EISNER AWARDS, and no baby yet

I'm not a grandpappy yet... :(

In other news, I'm crazy and have agreed to serve as an Eisner judge. See below for more details.

Jeff


Judges Named for 2007 Eisner Awards


Entries are now being accepted for the 19th annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, to be given to the finest publications and creators of 2006.

Publishers can submit any comic, graphic novel, or comics-related periodical or book that was shipped to retailers between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2006. The submitted items will be considered by a blue-ribbon panel of judges, who will select the final items to appear on the Eisner Awards ballot.

The judging panel for 2007 consists of:

*Robin Brenner, the Brookline, Massachusetts Public Library's Teen Librarian. She is also the creator and editor-in-chief of “No Flying No Tights,” a website reviewing graphic novels for teens and those who work with them. As a member of the American Library Association/Young Adult Library Services Association (ALA/YALSA), she advocated for and helped establish the Great Graphic Novels for Teens Selection List, an annual list of the best graphic novels for teens. She reviews graphic novels for The Horn Book, manga for Booklist, and Japanese anime for Video Librarian.

*Whitney Matheson, writer of “Pop Candy,” USA Today's pop-culture blog (popcandy.usatoday.com). Comic-related events she has covered include Comic-Con International: San Diego, the Small Press Expo, BookExpo, and New York Comic-Con. Other publications she has written for include Slate.com and Self magazine.

*Christopher P. Reilly, Harvey- and Ignatz-nominated comics writer of such titles as The Comical Tragedy of Punch and Judy (2002), Punch and Judy: A Grand Guignol (2003), Puphedz (2004), Punch and Judy: Twice Told Tales (2005), and The Trouble with Igor (2006). He was the co-creator, editor, and contributor to the anthology Strange Eggs (2005–2006) and has contributed stories to Disney's Haunted Mansion.

*James Sime, proprietor of the award-winning Isotope—the Comic Book Lounge in San Francisco. He is perhaps best known for his innovative approach to comics retailing, for his enthusiastic pursuit of comics evangelism through nontraditional methods, and for crafting unique and often extravagant comic launch events for the books he loves. He wrote about these subjects and more in his column “The Comic Pimp” published on ComicBookResources.com. James also established the Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics in 2003 in order to celebrate new talents working in an underpromoted area of the comics industry.

*Jeff VanderMeer, World Fantasy Award–winning author. He currently writes a monthly comics column for Bookslut.com and the yearly summation on comics/graphic novels for The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror from St. Martin's Press, in addition to commenting on comics on his VanderWorld blog. He is the author of City of Saints and Madmen, Shriek: An Afterword, and Veniss Underground, among other works. VanderMeer frequently collaborates with artists on his projects, including The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases.

Publishers wanting to submit entries for the judges to consider should send one copy each of the comics or books to be considered and include a cover letter indicating what is being submitted and in what categories. The tentative categories include best single issue, best short story, best continuing comic book series (at least two issues must have been published in 2006), best limited comic book series (at least half of the series must have been published in 2006), best new series, best title aimed at a younger audience, best humor publication, best anthology, best graphic album—new material, best graphic album—reprint, best reality-based work, best archival collection, best U.S. edition of foreign material, best writer, best writer/artist, best penciler/inker (individual or team), best painter (interior art), best lettering, best coloring, best comics-related book, best comics journalism periodical or website, and best publication design. The cover letter should include both a mailing address and an e-mail address.

Publishers may submit a maximum of five items for any one category, and the same item or person can be submitted for more than one category. Each imprint, line, or subsidiary of a publisher may submit its own set of entries. There are no entry fees.

Creators can submit materials for consideration if: (a) their publisher is no longer in business; (b) their publisher is unlikely to have participated in the nomination process; or (c) they have severed connections with the publisher or have similar reasons for believing that their publisher is unlikely to consider nominating them or their work.

All submissions should be sent to Jackie Estrada, Eisner Awards Administrator, 4657 Cajon Way, San Diego, CA 92115, before the deadline of March 16.

Entries are also being accepted for the category of best webcomic. This category is open to any professionally produced long-form original comics work posted online in 2006. Webcomics must have a unique domain name or be part of a larger comics community to be considered. The work must be online-exclusive for a significant period prior to being collected in print form. The URL and any necessary access information should be emailed to jackiee@mindspring.com.

The Eisner Award nominees will be announced in late April, and ballots will go out in May to some 4,000 creators, editors, publishers, distributors, and retailers. The results will be announced by celebrity presenters at the gala awards ceremony on the evening of July 27 at Comic-Con International in San Diego.

Further information on the Eisner Awards can be found at http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_eisners_main.shtml

Anyone with questions about submitting entries for the awards can e-mail Ms. Estrada at jackiee@mindspring.com or call her at (619) 286-1591.