SAN DIEGO – At-Con International (Comic-Con) last evening, the winners of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards 2012 were announced. The nominees were chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges and the winners were selected by a balloting process open to industry professionals.

Canadians were well represented in many categories but the big winners in last evening’s ceremony were Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand (Archaia) by Toronto artist Ramón K. Pérez (winning 3 of the 5 awards the book was nominated for: Best Graphic Album, Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team, and Best Publication Design), and Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition by Halifax’s Darwyn Cooke (winning 2 of the 3 categories in which it was nominated: Best Short Story “The Seventh”, and Best Graphic Album Reprint Material).

This has been a big year for both Perez and Cooke, and both are nominated for these respective works in the 2012 Joe Shuster Awards, which will be announced in Montreal on September 15th. Cooke’s latest Parker adaptation “The Score” was released in stores on Wednesday.

Guelph’s The Dragon shared the honours for the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award with Akira Comics in Madrid, Spain. This was The Dragon’s third turn as an Retailer Award Finalist and we are particularly happy for owner Jennifer Haines and staff and family as they are also sponsors of the Joe Shuster Awards. This was a well-deserved honour.

Finally, Montreal publisher Drawn + Quarterly’s translation of Shigeru Mizuki’s  Onward Torwards our Noble Deaths took home the Best International Publication Edition award.

Named for acclaimed comics creator the Will Eisner, the awards are in their 24th year of highlighting the best publications and creators in comics and graphic novels. The 2012 Eisner Awards judging panel consists of reviewer Brigid Alverson (Graphic Novel Reporter, CBR, Robot 6), retailer Calum Johnston (Strange Adventures, Halifax, Nova Scotia), librarian Jesse Karp (LREI, New York), cartoonist Larry Marder (Beanworld), comics historian Benjamin Saunders (University of Oregon), and Comic-Con board of director Mary Sturhann.

Ballots were sent out in mid-April to comics creators, editors, publishers, and retailers. A downloadable pdf of the ballot was available online, and a special website was set up for online voting.

The Eisner Awards are part of Comic-Con International, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contributions of comics to art and culture. Jackie Estrada has been administrator of the Awards since 1990. She can be reached at jackie@comic-con.org.

More information about the Eisner Awards can be found at http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_eisners_main.shtml.

EISNER AWARD WINNERS 2012

Best Short Story
“The Seventh,” by Darwyn Cooke, in Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition (IDW)

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
Daredevil #7, by Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera, and Joe Rivera (Marvel)

Best Continuing Series
Daredevil, by Mark Waid, Marcos Martin, Paolo Rivera, and Joe Rivera (Marvel)

Best Limited Series
Criminal: The Last of the Innocent, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Marvel Icon)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7)
Dragon Puncher Island, by James Kochalka (Top Shelf)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12)
Snarked, by Roger Langridge (kaboom!)

Best Publication for Young Adults (Ages 12-17)
Anya’s Ghost, by Vera Brosgol (First Second)

Best Anthology
Dark Horse Presents, edited by Mike Richardson (Dark Horse)

Best Humor Publication
Milk & Cheese: Dairy Products Gone Bad, by Evan Dorkin (Dark Horse Books)

Best Digital Comic
Battlepug, by Mike Norton, http://www.battlepug.com

Best Reality-Based Work
Green River Killer: A True Detective Story, by Jeff Jensen and Jonathan Case (Dark Horse Books)

Best Graphic Album – New
Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand, adapted by Ramón K. Pérez (Archaia)

Best Graphic Album – Reprint
Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition, by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)

Best Archival Collection/Project – Strips
Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse vols. 1-2, by Floyd Gottfredson, edited by David Gerstein and Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)

Best Archival Collection/Project – Comic Books
Walt Simonson’s The Mighty Thor Artist’s Edition (IDW)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material
The Manara Library, vol. 1: Indian Summer and Other Stories, by Milo Manara with Hugo Pratt (Dark Horse Books)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Asia
Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, by Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Writer
Mark Waid, Irredeemable, Incorruptible (BOOM!); Daredevil (Marvel)

Best Writer/Artist
Craig Thompson, Habibi (Pantheon)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
Ramón K. Pérez, Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand (Archaia)

Best Cover Artist
Francesco Francavilla, Black Panther (Marvel); Lone Ranger, Lone Ranger/Zorro, Dark Shadows, Warlord of Mars (Dynamite); Archie Meets Kiss (Archie)

Best Coloring
Laura Allred, iZombie (Vertigo/DC); Madman All-New Giant-Size Super–Ginchy Special (Image)

Best Lettering
Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo (Dark Horse)

Best Comics-Related Journalism
The Comics Reporter, produced by Tom Spurgeon, http://www.comicsreporter.com

Best Educational/Academic Work (a tie)
Cartooning: Philosophy & Practice, by Ivan Brunetti (Yale University Press)
Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby, by Charles Hatfield (University Press of Mississippi)

Best Comics-Related Book
MetaMaus, by Art Spiegelman (Pantheon)

Best Publication Design
Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand, designed by Eric Skillman (Archaia)

Hall of Fame
Judges’ Choices: Rudolf Dirks, Harry Lucey
Bill Blackbeard, Richard Corben, Katsuhiro Otomo, Gilbert Shelton

Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award:
Tyler Crook

Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award:
Morrie Turner

Bill Finger Excellence in Comic Book Writing Award:
Frank Doyle, Steve Skeates

Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award: (tie)
Akira Comics, Madrid, Spain – Jesus Marugan Escobar and
The Dragon, Guelph, ON, Canada – Jennifer Haines