The 2019 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards were presented at San Diego Comic-Con International on Friday, July 19 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel. In categories stacked with talent, the big winners for the night were Tom King, who took home four awards, including Best Writer for the second year in a row; Mitch Gerads, who took home two awards, including Best Penciller/Inker for the second year in a row; Jen Wang, with two awards for her work on The Prince and the Dressmaker; and Giant Days, which took home two awards for Best Humor Publication and Best Continuing Series.

Beloved comics legend Sergio Aragonés honored Hall of Fame automatic inductees Jim Aparo, June Tarpé Mills, Dave Stevens, and Morrie Turner, as well as voter-chosen inductees José Luis García-López, Jenette Kahn, Paul Levitz, Wendy and Richard Pini, and Bill Sienkiewicz.

The Bill Finger Excellence In Comic Book Writing Award was presented to Mike Friedrich and the late E. Nelson Bridwell. Levitz accepted the award for Bridwell on his behalf and shared a brief remembrance: “He was a gentle man…and the first comics fan to become a working comics professional.”

The Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award was presented to Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez — who has done incredible fundraising and grant work with his Afro-Latinx Puerto Rican superhero character La Borinqueña — and Thought Bubble founder Tula Lotay a.k.a. Lisa Wood, who does community benefit work including free literacy and art programs for the underprivileged as an extension of the festival.

The Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award was presented to Columbian cartoonist Lorena Alvarez, who wrote and illustrated Hicotea and Nightlights, both published through Nobrow Press.

In case you missed it, The Beat‘s Entertainment Editor Kyle Pinion liveblogged the ceremony, including comments from presenters, winners, and more. If you just want to know who took home the trophies, we’ve got you covered. See below for the full list of 2019 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award winners and nominees.

Best Short Story
  • WINNER: “The Talk of the Saints” by Tom King and Jason Fabok, in Swamp Thing Winter Special (DC)
  • “Get Naked in Barcelona” by Steven T. Seagle and Emei Olivia Burrell, in Get Naked (Image)
  • “The Ghastlygun Tinies” by Matt Cohen and Marc Palm, in MAD magazine #4 (DC)
  • “Here I Am” by Shaun Tan, in I Feel Machine (SelfMadeHero)
  • “Life During Interesting Times” by Mike Dawson (The Nib), https://thenib.com/greatest-generation-interesting-times
  • “Supply Chains” by Peter and Maria Hoey, in Coin-Op #7 (Coin-Op Books)
Best Single Issue/One-Shot
  • WINNER: Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #310, by Chip Zdarsky (Marvel)
  • Beneath the Dead Oak Tree, by Emily Carroll (ShortBox)
  • Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise, by Jeff Lemire and Emi Lenox (Dark Horse)
  • No Better Words, by Carolyn Nowak (Silver Sprocket)
  • The Terrible Elisabeth Dumn Against the Devils In Suits, by Arabson, translated by James Robinson (IHQ Studio/ Image)
Best Continuing Series
  • WINNER: Giant Days, by John Allison, Max Sarin, and Julaa Madrigal (BOOM! Box)
  • Batman, by Tom King et al. (DC)
  • Black Hammer: Age of Doom, by Jeff Lemire, Dean Ormston, and Rich Tommaso (Dark Horse)
  • Gasolina, by Sean Mackiewicz and Niko Walter (Skybound/Image)
  • The Immortal Hulk, by Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, and Ruy José (Marvel)
  • Runaways, by Rainbow Rowell and Kris Anka (Marvel)
Best Limited Series
  • WINNER: Mister Miracle, by Tom King and Mitch Gerads (DC)
  • Batman: White Knight, by Sean Murphy (DC)
  • Eternity Girl, by Magdalene Visaggio and Sonny Liew (Vertigo/DC)
  • Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, by Mark Russell, Mike Feehan, and Mark Morales (DC)
  • X-Men: Grand Design: Second Genesis, by Ed Piskor (Marvel)
Best New Series
  • WINNER: Gideon Falls, by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino (Image)
  • Bitter Root, by David Walker, Chuck Brown, and Sanford Green (Image)
  • Crowded, by Christopher Sebela, Ro Stein, and Ted Brandt (Image)
  • Isola, by Brenden Fletcher and Karl Kerschl (Image)
  • Man-Eaters, by Chelsea Cain and Kate Niemczyk (Image)
  • Skyward, by Joe Henderson and Lee Garbett (Image)
Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8)
  • WINNER: Johnny Boo and the Ice Cream Computer, by James Kochalka (Top Shelf/IDW)
  • Petals, by Gustavo Borges (KaBOOM!)
  • Peter & Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths, by Graham Annable (First Second)
  • This Is a Taco! By Andrew Cangelose and Josh Shipley (CubHouse/Lion Forge)
  • Tiger Vs. Nightmare, by Emily Tetri (First Second)
Best Publication for Kids (ages 9–12)
  • WINNER: The Divided Earth, by Faith Erin Hicks (First Second)
  • Aquicorn Cove, by Katie O’Neill (Oni)
  • Be Prepared, by Vera Brosgol (First Second)
  • The Cardboard Kingdom, by Chad Sell (Knopf/Random House Children’s Books)
  • Crush, by Svetlana Chmakova (JY/Yen Press)
Best Publication for Teens (ages 13–17)
  • WINNER: The Prince and the Dressmaker, by Jen Wang (First Second)
  • All Summer Long, by Hope Larson (Farrar Straus Giroux)
  • Gumballs, by Erin Nations (Top Shelf/IDW)
  • Middlewest, by Skottie Young and Jorge Corona (Image)
  • Norroway, Book 1: The Black Bull of Norroway, by Cat Seaton and Kit Seaton (Image)
  • Watersnakes, by Tony Sandoval, translated by Lucas Marangon (Magnetic/Lion Forge)
Best Humor Publication
  • WINNER: Giant Days, by John Allison, Max Sarin, and Julia Madrigal (BOOM! Box)
  • Get Naked, by Steven T. Seagle et al. (Image)
  • MAD magazine, edited by Bill Morrison (DC)
  • A Perfect Failure: Fanta Bukowski 3, by Noah Van Sciver (Fantagraphics)
  • Woman World, by Aminder Dhaliwal (Drawn & Quarterly)
Best Anthology
  • WINNER: Puerto Rico Strong, edited by Marco Lopez, Desiree Rodriguez, Hazel Newlevant, Derek Ruiz, and Neil Schwartz (Lion Forge)
  • Femme Magnifique: 50 Magnificent Women Who Changed the World, edited by Shelly Bond (Black Crown/IDW)
  • Twisted Romance, edited by Alex de Campi (Image)
  • Where We Live: A Benefit for the Survivors in Las Vegas, edited by Will Dennis, curated by J. H. Williams III and Wendy Wright-Williams (Image)
Best Reality-Based Work
  • WINNER: Is This Guy For Real? The Unbelievable Andy Kaufman, by Box Brown (First Second)
  • All the Answers: A Graphic Memoir, by Michael Kupperman (Gallery 13)
  • All the Sad Songs, by Summer Pierre (Retrofit/Big Planet)
  • Monk! by Youssef Daoudi (First Second)
  • One Dirty Tree, by Noah Van Sciver (Uncivilized Books)
Best Graphic Album—New
  • WINNER: My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)
  • Bad Girls, by Alex de Campi and Victor Santos (Gallery 13)
  • Come Again, by Nate Powell (Top Shelf/IDW)
  • Green Lantern: Earth One Vol. 1, by Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman (DC)
  • Homunculus, by Joe Sparrow (ShortBox)
  • Sabrina, by Nick Drnaso (Drawn & Quarterly)
Best Graphic Album—Reprint
  • WINNER: The Vision hardcover, by Tom King, Gabriel Hernandez Walta, and Michael Walsh (Marvel)
  • Berlin, by Jason Lutes (Drawn & Quarterly)
  • Girl Town, by Carolyn Nowak (Top Shelf/IDW)
  • Upgrade Soul, by Ezra Claytan Daniels (Lion Forge)
  • Young Frances, by Hartley Lin (AdHouse Books)
Best Adaptation from Another Medium
  • WINNER: “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, in Frankenstein: Junji Ito Story Collection, adapted by Junji Ito, translated by Jocelyne Allen (VIZ Media)
  • Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation, adapted by Ari Folman and David Polonsky (Pantheon)
  • Out in the Open by Jesús Carraso, adapted by Javi Rey, translated by Lawrence Schimel (SelfMadeHero)
  • Speak: The Graphic Novel, by Laurie Halse Anderson and Emily Carroll (Farrar Straus Giroux)
  • To Build a Fire: Based on Jack London’s Classic Story, by Chabouté (Gallery 13)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material
  • WINNER: Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World, by Pénélope Bagieu (First Second)
  • About Betty’s Boob, by Vero Cazot and Julie Rocheleau, translated by Edward Gauvin (Archaia/BOOM!)
  • Herakles Book 1, by Edouard Cour, translated by Jeremy Melloul (Magnetic/Lion Forge)
  • Niourk, by Stefan Wul and Olivier Vatine, translated by Brandon Kander and Diana Schutz (Dark Horse)
  • A Sea of Love, by Wilfrid Lupano and Grégory Panaccione (Magnetic/Lion Forge)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia
  • WINNER: Tokyo Tarareba Girls, by Akiko Higashimura (Kodansha)
  • Abara: Complete Deluxe Edition, by Tsutomu Nihei, translated by Sheldon Drzka (VIZ Media)
  • Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, by Inio Asano, translated by John Werry (VIZ Media)
  • Laid-Back Camp, by Afro, translated by Amber Tamosaitis (Yen Press)
  • My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder, by Nie Jun, translated by Edward Gauvin (Graphic Universe/Lerner)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips
  • WINNER: Star Wars: Classic Newspaper Strips, vol. 3, by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson, edited by Dean Mullaney (Library of American Comics/IDW)
  • Pogo, vol. 5: Out of This World At Home, by Walt Kelly, edited by Mark Evanier and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
  • Sky Masters of the Space Force: The Complete Sunday Strips in Color (1959–1960), by Jack Kirby, Wally Wood et al., edited by Ferran Delgado (Amigo Comics)
  • The Temple of Silence: Forgotten Words and Worlds of Herbert Crowley, by Justin Duerr (Beehive Books
  • Thimble Theatre and the Pre-Popeye Comics of E. C. Segar, edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books
  • WINNER: Bill Sienkiewicz’s Mutants and Moon Knights… And Assassins… Artifact Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
  • Action Comics: 80 Years of Superman Deluxe Edition, edited by Paul Levitz (DC)
  • Dirty Plotte: The Complete Julie Doucet (Drawn & Quarterly)
  • Madman Quarter Century Shindig, by Mike Allred, edited by Chris Ryall (IDW)
  • Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise Gallery Edition, edited by Joseph Melchior and Bob Chapman (Abstract Studio/Graphitti Designs)
  • Will Eisner’s A Contract with God: Curator’s Collection, edited by John Lind (Kitchen Sink/Dark Horse)
Best Writer
  • WINNER: Tom King, Batman, Mister Miracle, Heroes in Crisis, Swamp Thing Winter Special (DC)
  • Alex de Campi, Bad Girls (Gallery 13); Twisted Romance (Image)
  • Jeff Lemire, Black Hammer: Age of Doom, Doctor Star & the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows, Quantum Age (Dark Horse); Descender, Gideon Falls, Royal City (Image)
  • Mark Russell, Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, Green Lantern/Huckleberry Hound, Lex Luthor/Porky Pig (DC); Lone Ranger (Dynamite)
  • Kelly Thompson, Nancy Drew (Dynamite); Hawkeye, Jessica Jones, Mr. & Mrs. X, Rogue & Gambit, Uncanny X-Men, West Coast Avengers (Marvel)
  • Chip Zdarsky, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, Marvel Two-in-One (Marvel)
Best Writer/Artist
  • WINNER: Jen Wang, The Prince and the Dressmaker (First Second
  • Sophie Campbell, Wet Moon (Oni)
  • Nick Drnaso, Sabrina (Drawn & Quarterly)
  • David Lapham, Lodger (Black Crown/IDW); Stray Bullets (Image)
  • Nate Powell, Come Again (Top Shelf/IDW)
  • Tony Sandoval, Watersnakes (Magnetic/Lion Forge)
Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
  • WINNER: Mitch Gerads, Mister Miracle (DC)
  • Matías Bergara, Coda (BOOM!)
  • Karl Kerschl, Isola (Image)
  • Sonny Liew, Eternity Girl (Vertigo/DC)
  • Sean Phillips, Kill or Be Killed, My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies (Image)
  • Yanick Paquette, Wonder Woman Earth One, vol. 2 (DC)
Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
  • WINNER: Dustin Nguyen, Descender (Image)
  • Lee Bermejo, Batman: Damned (DC)
  • Carita Lupatelli, Izuna Book 2 (Humanoids)
  • Gregory Panaccione, A Sea of Love (Magnetic/Lion Forge)
  • Tony Sandoval, Watersnakes (Magnetic/Lion Forge)
Best Cover Artist (for multiple covers)
  • WINNER: Jen Bartel, Blackbird (Image); Submerged (Vault)
  • Nick Derington, Mister Miracle (DC)
  • Karl Kerschl, Isola (Image)
  • Joshua Middleton, Batgirl and Aquaman variants (DC)
  • Julian Tedesco, Hawkeye, Life of Captain Marvel (Marvel)
Best Coloring
  • WINNER: Matt Wilson, Black Cloud, Paper Girls, The Wicked + The Divine (Image); The Mighty Thor, Runaways (Marvel)
  • Jordie Bellaire, Batgirl, Batman (DC); The Divided Earth (First Second); Days of Hate, Dead Hand, Head Lopper, Redlands (Image); Shuri, Doctor Strange (Marvel)
  • Tamra Bonvillain, Alien 3 (Dark Horse); Batman, Doom Patrol (DC); Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Multiple Man (Marvel)
  • Nathan Fairbairn, Batman, Batgirl, Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman Earth One, vol. 2 (DC); Die!Die!Die! (Image)
  • Matt Hollingsworth, Batman: White Knight (DC): Seven to Eternity, Wytches (Image)
Best Lettering
  • WINNER: Todd Klein— Black Hammer: Age of Doom, Neil Gaiman’s A Study in Emerald (Dark Horse); Batman: White Night (DC); Eternity Girl, Books of Magic (Vertigo/DC); The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest (Top Shelf/IDW)
  • David Aja, Seeds (Berger Books/Dark Horse)
  • Jim Campbell, Breathless, Calexit, Gravetrancers, Snap Flash Hustle, Survival Fetish, The Wilds (Black Mask); Abbott, Alice: Dream to Dream, Black Badge, Clueless, Coda, Fence, Firefly, Giant Days, Grass Kings, Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compass, Low Road West, Sparrowhawk (BOOM); Angelic (Image); Wasted Space (Vault)
  • Alex de Campi, Bad Girls (Gallery 13); Twisted Romance (Image)
  • Jared Fletcher, Batman: Damned (DC); The Gravediggers Union, Moonshine, Paper Girls, Southern Bastards (Image)
Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
  • WINNER: Back Issue, edited by Michael Eury (TwoMorrows)
  • WINNER: PanelxPanel magazine, edited by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, panelxpanel.com
  • The Columbus Scribbler, edited by Brian Canini, columbusscribbler.com
  • Comicosity, edited by Aaron Long and Matt Santori,  www.comicosity.com
  • LAAB Magazine #0: Dark Matter, edited by Ronald Wimberley and Josh O’Neill (Beehive Books)
Best Comics-Related Book
  • WINNER: Drawn to Purpose: American Women Illustrators and Cartoonists, by Martha H. Kennedy (University Press of Mississippi)
  • Comic Book Implosion: An Oral History of DC Comics Circa 1978, by Keith Dallas and John Wells (TwoMorrows)
  • The League of Regrettable Sidekicks, by Jon Morris (Quirk Books)
  • Mike Grell: Life Is Drawing Without an Eraser, by Dewey Cassell with Jeff Messer (TwoMorrows)
  • Yoshitaka Amano: The Illustrated Biography—Beyond the Fantasy, by Florent Gorges, translated by Laure Dupont and Annie Gullion (Dark Horse)
Best Academic/Scholarly Work
  • WINNER: Sweet Little C*nt: The Graphic Work of Julie Doucet, by Anne Elizabeth Moore (Uncivilized Books)
  • Between Pen and Pixel: Comics, Materiality, and the Book of the Future, by Aaron Kashtan (Ohio State University Press)
  • Breaking the Frames: Populism and Prestige in Comics Studies, by Marc Singer (University of Texas Press)
  • The Goat-Getters: Jack Johnson, the Fight of the Century, and How a Bunch of Raucous Cartoonists Reinvented Comics, by Eddie Campbell (Library of American Comics/IDW/Ohio State University Press)
  • Incorrigibles and Innocents, by Lara Saguisag (Rutgers Univeristy Press)
Best Publication Design
  • WINNER: Will Eisner’s A Contract with God: Curator’s Collection, designed by John Lind (Kitchen Sink/Dark Horse)
  • A Sea of Love, designed by Wilfrid Lupano, Grégory Panaccione, and Mike Kennedy (Magnetic/Lion Forge)
  • The Stan Lee Story Collector’s Edition, designed by Josh Baker (Taschen)
  • The Temple of Silence: Forgotten Worlds of Herbert Crowley, designed by Paul Kepple and Max Vandenberg (Beehive Books)
  • Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise Gallery Edition, designed by Josh Beatman/Brainchild Studios/NYC (Abstract Studio/Graphitti Designs)
Best Digital Comic
Best Webcomic
Spirit of Comics Retailer
  • WINNER: La Revisteria Comics
    Alejandro Gonzalez, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Alaska Robotics Gallery
    Pat Race & Aaron Suring, Juneau, AK
  • Books with Pictures
    Katie Proctor, Portland, OR
  • Cape and Cowl Comics
    Eitan Manhoff, Oakland, CA
  • Kingpin Books
    Mário Freitas, Lisbon, Portugal
  • Nostromo Sevilla
    Sergio López, Seville, Spain

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