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SPX 2023: Ignatz Award Winners Revealed

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2023 Ignatz Awards

During the Small Press Expo (SPX) taking place this weekend, the winners of the 2023 Ignatz Awards were announced. The Ignatz are a celebration of outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning.

Voting for the Ignatz Awards was open to anybody on the SPX email lists and anyone requesting a ballot. There was no in-person voting at the show, as voting for the prestigious Ignatz Awards was open to all fans of indie comics.

Ignatz Awards nominees are determined by a panel of comics professionals.

Congrats to all of the winners. They have been denoted in bold with “winner” added to their listing.

OUTSTANDING ARTIST

  • Caroline Cash, PeePeePooPoo issue no. 420 (Silver Sprocket)
  • Curt Merlo, That Distant Fire. (with J.R. Hughto, writer) (Black Eye Books)
  • Benjamin Schipper, Joe Death and the Graven (Image, Dark Horse Comics)
  • Olivia Stephens, Darlin’ and Her Other Names (self-published) – Winner
  • Noah Van Sciver, Joseph Smith and the Mormons (Abrams Comic Arts)

OUTSTANDING ANTHOLOGY

  • Cram Comics Issue no. 1, Andrew Alexander, ed. (Cram Books)
  • Glaeolia, Emuh Ruh, ed. (Glacier Bay Books)
  • Home: a comics anthology on belonging in Ireland today, Katherine Foyle, ed. (Dublin Comic Arts Festival)
  • NOW no. 12, Eric Reynolds, ed. (Fantagraphics Books Inc.)
  • Shades of Fear, Allison O’Toole & Ashanti Fortson, eds. (Balustrade Press) – Winner

OUTSTANDING COLLECTION

  • Boodle Fight, Ashley Topacio (self-published)
  • Cankor, Matthew Allison (self-published)
  • Griz Grobus and the Tale of Azkon’s Heart, Simon Roy, Jess Pollard & Sergey Nazarov (self-published)
  • Upside Dawn, Jason, (Fantagraphics Books Inc.)
  • Who Will Make the Pancakes? Megan Kelso, (Fantagraphics Books Inc.) – Winner

OUTSTANDING COMIC

  • Gordita: Built Like This, Daisy Ruiz (Black Josei Press) – Winner
  • Lemon Yellow, Ciari Quilty-Harper (Kus!)
  • Platonic Love, A ee mi (Paradise Systems)
  • Forget Me Not. Gabriel Howell (Secret Acres)
  • Live Rock Part 1: Aquarium Life (Issue #1), Ross Jackson (Secret Room Press)

OUTSTANDING GRAPHIC NOVEL

  • Ducks, Kate Beaton (Drawn & Quarterly) – Winner
  • Mimosa, Archie Bongiovanni (Abrams ComicArts)
  • Last Chance to Find Duke, Shang Zhang (PEOW)
  • Nervosa, Hayley Gold (Street Noise Books)
  • The Man in the McIntosh Suit, Rina Ayuyang (Drawn & Quarterly)

OUTSTANDING MINICOMIC

  • Farewell, Joao Fazenda (self-published)
  • Death Bloom, Yasmeen Abedifard (self-published) – Winner
  • Sacred Grove, Celine Loup (self-published)
  • Hares on the Mountain, Lee Dean & Salvador Aguilera (self-published)
  • You’re the Center of Attention, Gina Wynbrandt (Kus!)

OUTSTANDING ONLINE COMIC

  • Growing Up and Getting Out, Lonnie Comics
  • The God of Arepo, Reimena Yee – Winner
  • whale fall, Mara Ramirez
  • Adversary, Blue Delliquanti
  • Trans Classic Movies, Jett Allen

OUTSTANDING SERIES

  • Fizzle no. 4, Whit Taylor (Radiator Comics)
  • Maple Terrace no. 1, Noah Van Sciver (Uncivilized Books)
  • Venomyths, Joshua Ray Stephens (self-published)
  • Tales of Old Snake Creek, Drew Lerman (self-published) – Winner
  • Viewotron Comics and Stories, Sam Sharpe & Peach S. Goodrich (Radiator Comics)

OUTSTANDING STORY

  • Weeds, Kit Anderson (Parsifal Press)
  • The Impatient Ms. S, Koyubi (self-published)
  • I Owe It to My Parents to NOT Come Out, Richard Mercadi (self-published)
  • Wash Day Diaries (chapter: “Ride or Die”), Jamila Rowser & Robyn Smith (Chronicle Books) – Winner
  • Inversion, Lily Thu Fierro & Generoso Fierro (self-published)

PROMISING NEW TALENT:

  • Grayson Bear, Pokey (Bred Press)
  • Leo Fox, My Body Unspooling (self-published)
  • Deb J.J. Lee, In Limbo (First Second) – Winner
  • Richard Mercado, I Owe It to My Parents to NOT Come Out (self-published)
  • Shanti Rai, Sennen (Avery Hill Publishing)

Small Press Expo announces the 2023 Ignatz Awards Nominees

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2023 Ignatz Awards

The Small Press Expo (SPX) has announced the 2023 nominees for the annual presentation of the Ignatz Awards, a celebration of outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning.

Voting for the Ignatz Awards is open to anybody on the SPX email lists and anyone requesting a ballot. There will be no in-person voting at the show, as voting for the prestigious Ignatz Awards is open to all fans of indie comics.

  • Ballots will be emailed on Monday August 14 to everyone on SPX’s email lists.
  • Voting ends on Friday September 8 at 5:00PM (EDT).

Ignatz Awards nominees are determined by a panel of comics professionals. This year’s team of jurors includes:

  • Ellen Lindner
  • Juniper Kim
  • L. Nichols
  • Ally Shwed
  • Jason Little
  • Kotaline Jones

The Ignatz Awards ceremony will be held at 9:30PM on Saturday September 9 in the White Oak Room of the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.

Congrats to all of the nominees and we wish them luck.

2023 IGNATZ NOMINEES

OUTSTANDING ARTIST

  • Caroline Cash, PeePeePooPoo issue no. 420 (Silver Sprocket)
  • Curt Merlo, That Distant Fire. (with J.R. Hughto, writer) (Black Eye Books)
  • Benjamin Schipper, Joe Death and the Graven (Image, Dark Horse Comics)
  • Olivia Stephens, Darlin’ and Her Other Names (self-published)
  • Noah Van Sciver, Joseph Smith and the Mormons (Abrams Comic Arts)

OUTSTANDING ANTHOLOGY

  • Cram Comics Issue no. 1, Andrew Alexander, ed. (Cram Books)
  • Glaeolia, Emuh Ruh, ed. (Glacier Bay Books)
  • Home: a comics anthology on belonging in Ireland today, Katherine Foyle, ed. (Dublin Comic Arts Festival)
  • NOW no. 12, Eric Reynolds, ed. (Fantagraphics Books Inc.)
  • Shades of Fear, Allison O’Toole & Ashanti Fortson, eds. (Balustrade Press)

OUTSTANDING COLLECTION

  • Boodle Fight, Ashley Topacio (self-published)
  • Cankor, Matthew Allison (self-published)
  • Griz Grobus and the Tale of Azkon’s Heart, Simon Roy, Jess Pollard & Sergey Nazarov (self-published)
  • Upside Dawn, Jason, (Fantagraphics Books Inc.)
  • Who Will Make the Pancakes? Megan Kelso, (Fantagraphics Books Inc.)

OUTSTANDING COMIC

  • Gordita: Built Like This, Daisy Ruiz (Black Josei Press)
  • Lemon Yellow, Ciari Quilty-Harper (Kus!)
  • Platonic Love, A ee mi (Paradise Systems)
  • Forget Me Not. Gabriel Howell (Secret Acres)
  • Live Rock Part 1: Aquarium Life (Issue #1), Ross Jackson (Secret Room Press)

OUTSTANDING GRAPHIC NOVEL

  • Ducks, Kate Beaton (Drawn & Quarterly)
  • Mimosa, Archie Bongiovanni (Abrams ComicArts)
  • Last Chance to Find Duke, Shang Zhang (PEOW)
  • Nervosa, Hayley Gold (Street Noise Books)
  • The Man in the McIntosh Suit, Rina Ayuyang (Drawn & Quarterly)

OUTSTANDING MINICOMIC

  • Farewell, Joao Fazenda (self-published)
  • Death Bloom, Yasmeen Abedifard (self-published)
  • Sacred Grove, Celine Loup (self-published)
  • Hares on the Mountain, Lee Dean & Salvador Aguilera (self-published)
  • You’re the Center of Attention, Gina Wynbrandt (Kus!)

OUTSTANDING ONLINE COMIC

  • Growing Up and Getting Out, Lonnie Comics
  • The God of Arepo, Reimena Yee
  • whale fall, Mara Ramirez
  • Adversary, Blue Delliquanti
  • Trans Classic Movies, Jett Allen

OUTSTANDING SERIES

  • Fizzle no. 4, Whit Taylor (Radiator Comics)
  • Maple Terrace no. 1, Noah Van Sciver (Uncivilized Books)
  • Venomyths, Joshua Ray Stephens (self-published)
  • Tales of Old Snake Creek, Drew Lerman (self-published)
  • Viewotron Comics and Stories, Sam Sharpe & Peach S. Goodrich (Radiator Comics)

OUTSTANDING STORY

  • Weeds, Kit Anderson (Parsifal Press)
  • The Impatient Ms. S, Koyubi (self-published)
  • I Owe It to My Parents to NOT Come Out, Richard Mercadi (self-published)
  • Wash Day Diaries (chapter: “Ride or Die”), Jamila Rowser & Robyn Smith (Chronicle Books)
  • Inversion, Lily Thu Fierro & Generoso Fierro (self-published)

PROMISING NEW TALENT:

  • Grayson Bear, Pokey (Bred Press)
  • Leo Fox, My Body Unspooling (self-published)
  • Deb J.J. Lee, In Limbo (First Second)
  • Richard Mercado, I Owe It to My Parents to NOT Come Out (self-published)
  • Shanti Rai, Sennen (Avery Hill Publishing)

Small Press Expo 2022 Announces Additional Special Guests

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Small Press Expo has announced additional Special Guests for SPX 2022. It’s the first in-person show in three years taking place on Saturday September 17 and Sunday September 18 with programming and workshops about the amazing world of independent comics, along with over 500 creators on the exhibitor floor.

SPX 2022 is honored to have the following creators as Special Guests to this year’s show:

Maia Kobabe is the author of Gender Queer: A Memoir, winner of an Alex Award, Stonewall Honor, and the most banned book in the US in 2021. It is being released in a deluxe hardcover edition that features a brand-new cover, exclusive art and sketches, a forward by ND Stevenson (Lumberjanes, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) and an afterward by creator Maia Kobabe. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.

Ronald Wimberly (born 28 April 1979) is an American artist (a cartoonist and filmmaker). He has published several graphic novels, as well as shorter works for The New Yorker, DC/Vertigo, Nike, Marvel, Hill and Wang, and Dark Horse Comics. Wimberly was the 2016 Columbus Museum of Art comics resident, and was a two-time resident cartoonist at Angoulême‘s Maison des Auteurs. He is the recipient of the 2008 Glyph Comics Award, and has been nominated for two Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards.

Rumi Hara was born in Kyoto, Japan, and started printing her comics on a tiny home printer while working as a translator in Tokyo in 2010. After receiving an MFA in illustration from Savannah College of Art and Design, Rumi moved to New York in 2014, where she now lives and works as an illustrator and comics artist. Her comics series Nori was first self-published as minicomics and was nominated for an Ignatz Award in 2018.

Gabrielle Bell’s work has been selected several times for Best American Comics and the Yale Anthology of Graphic Fiction, and has been  featured in The Believer, McSweeney’s and Vice magazines. Her story, “Cecil and Jordan In New York,” was turned into a film by Michel Gondry. The Voyeurs was named one of the best Graphic Novels of the year by Publishers Weekly. Inappropriate, her most recent collection of absurd short comics, garnered two Ignatz Award nominations and was named “One of the Best GNs of the Year” by The Library Journal. Gabrielle Bell lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Bianca Xunise is a cartoonist based out of Chicago, Illinois and will debut at SPX a brand new zine, Midnite Crawling, which is a collection of short stories about music and the punk subculture. In 2017 Xunise earned an Ignatz for Promising New Talent for their comic Say Her Name, an autobiographical story of police brutality and social justice. In 2020 Xunise earned their second Ignatz for their contribution to Be Gay, Do Comics published by IDW. Xunise has collaborated with Vogue, The Washington Post, The Nib, and Believer Magazine. They are also a contributor to the book How We Fight Supremacy: A Field Guide to Black Resistance along with Ta-Nehisi Coates, Tarana Burk, and Harry Belafonte. Bianca became the first nationally syndicated non-binary cartoonist when they joined the comic strip Six Chix in 2020 as their first black creator.

Small Press Expo 2022 reveals its Special Guests

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Small Press Expo has announced the first Special Guests for SPX 2022. The first in-person show in three years takes place on Saturday September 17 and Sunday September 18 with programming and workshops about the amazing world of independent comics and an exhibitor floor with over 500 creators.

Additional Special Guests will be announced over the next few weeks.

Keith Knight is the inspiration and Executive Producer of the Hulu series Woke, as well as being a current nominee for the  Cartoonist of the Year Reuben Award. Among Keith’s many other awards are the Glyph Award, the Harvey Kurtzman Award for Best Syndicated Comic Strip, the Inkpot Award from San Diego ComiCon along with receiving a NAACP History Maker Award. His latest cartoon collection, Good On Both Sides, the fifth collection of his socio-political single-panel cartoon, (th)ink.

“Radical: My Year with a Socialist Senator is a remarkable first-hand account of New Yorker cartoonist, Sofia Warren’s experience embedded with New York State Senator Julia Salazar and her staff during their first year in office. “So much of this experience was a surprise to me,” says Warren: “that for their entire first legislative session, Julia and her staff let me be in the room.” Sofia will be making her first appearance at SPX.

Ruben Bolling is the author of the weekly satirical comic strip “Tom the Dancing Bug,” which has appeared in hundreds of publications, including The Washington Post, The Village Voice, and The New York Times and currently appears on the online publications BoingBoing.net, DailyKos.com, and GoComics.com.  Ruben has won the Herblock Prize, an RFK Journalism Award, a National Cartoonists Society Award, a Society of Illustrators Gold Medal, and a Berryman Award from the National Press Foundation and is a two-time Pulitzer Prize Finalist (2019 and 2021).

Lonnie Millsap has been twice nominated for the prestigious Rueben Award and has won the Los Angeles National Cartoonists Society Dingy Award along with the Comic Art Professional Society’s Don Rico award. In 2018, his first cartoon was accepted by The New Yorker, which used his cartoons for their renowned Caption Contest. Millsap was also the character designer for Donny Hathaway’s Official animated ‘This Christmas’ music video released by Warner Records that has well over two million views. His work has also appeared in season one and two of Keith Knight’s television show, ‘Woke.’ Millsap’s latest cartoon book release is titled ‘Hit It To The Mermaid!’ (2022).

Megan Kelso has been drawing comics for over 30 years. In 2007, she was invited by The New York Times to serialize her “Watergate Sue” comic as part of the weekly “Funny Pages” feature. In 2019, she was selected for a public art commission for Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.  Her books include The Squirrel Mother (2006), Artichoke Tales (2010), and Queen of the Black Black (2011).

Tommi Parrish is a cartoonist and painter based in Montreal, QC. Their debut work, The Lie and How We Told It, won the 2019 Lambda Literary Award for the best LGBTQ graphic novel, was nominated for the Ignatz award, and was featured in several best of 2018 lists and translated into several languages.

Small Press Expo Announces Its In Person Return in September

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Small Press Expo

The Small Press Expo has announced that it will return, live and in person, September 17-18, 2022. With COVID still an issue, the convention has announced safety precautions along with exhibitor registration and attendee information.

COVID-19 AND SPX

SPX plans to take a variety of measures to help ensure that they can provide as safe an environment as possible for the exhibitors, guests, and attendees. For this year’s in-person show, SPX will have the following COVID protocols in place:

For SPX Volunteers and Staff

  • Volunteers and staff must provide proof of vaccination to participate onsite
  • Volunteers and staff must abide by social distancing measures while on shift
  • Masks will be mandatory in all indoor SPX spaces, except while eating or drinking

For Exhibitors and Special Guests

  • Exhibitors must provide proof of vaccination to receive their SPX badge
  • Exhibitors will be limited 2 people per table allowed on the floor at any one time
  • Masks will be mandatory in all indoor SPX spaces, except while eating or drinking

For Attendees

  • Attendees must provide proof of vaccination to receive their badge
  • Masks will be mandatory in all indoor SPX spaces, except while eating or drinking
  • The convention is exploring the possible use of timed attendee tickets to help alleviate crowding

Additional Measures Under Consideration

The risks, and risk factors, for COVID-19 have continued to evolve and, with many months until showtime, it is likely that the safety measures will need to evolve as well. SPX will update the community periodically with the status for both the show and COVID protocols.

Over the next few months, SPX will explore whether they should require a negative COVID test within 48 hours of SPX as a condition of attending the show. Rapid antigen (at home) tests and PCR (lab reviewed) tests are costly and hard to come by in many locations. The convention will assess the additional margin of safety these measures could provide against the practicality and feasibility of their use.

Small Press Expos is also working with the Marriott over the course of the next several months to ensure the availability of sanitization supplies and masks, as well as the necessary equipment and logistical planning to enable proper social distancing in our meeting rooms, lines, etc.

COVID-19 AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY

One positive with regard to the pandemic is that SPX takes place in Montgomery County, Maryland, one of the most highly vaccinated areas in the United States. Based in part on these high vaccination numbers, currently, the Montgomery County Department of Health and the State of Maryland are allowing large functions at the Marriott, with mask wearing required except in the small breakout rooms and eating areas. Barring a decision from the county to halt large events such as ours, SPX feels confident in its ability to move forward with the show, and the attendees ability to plan accordingly. 

EXHIBITORS KEY DATES

Following is the planned schedule for opening table registration for SPX 2022:

  • March 4 – Invitations to publishers and creators sent
  • March 20 – Table lottery opens
  • March 28 – Table lottery closes
  • Week of April 4 – Lottery winners contacted
  • Mid-April – Hotel room block information sent to all table holders

The convention hasn’t yet determined the timeframe to provide payment for exhibitor tables. Expect May at the earliest and they’ll confirm the date with everyone by the first of March.

ATTENDEE INFORMATION

  • Advance tickets will go on sale no earlier than late June, with availability dependent upon the state of the pandemic.
  • For those attendees coming from out of town, the hotel room block will be made available the first week in May.
  • Capacities for panels and workshops may be limited. Sign-up forms for workshops will be available in August. 

Discover Small Press Sci-Fi with this Sale!

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ComiXology is shining a spotlight on small press with the Small Press Sci-Fi Sale. The sale ends on January 30.

Take advantage of 79 releases on sale and you can save up to 75% with some volumes just 99 cents!

Dive in, discover a new comic series, and save!

O Human Star Vol. 1

This site contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from these sites. Making purchases through these links helps support the site.

Discover Small Press Sci-Fi with this Sale!

Posted on by

ComiXology is shining a spotlight on small press with the Small Press Sci-Fi Sale. The sale ends on January 30.

Take advantage of 79 releases on sale and you can save up to 75% with some volumes just 99 cents!

Dive in, discover a new comic series, and save!

O Human Star Vol. 1

This site contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from these sites. Making purchases through these links helps support the site.

Review: Ginseng Roots #1

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Ginseng Roots #1

As a child of immigrants, it’s never lost on me about the sacrifice they made. My parents came from different parts of the world to only meet in the “greatest city in the world”. Storybook romances only happen in the movies, but my parents came close. For children who have had to listen to hours of stories by their parents growing up, the main lesson we were to learn was, that “our life is easier”.

My mother used to talk about how hard it was growing up poor in the Philippines. As my father would tell us how he had to work the sugar cane fields on Trinidad. While we did not grow up rich, we were far from well off. In the debut issue Ginseng Roots #1, Craig Thompson connects his childhood to the geopolitics of America-China relations which start right in his backyard.

We find a younger version of our author and his brother, Phil, waking before dawn, as their summer camp, this particular year, was not with their friends but on a Ginseng garden, where he and his brother will toil for the rest of the day, harvesting roots. As we find out that this particular farm in Marathon, Wisconsin, was the largest producer of American ginseng in the world in 1980. As we soon find our narrator and his brother discovering comic books this particular summer but having the naiveté of children, that they reveled in the fact they would get paid for what they did, no matter the weather. By issue’s end, Thompson would give us a history of the root and its supply chain while endearing it to the summer he worked at this ginseng garden.

Overall, Ginseng Roots #1 is a vast and inherently heartfelt love letter to “working-class guilt” and the survivor’s remorse we often feel after rising above our station. The story by Thompson is simply, beautiful. The art by Thompson is striking. Altogether, Thompson proves with this book, how masterful a storyteller he is and how some trials we go through, make us who we are.

Story: Craig Thompson Art: Craig Thompson
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

Purchase: Uncivilized Books

Save with comiXology’s Small Press Sci-Fi Sale!

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Discover new comics with the Save with comiXology’s Small Press Sci-Fi Sale! It’s currently running on comiXology and features 340 comics all on sale now!

There’s something for everyone with this sale which features some comics as low as $0.49!

You have until February 1st to save!

This site contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from these sites. Making purchases through these links helps support the site.

Save with comiXology’s Small Press Sci-Fi Sale!

Posted on by

Discover new comics with the Save with comiXology’s Small Press Sci-Fi Sale! It’s currently running on comiXology and features 340 comics all on sale now!

There’s something for everyone with this sale which features some comics as low as $0.49!

You have until February 1st to save!

This site contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from these sites. Making purchases through these links helps support the site.

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