2020 Eisner Awards

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The 32nd Annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards were presented at a virtual ceremony on Friday evening, July 24. (Click here to watch this year’s ceremony.)

Winners of particular interest to sff fans include They Called Us Enemy, by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker (Best Reality-Based Work; published by Top Shelf), LaGuardia, by Nnedi Okorafor and Tana Ford (Best Graphic Album—Reprint; published by Berger Books/Dark Horse), Snow, Glass, Apples, by Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran (Best Adaptation from Another Medium; published by Dark Horse Books), and Women Write About Comics, edited by Nola Pfau and Wendy Browne, www.WomenWriteAboutComics.com (Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism).

Leading the field with three Eisners apiece were Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell’s graphic novel Laura Dean Is Breaking Up with Me (Best Publication for Teens, Best Writer, Best Penciller/Inker; published by First Second/Macmillan) and G. Willow Wilson and Christian Ward’s comic book series Invisible Kingdom (Best New Series, Best Writer, Best Painter; published by Berger Books/Dark Horse).

2020 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards

Best Short Story

  • “Hot Comb,” by Ebony Flowers, in Hot Comb (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Single Issue/One-Shot

  • Our Favorite Thing Is My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)

Best Continuing Series

  • Bitter Root, by David Walker, Chuck Brown, and Sanford Greene (Image)

Best Limited Series

  • Little Bird by Darcy Van Poelgeest and Ian Bertram (Image)

Best New Series

  • Invisible Kingdom, by G. Willow Wilson and Christian Ward (Berger Books/Dark Horse)

Best Publication for Early Readers

  • Comics: Easy as ABC, by Ivan Brunetti (TOON)

Best Publication for Kids

  • Guts, by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic Graphix)

Best Publication for Teens

  • Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell (First Second/Macmillan)

Best Humor Publication  

  • The Way of the Househusband, vol. 1, by Kousuke Oono, translation by Sheldon Drzka (VIZ Media)

Best Anthology

  • Drawing Power: Women’s Stories of Sexual Violence, Harassment, and Survival, edited by Diane Noomin (Abrams)

Best Reality-Based Work

  • They Called Us Enemy, by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker (Top Shelf)

Best Graphic Album—New

  • Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden (First Second/Macmillan)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint

  • LaGuardia, by Nnedi Okorafor and Tana Ford (Berger Books/Dark Horse)

Best Adaptation from Another Medium

  • Snow, Glass, Apples, by Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran (Dark Horse Books)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

  • The House, by Paco Roca, translation by Andrea Rosenberg (Fantagraphics)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia

[TIE]

  • Cats of the Louvre, by Taiyo Matsumoto, translation by Michael Arias (VIZ Media)
  • Witch Hat Atelier, by Kamome Shirahama, translation by Stephen Kohler (Kodansha)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips

  • Krazy Kat: The Complete Color Sundays, by George Herriman, edited by Alexander Braun (TASCHEN)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books

  • Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo: The Complete Grasscutter Artist Select, by Stan Sakai, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)

Best Writer

  • Mariko Tamaki, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass (DC); Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me (First Second/Macmillan); Archie (Archie)

Best Writer/Artist

  • Raina Telgemeier, Guts (Scholastic Graphix)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team

  • Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me (First Second/Macmillan)

Best Painter/Digital Artist

  • Christian Ward, Invisible Kingdom (Berger Books/Dark Horse)

Best Cover Artist

  • Emma Rios, Pretty Deadly (Image)

Best Coloring

  • Dave Stewart, Black Hammer, B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know, Hellboy and the BPRD (Dark Horse); Gideon Falls (Image); Silver Surfer Black, Spider-Man (Marvel)

Best Lettering

  • Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo (IDW)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism

Best Comics-Related Book

  • Making Comics, by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Academic/Scholarly Work

  • EC Comics: Race, Shock, and Social Protest, by Qiana Whitted (Rutgers University Press)

Best Publication Design

  • Making Comics, designed by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Digital Comic

  • Afterlift, by Chip Zdarsky and Jason Loo (comiXology Originals)

Best Webcomic

Hall of Fame Awards

Judges’ Choices

  • Nell Brinkley
  • E. Simms Campbell

Elected inductees

  • Alison Bechdel
  • Howard Cruse
  • Louise Simonson
  • Stan Sakai
  • Don and Maggie Thompson
  • Bill Watterson

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3 thoughts on “2020 Eisner Awards”

  2. Mom was a science-fiction writer (Betsy Curtis) of whom you’ve never heard – and it was she who led me into my own career in the world of comics. (My first WorldCon was 1955; I met Don at a picnic with such other attendees as Andre Norton, Basil Wells, P. Schuyler Miller, Ed Hamilton, and Leigh Brackett.)
    Anyway, for the record, here’s my Hall of Fame acceptance:
    It is an honor and a privilege and a thrill to receive this award. With so many challenges in the world today, it takes an extra effort to celebrate our history. Thank you.
    Six decades ago, when Don Thompson and I were dating, the term “popular culture” was not in wide use. Nevertheless, pop culture is what brought us together. It fascinated us. It challenged us to learn and share at a time when comic art was usually dismissed as childish entertainment.
    When we began producing fanzines, we didn’t call ourselves critics; we called ourselves reviewers. We didn’t call ourselves journalists; we called ourselves editors and reporters and writers. When we were hired to edit Comics Buyer’s Guide, our job was to provide a growing audience of comics fans, collectors, and professionals with a newspaper that served the needs of that audience. And that’s what we did.
    I know Don would be so proud of, and grateful for, this honor. It means the world to me to see his memory celebrated 26 years after his death.
    I hope that we will all continue to support each other, just as Don and I shared our comics with our children: Valerie and Stephen. Let’s keep spreading the news of — and sharing the love for — this art form. The world benefits so much from what used to be dismissed as kid stuff. It needs to know that. And, while never forgetting the kids, we can all continue to benefit from comics, no matter what our age may be. Thank you again. Thank you.

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