The nominees have been announced for this year’s Eisner awards.This year’s list has a great mix of mainstream, indy, and creator-owned titles. In fact, every nomination in the Best Continuing Series category is a creator-owned title. Looking through the list, there appears to be very few DC (not counting Vertigo) and Marvel titles in there, which I find interesting!

Congratulations to all of the nominees!

Find out more below:

SAN DIEGO — Comic-Con International (Comic-Con) is proud to announce the nominations for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards 2011. The nominees, chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges, reflect the wide range of material being published in comics and graphic novel form today, from heartfelt autobiographical works to books aimed at kids and teens to deluxe hardcover archival editions. Unlike in past years, superheroes are very much in the minority in this year’s selections.

Topping the 2011 nominees with 5 nominations is Return of the Dapper Men, a fantasy hardcover by writer Jim McCann and artist Janet Lee, published by Archaia. It has nods for Best Publication for Teens, Best Graphic Album–New, Best Writer, Best Artist, and Best Publication Design. Two comics series have 4 nominations: Morning Glories by Nick Spencer and Joe Eisma (published by Shadowline/Image) and Locke & Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (published by IDW). A variety of titles have received 3 nominations, including the manga Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys (VIZ Media), John Layman and Rob Guillory’s series Chew (Image), Daniel Clowes’s graphic novel Wilson (Drawn & Quarterly), and Mike Mignola’s Hellboy titles (Dark Horse).

The creator with the most nominations is Mignola with 5 (including cover artist), followed by Spencer and Hill, each with 4. Several creators have 3: McCann & Lee, Rodriquez, Urasawa, and Clowes, plus writer Ian Boothy (for Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book and other Bongo titles) and cartoonist Jimmy Gownley (for Best Publication for Kids plus coloring and lettering on his Amelia Rules! series). A record 15 creators have 2 nominations each.

DC Comics has the most nominations for a publisher, with its various imprints (DCU, Vertigo, WildStorm) garnering 14 nominations (plus 3 shared). The DC Universe has 5 of those nominations, while the Vertigo imprint has 9, all spread among multiple titles and creators. In addition, 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking by Paul Levitz, published by TASCHEN, has two nominations. The publishers emerging with the second-most nominations this year with 12 each are Image (led by Chew and Morning Glories) and IDW, which in addition to Locke & Key has double nods for four titles: Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer Artist’s Edition, Polly & Her Pals Sundays, and Darwyn Cooke’s Parker: The Outfit. Close behind with 11 nominations each are alt/indy comics publishers Fantagraphics and Drawn & Quarterly. Fantagraphics dominates the U.S. Edition of International Material category with 3 nominees and has 2 nominations each for Carol Tyler’s You’ll Never Know: Collateral Damage and Jacques Tardi’s It Was the War of the Trenches. Besides Wilson, D&Q is on the ballot with two nominations each for Lynda Barry’s Picture This, James Sturm’s Market Day, and Chris Ware’s Acme Novelty Library 20.

Other publishers with multiple nominations include Dark Horse (9, plus 2 shared), Archaia (9), VIZ Media (4), and Marvel (3, plus 2 shared); six publishers with 3 nominations: Abrams Comicarts, Bongo, Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, First Second, NBM, and Scholastic/Graphix; and five with 2 nominations: Abstract Studio (Terry Moore’s Echo), Disney/Hyperion, McClelland & Stewart (Scott Chantler’s Three Generals), TASCHEN, and Vertical. Another two dozen publishers had 1 nomination each. Notably, many of these publishers are mainstream publishing houses and not standard comics industry companies. In addition to the ones mentioned above, they include Amulet Books, Andrews McMeel, Bloomsbury, Crown, Fulcrum Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Lee & Low, The Library of America, and Yale University Press.

Among this year’s nontraditional “discoveries” by the judges are Seymour Chwast’s adaptation of Dante’s Divine Comedy (Bloomsbury), the “mocumentary” Finding Frank and His Friends by “Clarence ‘Otis’ Dooley” (Curio & Co.), the Native American anthology Trickster (Fulcrum), Lucidity Press’s The Anthology Project, and cartoonist Dave Kellett’s Literature: Unsuccessfully Competing Against TV Since 1953.

Named for acclaimed comics creator Will Eisner, the awards are in their 23rd year of highlighting the best publications and creators in comics and graphic novels. The 2011 Eisner Awards judging panel consists of comics store rep John Berry (Metropolis Comics, Bellflower, California), Comic-Con board of director Ned Cato (geekroundtable.com), librarian Karen Green (Columbia University), comics writer/editor Andy Helfer (The Shadow; Paradox Press), publishing consultant Rich Johnson (previously with DC Comics and Yen Press), and retail manager Chris Powell (Lone Star Comics, Dallas, Texas).

Ballots with this year’s nominees will be going out in mid-April to comics creators, editors, publishers, and retailers. A downloadable pdf of the ballot will also be available online, and a special website has been set up for online voting. The results in all categories will be announced in a gala awards ceremony on the evening of Friday, July 22 at Comic-Con International.

Voting in one Eisner Awards category, the Hall of Fame, is already completed. The judges chose the nominees earlier this year, and voting was conducted solely online, with voting ending on March 24.

The Eisner Awards are presented under the auspices of Comic-Con International, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular artforms, 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 [email protected].

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The 2011 Will Eisner
Comic Industry Award Nominees

Best Short Story

• “Bart on the Fourth of July,” by Peter Kuper, in Bart Simpson #54 (Bongo)
• “Batman, in Trick for the Scarecrow,” by Billy Tucci, in DCU Halloween Special 2010 (DC)
• “Cinderella,” by Nick Spencer and Rodin Esquejo, in Fractured Fables (Silverline Books/Image)
• “Hamburgers for One,” by Frank Stockton, in Popgun vol. 4 (Image)
• “Little Red Riding Hood,” by Bryan Talbot and Camilla d’Errico, in Fractured Fables (Silverline Books/Image)
• “Post Mortem,” by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark, in I Am an Avenger #2 (Marvel)

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)

• The Cape, by Joe Hill, Jason Ciaramella, and Zack Howard (IDW)
• Fables #100, by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, and others (Vertigo/DC)
• Hellboy: Double Feature of Evil, by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben (Dark Horse)
• Locke & Key: Keys to the Kingdom #1: “Sparrow,” by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
• Unknown Soldier #21: “A Gun in Africa,” by Joshua Dysart and Rick Veitch (Vertigo/DC)

Best Continuing Series

• Chew, by John Layman and Rob Guillory (Image)
• Echo, by Terry Moore (Abstract Studio)
• Locke & Key, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
• Morning Glories, by Nick Spencer and Joe Eisma (Shadowline/Image)
• Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, by Naoki Urasawa (VIZ Media)
• Scalped, by Jason Aaron and R. M. Guéra (Vertigo/DC)

Best Limited Series

• Baltimore: The Plague Ships, by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, and Ben Stenbeck (Dark Horse)
• Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love, by Chris Roberson and Shawn McManus (Vertigo/DC)
• Daytripper, by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá (Vertigo/DC)
• Joe the Barbarian, by Grant Morrison and Sean Murphy (Vertigo/DC)
• Stumptown, by Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth (Oni)

Best New Series

• American Vampire, by Scott Snyder, Stephen King, and Rafael Albuquerque (Vertigo/DC)
• iZombie, by Chris Roberson and Michael Allred (Vertigo/DC)
• Marineman, by Ian Churchill (Image)
• Morning Glories, by Nick Spencer and Joe Eisma (Shadowline/Image)
• Superboy, by Jeff Lemire and Pier Gallo (DC)

Best Publication for Kids

• Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean, by Sara Stewart Taylor and Ben Towle (Center for Cartoon Studies/Disney/Hyperion)
• Amelia Rules!: True Things (Adults Don’t Want Kids to Know), by Jimmy Gownley (Atheneum/Simon & Schuster)
• Binky to the Rescue, by Ashley Spires (Kids Can Press)
• Scratch9, by Rob M. Worley and Jason T. Kruse (Ape Entertainment)
• Tiny Titans, by Art Baltazar and Franco (DC)
• The Unsinkable Walker Bean, by Aaron Renier (First Second)

Best Publication for Teens

• Ghostopolis, by Doug TenNapel (Scholastic Graphix)
• Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, by Barry Deutsch (Amulet Books)
• Return of the Dapper Men, by Jim McCann and Janet Lee (Archaia)
• Smile, by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic Graphix)
• Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty, by G. Neri and Randy DuBurke (Lee & Low)

Best Humor Publication

• Afrodisiac, by Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca (Adhouse)
• Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book, by Ian Boothby, John Delaney, and Dan Davis (Bongo)
• Drinking at the Movies, by Julia Wertz (Three Rivers Press/Crown)
• I Thought You Would Be Funnier, by Shannon Wheeler (BOOM!)
• Literature: Unsuccessfully Competing Against TV Since 1953, by Dave Kellett (Small Fish Studios)
• Prime Baby, by Gene Luen Yang (First Second)

Best Anthology

• The Anthology Project, edited by Joy Ang and Nick Thornborrow (Lucidity Press)
• Korea as Viewed by 12 Creators, edited by Nicolas Finet (Fanfare&midot;Ponent Mon)
• Liquid City, vol. 2, edited by Sonny Liew and Lim Cheng Tju (Image)
• Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard, edited by Paul Morrissey and David Petersen (Archaia)
• Trickster: Native American Tales, edited by Matt Dembicki (Fulcrum Books)

Best Digital Comic

• Abominable Charles Christopher, by Karl Kerschl, www.abominable.cc
• The Bean, by Travis Hanson, www.beanleafpress.com
• Lackadaisy, by Tracy Butler, www.lackadaisycats.com
• Max Overacts, by Caanan Grall, occasionalcomics.com
• Zahra’s Paradise, by Amir and Khalil, www.zahrasparadise.com

Best Reality-Based Work

• It Was the War of the Trenches, by Jacques Tardi (Fantagraphics)
• Picture This: The Nearsighted Monkey Book, by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Special Exits: A Graphic Memoir, by Joyce Farmer (Fantagraphics)
• Treasury of XXth Century Murder: The Terrible Axe Man of New Orleans, by Rick Geary (NBM)
• Two Generals, by Scott Chantler (McClelland & Stewart)
• You’ll Never Know Book 2: Collateral Damage, by Carol Tyler (Fantagraphics)

Best Graphic Album-New

• Elmer, by Gerry Alanguilan (SLG)
• Finding Frank and His Friend: Previously Unpublished Work by Clarence ‘Otis’ Dooley, by Melvin Goodge (Curio & Co.)
• Market Day, by James Sturm (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Return of the Dapper Men, by Jim McCann and Janet Lee (Archaia)
• Wilson, by Daniel Clowes (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Graphic Album-Reprint

• The Amazing Screw-on Head and Other Curious Objects, by Mike Mignola (Dark Horse)
• Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites, by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson (Dark Horse)
• Motel Art Improvement Service, by Jason Little (Dark Horse)
• The Simpsons/Futurama Crossover Crisis, by Ian Boothby, James Lloyd, and Steve Steere Jr. (Abrams Comicarts)
• Tumor, by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Noel Tuazon (Archaia)
• Wednesday Comics, edited by Mark Chiarello (DC)

Best Adaptation from Another Work

• Dante’s Divine Comedy, adapted by Seymour Chwast (Bloomsbury)
• The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, adapted by Joann Sfar (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• The Marvelous Land of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, adapted by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young (Marvel)
• 7 Billion Needles, vols. 1 and 2, adapted from Hal Clement’s Needle by Nobuaki Tadano (Vertical)
• Silverfin: A James Bond Adventure, adapted by Charlie Higson and Kev Walker (Disney/Hyperion Books)

Best Archival Collection/Project-Strips

• Archie: The Complete Daily Newspaper Strips, 1946–1948, by Bob Montana, edited by Greg Goldstein (IDW)
• 40: A Doonesbury Retrospective, by G. B. Trudeau (Andrews McMeel)
• George Heriman’s Krazy Kat: A Celebration of Sundays, edited by Patrick McDonnell and Peter Maresca (Sunday Press Books)
• Polly and Her Pals Complete Sunday Comics, vol. 1, by Cliff Sterrett, edited by Dean Mullaney (IDW)
• Roy Crane’s Captain Easy, vol. 1, edited by Rick Norwood (Fantagraphics)

Best Archival Collection/Project-Comic Books

• Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
• The Horror! The Horror! Comic Books the Government Didn’t Want You to Read!, edited by Jim Trombetta (Abrams Comicart)
• The Incal Classic Collection, by Alexandro Jodorowsky and Moebius (Humanoids)
• Lynd Ward: Six Novels in Woodcuts, edited by Art Spiegelman (The Library of America)
• Thirteen “Going on Eighteen,” by John Stanley (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

• It Was the War of the Trenches, by Jacques Tardi (Fantagraphics)
• The Killer: Modus Vivendi, by Matz and Luc Jacamon (Archaia)
• King of the Flies, Book One: Hallorave, by Mezzo and Pirus (Fantagraphics)
• The Littlest Pirate King, by David B. and Pierre Mac Orlan (Fantagraphics)
• Salvatore, by Nicolas De Crécy (NBM)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material-Asia

• Ayako, by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)
• Bunny Drop, by Yumi Unita (Yen Press)
• A Drunken Dream and Other Stories, by Moto Hagio (Fantagraphics)
• House of Five Leaves, by Natsume Ono (VIZ Media)
• Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, by Naoki Urasawa (VIZ Media)

Best Writer

• Ian Boothby, Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book; Futurama Comics #47–50; Simpsons Comics #162, 168; Simpsons Super Spectacular #11–12 (Bongo)
• Joe Hill, Locke & Key (IDW)
• John Layman, Chew (Image)
• Jim McCann, Return of the Dapper Men (Archaia)
• Nick Spencer, Morning Glories, Shuddertown, Forgetless, Existence 3.0 (Image)

Best Writer/Artist

• Dan Clowes, Wilson (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Darwyn Cooke, Richard Stark’s Parker: The Outfit (IDW)
• Joe Kubert, Dong Xoai, Vietnam 1965 (DC)
• Terry Moore, Echo (Abstract Studio)
• James Sturm, Market Day (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Naoki Urasawa, Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys (VIZ Media)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team

• Richard Corben, Hellboy (Dark Horse)
• Stephen DeStefano, Lucky in Love Book One: A Poor Man’s Story (Fantagraphics)
• Rob Guillory, Chew (Image)
• Gabriel Rodriguez, Locke & Key (IDW)
• Skottie Young, The Marvelous Land of Oz (Marvel)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)

• Lynda Barry, Picture This: The Nearsighted Monkey Book (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Brecht Evens, The Wrong Place (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Juanjo Guarnido, Blacksad (Dark Horse)
• Janet Lee, Return of the Dapper Men (Archaia)
• Eric Liberge, On the Odd Hours (NBM)
• Carol Tyler, You’ll Never Know Book 2: Collateral Damage (Fantagraphics)

Best Cover Artist

• Rodin Esquejo, Morning Glories (Shadowline/Image)
• Dave Johnson, Abe Sapien: The Abyssal Plain (Dark Horse); Unknown Soldier (Vertigo/DC); Punisher/Max, Deadpool (Marvel)
• Mike Mignola, Hellboy, Baltimore: The Plague Ships (Dark Horse)
• David Petersen, Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard (Archaia)
• Yuko Shimizu, The Unwritten (Vertigo/DC)

Best Coloring

• Jimmy Gownley, Amelia Rules!: True Things (Adults Don’t Want Kids to Know), Amelia Rules!: The Tweenage Guide to Not Being Unpopular, by Jimmy Gownley (Atheneum/Simon & Schuster)
• Metaphrog (Sandra Marrs and John Chalmers), Louis: Night Salad (Metaphrog)
• Dave Stewart, Hellboy, BPRD, Baltimore, Let Me In (Dark Horse); Detective Comics (DC); Neil Young’s Greendale, Daytripper, Joe the Barbarian (Vertigo/DC)
• Hilary Sycamore, City of Spies, Resistance, Booth, Brain Camp, Solomon’s Thieves (First Second)
• Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library 20: Lint (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Lettering

• Darwyn Cooke, Richard Stark’s Parker: The Outfit (IDW)
• Dan Clowes, Wilson (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Jimmy Gownley, Amelia Rules!: True Things (Adults Don’t Want Kids to Know), Amelia Rules!: The Tweenage Guide to Not Being Unpopular, by Jimmy Gownley (Atheneum/Simon & Schuster)
• Todd Klein, Fables, The Unwritten, Joe the Barbarian, iZombie (Vertigo/DC); Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom (WildStorm/DC); SHIELD (Marvel); Driver for the Dead (Radical)
• Doug TenNapel, Ghostopolis (Scholastic Graphix)
• Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library 20: Lint (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism

• Alter Ego, edited by Roy Thomas (TwoMorrows)
• The Beat, produced by Heidi MacDonald (www.comicsbeat.com)
• ComicBookResources, produced by Jonah Weiland (www.comicbookresources.com)
• ComicsAlliance, produced by Laura Hudson (www.comicsalliance.com)
• The Comics Reporter, produced by Tom Spurgeon (www.comicsreporter.com)
• USA Today Comics Section, by Life Section Entertainment Editor Dennis Moore; Comics Section Lead, John Geddes (www.usatoday.com/life/comics/index)

Best Comics-Related Book

• Doonesbury and the Art of G. B. Trudeau, by Brian Walker (Yale University Press)
• Fire and Water: Bill Everett, the Sub-Mariner, and the Birth of Marvel Comics, by Blake Bell (Fantagraphics)
• The Oddly Compelling Art of Denis Kitchen, by Denis Kitchen and Charles Brownstein, edited by John Lind and Diana Schutz (Dark Horse Books)
• Shazam! The Golden Age of the World’s Mightiest Mortal, by Chip Kidd and Geoff Spear (Abrams Comicarts)
• 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking, by Paul Levitz (TASCHEN)

Best Publication Design

• Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer Artist’s Edition, designed by Randall Dahlk (IDW)
• Polly and Her Pals Complete Sunday Comics, vol. 1, designed by Lorraine Turner and Dean Mullaney (IDW)
• Return of the Dapper Men, designed by Todd Klein (Archaia)
• 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking, designed by Josh Baker (TASCHEN)
• Two Generals, designed by Jennifer Lum (McClelland & Stewart)

Hall of Fame

Judges’ Choices:

• Ernie Bushmiller
• Jack Jackson
• Martin Nodell
• Lynd Ward

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