A big part of San Diego Comic-Con is the cosplay and convention floor shopping, but the event that always sticks with you is the Eisner Awards. These are the comics and graphic novels that everyone will be talking about for the rest of the weekend on the convention floor and for years to come. The 50th SDCC had some of the most incredible creators nominated and I was live-tweeting from the award ceremony to help share the love.
Best Writer goes to @TomKingTK for Batman, Mister Miracle, Heroes in Crisis, and Swamp Thing Winter Special! #eisnerawards #comics pic.twitter.com/sXLYY3FSIR
— AiPT! Comics @ SDCC (@AiPTcomics) July 20, 2019
Big winners included Tom King, who went home with 4 Eisners for best writer, best short story for “The Talk of the Saints” in Swamp Thing Winter Special, best limited series for Mister Miracle, and best graphic album-reprint for The Vision. Ed Brubaker, who won the best Graphic Album-New category for My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies with Sean Phillips, even joked it’s a good thing Mister Miracle wasn’t an ongoing series. King’s partner in crime Mitch Gerads also came away with two Eisners for best penciler/inker and best limited for Mister Miracle. Another multi-winner was the creators behind Giant Days, by John Allison, Max Sarin, and Julaa Madrigal which won for best continuing series and best humor publication.
Speeches ranged from emotionally impactful to downright hilarious. Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez’s acceptance speech after winning the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award was passionate and deeply meaningful. He spoke about Puerto Rico and its treatment from the current United States administration. He reflected on Puerto Ricans being treated like second class citizens and received a standing ovation for parts of his speech. In another speech that brought tears to eyes, Nick Lowe accepted the best colorist award for Matt Wilson. On his behalf, he spoke about the passing of colorist Justin Ponsor who passed away way too soon on May 18th of this year.
Other winners like Chip Zdarsky, who won for best single issue for Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #310, had the room laughing when he admitted, “I’m drunk” more than once. Bill Sienkiewicz, who won the voter’s choice to be inducted in the Hall of Fame, was also a riot. Sienkiewicz reflected on how he wouldn’t shut up…and then kept talking. It was even funnier when he got to jump back on stage to talk about Bill Sienkiewicz’s Mutants and Moon Knights book which won Best Archival Collection/Project-Comic Books.
The Eisner for Best Archival Collection/Project-Comic Books goes to Bill Sienkiewitcz’s Mutants and Moon Knights edited by Scott Dunbier and published by @IDWPublishing @sinKEVitch @sdunbier #comics #EisnerAward #SDCC #eisnerawards #xmen #newmutants pic.twitter.com/89iUfU85Nm
— AiPT! Comics @ SDCC (@AiPTcomics) July 20, 2019
The judge’s choices for this year’s Will Eisner Hall of Fame Inductees included Jim Aparo, Dave Stevens, June Tarpé Mills, and Morrie Turner. Winners of voter’s choice were Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Jenette Kahn, Paul Levitz, Wendy and Richard Pini, and Bill Sienkiewicz.
Check out a full list of winners below.
Best Short Story: “The Talk of the Saints,” by Tom King and Jason Fabok, inSwamp Thing Winter Special (DC)
Best Single Issue/One-Shot: Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #310, by Chip Zdarsky (Marvel)
Best Continuing Series:Giant Days, by John Allison, Max Sarin, and Julaa Madrigal (Boom Box)
Best Limited Series:Mister Miracle, by Tom King and Mitch Gerads (DC)
Best New Series: Gideon Falls, by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino (Image)
Best Digital Comic: Umami, by Ken Niimura (Panel Syndicate)
Best Webcomic: The Contradictions, by Sophie Yanow
Best Writer: Tom King, Batman, Mister Miracle, Heroes in Crisis, Swamp Thing Winter Special (DC)
Best Writer/Artist: Jen Wang, The Prince and the Dressmaker (First Second) [Also won for Best Publication for Teens]
Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team: Mitch Gerads, Mister Miracle (DC)
Best Cover Artist: Jen Bartel, Blackbird (Image); Submerged (Vault)
Best Coloring: Matt Wilson, Black Cloud, Paper Girls, The Wicked + The Divine(Image); The Mighty Thor, Runaways (Marvel)
Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art): Dustin Nguyen, Descender (Image)
Best Lettering: Todd Klein, Black Hammer: Age of Doom, Neil Gaiman’s A Study in Emerald(Dark Horse); Batman: White Night (DC); Eternity Girl, Books of Magic(Vertigo/DC); The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest(Top Shelf/IDW)
Best Academic/Scholarly Work: Sweet Little C*nt: The Graphic Work of Julie Doucet, by Anne Elizabeth Moore (Uncivilized Books)
Best Graphic Album-New: My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
Best Reality-Based Work: Is This Guy For Real? The Unbelievable Andy Kaufman by Box Brown
Best Graphic Album-Reprint: The Vision by Tom King, Gabriel Hernandez Walta, and Michael Walsh
Best Adaptation from Another Medium goes to Frankenstein adapted by Junji Ito published by Viz Media
Best Publication Design Will Eisner’s Contract With God edited by John Lind
Best Archival Collection/Project-Comic Books: Bill Sienkiewitcz’s Mutants and Moon Knights edited by Scott Dunbier
Best Archival Collection/Project – Strips goes to Star Wars Classic Newspaper Strips vol. 3 edited by Dean Mullaney
Spirit of Comics Retailer Award goes to La Revisteria from Buenos Aires, Argentina
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