July 10, 2019 — As we celebrate the 105th anniversary of the birth of Joe Shuster today, the CCBCAA is proud to announce the first batch of nominees for the Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards and the nominees for the Gene Day Awards.

Canada has a rich tradition of supporting our national arts communities with awards that recognize the achievements of our citizens in books, music, stage, television and film – the JOE SHUSTER AWARDS (including the Gene Day Awards, Harry Kremer Retailer Award, TM Maple Community Award, Dragon Comics for Kids Prize and the Hall of Fame Awards) are Canada’s national awards program that honour and raises the awareness of Canadians that create, self-publish and sell comic books, digital comics and graphic novels.

Qualifying publications for the Joe Shuster Awards had to be published and distributed professionally during the previous calendar year (January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018) and are selected by our nominating committee.

Qualifying publications for the Gene Day Awards had to be published in 2018 and submitted for review or acquired by the committee prior to June 1, 2019.

The award winners will be chosen by a jury vote to ensure every nominee is given adequate consideration and the winners will be announced in September 2019, date TBD.

Please note: the nominees will be announced in two rounds. Later this month we will be announcing the nominees for the Dragon (Comics for Kids) Prize, Hall of Fame, TM Maple, Webcomics, Cover Artist and the Harry Kremer Retailer.

THE JOE SHUSTER AWARDS

Established in 2004, The Joe Shuster Awards are Canada’s national award recognizing outstanding achievement in the creation of comic books, graphic novels and webcomics. The awards are named after pioneering Toronto-born artist Joe Shuster who, along with writer Jerry Siegel, created the iconic super-powered hero, Superman. The name is used with the approval of the Estate of Joe Shuster – Michael Catron, Estate Agent.

Canadian creators have mostly functioned within the American and Franco-Belgian comic-book industry and traditions, which is why we recognize Canadian creators who work within the framework of the larger comics ‘industry’ rather than only those creators who only published their creations within Canada alone.

ARTIST

• DYLAN BURNETT – COSMIC GHOST RIDER (Marvel Comics), Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers 2018 Annual (Boom! Studios), Reactor (Vault Comics)
• EMILY CARROLL – SPEAK: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
• MARC DELAFONTAINE – LES NOMBRILS 08: EX, DRAGUE ET ROCK’N’ROLL! (Dupuis)
• MIKE FEEHAN – EXIT STAGE LEFT: THE SNAGGLEPUSS CHRONICLES (DC Comics)
• KARL KERSHL – ISOLA (Image Comics)
• SACHA LEFEBVRE – U-MERLIN (Éditions Michel Quintin)
• YANICK PAQUETTE – ACTION COMICS, WONDER WOMAN EARTH ONE BOOK TWO (DC Comics)
• DENIS RODIER – ARALE (Dargaud)

WRITER

• MARYSE DUBUC, MARC DELAFONTAINE – LES NOMBRILS 08 EX, DRAGUE ET ROCK’N’ROLL! (Dupuis)
• MEREDITH FINCH – XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS (Dynamite Entertainment), ROSE (Image Comics)
• JEAN-FRANCOIS LALIBERTE – U-MERLIN (Éditions Michel Quintin)
• JEFF LEMIRE – BLACK HAMMER: AGE OF DOOM, BLACK HAMMER: CTHU-LOUISE, DOCTOR STAR & THE KINGDOM OF LOST TOMORROWS, QUANTUM AGE (Dark Horse), THE TERRIFICS (DC Comics), DESCENDER, GIDEON FALLS, HIT-GIRL (Image Comics), THE SENTRY (Marvel Comics),  BLOODSHOT: SALVATION (Valiant)
• TRISTAN ROULOT – ARALE (Dargaud)
• CHIP ZDARSKY – MARVEL 2-IN-ONE, PETER PARKER THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN (Marvel Comics), THE WICKED + THE DIVINE: THE FUNNIES (Image Comics)
• JIM ZUB – DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: EVIL AT BALDUR’S GATE (IDW), WAYWARD (Image Comics), AVENGERS, THE CHAMPIONS, HUNT FOR WOLVERINE: MYSTERY IN MADRIPOOR, INFINITY COUNTDOWN: CHAMPIONS (Marvel Comics), RICK & MORTY VS DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (Oni Press)

CARTOONIST

• HO CHE ANDERSON – GODHEAD (Fantagraphics)
• EMILY CARROLL – BENEATH THE DEAD OAK TREE (Shortbox)
• SVETLANA CHMAKOVA – CRUSH (Yen Press)
• JOHNNIE CHRISTMAS – FIREBUG (Image Comics)
• FRANCIS DESHARNAIS – LE PETITE RUSSIE (Éditions Pow Pow)
• MICHEL FALARDEAU – L’ESPRIT DU CAMP T.2 (Studio Lounak)
• FAITH ERIN HICKS – THE DIVIDED EARTH: NAMELESS CITY VOL. 3 (First Second)
• JEFF LEMIRE – ROYAL CITY (Image Comics)
• MIKAEL – GIANT t.2 (Dargaud)

 

THE GENE DAY AWARDS

Named after the late Howard Eugene Day (1951-1982), a Canadian comics artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics’ Star Wars comics and Master of Kung Fu who began his career publishing his own independent comics such as Out of the Depths, Oktoberfest Comics and the graphic novel Future Day. He also contributed short stories to horror comics magazines Psycho and Nightmare and to the Star*Reach, Imagine and Quack Anthologies as well as Orb Magazine.  Many of his short stories were published posthumously in the anthologies Black Zeppelin and in Day Brothers Presents. The name is used with the approval of the Day family.

Two Gene Day Awards honour the creative spirit of independent comics in Canada. The nominees were selected from individual publications submitted for review or acquired by the committee before the deadline of June 1, 2019.

FOR SELF-PUBLISHED COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS

• BEAVER DAMN 2 – A. SHAY HAHN
• CHRISTIE PITS – JAMIE MICHAELS, DOUG FEDRAU
• HAPPILY EVER AFTER – RICKY LIMA, NICOLAS LONDEIX, ANDREW THOMAS
• HOCKEY APOCALYPSE SEASON 4: CULT OF HOCKEY – JEFF MARTIN
• LES ANIMAUX SE REVOLTANT (RINGO STARR AUSSI) – VAL-BLEU
• THE COMPLETE SQUID-GEE OCTOLOGY – KEENAN POLONCSAK

GENE DAY AWARD FOR INDEPENDENT PRESS ANTHOLOGY COLLECTIONS 

• CAULDRON 1 (Shane Heron)
• GOTHIC TALES OF HAUNTED LOVE (Bedside Press)
• JEWISH COMICS ANTHOLOGY VOL. 2 (AH Comics)
• SWAN SONG (Cloudscape Comics Collective)
• TORONTO COMICS: OSGOODE AS GOLD (TO Comix Press)
• WAYWARD SISTERS (TO Comix Press)

Additional Information:

The Joe Shuster Awards, Gene Day Awards, Dragon Prize, Harry Kremer Award, TM Maple and Hall of Fame Awards are organized and presented by the Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards Association (established in 2004).

2019 Sponsors include The Dragon, Comic Book Lounge, All New Comics, Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund (CLLDF).

For more information please contact Awards Director Kevin A. Boyd at kevin@joeshusterawards.com