At the Long Beach Comic-Con yesterday, the controversial 2010 Lulu Awards were handed out. The Friends of Lulu organization was founded with the goals of promoting readership of comic books by women and the participation of women in the comic book industry, but there was some controversy this year when they announced male creator nominees (including Ottawa’s Von Allen) in many of the categories.

Half of the winners this year were Canadian (Beaton, Immonen, O’Malley)… and yes, even though Ramona Flowers was an American, Bryan Lee O’Malley isn’t — so we’re taking that as a win. Here’s the full list:

Leah Adezio Award for Best Kid-Friendly Work: Diana Nock, The Intrepid Girlbot

Best Female Character: Ramona Flowers, from Scott Pilgrim (Oni Press) by Bryan Lee O’Malley

Kim Yale Award for Most Talented Newcomer: Kathryn Immonen writer of The Runaways (Marvel Comics)

Lulu of the Year: Kate Beaton

Woman of Distinction Award: Lauren Sankovitch, editor  (Marvel Comics)

Female Cartoonists Hall of Fame: Alison Bechdel

Congratulations to the winners, and we are glad to see that the organization is moving forward with an interim committee.