The five finalists for this year’s Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics have been announced. The selection committee consisted of nine comics and animation professionals who personally knew and worked with Mr. McDuffie and/or have demonstrated a serious commitment to his vision of excellence and inclusiveness on the page and behind the scenes, Cheryl Lynn Eaton, Jennier de Guzman, Joan Hilty, Jamal Igle, Mikki Kendall, Heidi MacDonald, Kevin Rubio, Geoffrey Thorne, and Will J. Watkins.

The winner will be announced live at an awards ceremony at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, February 15 at 7:30pm PT and serving as the closing ceremony of the 2019 C3: Comic Creator Conference. Phil LaMarr will return as the Master of Ceremonies.

Below are this year’s nominees. Congrats to all:

• Papa Cherry — written by Saxton Moore and illustrated by Phillip Johnson
• Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles — written by Mark Russell and penciled by Mike Feehan
• Archival Quality — written by Ivy Noelle Weir and illustrated by Christina Stewart
• Victor Lavalle’s Destroyer — written by Victor LaValle and illustrated by Dietrich Smith
• The Carpet Merchant — by Reimena Yee