Sancchh Hilton San Diego Bayfront Gallery Meetings Indigoballroom2 Large
Last week, we noted that the Eisner Awards were moving to a new venue, and how here’s some PR from Jackie Estrada with more info and a picture…hm, where WILL we find that power outlet?

The ceremony for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards has a new home for 2009: The Indigo Room at the recently opened Hilton San Diego Bayfront. The Hilton Bayfront is just south of the San Diego Convention Center, the site of the ceremony for the last several years.

“The Indigo Room is perfect for the Awards,” said Jackie Estrada, the Eisner Awards administrator. “The décor offers both elegance and intimacy, and the audio-visual facilities are state-of-the-art.”

The ceremony will be held on Friday night July 24 of Comic-Con International. The doors will open for VIP seating at 7:30, and general seating will open at 8:15, with the festivities starting at 8:30. Bill Morrison, creative director at Bongo Comics, will again be master of ceremonies, and attendees can expect to see celebrity presenters from the worlds of comic books, graphic novels, TV, and films. Awards will be given out in 26 Eisner categories. In addition, Comic-Con’s own special awards will be presented: the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award, the Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award, and the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award.



The Hilton San Diego Bayfront is located at 1 Park Boulevard near Harbor Drive, across the street from PETCO Park, home of the San Diego Padres. It can be reached from both Harbor Drive and the waterfront walkway along the park behind the Convention Center.

The Eisners would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. Principal Sponsors for the 2009 Eisner Awards include Gentle Giant, Isotope Comics of San Francisco, Lebonfon Printing, LongBox, and UCLICK. Supporting sponsors are Alternate Reality Comics of Las Vegas, Atlantis Fantasyworld of Santa Cruz, CA, comicsunlimited.com, Diamond Comic Distributors, Flying Colors Comics and Other Cool Stuff of Concord, CA, Mel Thompson and Associates, and mycomicshop.com.

The Eisner Awards are part of, and underwritten by, 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.

1 COMMENT

  1. As mentioned to the Beat this afternoon, the person who Tweets for the Bayfront is now forwarding Con news in their feed.

  2. Is that the actual room? O.o

    Those middle purple/blue floor pieces need to be taken out as they are awful looking and just block views and more elegant chairs to replace those drab ones.

  3. That’s the room, but the setup will be completely different for the Awards, including the stage being at the far end and not in the middle. The columns in the photo are not part of the room. The setup will have VIP tables near the stage and regular audience setup for the rest of the room.

    Regarding the speed of the Eisners, there are three fewer awards this year and there won’t be a keynote speaker, so they should end a little earlier than last year so everyone can enjoy the afterparty in the fabulous foyer, which is connected to an outdoors terrace overlooking the bay.