We’re live blogging the 2014 18th Annual Ignatz Awards—there’s a palpable buzz in the air as not only the traditional pagentry of the awards unrolls, but additional pageantry in the shape of a wedding and a prom are on tap. As a reminder, the Ignatzes are perhaps the ONLY awards in any medium where people race back from dinner just so they can attend! The secret? Brevity and a chocolate fountain!
And with no further ado, let’s get to it. Executive Director Warren Bernard started out thanking the alt.weekly crew, including Jules Feiffer, Lynda Barry and Charles Burns. Mike Thomas is our mc and will be officiating at the Hanselmann wedding.
In 2015 the dates will be Sept. 18-19, says Bernard. and it will be a 21st Century focus with Michael DeForge, Matt Bors, Lilli Carré and Luke Pearson. Also, big news, in 2o15 BErnard and Bill K will be curating a show at the Society of Illustrators dedicated to Alt.weekly cartoonists. The SOI has joined up with SPX! And what else can happen. Lynda Barry, Ellen Forney, Tony Millionaire, Keith Knight, Jen Sorenson, Derf and more will be in the show, the show will open in early March. BE THERE.
And now it’s MC James Sturm who says there are two reasons that the Ignatzes are the best awards; it’s the shortest and the coolest award—a brick.
“If we are in the golden age of comics, then all the cartoonists in this room are the gold,” says Sturm to an awwwwwww. And then I said…awwwwwww. “As an member of this tribe,: sturm continues, “I can tell you from experience it doesn’t get any easier, but that is why tonight is a night we revel. It’s important to take a break from our drawing boards and tablets to celebrate our accomplishments.”
Fabulous Sasha “Velour” Steinberg is out to present Outstanding Story to Meredith Gran. “Comics is the most fun thing I can imagine doing,” says Gran. “I wake up thinking about them and go go bed thinking about them I can’t think of anything I want to do more.”
After some not too awkward banter, Velour inserts herself as cohost, and she has the smooth presentation of the professional awards giver down pretty well. So with Sturm and Velour we’ve gone way beyond Hathaway and Franco.
Chuck Forsman came out to present outstanding Anthology to Qu33r edited by Robert Kirby. The next presenter is Alec Longstreth who presents Best Series to Jason Shiga who delivers an amusing speech plugging his Patreon campaign. GIVE TO JASON SHIGA. AND THE BEAT!
Sasha has taken over as host and delivers some fierce intros.
Brandon Graham presents Promising New Talent to Cathy G. Johnson. “I love comics it’s a very important medium to me,” she says. “I love this culture and this community that we’ve created. I feel very welcome in it. It can also be frustrating. I feel like this year and many years in the past a lot of our peers have experienced harassment, esp. female peers and I think we need to work harder to reject this.” PREACH IT SISTER!
Next presenter Eleanor Davis says it’s great that everyone loves comics even though it strange that we all fell in love with it. But the nominees ensure that people will keep falling in love with comics. And the winner of OUtstanding Comic is Sam Alden who says merely Thank You.
Aisha Franz from Germany presents Best Minicomic to Sophie Goldstein, who thanks her teachers at CCS, a class of 2013 grad. A very strong year, it turns out. Sophie Yanow presents Outstanding Online Comic to Evan Dahm, who is a very popular winner. “This show is important to me, comics are my life so thanks for liking it,” he says.
Paul Karasik presents Outstanding Graphic Novel. Karasik urges everyone to go around and find someone who is not busy and buying something from them. “I found some very storage things today for $3 so that’s your assignment.” He presents best Graphic Novel to Jillian Tamaki for This One Summer.
Finally John Porcellino comes out to give Outstanding Artist to Sam Bosma. Hey I voted for him!
AND now, let’s have a wedding! And let’s all give all our love to COMICS!
Outstanding Story
*“Brownout Biscuit” (from Octopus Pie): Dead Forever, by Meredith Gran
“Destination X,” by Jon Martz
“The Grassy Knoll,” by Nick Drnaso
“Jobs,” Life Zone, by Simon Hanselmann
“Mom,” Viewotron #2, by Sam Sharpe
Outstanding Anthology or Collection
Amazing Facts and Beyond, by Kevin Huizenga and Dan Zettwoch
The End, by Anders Nilsen
Eye of the Majestic Creature (Vol. 2), by Leslie Stein
*QU33R, edited by Robert Kirby
Sock Monkey Treasury, by Tony Millionaire
Outstanding Series
The Black Feather Falls, Ellen Lindner
*Demon, by Jason Shiga
Powdered Milk, by Keiler Roberts
Sky in Stereo, by Sacha Mardou
Towerkind, by Kat Verhoeven
Promising New Talent
Luke Howard — Trevor
*Cathy G. Johnson – Jeremiah; Boy Genius; Until It Runs Clear
Nick Offerman — Orange; Onions
Keiler Roberts — Powdered Milk (series)
Daryl Seitchik — Missy
Outstanding Comic
Blammo #8, by Noah Van Sciver
Cosplayers, by Dash Shaw
It Will All Hurt #2, by Farel Dalrymple
Misliving Amended, by Adam Buttrick
*Wicked Chicken Queen, by Sam Alden
Outstanding Minicomic
The Grassy Knoll, by Nick Drnaso
*House of Women, by Sophie Goldstein
Never Forgets, by Yumi Sakugawa
Test Tube #1, by Carlos Gonzales
Up to the Top, by Ian Sampson
Outstanding Online Comic
Band for Life, Anya Davidson
Big Dogs at Nite, Dane Martin
Demon, Jason Shiga
On Hiatus, Pete Toms
*Vattu, Evan Dahm
Outstanding Graphic Novel
The Amazing, Enlightening and Absolutely True Adventures of Katherine Whaley, by Kim Deitch
The Boxer, Reinhard Kleist
Boxers & Saints, by Gene Luen Yang
*This One Summer, by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki
War of Streets and Houses, Sophie Yanow
Outstanding Artist
*Sam Bosma — Fantasy Basketball
Kim Deitch — The Amazing, Enlightening and Absolutely True Adventures of Katherine Whaley
Sophie Goldstein — Darwin Carmichael Is Going to Hell; Edna II; House of Women
Ed Piskor — Hip Hop Family Tree (Vol. 1)
Jesse Reklaw — Coach Tag
Surprising amount of “webcomic” representation up there.
“Golden Ages” are usually nomenclatured in retrospect, usually with a sense of longing and nostalgia. Hence, “the golden age of comics” being labeled such by collectors of the “Silver/Marvel Age”, which was then relabeled/redefined by collectors into a separate “Bronze Age”, etc.
(The Clinton Administration is another example. Low unemployment, economic prosperity, minimal crisis… yet never thought of “a golden age” during his tenure.)
What we have NOW is a renaissance. Like the art history Renaissance of the 1500s, it includes:
* The end of a dark age: the grim-and-gritty speculator bubble of ’85-’94, which starts with the B&W implosion and Dark Knight Returns, and ends with the multimedia juggernaut of Pokemon. (And which parallels the rise and fall of the Direct Market.)
* inspiration from other cultures which did not suffer from the Dark Age. (Japan, Continental Europe, developing markets)
* rediscovery of old, forgotten predecessors from “the Golden Age” (fueled, in part, by nostalgia for a “better time”).
* the invention of new technologies which inspire innovation. (xerography, desktop publishing, World Wide Web)
* an openness to experiment with new themes and ideas.
Computers and electronics are driving this recent artistic surge.
Previously, it was the paint tube and photography in the mid-1800s.
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