The Will Eisner Comic Awards judges have selected three comics creators for automatic inclusion into the Hall of Fame and a slate of 14 nominees for voters to select from; four will be selected by voters from the ballot.

Selected for the hall are:

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Irwin Hasen (The Flash, Wildcat, Green Lantern for DC; Dondi syndicated strip)

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Sheldon Moldoff (Batman artist)

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Orrin C. Evans (All-Negro Comics), named as a “African American comics pioneer .”

In the past, the judges have chosen two automatic inductees, both deceased. This year’s judges decided to add one more inductee, a deserving still-living comics creator.


That would be Hasen, still a snappy figure on the convention circuit,

The 14 chosen for the full ballot are:
Gus Arriola
Howard Cruse
Philippe Druillet
Rube Goldberg
Fred Kida
Hayao Miyazaki
Tarpé Mills
Alan Moore
Francoise Mouly
Dennis O’Neil
Antonio Prohias
Rumiko Takahashi
George Tuska
Bernie Wrightson

Online voting is now open. To vote, you must be a professional working in the comics or related industries as a creator (writer, artist, cartoonist, colorist, letterer), a publisher or editor, a retailer (comics store owner or manager), a graphic novels librarian, or a comics historian/educator. Eligible voters can visit www.eisnervote.com to register and then select up to four picks in the Hall of Fame category. The deadline for voting is March 31. Further eligibility information is provided on the Eisner Awards page.
The 2013 Eisner Awards judging panel consists of comics retailer Kathy Bottarini (Comic Book Box, Rhonert Park, CA), author/educator William H. Foster (Untold Stories of Black Comics), reviewer Christian Lipski (Portland, OR Examiner), Comic-Con International board member Lee Oeth, library curator Jenny Robb (Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum), and Eisner Award-nominated cartoonist/critic James Romberger (Post York, 7 Miles a Second).
Submissions are currently being accepted in the other Eisner categories; the deadline is March 17. The nominees for these categories will be announced in mid-April.
The Eisner Awards will be presented at a gala awards ceremony to be held on July 25 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel.
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are presented under the auspices of Comic-Con International, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular artforms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contributions of comics to art and culture.