The Inkwell Awards, a non-profit organization devoted to the art of inking, will be revealing the unique results of its fifth annual Joe Sinnott Inking Challenge in a series of fund-raising online auctions beginning Saturday, April 11. This is the ‘main event’ to the recently announced Sinnott Spring Celebration of auctions running from March through May containing Joe Sinnott donations.

To best exhibit what inkers do, industry legend Joe Sinnott pencilled a drawing of Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man, as well as a “breakdown”, or rough sketch, of its most popular X-Man, Wolverine. His art was scanned and sent in blue-line form to various inkers around the globe. The ink artists were invited to embellish the Silver Age great, whether staying faithful to his original lines or reinterpreting them. All resulted in unique pieces of comic art.. Most also sport a classic, hand-lettered logo to resemble a cover.

The list of ink artists contributing their skills is the longest ever and includes: Andy Smith, Dan Parsons, Mark Pennington, Jack Purcell, John Dell, Keith Williams, Mark McKenna, Neil Vokes, Bob Wiacek and many other professionals as well as eager and skilled amateurs. (The list changes each year.)

All submitted art, from last year’s to the current pieces, can be viewed at The Inkwell’s ComicArtFans gallery. All pieces for this challenge are personally signed by the generous Mr. Sinnott and include a certificate of authenticity. The first wave of inked blue-line original art from this Challenge will be on the auction block beginning Saturday, April 11 at the Inkwells’ eBay store. Subsequent waves will begin each week thereafter. The art will later be collected into book form.

The Inkwell Awards also offers Sinnott Inking Challenge book collections of previous art with various editions available for donations to the organization. Prices and availability of these and other merchandise can be found at the Inkwells’ Web Store.

The Inkwell Awards is an official 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and promote the art form of comic-book inking, as well as annually recognize and award the best ink artists and their work. Now in its seventh year, the organization is overseen by a committee of industry professionals and assisted by various professional ambassadors and numerous contributors. They sponsor the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund for the Kubert School and host the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award.