The 2025 ignatz Award winners, recognizing the best in indie comics, were announced Saturday night at the Small Press Expo in North Bethesda, MD. The ceremony was, as always, filled with heartfelt moments and many shout outs to the power of community.
Anders Nilsen, an SPX regular for decades, won two awards, for Outstanding Artist and Outstanding Comic for Tongues Supplement #1, a self-published addendum to Tongues, his philosophical exploration of mythology.
Winners below in BOLD.
OUTSTANDING ARTIST
- Sarah Airriess, The Worst Journey in the World (Iron Circus Comics)
- Deb JJ Lee, Death Fiddles and We Dance (Self-Published/Shortbox)
- Kazimir Lee, Low Orbit (Top Shelf Productions)
- Lomig, JOHN MUIR: To the Heart of Solitude (NBM Graphic Novels)
- Anders Nilsen, Tongues Supplement #1 (NoMiracles)
OUTSTANDING ANTHOLOGY
- Braba: A Brazilian Comics Anthology, ed. Rafael Grampá and Janaína de Luna (Fantagraphics)
- Come Find Me, ed. Will Dennis and Sean Edgar (DSTLRY)
- Datura Magazine vol. 3, ed. Sunmi and Mar Julia (Self-Published)
- Loud: Stories to Make Your Voice Heard, ed. Brett Israel (Dark Horse Comics)
- Rust Belt Review vol. 6, by Sean Knickerbocker (Self-Published)
OUTSTANDING COLLECTION
- I Ate the Whole World to Find You, by Rachel Ang (Drawn and Quarterly)
- Milk White Steed, by Michael D. Kennedy (Drawn and Quarterly)
- Preparing to Bite, by Keiler Roberts (Drawn and Quarterly)
- Them-Shaped Cloud, by Max Huffman (CRAM Books)
- World Within the World, by Julia Gfrörer (Fantagraphics)
OUTSTANDING COMIC
- Belly Full of Heart, by Madeline Mouse (Silver Sprocket)
- Big Gamble Rainbow Highway, by Connie Meyers (CRAM Books)
- Lucky Cap Scouts, by O. Stevens (Silver Sprocket)
- The Re-Up #6, by Chad Bilyeu and Juliette de Wit (Bistro Books)
- Tongues Supplement #1, by Anders Nilsen (NoMiracles)
OUTSTANDING GRAPHIC NOVEL
- Adrift on a Painted Sea, by Tim Bird (Avery Hill Publishing)
- Land of Mirrors, by María Medem (translated by Aleshia Jensen & Daniela Ortiz) (Drawn and Quarterly)
- Precious Rubbish, by Kayla E. (Fantagraphics)
- Processing: 100 Comics That Got Me Through It, by Tara Booth (Drawn and Quarterly)
- Skin, by Mieke Versyp and Sabien Clement (Fantagraphics)
OUTSTANDING MINICOMIC
- Allodynia, by Violet Kitchen (Self-Published)
- Big Apple Matinee, by A. T. Pratt (Self-Published)
- The Connoisseurs, by Alex Swift (Frog Farm)
- The Mole, by Arantza Peña Popo (Self-Published)
- Szarlotka, by Jas Hice (Frog Farm)
OUTSTANDING ONLINE COMIC
- 3rd Voice, by Evan Dahm
- An Ode to People, by KC Councilor
- Home by the Rotting Sea, by Otava Heikkilä
- Jake Spooky, by Michael Grover
- Kiss the Cook, by Barbara Perez Marquez and Rhinosnax
OUTSTANDING SERIES
- Disciples of Soil, by B. Mure (Avery Hill Publishing)
- PeePee PooPoo, by Caroline Cash (Silver Sprocket)
- The Re-Up, by Chad Bilyeu & Juliette de Wit (Bistro Books)
- Tongues, by Anders Nilsen (NoMiracles)
- Wedding Juice, by Sanika Phawde (Self-Published)
OUTSTANDING STORY
- A Pillbug Story, by Allison Conway (Black Panel Press)
- Ballad for Black Cassandra, by Olivia Stephens (Self-Published)
- Boy Island, by Leo Fox (Silver Sprocket)
- How to Talk to Your Succulent, by Zoe Persico (Tundra Book Group)
- Ruin of the House of the Divine Visage, by Spire Greenwood and Eve Greenwood (Self-Published)
- PROMISING NEW TALENT
- Trishelle Jeffery, Best Breasts in the West (Fieldmouse Press)
- Mili St. John, The Edge of Autumn (Self-Published)
- Ricky Lima and Daniele Aquilani, Undergrowth (Top Shelf Productions)
- Connie Meyers, Big Gamble Rainbow Highway (CRAM books)
- Vicky Yang, Unmoored (Self-Published)
