2005 Eisner Nominations Announced

Press Release

Writer Brian K. Vaughan tops the list of nominees for the 2005 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards with seven nominations for his work. Five of the nominations are for his new series from WildStorm, Ex Machina, in which an ex-superhero becomes mayor of New York City (Best New Series, Continuing Series, Single Issue, Serialized Story), while two are for the longer-running Vertigo series Y: The Last Man (Continuing Series, Serialized Story). Vaughan is nominated for Best Writer, while Ex Machina also received a nod for Best Coloring (by J. D. Mettler). The art team on Ex Machina, Tony Harris and Tom Feister, share four nominations.

Close behind Vaughan with five nominations is Kyle Baker-although three are competing against each other: Best Humor Publication for Plastic Man, Kyle Baker Cartoonist, and the graphic novel Birth of a Nation. Baker is also up for Best Title for a Younger Audience for Plastic Man, as well for Best Writer-Artist-Humor.

Also tapped for five nominations is John Cassady, cited for Best Penciller/Inker on both Astonishing X-Men and Planetary. Astonishing X-Men is nominated for Best Serialized Story, New Series, and Continuing Series, while Planetary is up for Best Serialized Story. Astonishing's writer, Joss Whedon, is also nominated for Best Writer, giving him four total nods.

Two other creators have four nominations: Eric Powell for The Goon (Best Single Issue, Continuing Series, Humor Publication, and Writer/Artist-Humor) and Stan Sakai (Best Writer/Artist and Lettering for Usagi Yojimbo; Best Comics-Related Book and Publication Design for The Art of Usagi Yojimbo).

Chris Ware is up for three awards for McSweeney's Quarterly #13: Best Short Story, Anthology, and Publication Design. He is also the topic of the Best Comics-Related Publication nominee: Chris Ware, by Dan Raeburn. Other creators with three nominations are Frank Quitely for WE3 (Best Limited Series, Penciller/Inker, Cover Artist); Seth (Best Graphic Album-Reprint and Best Publication Design for Clyde's Fans vol. 1 and Publication Design for The Complete Peanuts); and Juanjo Guarnido for Blacksad Book 2 (Best Graphic Album-New, Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material, and Best Painter).

Creators with two nominations each include Geof Darrow, Dan Clowes, Warren Ellis, Pia Guerra/José Marzan Jr., Troy Hickman, Teddy Kristiansen, David Lapham, Steve Niles, Johnny Ryan, art spiegelman, Ben Templesmith, Doug TenNapel, Craig Thompson, Brian Wood/Becky Cloonan, and Michael Zulli.

DC and its various imprints racked up the most company nominations, with 22 full nominations and shares of several others. The nominations for Ex Machina and Planetary give DC's WildStorm imprint 7 full nominations, while DC's Vertigo line has 11 full nominations, including multiples for Y the Last Man, Fables, WE3, and the graphic novel It's a Bird. Dark Horse, boosted by the four mentions each for Powell and Sakai, has 16 full nods plus several partial ones. Image did well with 10 nominations, including two each for Doug TenNapel's graphic novel Tommysaurus Rex and the Troy Hickman anthology Common Grounds.

Next among the publishers is Fantagraphics with eight nominations, including two each for Dan Clowes (Eightball), Johnny Ryan (Angry Youth Comix), and The Complete Peanuts. The nominations for Astonishing X-Men give Marvel five-plus nods, while the Wachowski Brothers' new company, Burlyman, snagged five nominations (three for Geof Darrow's Shaolin Cowboy). Mainstream publisher Pantheon has four nominations (two for art spiegelman's In the Shadow of No Towers), followed close behind with three-plus mentions each for IDW (led by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith's 30 Days of Nights: Return to Barrow), Top Shelf, and iBooks (three of them for Blacksad Book 2). McSweeney's and Drawn & Quarterly each have three nominations. The remaining nominations are scattered among 22 other publishers.

This year's judges added a new category, Best Digital Comic, for which they nominated six webcomics: Steve Bryant's Athena Voltaire, Peter Branting's Bento & Starchky, Kazu's Copper, Les McClaine's Jonny Crossbones, Brian Fies's Mom's Cancer, and Matt Forsythe's ojingogo. In the Hall of Fame category, the judges' choices for 2005 are Golden Age artist Lou Fine and the creators of Asterix: René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. A complete list of the 2005 nominations is provided below.

The panel of judges consisted of writers Tom McLean (Variety, "Bags 'n' Boards" blog) and Tom Russo (Entertainment Weekly, Premiere); retailer Gib Bickel (The Laughing Ogre, Columbus, Ohio); graphic novel librarian and reviewer Kat Kan; and cartoonist/webmaster Steve Conley (Astounding Space Thrills, comicon.com).

Ballots will be going out in late April to comics creators, editors, publishers, and retailers. The results will be announced in a gala awards ceremony on the evening of Friday, July 18 in Ballroom 20 at the San Diego Convention Center. The ceremony will be dedicated to the late Will Eisner and will feature several tributes to the man in whose name the awards are given.

Sponsors for the 2005 Eisners include mycomicshop.com (major sponsor), Diamond Comics Distributors and Quebecor Printing (principal sponsors), and Alternate Reality, Atlantis Fantasyworld, Comic Relief-The Comic Bookstore, Comics Unlimited, Flying Colors, and Star*Reach (supporting sponsors).

The Eisner Awards are presented under the auspices of Comic-Con International, San Diego, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms. 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 jackiee@mindspring.com. More information about the Eisner Awards can be found at www.comic-con.org.

MASTER NOMINEE LIST, 2005 Eisner Awards

Best Short Story
"Eve O' Twins," by Craig Thompson, in Rosetta 2 (Alternative)
"Glenn Ganges: Jeepers Jacobs," by Kevin Huizenga, in Kramer's Ergot 5 (Gingko Press)
"God" (story on wrap-around dust jacket) by Chris Ware, in McSweeney's Quarterly #13 (McSweeney's)
"The Price," by Neil Gaiman and Michael Zulli, in Creatures of the Night (Dark Horse Books)
"Unfamiliar," by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson, in The Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft (Dark Horse Books)
"Where Monsters Dine," by Troy Hickman, Angel Medina, and Jon Holdredge, in Common Grounds #5 (Top Cow/Image)

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
Demo #7: "One Shot, Don't Miss," by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan (AiT/Planet Lar)
Eightball #23: "The Death Ray," by Dan Clowes (Fantagraphics)
Ex Machina #1: "The Pilot," by Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris, and Tom Feister (WildStorm/DC)
Global Frequency #12: "Harpoon," by Warren Ellis and Gene Ha (WildStorm/DC)
The Goon #6: "Ilagarto Hombre!," by Eric Powell (Dark Horse)

Best Serialized Story
Astonishing X-Men #1-6: "Gifted," by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday (Marvel)
Ex Machina #2-5: "State of Emergency," by Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris, and Tom Feister (WildStorm/DC)
Fables #19-27: "March of the Wooden Soldiers," by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, and Steve Leialoha (Vertigo/DC)
Planetary #19-20: "Mystery in Space/Rendezvous," by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday (WildStorm/DC)
Y: The Last Man #18-20: "Safeword," by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, and José Marzan Jr. (Vertigo/DC)

Best Continuing Series
Astonishing X-Men, by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday (Marvel)
Ex Machina, by Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris, and Tom Fesiter (WildStorm/DC)
The Goon, by Eric Powell (Dark Horse)
Stray Bullets, by David Lapham (El Capitan)
Y: The Last Man, by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, and José Marzan Jr. (Vertigo/DC)

Best Limited Series
DC: The New Frontier, by Darwyn Cooke (DC)
Demo, by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan (AiT/Planet Lar)
30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow, by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith (IDW)
WE3, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (Vertigo/DC)
Wanted, by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones (Top Cow/Image)

Best New Series
Astonishing X-Men, by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday (Marvel)
Doc Frankenstein, by the Wachowski Brothers and Steve Scroce (Burlyman)
Ex Machina, by Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris, and Tom Fesiter (WildStorm/DC)
The Shaolin Cowboy, by Geof Darrow (Burlyman)

Best Publication for a Younger Audience
Amelia Rules!, (Renaissance Press) and Amelia Rules! What Makes You Happy (iBooks) by Jimmy Gownley
Courtney Crumrin in the Twilight Kingdom, by Ted Naifeh (Oni)
Owly, by Andy Runton (Top Shelf)
Plastic Man, by Kyle Baker and Scott Morse (DC)
Tommysaurus Rex, by Doug TenNapel (Image)

Best Humor Publication
Angry Youth Comix, by Johnny Ryan (Fantagraphics)
Birth of a Nation, by Aaron McGruder, Reginald Hudlin, and Kyle Baker (Crown)
The Goon, by Eric Powell (Dark Horse)
Kyle Baker, Cartoonist, by Kyle Baker (Kyle Baker Publishing)
Plastic Man, by Kyle Baker and Scott Morse (DC)

Best Anthology
Common Grounds, by Troy Hickman and others, edited by Jim McLauchlin (Top Cow/Image)
The Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft, edited by Scott Allie (Dark Horse Books)
The Matrix Comics, vol. 2, edited by Spencer Lamm (Burlyman)
McSweeney's Quarterly #13, edited by Chris Ware (McSweeney's)
Michael Chabon Presents The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist, edited by Diana Schutz and David Land (Dark Horse)

Best Digital Comic
Athena Voltaire, by Steve Bryant www.athenavoltaire.com
Bento & Starchky, by zer0 (Peter Branting) http://www.noapologiespress.com/zer0comics/bento.htm
Copper, by Kazu www.boltcity.com/copper_home.htm
Jonny Crossbones, by Les McClaine www.evilspacerobot.com/co...nes/index.htm
Mom's Cancer, by Brian Fies www.momscancer.com/eisner.htm
ojingogo, by matt forsythe www.comingupforair.net/comics/ojingogo.html

Best Graphic Album-New
Blacksad Book 2: Arctic Nation, by Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido (iBooks)
It's a Bird . . ., by Steven T. Seagle and Teddy Kristiansen (Vertigo/DC)
The Originals, by Dave Gibbons (Vertigo/DC)
Suspended in Language, by Jim Ottaviani and Leland Purvis (GT Labs)
Tommysaurus Rex, by Doug TenNapel (Image)

Best Graphic Album-Reprint
Age of Bronze: Sacrifice, by Eric Shanower (Image)
Bone One Volume Edition, by Jeff Smith (Cartoon Books)
The Book of Ballads, by Charles Vess and others (Tor)
Clyde Fans, by Seth (Drawn & Quarterly)
In the Shadow of No Towers, by art spiegelman (Pantheon)
Locas, by Jaime Hernandez (Fantagraphics)

Best Archival Collection/Project
The Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker, edited by Robert Mankoff (Black Dog & Leventhal)
The Complete Peanuts, edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
DC Comics Rarities Archives, vol. 1, edited by Dale Crain (DC)
Krazy and Ignatz, edited by Bill Blackbeard and Derya Ataker (Fantagraphics)
Russ Manning's Magnus, Robot Fighter, vol. 1, edited by Katie Moody, Mike Carriglitto, and David Land (Dark Horse Books)

Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material
Barefoot Gen: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima, vols. 1-2, by Keiji Nahazawa (Last Gasp)
Blacksad Book 2: Arctic Nation, by Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido (iBooks)
Buddha, vols. 3-4 by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return, by Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon)
Tokyo Tribes, by Santa Inoue (TOKYOPOP)

Best Writer
Steve Niles, 30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow; 30Days of Night: Bloodsucker Tales; Aleister Arcane (IDW); Freaks of the Heartland; Last Train to Deadsville (Dark Horse)
Greg Rucka, Queen & Country (Oni); Gotham Central (DC)
Brian K. Vaughan, Y: The Last Man (Vertigo/DC); Ex Machina (WildStorm/DC); Runaways (Marvel)
Joss Whedon, Astonishing X-Men (Marvel)
Bill Willingham, Fables (Vertigo/DC)

Best Writer/Artist
Paul Chadwick, Concrete: The Human Dilemma (Dark Horse)
Dan Clowes, Eightball #23 (Fantagraphics)
David Lapham, Stray Bullets (El Capitan)
Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo (Dark Horse)
Adrian Tomine, Optic Nerve #9 (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Writer/Artist-Humor
Kyle Baker, Plastic Man (DC); Kyle Baker, Cartoonist (Kyle Baker Publishing)
Phil Foglio, Girl Genius (Airship Entertainment)
Scott Kurtz, PvP (Image)
Eric Powell, The Goon (Dark Horse)
Johnny Ryan, Angry Youth Comix (Fantagraphics)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
Charles Adlard, The Walking Dead (Image)
John Cassaday, Astonishing X-Men (Marvel); Planetary (WildStorm/DC); I Am Legion: The Dancing Faun (Humanoids/DC)
Geof Darrow, Shaolin Cowboy (Burlyman)
Cary Nord/Thomas Yeates, Conan (Dark Horse)
Frank Quitely, WE3 (Vertigo/DC)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
Juanjo Guarnido, Blacksad, Book 2: Arctic Nation (iBooks)
Teddy Kristiansen, It's a Bird . . . (Vertigo/DC)
David Mack, Kabuki (Marvel)
Ben Templesmith, 30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow (IDW)
Michael Zulli, Creatures of the Night (Dark Horse Books)

Best Coloring
Peter Doherty, Shaolin Cowboy (Burlyman)
Steven Griffen, Hawaiian Dick: The Last Resort (Image)
Laura Martin, Astonishing X-Men (Marvel); Ministry of Space (Image); Planetary (WildStorm/DC); I Am Legion: The Dancing Faun (Humanoids/DC)
J. D. Mettler, Ex Machina (WildStorm/DC)
Dave Stewart, Daredevil, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Six, Captain America (Marvel); Conan, BPRD (Dark Horse)l DC: The New Frontier (DC)

Best Lettering
Todd Klein, Promethea; Tom Strong; Tom Strong's Terrific Tales (ABC); Wonder Woman (DC); Books of Magick: Life During Wartime; Fables; WE3 (Vertigo/DC); Creatures of the Night (Dark Horse)
Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo (Dark Horse)
Dave Sim, Cerebus (Aardvark Vanaheim)
Craig Thompson, Carnet de Voyage (Top Shelf); "Eve O' Twins" in Rosetta 2 (Alternative)

Best Cover Artist
Kieron Dwyer, Remains (IDW)
James Jean, Fables (Vertigo/DC); Green Arrow, Batgirl (DC)
Tony Moore, The Walking Dead (Image)
Frank Quitely, Bite Club; WE3 (Vertigo/DC)
Michael Turner, Identity Crisis (DC)

Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition
Frank Cammuso (Max Hamm, Fairy Tale Detective)
Bosch Fawstin (Table for One)
Matt Kindt (Two Sisters; Pistolwhip)
Sean McKeever (A Waiting Place; Mary Jane; Inhumans; Sentinels)
Raina Telgemeier ("Smile," Takeout)

Best Comics-Related Periodical
Comic Art, edited by M. Todd Hignite (Comic Art)
Comic Book Artist, edited by Jon B. Cooke (Top Shelf)
Draw!, edited by Mike Manley (TwoMorrows)
Indy Magazine online (www.indyworld.com), edited by Bill Kartalopoulos (Alternative)

Best Comics-Related Book
The Art of Usagi Yojimbo, by Stan Sakai (Dark Horse Books)
Chris Ware, by Daniel Raeburn (Monographics/Yale University Press)
Give Our Regards to the Atom Smashers, edited by Sean Howe (Pantheon)
Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book, by Gerard Jones (Basic Books)
Strangers in Paradise Treasury Edition, by Terry Moore (HarperCollins Perennial)

Best Publication Design
The Art of Usagi Yojimbo, designed by Cary Grazzini (Dark Horse Books)
Clyde's Fans, designed by Seth (Drawn & Quarterly)
The Complete Peanuts, designed by Seth (Fantagraphics)
In the Shadow of No Towers, designed by art spiegelman (Pantheon)
McSweeney's Quarterly #13, designed by Chris Ware (McSweeney's)

Hall of Fame
Judges' Choices: Lou Fine; René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo

Four will be selected from:

Matt Baker
Wayne Boring
Nick Cardy
Yves Chaland
Gene Colan
Johnny Craig
Reed Crandall
Floyd Gottfredson
Frank Hampson
Graham Ingels
Robert Kanigher
William Moulton Marston
Hugo Pratt
Frank Robbins