album—Reprint
Winner: LaGuardia by Nnedi Okorafor and Tana Ford (Berger Books/Dark Horse)
Nominees:
Bad Weekend by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)
Clyde Fans by Seth (Drawn & Quarterly)
Cover vol. 1 by Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack (DC/Jinxworld)
Glenn Ganges: The River at Night by Kevin Huizenga (Drawn & Quarterly)
Rusty Brown by Chris Ware (Pantheon)
Best Adaptation from Another Medium
Winner: Snow, Glass, Apples by Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran (Dark Horse Books)
Nominees:
Giraffes on Horseback Salad: Salvador Dali, the Marx Brothers, and the Strangest Movie Never Made by Josh Frank, Tim Hedecker, and Manuela Pertega (Quirk Books)
The Giver by Lois Lowry and P. Craig Russell (HMH Books for Young Readers)
The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood, adapted by Renee Nault (Nan A. Talese)
HP Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness vols. 1-2 adapted by Gou Tanabe, translation by Zack Davisson (Dark Horse Manga)
The Seventh Voyage by Stanislaw Lem, adapted by Jon Muth, translation by Michael Kandel (Scholastic Graphix)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material
Winner: The House by Paco Roca, translation by Andrea Rosenberg (Fantagraphics)
Nominees:
Diabolical Summer by Thierry Smolderen and Alexandre Clerisse, translation by Edward Gauvin (IDW)
Gramercy Park by Timothée de Fombelle and Christian Cailleaux, translation by Edward Gauvin (EuroComics/IDW)
Maggy Garrisson by Lewis Trondheim and Stéphane Oiry, translation by Emma Wilson (SelfMadeHero)
Stay by Lewis Trondheim and Hubert Chevillard, translation by Mike Kennedy (Magnetic Press)
Wrath of Fantômas by Olivier Bouquet and Julie Rocheleau, translation by Edward Gauvin (Titan)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia
Winners in a tie vote:
Cats of the Louvre by Taiyo Matsumoto, translation by Michael Arias (VIZ Media)
Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama, translation by Stephen Kohler (Kodansha)
Nominees:
BEASTARS by Paru Itagaki, translation by Tomo Kimura (VIZ Media)
Grass by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, translation by Janet Hong (Drawn & Quarterly)
Magic Knight Rayearth 25th Anniversary Edition by CLAMP, translation by Melissa Tanaka (Kodansha)
The Poe Clan by Moto Hagio, translation by Rachel Thorn (Fantagraphics)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips
The George Herriman Library: Krazy & Ignatz 1916-1918 edited by R.J. Casey (Fantagraphics)
Winner: Krazy Kat: The Complete Color Sundays by George Herriman, edited by Alexander Braun (TASCHEN)
Nominees:
Cham: The Best Comic Strips and Graphic Novelettes, 1839-1862 by David Kunzle (University Press of Mississippi)
Ed Leffingwell’s Little Joe by Harold Gray, edited by Peter Maresca and Sammy Harkham (Sunday Press Books)
Madness in Crowds: The Teeming Mind of Harrison Cady by Violet and Denis Kitchen (Beehive Books)
Pogo Vol. 6: Clean as a Weasel by Walt Kelly, edited by Mark Evanier and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books
Winner: Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo: The Complete Grasscutter Artist Select by Stan Sakai, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
Nominees:
Alay-Oop by William Gropper (New York Review Comics)
The Complete Crepax vol. 5: American Stories edited by Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
Jack Kirby’s Dingbat Love edited by John Morrow (TwoMorrows)
Moonshadow: The Definitive Edition by J.M. DeMatteis, Jon J. Muth, George Pratt, Kent Williams, and others (Dark Horse Books)
That Miyoko Asagaya Feeling by Shinichi Abe, translation by Ryan Holmberg, edited by Mitsuhiro Asakawa (Black Hook Press)
Best Writer
Winner: Mariko Tamaki – Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass (DC), Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me (First Second/Macmillan), Archie (Archie)
Nominees:
Bobby Curnow – Ghost Tree (IDW)
M.K. Reed and Greg Means – Penny Nichols (Top Shelf)
Lewis Trondheim – Stay (Magnetic Press), Maggy Garrisson (SelfMadeHero)
G. Willow Wilson – Invisible Kingdom (Berger Books/Dark Horse), Ms. Marvel (Marvel)
Chip Zdarsky – White Trees (Image), Daredevil, Spider-Man: Life Story (Marvel), Afterlift (comiXology Originals)
Best Writer/Artist
Winner: Raina Telgemeier – Guts (Scholastic Graphix)
Nominees:
Nina Bunjevac – Bezimena (Fantagraphics)
Mira Jacob – Good Talk (Random House), “The Menopause” in The Believer
Keum Suk Gendry-Kim – Grass (Drawn & Quarterly)
James Stokoe – Sobek (Shortbox)
Tillie Walden – Are You Listening? (First Second/Macmillan)
Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
Winner: Rosemary Valero-O'Connell – Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me (First Second/Macmillan)
Nominees:
Ian Bertram – Little Bird (Image)
Colleen Doran– Snow, Glass, Apples (Dark Horse)
Bilquis Evely – The Dreaming (DC)
Simon Gane – Ghost Tree (IDW)
Steve Pugh – Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass (DC)
Best Painter/Digital Artist
Winner: Christian Ward – Invisible Kingdom (Berger Books/Dark Horse)
Nominees:
Didier Cassegrain – Black Water Lilies (Europe Comics)
Alexandre Clarisse – Diabolical Summer (IDW)
David Mack – Cover (DC)
Léa Mazé – Elma, A Bear’s Life, vol. 1: The Great Journey (Europe Comics)
Julie Rocheleau – Wrath of Fantômas (Titan)
Best Cover Artist
Winner: Emma Rios – Pretty Deadly (Image)
Nominees:
Jen Bartel – Blackbird (Image Comics)
Francesco Francavilla – Archie, Archie 1955, Archie Vs. Predator II, Cosmo (Archie)
David Mack – American Gods, Fight Club 3 (Dark Horse), Cover (DC)
Julian Totino Tedesco – Daredevil (Marvel)
Christian Ward – Machine Gun Wizards (Dark Horse), Invisible Kingdom (Berger Books/Dark Horse)
Best Coloring
Winner: 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)
Nominees:
Lorena Alvarez – Hicotea (Nobrow)
Jean-Francois Beaulieu – Middlewest, Outpost Zero (Image)
Matt Hollingsworth – Batman: Curse of the White Knight, Batman White Knight Presents Von Freeze (DC), Little Bird, November (Image)
Molly Mendoza – Skip (Nobrow)
Best Lettering
Winner: Stan Sakai – Usagi Yojimbo (IDW)
Nominees:
Deron Bennett – Batgirl, Green Arrow, Justice League, Martian Manhunter (DC), Canto (IDW), Assassin Nation, Excellence (Skybound/Image), To Drink and To Eat, vol. 1 (Lion Forge); Resonant (Vault)
Jim Campbell – Black Badge, Coda (BOOM Studios), Giant Days, Lumberjanes: The Shape of Friendship (BOOM Box!), Rocko’s Modern Afterlife (KaBOOM!), At the End of Your Tether (Lion Forge), Blade Runner 2019 (Titan), Mall, The Plot, Wasted Space (Vault)
Clayton Cowles – Aquaman, Batman, Batman and the Outsiders, Heroes in Crisis, Superman: Up in the Sky, Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen (DC), Bitter Root, Pretty Deadly, Moonstruck, Redlands, The Wicked + The Divine (Image), Reaver (Skybound/Image), Daredevil, Ghost-Spider, Silver Surfer Black, Superior Spider-Man, Venom (Marvel)
Emilie Plateau – Colored: The Unsung Life of Claudette Colvin (Europe Comics)
Tillie Walden – Are You Listening? (First Second/Macmillan)
Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
Winner: Women Write About Comics edited by Nola Pfau and Wendy Browne, www.WomenWriteAboutComics.com
Nominees:
Comic Riffs blog by Michael Cavna, www.washingtonpost.com/new/comic-riffs/
The Comics Journal edited by Gary Groth, R.J. Casey, and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
Hogan’s Alley edited by Tom Heintjes (Hogan’s Alley)
Inks: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society edited by Qiana Whitted (Ohio State University Press)
LAAB Magazine, vol. 4: This Was Your Life edited by Ronald Wimberly and Josh O’Neill (Beehive Books)
Best Comics-Related Book
Winner: Making Comics by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)
Nominees:
The Art of Nothing: 25 Years of Mutts and the Art of Patrick McDonnell (Abrams)
The Book of Weirdo by Jon B. Cooke (Last Gasp)
Grunt: The Art and Unpublished Comics of James Stokoe (Dark Horse)
Logo a Gogo: Branding Pop Culture by Rian Hughes (Korero Press)
Screwball! The Cartoonists Who Made the Funnies Funny by Paul Tumey (Library of American Comics/IDW)
Best Academic/Scholarly Work
Winner: EC Comics: Race, Shock, and Social Protest by Qiana Whitted (Rutgers University Press)
Nominees:
The Art of Pere Joan: Space, Landscape, and Comics Form by Benjamin Fraser (University of Texas Press)
The Comics of Rutu Modan: War, Love, and Secrets by Kevin Haworth (University Press of Mississippi)
The Peanuts Papers: Writers and Cartoonists on Charlie Brown, Snoopy & the Gang, and the Meaning of Life edited by Andrew Blauner (Library of America)
Producing Mass Entertainment: The Serial Life of the Yellow Kid by Christina Meyer (Ohio State University Press)
Women’s Manga in Asia and Beyond: Uniting Different Cultures and Identities edited by Fusami Ogi et al. (Palgrave Macmillan)
Best Publication Design
Winner: Making Comics designed by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)
Nominees:
Grunt: The Art and Unpublished Comics of James Stokoe designed by Ethan Kimberling (Dark Horse)
Krazy Kat: The Complete Color Sundays by George Herriman, designed by Anna-Tina Kessler (TASCHEN)
Logo a Gogo designed by Rian Hughes (Korero Press)
Madness in Crowds: The Teeming Mind of Harrison Cady designed by Paul Kopple and Alex Bruce (Beehive Books)
Rusty Brown designed by Chris Ware (Pantheon)
Best Digital Comic
Winner: Afterlift by Chip Zdarsky and Jason Loo (comiXology Originals)
Nominees:
Black Water Lilies by Michel Bussi, adapted by Frédéric Duval and Didier Cassegrain, translated by Edward Gauvin (Europe Comics)
Colored: The Unsung Life of Claudette Colvin by Tania de Montaigne, adapted by Emilie Plateau, translated by Montana Kane (Europe Comics)
Elma, A Bear’s Life, vol. 1: The Great Journey,by Ingrid Chabbert and Léa Mazé, translated by Jenny Aufiery (Europe Comics)
Mare Internum by Der-shing Helmer (comiXology; gumroad.com/l/MIPDF)
Tales from Behind the Window by Edanur Kuntman, translated by Cem Ulgen (Europe Comics)
Best Webcomic
Winner: Fried Rice Comic by Erica Eng, https://friedricecomic.tumblr.com
Nominees:
Cabramatta by Matt Huynh, http://believermag.com/cabramatta/
Chuckwagon at the End of the World by Erik Lundy, https://hollowlegcomics.tumblr.com/chuckwagon
The Eyes by Javi de Castro, https://www.javidecastro.com/theeyes
reMIND by Jason Brubaker, https://is.gd/T7rafM
Third Shift Society by Meredith Moriarty, https://www.webtoons.com
This year’s Eisner Hall of Fame inductees, as announced by cartoonist Sergio Aragones, include judges’ choices Nell Brinkley and E. Simms Campbell, plus voter choices Alison Bechdel, Howard Cruse, Stan Sakai, Louise Simonson, Don and Maggie Thompson, and Bill Watterson.
