2015 Eisner Award Nominees Announced

By Maryann Yin 

Eisner LogoThe nominees for the 2015 Eisner Awards were just announced.

Below, we’ve posted the complete list of nominees. Named after comic book pioneer Will Eisner, the awards “highlight the wide range of material being published in comics and graphic novel form today.”

Those who are taking part in this year’s judging panel include bookseller Carr DeAngelo, librarian Richard Graham, writer Sean Howe, educator Susan Kirtley, Comic-Con International committee member Ron McFee, and writer Maggie Thompson. The winners will be revealed at a gala ceremony during this year’s Comic-Con International: San Diego.

Best Short Story

  • “Beginning’s End” by Rina Ayuyang
  • “Corpse on the Imjin!” by Peter Kuper, in Masterful Marks: Cartoonists Who Changed the World
  • “Rule Number One” by Lee Bermejo, in Batman Black and White #3
  • “The Sound of One Hand Clapping” by Max Landis & Jock, in Adventures of Superman #14
  • “When the Darkness Presses” by Emily Carroll

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)

  • Astro City #16: “Wish I May” by Kurt Busiek & Brent Anderson
  • Beasts of Burden: Hunters and Gatherers by Evan Dorkin & Jill Thompson
  • Madman in Your Face 3D Special by Mike Allred
  • Marvel 75th Anniversary Celebration #1
  • The Multiversity: Pax Americana #1 by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely

Best Continuing Series

  • Astro City by Kurt Busiek & Brent Anderson
  • Bandette by Paul Tobin & Colleen Coover
  • Hawkeye by Matt Fraction & David Aja
  • Saga by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
  • Southern Bastards by Jason Aaron & Jason Latour
  • The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, & Stefano Gaudiano

Best Limited Series

  • Daredevil: Road Warrior by Mark Waid & Peter Krause
  • Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland by Eric Shanower & Gabriel Rodriguez
  • The Multiversity by Grant Morrison et al.
  • The Private Eye by Brian K. Vaughan & Marcos Martin
  • The Sandman: Overture by Neil Gaiman & J. H. Williams III

Best New Series

  • The Fade Out by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips
  • Lumberjanes by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, & Brooke A. Allen
  • Ms. Marvel, by G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona
  • Rocket Raccoon by Skottie Young
  • The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7)

  • BirdCatDog by Lee Nordling & Meritxell Bosch
  • A Cat Named Tim And Other Stories by John Martz
  • Hello Kitty, Hello 40: A Celebration in 40 Stories edited by Traci N. Todd & Elizabeth Kawasaki
  • Mermin, Book 3: Deep Dives by Joey Weiser
  • The Zoo Box by Ariel Cohn & Aron Nels Steinke

Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12)

  • Batman Li’l Gotham, vol. 2 by Derek Fridolfs & Dustin Nguyen
  • El Deafo by Cece Bell
  • I Was the Cat by Paul Tobin & Benjamin Dewey
  • Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland by Eric Shanower & Gabriel Rodriguez
  • Tiny Titans: Return to the Treehouse by Art Baltazar & Franco

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)

  • Doomboy by Tony Sandoval
  • The Dumbest Idea Ever by Jimmy Gownley
  • Lumberjanes by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, & Brooke A. Allen
  • Meteor Men by Jeff Parker & Sandy Jarrell
  • The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang & Sonny Liew
  • The Wrenchies by Farel Dalrymple

Best Humor Publication

  • The Complete Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson
  • Dog Butts and Love. And Stuff Like That. And Cats. by Jim Benton
  • Groo vs. Conan by Sergio Aragonés, Mark Evanier, & Tom Yeates
  • Rocket Raccoon by Skottie Young
  • Superior Foes of Spider-Man by Nick Spencer & Steve Lieber

Best Digital/Web Comic

  • Bandette by Paul Tobin & Colleen Coover
  • Failing Sky by Dax Tran-Caffee
  • The Last Mechanical Monster by Brian Fies
  • Nimona by Noelle Stephenson
  • The Private Eye by Brian Vaughan & Marcos Martin

Best Anthology

  • In the Dark: A Horror Anthology edited by Rachel Deering
  • Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream edited by Josh O’Neill, Andrew Carl, & Chris Stevens
  • Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It edited by Anne Ishii, Chip Kidd, & Graham Kolbeins
  • Masterful Marks: Cartoonists Who Changed the World edited by Monte Beauchamp
  • To End All Wars: The Graphic Anthology of The First World War edited by Jonathan Clode & John Stuart Clark

Best Reality-Based Work

  • Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast
  • Dragon’s Breath and Other True Stories, by MariNaomi
  • El Deafo by Cece Bell
  • Hip Hop Family Tree, vol. 2 by Ed Piskor
  • Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood by Nathan Hale
  • To End All Wars: The Graphic Anthology of The First World War edited by Jonathan Clode & John Stuart Clark

Best Graphic Album—New

  • The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil by Stephen Collins
  • Here by Richard McGuire
  • Kill My Mother by Jules Feiffer
  • The Motherless Oven by Rob Davis
  • Seconds by Bryan Lee O’Malley
  • This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki

Best Graphic Album—Reprint

  • Dave Dorman’s Wasted Lands Omnibus
  • How to Be Happy by Eleanor Davis
  • Jim by Jim Woodring
  • Sock Monkey Treasury by Tony Millionaire
  • Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips (at least 20 years old)

  • Winsor McCay’s Complete Little Nemo edited by Alexander Braun
  • Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Tarzan: The Sunday Comics, 1933–1935 by Hal Foster and edited by Brendan Wright
  • Moomin: The Deluxe Anniversary Edition by Tove Jansson and edited by Tom Devlin
  • Pogo, vol. 3: Evidence to the Contrary by Walt Kelly and edited by Carolyn Kelly & Eric Reynolds
  • Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse, vols. 5-6 by Floyd Gottfredson and edited by David Gerstein & Gary Groth

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books (at least 20 Years Old)

  • The Complete ZAP Comix Box Set edited by Gary Groth with Mike Catron
  • Steranko Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist’s Edition edited by Scott Dunbier
  • Walt Disney’s Donald Duck: Trail of the Unicorn by Carl Barks and edited by Gary Groth
  • Walt Disney’s Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: The Son of the Son by Don Rosa and edited by David Gerstein
  • Walt Kelly’s Pogo: The Complete Dell Comics, vols. 1–2 edited by Daniel Herman
  • Witzend, by Wallace Wood et al., edited by Gary Groth with Mike Catron

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

  • Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann & Kerascoët
  • Blacksad: Amarillo by Juan Díaz Canales & Juanjo Guarnido
  • Corto Maltese: Under the Sign of Capricorn by Hugo Pratt
  • Jaybird by Lauri & Jaakko Ahonen
  • The Leaning Girl by Benoît Peeters & François Schuiten

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia

  • All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, Ryosuke Takeuchi, Takeshi Obata & yoshitoshi ABe
  • In Clothes Called Fat by Moyoco Anno
  • Master Keaton, vol. 1 by Naoki Urasawa, Hokusei Katsushika, & Takashi Nagasaki
  • One-Punch Man by One & Yusuke Murata
  • Showa 1939–1943 and Showa 1944–1953: A History of Japan by Shigeru Mizuki
  • Wolf Children: Ame & Yuki by Mamoru Hosada & Yu

Best Writer

  • Jason Aaron, Original Sin, Thor, Men of Wrath, Southern Bastards
  • Kelly Sue DeConnick, Captain Marvel, Pretty Deadly
  • Grant Morrison, The Multiversity, Annihilator
  • Brian K. Vaughan, Saga, Private Eye
  • G. Willow Wilson, Ms. Marvel
  • Gene Luen Yang, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Shadow Hero

Best Writer/Artist

  • Sergio Aragonés, Sergio Aragonés Funnies, Groo vs. Conan
  • Charles Burns, Sugar Skull
  • Stephen Collins, The Giant Beard That Was Evil
  • Richard McGuire, Here
  • Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo: Senso, Usagi Yojimbo Color Special: The Artist
  • Raina Telgemeier, Sisters

Best Penciller/Inker

  • Adrian Alphona, Ms. Marvel
  • Mike Allred, Silver Surfer, Madman in Your Face 3D Special
  • Frank Quitely, Multiversity
  • François Schuiten, The Leaning Girl
  • Fiona Staples, Saga
  • Babs Tarr, Batgirl

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)

  • Lauri & Jaakko Ahonen, Jaybird
  • Colleen Coover, Bandette
  • Mike Del Mundo, Elektra
  • Juanjo Guarnido, Blacksad: Amarillo
  • J. H. Williams III, The Sandman: Overture

Best Cover Artist

  • Darwyn Cooke, DC Comics Darwyn Cooke Month Variant Covers
  • Mike Del Mundo, Elektra, X-Men: Legacy, A+X, Dexter, Dexter Down Under
  • Francesco Francavilla, Afterlife with Archie, Grindhouse: Doors Open at Midnight, The Twilight Zone, Django/Zorro, X-Files
  • Jamie McKelvie/Matthew Wilson, The Wicked + The Divine, Ms. Marvel
  • Phil Noto, Black Widow
  • Alex Ross, Astro City, Batman 66: The Lost Episode, Batman 66 Meets Green Hornet

Best Coloring

  • Laura Allred, Silver Surfer, Madman in Your Face 3D Special
  • Nelson Daniel, Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland, Judge Dredd, Wild Blue Yonder
  • Lovern Kindzierski, The Graveyard Book, vols. 1-2
  • Matthew Petz, The Leg
  • Dave Stewart, Hellboy in Hell, BPRD, Abe Sapien, Baltimore, Lobster Johnson, Witchfinder, Shaolin Cowboy, Aliens: Fire and Stone, DHP
  • Matthew Wilson, Adventures of Superman, The Wicked + The Divine, Daredevil, Thor

Best Lettering

  • Joe Caramagna, Ms. Marvel, Daredevil
  • Todd Klein, Fables, The Sandman: Overture, The Unwritten; Nemo: The Roses of Berlin
  • Max, Vapor
  • Jack Morelli, Afterlife with Archie, Archie, Betty and Veronica, etc.
  • Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo: Senso, Usagi Yojimbo Color Special: The Artist

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism

  • Alter Ego edited by Roy Thomas
  • Comic Book Creator edited by Jon B. Cooke
  • Comic Book Resources edited by Jonah Weiland
  • Comics Alliance edited by Andy Khouri, Caleb Goellner, Andrew Wheeler, & Joe Hughes
  • tcj.com edited by Dan Nadel & Timothy Hodler

Best Comics-Related Book

  • Comics Through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas (4 vols.) edited by M. Keith Booker
  • Creeping Death from Neptune: The Life and Comics of Basil Wolverton by Greg Sadowski
  • Genius Animated: The Cartoon Art of Alex Toth, vol. 3 by Dean Mullaney & Bruce Canwell
  • What Fools These Mortals Be: The Story of Puck by Michael Alexander Kahn & Richard Samuel West
  • 75 Years of Marvel Comics: From the Golden Age to the Silver Screen by Roy Thomas & Josh Baker

Best Scholarly/Academic Work

  • American Comics, Literary Theory, and Religion: The Superhero Afterlife by A. David Lewis
  • Considering Watchmen: Poetics, Property, Politics by Andrew Hoberek
  • Funnybooks: The Improbable Glories of the Best American Comic Books by Michael Barrier
  • Graphic Details: Jewish Women’s Confessional Comics in Essays and Interviews edited by Sarah Lightman
  • The Origins of Comics: From William Hogarth to Winsor McCay by Thierry Smolderen, tr. by Bart Beaty & Nick Nguyen
  • Wide Awake in Slumberland: Fantasy, Mass Culture, and Modernism in the Art of Winsor McCay by Katherine Roeder

Best Publication Design

  • Batman: Kelley Jones Gallery Edition designed by Josh Beatman/Brainchild Studios
  • The Complete ZAP Comix Box Set designed by Tony Ong
  • Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream designed by Jim Rugg
  • Street View designed by Pascal Rabate
  • Winsor McCay’s Complete Little Nemo designed by Anna Tina Kessler