The 2015 Harvey Awards were presented at the Baltimore Comic-Con on September 27.

The Harvey Awards are given annually to the creators and publications receiving the most votes from the industry’s comics professionals and publishers. The award is named for Harvey Kurtzman (1924-1993), cartoonist, writer, editor and founder of Mad Magazine.

One rarely hears from a dissatisfied award winner. The exception is Chip Zdarsky, who was voted a Special Award for Humor in Comics for his work on Sex Criminals. He wrote on his Tumblr page:

The fact that I was nominated for a humor award for SEX CRIMINALS without the writer of said series, my beloved chum, Matt Fraction, is wrong. On every level. I pointed this out to the Harvey Awards and told them I wished to have Matt on the ballot with me, or to remove me completely, and they declined to do either.

They said, and I quote; “We believe any collaborative process which the creators believe is equally divided makes this difficult.  It’s unfortunate this is not a judgment call for us to make – but it’s not.”

Except for the fact that it is. They created a category designed to highlight individuals, sometimes out of a team, with no recognition of what has been contributed and by whom. The writer of our comic supplies 90% of the humor! This is the Harvey Awards’s category, so the ultimate judgement call is theirs.

The 2015 winners are:

Best Writer

• Mark Waid, Daredevil, Marvel Comics

Best Artist

• Fiona Staples, Saga, Image Comics

Best Cartoonist

• Terry Moore, Rachel Rising, Abstract Studios

Best Letterer

• Jack Morelli, Afterlife With Archie, Archie Comic Publications

Best Inker

• Danny Miki, Batman, DC Comics

Best Colorist

• Dave Stewart, Hellboy In Hell, Dark Horse Comics

Best Cover Artist

• Fiona Staples, Saga, Image Comics

Most Promising New Talent

• Chad Lambert, Kill Me from Dark Horse Presents, Dark Horse Comics

Best New Series

• Southern Bastards, Image Comics

Best Continuing or Limited Series

• Saga, Image Comics

Best Syndicated Strip or Panel

• Dick Tracy, Joe Staton and Mike Curtis, Tribune Media Services

Best Anthology

• Dark Horse Presents, Dark Horse Comics

Best Graphic Album — Original

• Jim Henson’s The Musical Monsters Of Turkey Hollow, Archaia/BOOM! Studios

Best Graphic Album — Previously Published

• Mouse Guard: Baldwin The Brave And Other Tales, Archaia/BOOM! Studios

Best Single Issue or Story

• “Breaking Out”, Dark Horse Presents #35, Dark Horse Comics

Best Domestic Reprint Project

• Steranko Nick Fury Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist’s Edition, IDW

Best American Edition of Foreign Material

• Blacksad: Amarillo, Dark Horse

Best Online Comics Work

• The Private Eye, Brian K. Vaughan, Marcos Martin, and Muntsa Vicente

Special Award for Humor in Comics

• Chip Zdarsky, Sex Criminals, Image Comics

Best Biographical, Historical, or Journalistic Presentation

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Visual History, Andrew Farago, Insight Editions

Best Original Graphic Publication for Young Readers

• Lumberjanes, BOOM! Box (BOOM! Studios)
  

Special Award for Excellence in Presentation

• Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream, Andrew Carl, Josh O’Neill, and Chris Stevens, Locust Moon Press