The longlist for the 2017 Eisner Spirit of Comics Award has been announced.
Comic-Con International gives the award yearly to retailers who have done an outstanding job of supporting the comics medium both in the industry at large and in their local community. The nominations come from comics fans via the Comic-Con International website.
This year’s nominee list includes 19 comic retail stores from across the United States, plus Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Israel, and Portugal. The judges will announce the finalists during the week of Comic-Con. The winner will be revealed at the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards on July 21.
The 2017 nominees (in alphabetical order) are:
Arsenal Comics and Games
Paul Roman Martinez, Timothy Heague, Elena Sfetcu
Newbury Park, CA
Central Comics Paris
Laurent Nucera, Christopher Borrot
Paris, France
Cloud City Comics and Toys
Jeff Watkins
Syracuse, NY
Comicazi
Robert Howard, David Lockwood, Michael Burke
Somerville, MA
The Comic Bug
Jun Goeku, Mike Wellman
Manhattan Beach, CA
Comiczone
Andrew Frith, Michael Petrusich, Gareth Bird
Perth, Western Australia
Comikaza
Ori Ayalon, Jacob Sareli
Tel-Aviv, Israel
Earthworld Comics
J.C. Glindmyer
Albany, NY
Famous Faces and Funnies
Richard Shea
West Melbourne, FL
Illusive Comics and Games
Anna Warren Cebrian
Santa Clara, CA
Jesse James Comics
Jesse James Criscione, Lorraine Criscione
Glendale, AZ
Kingpin Books
Mário Freitas
Lisbon, Portugal
Nuclear Comics and Skate Shop
Kenny Jacobs
Laguna Hills, CA
Pittsburgh Comics
Colin McMahon
McMurray, PA
Silver Wolf Comics and Collectibles
Don Rhoads, Bakersfield, CA
Space Cadets Collection Collection
Jen King
Oak Ridge North, TX
Travelling Man
Nabil Homsi
York, North Yorkshire, UK
TR!CKSTER
Anita Coulter
Berkeley, CA
Zapp Comics
Ben Lichtenstein, Corry Brown
Wayne, NJ
Huh. Didn’t know one of the nominees (Jesse James Comics) is only a few miles from my home. (I went pretty much cold turkey from buying comics in 2012, when my long time provider Stalking Moon lost their storefront, but I still buy an occasional tpb/collection.)
I’ve been to Illusive, but only when they were at the old location. I’ve been friends with Anna for some time, and she works her butt off to make her store welcoming to all.