Taiyo Matsumoto’s Sunny and Emily Carroll’s Out of Skin have been named winners of the Cartoonist Studio Prize 2014.
The prize is presented each year by Slate in conjunction with the Center for Cartoon Studies which helps select the nominees. This year’s judges wereSlate’s Dan Lois, Dan Kois, the faculty and students at the Center for Cartoon Studies, and guest judge, Christopher Butcher.
Sunny, which won the Graphic Novel Prize, is an understated, sad story about Japanese orphans who fantasize about a better life via a junked yellow car.
Caroll’s Out of Skin, which won Best Webcomic, is the latest in her series of groundbreaking digital horror comics which use navigation and screen size to generate the mystery. Just click on it and read!
Here’s the whole list of shortlisted works and winners — click on some of these links! I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
Graphic Novels
*** Sunny by Taiyo Matsumoto
Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang.
The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg.
The Initiates: A Comic Artist and a Wine Artisan Exchange Jobs by Étienne Davodeau.
Julio’s Day by Gilbert Hernández.
Map of Days by Robert Hunter.
Paul Joins the Scouts by Michel Rabagliati.
The Property by Rutu Modan.
Susceptible by Geneviève Castrée.
Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life by Ulli Lust.
Webcomics
***Out of Skin by Emily Carroll
As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman.
Bouletcorp by Boulet.
Gunshow by KC Green.
Household by Sam Alden.
The Lone Wolf by Jennifer Parks.
Lucky by Gabrielle Bell.
Oh Joy, Sex Toy by Erika Moen.
Sticks Angelica by Michael DeForge.
Subnormality by Winston Rowntree.
Jesus… A lot of heavy hitters in that list, but I’m so happy that Matsumoto & Carroll won.
Taiyo Matsumoto is one of our true living masters of the comics form. He is an extraordinary and singular talent. They could not have chosen a more deserving winner than him.