Saga, Lumberjanes and various incarnations of Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo were the top honorees at the 2015 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, presented July 10 at Comic-Con International: San Diego.
Saga, published by Image Comics, and Lumberjanes, by Boom! Box, each won two awards. Saga won Best Continuing Series and Best Penciller/Inker for Fiona Staples. Lumberjanes won for Best New Series and Best Publication for Teens.
Three Little Nemo projects won four Eisners overall, with the all-new Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream, published by Locust Moon, winning Best Anthology and Best Publication Design; Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland, published by IDW, won Best Limited Series; and Winsor McCay’s Complete Little Nemo, published by Taschen, won Best Archival Collection/Project – Comic Strips at Least 20 Years Old.
The top award of the night, for Best Graphic Album–New, went to This One Summer, by cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki (published by First Second).
The publisher with the most wins was Dark Horse, with four plus one shared; IDW took home three awards, and First Second had two plus one shared. Four companies (BOOM!, DC, Image, and Locust Moon) had two winners.
The full list of winners:
- Best Short Story: “When the Darkness Presses,” by Emily Carroll, http://emcarroll.com/comics/darkness/(link is external)
- Best Single Issue (or One-Shot): Beasts of Burden: Hunters and Gatherers, by Evan Dorkin & Jill Thompson (Dark Horse)
- Best Continuing Series: Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples (Image)
- Best Limited Series: Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland, by Eric Shanower & Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
- Best New Series: Lumberjanes, by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, & Brooke A. Allen (BOOM! Box)
- Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7): The Zoo Box, by Ariel Cohn & Aron Nels Steinke (First Second)
- Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12): El Deafo, by Cece Bell (Amulet/Abrams)
- Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17): Lumberjanes, by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, & Brooke A. Allen (BOOM! Box)
- Best Humor Publication: The Complete Cul de Sac, by Richard Thompson (Andrews McMeel)
- Best Digital/Web Comic: The Private Eye by Brian Vaughan & Marcos Martin, http://panelsyndicate.com.
- Best Anthology: Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream, edited by Josh O’Neill, Andrew Carl, & Chris Stevens (Locust Moon)
- Best Reality-Based Work: Hip Hop Family Tree, Vol. 2, by Ed Piskor (Fantagraphics)
- Best Graphic Album—New: This One Summer, by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki (First Second)
- Best Graphic Album—Reprint: Through the Woods, by Emily Carroll (McElderry Books)
- Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips (at least 20 years old): Winsor McCay’s Complete Little Nemo, edited by Alexander Braun (TASCHEN)
- Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books (at least 20 Years Old): Steranko Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
- Best U.S. Edition of International Material: Blacksad: Amarillo, by Juan Díaz Canales & Juanjo Guarnido (Dark Horse)
- Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia: Showa 1939–1944 and Showa 1944–1953: A History of Japan, by Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly)
- Best Writer: Gene Luen Yang, Avatar: The Last Airbender (Dark Horse); The Shadow Hero (First Second)
- Best Writer/Artist: Raina Telgemeier, Sisters (Graphix/Scholastic)
- Best Penciller/Inker: Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)
- Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art): J. H. Williams III, The Sandman: Overture (Vertigo/DC)
- Best Cover Artist: Darwyn Cooke, DC Comics Darwyn Cooke Month Variant Covers (DC)
- Best Coloring: Dave Stewart, Hellboy in Hell, BPRD, Abe Sapien, Baltimore, Lobster Johnson, Witchfinder, Shaolin Cowboy, Aliens: Fire and Stone, DHP (Dark Horse)
- Best Lettering: Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo: Senso, Usagi Yojimbo Color Special: The Artist (Dark Horse)
- Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism: Comics Alliance, edited by Andy Khouri, Caleb Goellner, Andrew Wheeler, & Joe Hughes, www.comicsalliance.com.
- Best Comics-Related Book: Genius Animated: The Cartoon Art of Alex Toth, Vol. 3, by Dean Mullaney & Bruce Canwell (IDW/LOAC)
- Best Scholarly/Academic Work: Graphic Details: Jewish Women’s Confessional Comics in Essays and Interviews, edited by Sarah Lightman (McFarland)
- Best Publication Design: Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream, designed by Jim Rugg (Locust Moon)
- Hall of Fame — Judges’ Choices: Marge (Marjorie Henderson Buell), Bill Woggon
- Hall of Fame — Elected: John Byrne, Chris Claremont, Denis Kitchen, Frank Miller
- Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award: Bill & Kayre Morrison
- Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award: (Tie) Jorge Corona and Greg Smallwood
- Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comics Writing: Don McGregor, John Stanley
- Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award: Packrat Comics, Hilliard, Ohio, owned by Jamie Colegrove and Teresa Colegrove
