2021 Eisner Award Winners Include Black Widow, Jimmy Olsen, Usagi Yojimbo

Best Continuing Series

• Bitter Root, by David F. Walker, Chuck Brown, and Sanford Greene (Image)
• Daredevil, by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto (Marvel)
• The Department of Truth, by James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds (Image)
• Gideon Falls, by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino (Image)
• Stillwater, by Chip Zdarsky and Ramón K Pérez (Image/Skybound)
• WINNER: Usagi Yojimbo, by Stan Sakai (IDW)

Best Single Issue

• The Burning Hotels, by Thomas Lampion (Birdcage Bottom Books)
• Hedra, by Jesse Lonergan (Image)
• The Other History of the DC Universe #1, by John Ridley and Giuseppe Camuncoli (DC)
• WINNER: Sports Is Hell, by Ben Passmore (Koyama Press)
• Stanley's Ghost: A Halloween Adventure, by Jeff Balke, Paul Storrie, and Dave Alvarez (Storm Kids)

Best Limited Series

• Barbalien: Red Planet, by Jeff Lemire, Tate Brombal, and Gabriel Hernandez Walta (Dark Horse)
• Decorum, by Jonathan Hickman and Mike Huddleston (Image)
• Far Sector, by N. K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell (DC)
• Strange Adventures, by Tom King, Mitch Gerads, and Evan "Doc" Shaner (DC Black Label)
• WINNER: Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, by Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber (DC)
• We Live, by Inaki Miranda and Roy Miranda (AfterShock)

Best New Series

• WINNER: Black Widow, by Kelly Thompson and Elena Casagrande (Marvel)
• Crossover, by Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (Image)
• The Department of Truth, by James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds (Image)
• Killadelphia, by Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander (Image)
• We Only Find Them When They're Dead, by Al Ewing and Simone Di Meo (BOOM! Studios)

Best Writer

• Ed Brubaker, Pulp, Reckless (Image); Friday (Panel Syndicate)
• Matt Fraction, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen (DC); Adventureman, November vols. 2–3, Sex Criminals (Image)
• Jonathan Hickman, Decorum (Image); Giant-Size X-Men, X-Men (Marvel)
• Jeff Lemire, Barbalien, Black Hammer, Colonel Weird: Cosmagog (Dark Horse); The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage (DC Black Label); Family Tree, Gideon Falls (Image)
• WINNER: James Tynion IV, Something Is Killing the Children, Wynd (BOOM! Studios); Batman (DC); The Department of Truth (Image); Razorblades (Tiny Onion)
• Chip Zdarsky, Stillwater (Image/Skybound), Daredevil, Fantastic Four/X-Men (Marvel)

Best Writer/Artist

• WINNER: Junji Ito, Remina, Venus in the Blind Spot (VIZ Media)
• Pascal Jousselin, Mister Invincible: Local Hero (Magnetic Press)
• Trung Le Nguyen, The Magic Fish (RH Graphic/RH Children's Books)
• Craig Thompson, Ginseng Roots (Uncivilized)
• Adrian Tomine, The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Gene Luen Yang, Dragon Hoops (First Second/Macmillan)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team

• WINNER: Michael Allred, Bowie: Stardust, Rayguns & Moonage Daydreams (Insight Editions)
• Marco Chechetto, Daredevil (Marvel)
• Jorge Corona, Middlewest (Image)
• Bertrand Gatignol, Pistouvi (Magnetic Press)
• Mitch Gerads/Evan "Doc" Shaner, Strange Adventures (DC Black Label)
• Sanford Greene, Bitter Root (Image)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)

• Benjamin Adam, Soon (Europe Comics)
• Alice Chemama, The Zolas (Europe Comics)
• Jared Cullum, Kodi (Top Shelf)
• Decur, When You Look Up (Enchanted Lion Books)
• Antonio Lapone, Gentlemind (Europe Comics)
• WINNER: Anand RK/John Pearson, Blue in Green (Image)

Best Cover Artist

• Jamal Campbell, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (BOOM! Studios); Far Sector (DC)
• Simone Di Meo, We Only Find Them When They're Dead (BOOM! Studio)
• Mike Huddleston, Decorum (Image)
• Dave Johnson, Butcher of Paris (Dark Horse)
• WINNER: Peach Momoko, Buffy the Vampire Slayer #19, Mighty Morphin #2, Something Is Killing the Children #12, Power Rangers #1 (BOOM! Studios); DIE!namite, Vampirella (Dynamite); The Crow: Lethe (IDW); Marvel Variants (Marvel)
• Ramón K. Pérez, Stillwater (Image/Skybound)

Best Coloring

• WINNER: Laura Allred, X-Ray Robot (Dark Horse); Bowie: Stardust, Rayguns & Moonage Daydreams (Insight Editions)
• Jean-Francois Beaulieu, Middlewest (Image)
  Gipi, One Story (Fantagraphics)
• Marte Gracia, Empyre, X of Swords (Marvel)
• Dave Stewart, Promethee 13:13 (comiXology); Black Hammer (Dark Horse); Gideon Falls (Image); Spider-Man #4-#5 (Marvel)
• Matt Wilson, Undiscovered Country (Image); Fire Power (Image/Skybound); Thor (Marvel)

Best Lettering

• Mike Allred, Bowie: Stardust, Rayguns & Moonage Daydreams (Insight Editions)
  Deron Bennett, Bear, The Sacrifice of Darkness (Archaia); King of Nowhere, Something Is Killing the Children, We Only Find Them When They're Dead (BOOM! Studios); Far Sector, Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red, Martian Manhunter (DC); Excellence (Image/Skybound); A Dark Interlude, Dark One, Relics of Youth, Resonant, Shadow Service, Vampire: The Masquerade: Winter's Teeth (Vault); Ping Pong (VIZ Media)
• Aditya Bidikar, Barbalien: Red Planet, Grafity's Wall Expanded Edition (Dark Horse); John Constantine, Hellblazer (DC); A Map to the Sun (First Second); The Department of Truth, Lost Soldiers (Image); Giga, The Picture of Everything Else (Vault)
• Clayton Cowles, Aquaman, Batman, Batman and the Outsiders, Strange Adventures, Superman: Man of Tomorrow, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen (DC); Adventureman, Bitter Root, Bog Bodies, Die (Image); Reaver (Image/Skybound); Morbius, X Of Swords (Marvel)
• WINNER: Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo (IDW)
• Rus Wooton, Wonder Woman: Dead Earth (DC); Decorum, Monstress (Image); Die!Die!Die!, Fire Power, Oblivion Song, Outcast, Stillwater (Image/Skybound)

Best Digital Comic

• WINNER: Friday, by Ed Brubaker and Marcos Martin (Panel Syndicate)
• Genius Animals? by Vali Chandrasekaran and Jun-Pierre Shiozawa, geniusanimals.net
• Gentlemind, by Juan Díaz Canales, Teresa Valero, and Antonio Lapone, translation by Jeremy Melloul (Europe Comics)
• Promethee 13:13, by Andy Diggle and Shawn Martinbrough (comiXology Originals/Delcourt)
• Olive, by Véro Cazot and Lucy Mazel, translation by Jessie Aufiery (Europe Comics)
• Soon, by Thomas Cadène and Benjamin Adam, translation by Margaret Besser (Europe Comics)

Best Webcomic

• BFF, by Clément C. Fabre, Joseph Saffiedine, and Thomas Cadène, translation by Emma Wilson
• WINNER: Crisis Zone, by Simon Hanselmann
• DPS! Only, by Vel
• Isle of Elsi, by Alec Longstreth
• The Kiss Bet, by Ingrid Ochoa
• The Middle Age, by Steve Conley

Best Short Story

• "Garden Boys" by Henry McCausland, in Now #8 (Fantagraphics)
• "I Needed the Discounts" by Connor Willumsen, in The New York Times (January 3, 2020)
• "Parts of Us," by Chan Chau, in Elements: Earth, A Comic Anthology by Creators of Color (Ascend Press)
• "Rookie," by Greg Rucka and Eduardo Risso, in Detective Comics #1027 (DC)
• "Soft Lead," by Chan Chau
• WINNER: "When the Menopausal Carnival Comes to Town," by Mimi Pond, in Menopause: A Comic Treatment (Graphic Medicine/Pennsylvania State University Press)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8)

• Bear, by Ben Queen and Joe Todd-Stanton (Archaia/BOOM!)
• Cat Kid Comic Club, by Dav Pilkey (Scholastic Graphix)
• Donut Feed the Squirrels, by Mika Song (RH Graphic/RH Children's Books)
• Kodi, by Jared Cullum (Top Shelf)
• Lift, by Minh Lê and Dan Santat (Little, Brown Young Readers)
• WINNER: Our Little Kitchen, by Jillian Tamaki (Abrams Books for Young Readers)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 9-12)

• Doodleville, by Chad Sell (Knopf/BFYR/RH Children's Books)
• Go with the Flow, by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann (First Second/Macmillan)
• Mister Invincible: Local Hero, by Pascal Jousselin (Magnetic Press)
• Snapdragon, by Kat Leyh (First Second/Macmillan)
• WINNER: Superman Smashes the Klan, by Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru (DC)
• Twins, by Varian Johnson and Shannon Wright (Scholastic Graphix)

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)

• Check, Please! Book 2: Sticks & Scones, by Ngozi Ukazu (First Second/Macmillan)
• Displacement, by Kiku Hughes (First Second/Macmillan)
• WINNER: Dragon Hoops, by Gene Luen Yang (First Second/Macmillan)
• Fights: One Boy's Triumph Over Violence, by Joel Christian Gill (Oni Press)
• A Map to the Sun, by Sloane Leong (First Second/Macmillan)
• When Stars are Scattered, by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed (Dial Books)

Best Humor Publication

• The Complete Fante Bukowski, by Noah Van Sciver (Fantagraphics)
• Department of Mind-Blowing Theories, by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly)
• FANGS, by Sarah Andersen (Andrews McMeel)
• Wendy, Master of Art, by Walter Scott (Drawn & Quarterly)
• WINNER: Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, by Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber (DC)
• What If We Were . . ., by Axelle Lenoir (Top Shelf)

Best Anthology

• Ex Mag, vols. 1–2, edited by Wren McDonald (PEOW)
• Guantanamo Voices: True Accounts from the World's Most Infamous Prison, edited by Sarah Mirk (Abrams)
• Hey, Amateur! Go From Novice to Nailing It in 9 Panels, edited and curated by
• Shelly Bond (IDW Black Crown)
• Los Angeles Times, edited by Sammy Harkham (NTWRK)
• WINNER: Menopause: A Comic Treatment, edited by MK Czerwiec (Graphic Medicine/Pennsylvania State University Press)
• Now, edited by Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)

Best Reality-Based Work

• Big Black: Stand at Attica, by Frank "Big Black" Smith, Jared Reinmuth, and Améziane (Archaia/BOOM!)
• Dragon Hoops, by Gene Luen Yang (First Second/Macmillan)
• Invisible Differences: A Story of Asperger's, Adulting, and Living a Life in Full Color, by Mme Caroline and Julie Dachez, translation by Edward Gauvin (Oni Press)
• WINNER: Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio, by Derf Backderf (Abrams)
• Paying the Land, by Joe Sacco (Metropolitan/Henry Holt)
• Year of the Rabbit, by Tian Veasna, translation by Helge Dascher (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Graphic Memoir

• Banned Book Club, by Kim Hyun Sook, Ryan Estrada, and Ko Hyung-Ju (Iron Circus)
• Dancing After TEN: A Graphic Memoir, by Vivian Chong and Georgia Webber (Fantagraphics)
• Ginseng Roots, by Craig Thompson (Uncivilized)
• I Don't Know How to Give Birth! by Ayami Kazama, translated by Julie Goniwich (Yen Press)
• WINNER: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist, by Adrian Tomine (Drawn & Quarterly)
• When Stars Are Scattered, by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed (Dial Books)

Best Graphic Album—New

• The Book Tour, by Andi Watson (Top Shelf)
• Dragman, by Steven Appleby (Metropolitan)
• Flake, by Matthew Dooley (Jonathan Cape)
• Labyrinth, by Ben Argon (Abrams)
• Paul at Home, by Michel Rabagliati, translation by Helge Dascher and Rob Aspinall (Drawn & Quarterly)
• WINNER: Pulp, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint

• Black Hammer Library Edition, vol. 2, by Jeff Lemire, Dean Ormstom, Emi Lenox, and Rich Tommaso (Dark Horse)
• Criminal Deluxe Edition, vol. 3, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)
• Eight-Lane Runaways, by Henry McCausland (Fantagraphics)
• Fante Bukowski: The Complete Works, by Noah Van Sciver (Fantagraphics)
• Herobear and the Kid: The Heritage, by Mike Kunkel (Astonish Factory)
• WINNER: Seeds and Stems, by Simon Hanselmann (Fantagraphics)

Best Adaptation from Another Medium

• Constitution Illustrated, by R. Sikoryak (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Parable of the Sower: The Graphic Novel Adaptation, by Octavia E. Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy and John Jennings (Abrams)
• Sapiens: A Graphic History: The Birth of Mankind, vol. 1, by Yuval Noah Harari, adapted by David Vandermeulen and Daniel Casanave (Harper Perennial)
• Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, adapted by Ryan North and Albert Monteys (Archaia/BOOM!)
• WINNER: Superman Smashes the Klan, adapted by Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru (DC)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

• Altitude, by Olivier Bocquet and Jean-Marc Rochette, translation by Edward Gauvin (SelfMadeHero)
• Gamayun Tales I: An Anthology of Modern Russian Folk Tales, by Alexander Utkin, translation by Lada Morozova (Nobrow)
• WINNER: Goblin Girl, by Moa Romanova, translation by Melissa Bowers (Fantagraphics)
• Irena Books 2-3, by Jean-David Morvan, Severine Tréfouël, and David Evrard, translation by Dan Christensen (Magnetic Press)
• When You Look Up, by Decur, translation by Chloe Garcia Roberts (Enchanted Lion Books)
• The Winter of the Cartoonist, by Paco Roca, translation by Erica Mena (Fantagraphics)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia

• I Had That Same Dream Again, by Yoru Sumino and Idumi Kirihara, translation by Beni Axia Conrad (Seven Seas)
• I Wish I Could Say "Thank You," by Yukari Takinami, translation by Yukari Takeuchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
• A Journal Of My Father, by Jiro Taniguchi, translation by Kumar Sivasubramanian (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
• Ping Pong, vols. 1–2, by Taiyo Matsumoto, translation by Michael Arias (VIZ Media)
• WINNER: Remina, by Junji Ito, translation by Jocelyne Allen (VIZ Media)
• Spy x Family, vols. 1–3, by Tatsuya Endo, translation by Casey Loe (VIZ Media)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips

• WINNER: The Flapper Queens: Women Cartoonists of the Jazz Age, edited by Trina Robbins (Fantagraphics)
• Gross Exaggerations: The Meshuga Comic Strips of Milt Gross, by Milt Gross, edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press/IDW)
• Krazy & Ignatz 1919-1921 by George Herriman, edited by RJ Casey (Fantagraphics)
• Little Debbie and the Second Coming of Elmo: Daily Comic Strips, August 1960
• September 1961, by Cecil Jensen, edited by Frank Young (Labor of Love)
• Pogo The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips: Volume 7: Clean as a Weasel, by Walt Kelly, edited by Mark Evanier and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books

• Art Young's Inferno, by Art Young, edited by Glenn Bray (Fantagraphics)
• Atlas at War! edited by Michael J. Vassallo (Dead Reckoning)
• WINNER: The Complete Hate, by Peter Bagge, edited by Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
• Corto Maltese: The Ballad of the Salty Sea, by Hugo Pratt, translation by Dean Mullaney and Simone Castaldi (EuroComics/IDW)
• Little Lulu: The Fuzzythingus Poopi, by John Stanley, edited by Frank Young and Tom Devlin (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Man and Superman and Other Stories, by Harvey Kurtzman, edited by J. Michael Catron (Fantagraphics)

Best Comics-Related Journalism/Periodical

• Alter Ego, edited by Roy Thomas (TwoMorrows)
• Back Issue, edited by Michael Eury (TwoMorrows)
• The Comics Blog, by Michael Cavna and David Betancourt, https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/comics/
• The Comics Journal, edited by RJ Casey, Kristy Valenti, and Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
• PanelxPanel magazine, edited by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, PanelxPanel.com
• WINNER: Women Write About Comics, edited by Nola Pfau and Wendy Browne, www.WomenWriteAboutComics.com

Best Comics-Related Book

• American Daredevil: Comics, Communism, and the Battles of Lev Gleason, by Brett Dakin (Comic House/Lev Gleason)
• Ditko Shrugged: The Uncompromising Life of the Artist Behind Spider-Man and the Rise of Marvel Comics, by David Currie (Hermes Press)
• Drawing Fire: The Editorial Cartoons of Bill Mauldin, edited by Todd DePastino (Pritzker Military Museum & Library)
• The History of EC Comics, by Grant Geissman (TASCHEN)
• WINNER: Invisible Men: The Trailblazing Black Artists of Comic Books, by Ken Quattro (Yoe Books/IDW)
• Masters of British Comic Art, by David Roach (2000AD)

Best Academic/Scholarly Work

• Comic Art in Museums, edited by Kim A. Munson (University Press of Mississippi)
• Comic Studies: A Guidebook, edited by Charles Hatfield and Bart Beaty (Rutgers University Press)
• WINNER: The Content of Our Caricature: African American Comic Art and Political Belonging, by Rebecca Wanzo (New York University Press)
• Webcomics, by Sean Kleefeld (Bloomsbury)
• Who Understands Comics: Questioning the Universality of Visual Language Comprehension, by Neil Cohn (Bloomsbury)

Best Publication Design

• Chasin' the Bird: Charlie Parker in California deluxe edition, designed by David Chisholm and Tyler Boss (Z2 Comics)
• Dbury@50: The Complete Digital Doonesbury, by G.B. Trudeau, designed by George Corsillo and Susan McCaslin (Andrews McMeel)
• J & K, designed by John Pham (Fantagraphics)
• WINNER: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist, designed by Adrian Tomine and Tracy Huron (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Original Art: The Dan Clowes Studio Edition, designed by Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics)