Eisner Excitement

The 2024 Eisner Award Nominees were announced in May with some fabulous works getting the attention they so richly deserve. Voting for winners ended June 30th and winners were announced July 26th. Lists for nominations and winners can be found on ipage under High Interest Categories, Award & Noteworthy. As librarians and book people are curious folk, you may wonder just where this award came from? Look no further, here is the condensed version.

Who is Will Eisner? 

The Eisner Awards are named for Will Eisner. Born in Brooklyn, New York on March 6, 1917, to immigrant parents from Eastern Europe. He grew up poor but with his father’s artistic touch, much to his mother’s dismay. One of the earlier American cartoonists and a pioneer in the comic book industry, Eisner has been referred to as the Godfather of the Graphic Novel. Eisner is credited with popularizing the term graphic novel with his 1978 book A Contract with God. You may know of a little series he created called The Spirit that first appeared in 1940 and continued through 1952. And he was also one of the three inaugural inductees to the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.

Who Does the Award Recognize? 

The Eisner Award itself recognizes achievements in many different categories of the comics medium. These include Best New Series; Best Humor Publication; and Best Coloring, just to name a few. The first award was given in 1988 (along with the Harvey Awards) in response to the end of the Kirby Awards in 1987. Nominations in each category are created by a five-to-six-member jury. This jury often consists of at least one comic retailer, one librarian, and one academic researcher. Those nominations chosen by the jury are then voted on by comic book professionals. The awards are presented at San Diego Comic-Con International.

Some past winners include Alan Moore’s Watchmen; American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang; March (books two and three), by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell; Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe; George Takei’s They Called Us Enemy; Hot Comb by Ebony Flowers; Salt Magic by Hope Larson and Rebecca Monk; and Bone by Jeff Smith. These graphic works are just a taste of the richness and depth graphic novels have in store for the consumers of such literature. Many nominees and winners have gone on to become adaptions for movies and television series, such as Ennis’s Preacher; Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite by Way and Bá; and The Walking Dead by Kirkman and Adlard. Personally, I would love to see Saga by Vaughan and Staples adapted to the screen.

Eisner left us in 2005, but his award leaves us a legacy to explore, cherish, and enjoy. I encourage you to check out winners and nominees from previous years as well the current slate of works. And there is a plethora of information on the Eisner Awards website if you want to go more in-depth.

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