Moderator Justin Hall (No Straight Lines; Professor, California College of the Arts) and a diverse panel of queer comics creators explore comics as a source of social power and community. Are comics mightier than the sword? Can comics change hearts and minds and entertain at the same time? Now more than ever, LQBTQ+ comic creators are claiming their diverse identities, writing their own stories, and using the art form to build empathy and inclusion.
The panel takes place online on March 27 at 11 am PT. You can catch it here, click on “LGBTQ+ Comics and Social Activism”
Prism Comics, The Queer Comics Expo and the Cartoon Art Museum have announced the Nominees for the Third Annual Prism Awards. The winners of this year’s Prism Awards and Prism Award Honorees will be announced at the Prism Awards presentation at San Diego Comic-Con, Thursday, July 18 through Sunday, July 21, 2019. The day and time of the presentation will be posted when Comic-Con programming schedule is published in early July.
The Prism Awards are presented to comic works by queer authors and works that promote the growing body of diverse, powerful, innovative, positive or challenging representations of LGBTQAI+ characters in fiction or nonfiction comics. The goal of the Awards is to recognize, promote and celebrate diversity and excellence in the field of queer comics, and the nominees and awards are voted on by a diverse group comics professionals, educators, librarians, journalists and writers.
Announcing the Nominees for the 2019 Prism Awards.
Small To Midsize Press Nominees: It Will Be Hard by Hien Pham(self published) Meal by Blue Delliquanti and Soleil Ho (Iron Circus) The Lie and How We Told It by Tommy Parish (Fantagraphics)
Mainstream Nominees: Runaways #12by Rainbow Rowell, Kris Anka, Matthew Wilson and Joe Carmagna (Marvel) Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles #6by Mark Russell, Brandee Stilwell, Paul Mounts, Jeremy Lawson, Rose Campbell, Ben Caldwell, Mark Morales, Gus Vazquez, Sean Parsons and Mike Feehan (DC) Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compassby Lilah Sturges, polterink, and Jim Campbell (Boom! Studios)
Below is the group of fifteen judges who read and evaluated this year’s submissions:
Short Form Judges: Mey Valdivia Rude (writer at them, Autostraddle) Joamette Gil (Heartwood: Non-binary Tales of Sylvan Fantasy) Sfé R. Monster (The Beyond Anthologies)
Webcomic Judges: Matt Lubchansky (The Nib) Ajuan Mance (Gender Studies) Zora Gilbert (Dates: An Anthology of Queer Historical Fiction Stories, Books 1 and 2)
Small to Midsize Press Comic Judges: Juliette Capra (Crowded) Noella Whitney (Dates: An Anthology of Queer Historical Fiction Stories, Book 2 ) Heidi MacDonald (editor-in-chief of Comicsbeat)
Mainstream Publisher Comic Judges: Brian Andersen (Stripling Warrior) AJ Real (writer, Advanced Death Saves) Jack Baur (Librarian, Berkeley Public Library)
Anthology Judges: e jackson (Flux) Hazel Newlevant (Sugar Town) Rob McMonigal (founder and head writer at Panel Patter)
The Prism Awards Organizing Team: Ted Abenheim (Prism Comics) Nina Taylor Kester (Queer Comics Expo, Cartoon Art Museum) Maia Kobabe (Gender Queer: A Memoir)
The Prism Awards are presented annually by The Cartoon Art Museum, Prism Comics, and The Queer Comics Expo to both fiction and non-fiction comics works by queer authors. The goals of the Awards are to recognize and celebrate diversity and excellence in the field of queer comics and to promote powerful, innovative, positive, challenging stories and representations of LGBTQAI+ characters.
One award will be given in each of the following categories: Best Short Form Comic, Best Webcomic, Best Comic From A Small To Midsize Press, Best Comic From A Mainstream Publisher and Best Comic Anthology. Finalists will also receive recognition.
Eligible work must have been made or first published between January 1 and December 31, 2018 and never before submitted to these Awards. All submissions will be reviewed by an impartial panel of judges made up of professionals in the field of comics, including authors, scholars, reviewers and librarians.
THE SUBMISSION PERIOD FOR THE PRISM AWARDS CLOSES FEBRUARY 15, 2019 AT 11:59 PM PST. Three Nominees in each category for the Prism Awards will be announced at the Queer Comics Expo in the San Francisco in April 2019 (dates to be announced). Winners and Honorable Mention will be announced at Comic-Con International San Diego, Thursday, July 18 – Sunday, July 21, 2019 (date to be announced).
Additional information and guidelines for submission can be found here.
SUBMISSION ARE ALSO OPEN FOR THE 2019 PRISM COMICS QUEER PRESS GRANT.
The Grant is awarded annually to help emerging independent queer comic book creators publish and promote their comics. Since its inception, the Queer Press Grant has fostered many important works representing excellence and diversity in LGBTQAI+ comics:
Comic books, comic strips, webcomics and graphic novel projects are all eligible. Entries are judged first and foremost by artistic merit and contributions to the LGBTQAI+ community, followed by evaluation of financial need and proposal presentation.
SUBMISSIONS FOR THE QUEER PRESS GRANT CLOSE AT 5 PM PST ON MARCH 1, 2019. Entries are judged first and foremost by artistic merit, followed by concerns such as financial need, proposal presentation, and the project’s contribution to the LGBT community. The judges also lean towards projects that are more fully realized — we want to see many pages of sequential art, rather than an idea with sketches. The Queer Press Grant is awarded to an amateur artist who hasn’t yet gotten a mainstream publisher. They are reviewed by the Prism Board, past recipients of the Grant and Prism’s Advisory Board.
The Recipient of the Grant will be announced at one of Prism Comics’ panels at Wondercon Anaheim– March 29 – March 31, 2019 at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, California.
Prism Comics and the Cartoon Art Museum have announced the Winners of the Second Annual Prism Awards. The Awards announcements took place at the Prism Awards panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2018 on Saturday July 21, 2018.
Prism Awards Chairperson, Maia Kobabe, moderated the panel which included Prism Awards Founders Ted Abenheim and Nina L. Taylor Kester and judges Ajuan Mance; William O. Tyler, Heidi McDonald, Mey Rude, and Rob McMonigal.
The ceremony began by re-announcing winners from last year’s 2017 Prism Awards and honoring the judges of this year’s awards. As the 2018 nominees and winners were announced, Molly Ostertag and Zora Gilbert accepted winning their 2018 Prism Awards in person with heartfelt speeches on the importance of the awards to themselves and the community at large. Videos were presented to the audience for acceptance speeches by those 2018 winners who were unable to be present in person, including Blue Delliquanti, Noella Whitney, Weshoyot Alvitre and Daniel Heath Justice .
The Prism Awards are presented to comic works by queer authors and works that promote the growing body of diverse, powerful, innovative, positive or challenging representations of LGBTQAI+ characters in fiction or nonfiction comics. In keeping with the creative spirit of LGBTQAI+ comics creators, the Awards themselves are hand-crafted with design by Nina L. Taylor Kester including a glass rainbow by Amy Karadbil and etched comic book base by Barry Figgins.
The panel closed with encouragement for submissions for the 2019 Prism Awards which will open next Spring 2019 and will be announced through the Prism Comics website. TheQueer Comics Expo in partnership with the Cartoon Art Museum which held the first Prism Awards ceremony in 2017 was also announced to return in 2019 with newsletter signups for updates.
The Winners and Nominees for the 2018 Prism Awards are:
WEBCOMICS – WINNER: O Human Starby Blue Delliquanti, (excerpts from 2017) NOMINEES: Cans of Beans chapter 9 by Tamara Go, 2017 SuperButch Issue 1by Becky Hawkins and Barry Deutsch, 2017 Monster Pop! by Maya Kern, (excerpt from 2017) Superpose by Ciaran and Anka C, (excerpt from August 2017 – November 2017)
SMALL TO MIDSIZE PRESS COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS WINNER: The Boys Who Became Hummingbirds by Daniel Heath Justice and Weshoyot Alvitre, Alternate History Comics Inc., June 2017 NOMINEES: Steam Clean by Laura Ķeniņš, May 2017 My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris, Fantagraphics, February 2017
MAIN STREAM COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS – WINNER: The Witch Boyby Molly Knox Ostertag, Scholastic Graphix, 2017 NOMINEES: Icemanby Sina Grace (writer), Alessandro Vitti (artist), Kevin Wada (artist), Marvel Comics, 2017 Heavy Vinylby Carly Usdin (Writer), Nina Vakueva (Pencils), Irene Flores (Inker), Rebecca Nalty (Colorist), Jim Campbell (Letterer), Boom Studios, 2017
Prism Comics and the Cartoon Art Museum have announced the nominees for the Second Annual Prism Awards. The winners of this year’s Prism Awards and Prism Award Honorees will be announced at the Prism Awards panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday July 21, 2018 from 8–9pm in Room 29AB. Admission to Comic-Con International San Diego is required to attend the Prism Awards panel.
The Prism Awards are presented to comic works by queer authors and works that promote the growing body of diverse, powerful, innovative, positive or challenging representations of LGBTQAI+ characters in fiction or nonfiction comics. The goal of the Awards is to recognize, promote and celebrate diversity and excellence in the field of queer comics, and the nominees and awards are voted on by a diverse group comics professionals, educators, librarians, journalists and writers.
Webcomics: Cans of Beans, chapter 9 by Tamara Go, 2017 SuperButch Issue 1by Becky Hawkins and Barry Deutsch, 2017 Monster Pop! by Maya Kern, (excerpt from 2017) O Human Starby Blue Delliquanti, (excerpts from 2017) Superposeby Ciaran and Anka C, (excerpt from August 2017-November 2017)
Prism Comics and the Queer Comics Expo have announced the finalists for the first annual Prism Awards! The Prism Awards are being established this year (2017) to recognize, promote and celebrate diversity and excellence in the field of queer comics. The panel of 12 expert judges have selected several works in each category which expand the growing body of diverse, powerful, innovative, positive or challenging representations of LGBTQAI+ characters in fiction and nonfiction comics. The winners in each category will be announced at a ceremony at the Queer Comics Expo on Saturday July 8th, starting at 4pmat the SOMArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan St, San Francisco.
Check out the list below for the nominees and congrats to everyone involved and nominated!
BEST COMIC FROM A SMALL TO MIDSIZE PRESS FINALISTS
Destiny, NY Volume One: Who I Used to Be by Pat Shand (Writer), Manuel Preitano (Artist), Jim Campbell (Letterer), and Shannon Lee (Editor) https://www.storenvy.com/stores/980896-continuity-entertainment Short Gay Stories by H-P Lehkonen http://hplehkonen.com/ Active Voice The Comic Collection by P. Kristen Enos (writer), Heidi Ho (contributing writer), Casandra Grullon (artist), Derek Chua (artist), Leesamarie Croal (artist), Beth Varni (artist), and Dan Parent (cover art) http://www.pkristenenos.com/avgraphicnovel/
BEST SINGLE ISSUE FROM A MAINSTREAM PUBLISHER FINALISTS
Rob McMonigal is a nonbinary writer who lives in Portland Oregon with too many cats and is the head writer of the Eisner Nominated comics review site, www.panelpatter.com.
Ajuan Mance is a genderqueer nerd, a Professor at Mills College, the author of Inventing Black Women and Proud Legacy, the editor of the anthology Before There Was Harlem, and the creator of the portrait series 1001 Black Men. http://8-rock.com/
Kirwan McHarry authored “Border Dwellers in Boys’ Love Manga” in On the Edge of the Panel (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015), and co-edited a special section on BL manga for the Journal of Graphic Novels ! and Comics (4:1: 1-8). http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21504857.2013.793207
Jon Erik Christianson is a comics journalist who aspires to Lois Lane greatness (in a universe where she’s given her due credit). https://twitter.com/HonestlyJon
Jack Baur is a Teen Services Librarian at the Berkeley Public Library, and the co-host of the (erratically updated) In the Library With a Comic Book podcast, available at http://inthelibrarywithacomicbook.org.
AJ Real is an educator, QPOC, blue lantern, Hufflepuff, games enthusiast, and Pokémon master. He can be found online wherever evil and heteronormativity must be vanquished. https://twitter.com/darkshifter
Mel Reiff Hill is the illustrator and co-author of the GENDER book, an illustrated gender 101 for everyone! Find more of their work online at rowdyferret.com
Nia King is the the author of Queer & Trans Artists of Color, Volumes 1 & 2 and the host and producer of We Want the Airwaves podcast. Artactivistnia.weebly.com
Brian Andersen is a life-long comic book lovin’ gay geek, a contributor to The Advocate and writer of “Stripling Warrior,” featuring gay Mormon superheroes. http://www.sosuperduper.com/
Heidi MacDonald is the editor in chief of Comics Beat, an awarding winning site about graphic novels. comicsbeat.com
Mey Rude is a bi, trans Chicana and is a writer/editor at Autostraddle and consults on and edits comic books. https://twitter.com/meyrude
William O. Tyler is the creator of WoT’s Cinephilia, a webcomic that studies the love of movies and how they shape us. williamotyler.com
The recipient of the 2017 Prism Comics Queer Press Grant was announced at the Queers, Comics & Social Justice panel by Prism Comics Queer Press Grant chair Elizabeth Beier, at Wondercon.
This year’s winner is Tee Franklin for Bingo Love. Tee hopes her story will let Black youth know it’s okay to be queer, and strongly represent seniors.
The Queer Press Grant is awarded to assist comics creators in self-publishing comics with LGBT characters or themes. Entries are judged first and foremost by artistic merit, followed by concerns such as financial need, proposal presentation, and the project’s contribution to the LGBT community. They are reviewed by the Prism Board, past recipients of the Grant, and Prism’s Advisory Board.
The recipient of the 2016 Prism Comics Queer Press Grant was announced at the ALPHABET -10 Years of the Prism Comics Queer Press Grant panel by Prism Comics Queer Press Grant chair Jon Macy, at WonderCon. This year was a tie between Catherine Esguerra for Eighty Days and Elizabeth Beier for I Like Your Headband.
The Queer Press Grant is awarded to assist comics creators in self publishing comics with LGBT characters or themes. Entries are judged first and foremost by artistic merit, followed by concerns such as financial need, proposal presentation, and the project’s contribution to the LGBT community. They are reviewed by the Prism Board, past recipients of the Grant, and Prism’s Advisory Board.
The Queer Press Grant is an all volunteer organization funded entirely by donations from comic book professionals and readers. Since its inception, the Queer Press Grant has been awarded to –
2005: Steve MacIsaac – Shiftlifter 2010: Jon Macy – Fearful Hunter 2006: Megan Gedris – YU+ME 2011: Robert Kirby – Three 2007: Justin Hall – True Travel Tales 2012: Christine Smith – The Princess 2007: Tommy Roddy – Pride High 2012: Blue Delliquanti – O Human Star 2008: Pam Harrison – House of the Muses 2013: Hazel Newlevant – If This Be Sin 2009: Ed Luce – Wuvable Oaf 2014: Calvin Gimplevich 2009: Eric Orner – Storybox 2014:Emiliano Quale 2010: Tana Ford – Duck2015: Dave Davenport -Stray Bullet
Prism Comics has been working hard to promote the queer comics reading experience. To that end they have teamed up with Stacked Deck Press to bring you a new LGBT comics project. A benefit book to raise funds for the annual Queer Press Grant that helps LGBT comic book self publishers.
In a release, Jon Macy Prism Comics Queer Press Grant chair said:
This is going to be a great anthology with many established comics creators as well as fresh and exciting new voices. Yes, the ultimate goal is to raise money for the grant, but my secret agenda has always been to find a way to promote the many amazing artists that have submitted exceptional proposals over the years. I want to give them the chance to show off their talents in a sweet full color hardback book. Doing this really makes us happy.
The queer publishing world is a small one, and not what it was even ten years ago. Many small presses have gone under, and it has become harder and harder for new LGBT comics creators to find publishers. One of Prism’s own is stepping up to create Stacked Deck Press, an all-inclusive publishing house that focuses on gender, sexual, regional, and ethnic diversity among creators, and diversity of style and genre in story content. Alphabet will be their first book.
Tara Avery, Publisher of Stacked Deck Press, said:
We wanted to highlight the many varieties of the LGBTQ experience and in recent years the queer comics movement has gained visibility from coast to coast. Alphabet is an attempt to bring cartoonists together that represent a broad cross-section of our community and culture.
Alphabet the LGBTQAI cartoonists from Prism Comics to benefit the Queer Press Grant will debut at Wondercon 2016, March 25-27 at the Los Angeles convention center in California. Look for their crowd funding campaign coming in October.
The recipient of the 2015 Prism Comics Queer Press Grant was announced at the It’s A Queer, Queer World panel by Prism president Ted Abenheim, at WonderCon. Dave Davenport, a talented veteran of queer comics, was awarded the QPG for his forthcoming graphic novel Stray Bullet.
Stray Bullet is a story about HIV and the hope for the future. It’s “something serious told in a playful way.”
The Queer Press Grant is awarded to assist comics creators in self publishing comics with LGBT characters or themes. Entries are judged first and foremost by artistic merit, followed by concerns such as financial need, proposal presentation, and the project’s contribution to the LGBT community. They are reviewed by the Prism Board, past recipients of the Grant, and Prism’s Advisory Board.
The Queer Press Grant is an all volunteer organization funded entirely by donations from comic book professionals and readers. Since its inception, the Queer Press Grant has been awarded to –
2005: Steve MacIsaac – Shiftlifter 2010: Tana Ford – Duck 2006: Megan Gedris – YU+ME 2010: Jon Macy – Fearful Hunter 2007: Justin Hall – True Travel Tales 2011: Robert Kirby – Three 2007: Tommy Roddy – Pride High 2012: Christine Smith – The Princess 2008: Pam Harrison – House of the Muses 2012: Blue Delliquanti – O Human Star 2009: Ed Luce – Wuvable Oaf 2013: Hazel Newlevant – If This Be Sin 2009: Eric Orner – Storybox 2014: Calvin Gimplevich/Emiliano Quale
Prism Comics is an all volunteer organization dedicated to promoting LGBTQ comics. You can help greatly by making a donation to the Queer Press Grant.
Prism Comics and the Cartoon Art Museum have announced the Winners of the Second Annual Prism Awards. The Awards announcements took place at the Prism Awards panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2018 on Saturday July 21, 2018.
Prism Comics
