2017 Eisner Award nominees include 'The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye' and 'Saga'

By Tracy BrownStaff Writer

May 3, 2017 2:35 PM PT

Sonny Liew’s “The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye,” Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ “Saga” and Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ “Kill or Be Killed” are among the top nominees for the 2017 Eisner Awards.

Originally published in Singapore, “The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye” tells the story of Singaporean history and politics as depicted through the evolving art of fictional cartoonist Charlie Chan Hock Chye. The book earned nods in six categories, including writer-artist for Liew, new graphic album and U.S. edition of international material — Asia.

Fan-favorite series “Saga” and “Kill or Be Killed” received four nominations each, with the two titles going head to head in the continuing series, writer (Vaughan and Brubaker) and cover artist (Staples and Phillips) categories.

Rounding out the top nominees are “Monstress,” by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda, and “Mooncop,” by Tom Gauld, which received three nominations apiece.

The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, sometimes referred to as the Oscars of the comic book industry, honor the top creators and publications of comics and graphic novels and are held during San Diego Comic-Con. This year’s panel of judges consists of Comic-Con International board member Alan Campbell, reviewer-critic Rob Clough, comics retailer Jamie Newbold, comics scholar Robert Moses Peaslee, librarian Dawn Rutherford and comics writer-columnist Martha Thomases.

The 29th Eisner Awards will be awarded July 21. See the full list of nominees below.

Short story

“The Comics Wedding of the Century,” by Simon Hanselmann, in “We Told You So: Comics as Art” (Fantagraphics)
“The Dark Nothing,” by Jordan Crane, in “Uptight” No. 5 (Fantagraphics)
“Good Boy,” by Tom King and David Finch, in “Batman Annual” No. 1 (DC)
“Monday,” by W. Maxwell Prince and John Amor, in “One Week in the Library” (Image)
“Mostly Saturn,” by Michael DeForge, in “Island Magazine” No. 8 (Image)
“Shrine of the Monkey God!” by Kim Deitch, in “Kramers Ergot 9” (Fantagraphics)

Single issue/one-shot

“Babybel Wax Bodysuit,” by Eric Kostiuk Williams (Retrofit/Big Planet)
“Beasts of Burden: What the Cat Dragged In,” by Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer and Jill Thompson (Dark Horse)
“Blammo” No. 9, by Noah Van Sciver (Kilgore Books)
“Criminal 10th Anniversary Special,” by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)
“Sir Alfred” No. 3, by Tim Hensley (Pigeon Press)
“Your Black Friend,” by Ben Passmore (Silver Sprocket)

Continuing series

“Astro City,” by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson (Vertigo/DC)
“Kill or Be Killed,” by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)
“The Mighty Thor,” by Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman (Marvel)
“Paper Girls,” by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang (Image)
“Saga,” by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image)

Limited series

“Archangel,” by William Gibson, Michael St. John Smith, Butch Guice and Tom Palmer (IDW)
“Briggs Land,” by Brian Wood and Mack Chater (Dark Horse)
“Han Solo,” by Marjorie Liu and Mark Brooks (Marvel)
“Kim and Kim,” by Magdalene Visaggio and Eva Cabrera (Black Mask)
“The Vision,” by Tom King and Gabriel Walta (Marvel)
“We Stand on Guard,” by Brian K. Vaughan and Steve Skroce (Image)

New series

“Black Hammer,” by Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston (Dark Horse)
“Clean Room,” by Gail Simone and Jon Davis-Hunt (Vertigo/DC)
“Deathstroke: Rebirth,” by Christopher Priest, Carlo Pagulayan, et al. (DC)
“Faith,” by Jody Houser, Pere Pérez and Marguerite Sauvage (Valiant)
“Mockingbird,” by Chelsea Cain and Kate Niemczyk (Marvel)

Publication for early readers (up to age 8)

“Ape and Armadillo Take Over the World,” by James Sturm (Toon)
“Burt’s Way Home,” by John Martz (Koyama)
“The Creeps, Book 2: The Trolls Will Feast!” by Chris Schweizer (Abrams)
“I’m Grumpy (My First Comics),” by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (Random House Books for Young Readers)
“Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea,” by Ben Clanton (Tundra)

Publication for kids (ages 9-12)

“The Drawing Lesson,” by Mark Crilley (Ten Speed Press)
“Ghosts,” by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic)
“Hilda and the Stone Forest,” by Luke Pearson (Flying Eye Books)
“Rikki,” adapted by Norm Harper and Matthew Foltz-Gray (Karate Petshop)
“Science Comics: Dinosaurs,” by MK Reed and Joe Flood (First Second)

Publication for teens (ages 13-17)

“Bad Machinery, Vol. 5: The Case of the Fire Inside,” by John Allison (Oni)
“Batgirl,” by Hope Larson and Rafael Albuquerque (DC)
“Jughead,” by Chip Zdarsky, Ryan North, Erica Henderson and Derek Charm (Archie)
“Monstress,” by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Image)
“Trish Trash: Roller Girl of Mars,” by Jessica Abel (Papercutz/Super Genius)
“The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl,” by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (Marvel)

Humor publication

“The Further Fattening Adventures of Pudge, Girl Blimp,” by Lee Marrs (Marrs Books)
“Hot Dog Taste Test,” by Lisa Hanawalt (Drawn & Quarterly)
“Jughead,” by Chip Zdarsky, Ryan North, Erica Henderson and Derek Charm (Archie)
“Man, I Hate Cursive,” by Jim Benton (Andrews McMeel)
“Yuge! 30 Years of Doonesbury on Trump,” by G.B. Trudeau (Andrews McMeel)

Anthology

“Baltic Comics Anthology š! #26: dADa,” edited by David Schilter and Sanita Muizniece (kuš!)
“Island Magazine,” edited by Brandon Graham and Emma Rios (Image)
“Kramers Ergot 9,” edited by Sammy Harkham (Fantagraphics)
“Spanish Fever: Stories by the New Spanish Cartoonists,” edited by Santiago Garcia (Fantagraphics)

Reality-based work

“Dark Night: A True Batman Story,” by Paul Dini and Eduardo Risso (Vertigo/DC)
“Glenn Gould: A Life Off Tempo,” by Sandrine Revel (NBM)
“March (Book Three),” by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell (Top Shelf)
“Rosalie Lightning: A Graphic Memoir,” by Tom Hart (St. Martin’s)
“Tetris: The Games People Play,” by Box Brown (First Second)

Graphic album — New

“The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye,” by Sonny Liew (Pantheon)
“Black Dog: The Dreams of Paul Nash,” by Dave McKean (Dark Horse)
“Exits,” by Daryl Seitchik (Koyama)
“Mooncop,” by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly)
“Patience,” by Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics)
“Wonder Woman: The True Amazon” by Jill Thompson (DC Comics)

Graphic album — Reprint

“Demon,” by Jason Shiga (First Second)
“Incomplete Works,” by Dylan Horrocks (Alternative)
“Last Look,” by Charles Burns (Pantheon)
“Meat Cake Bible,” by Dame Darcy (Fantagraphics)
“Megg and Mog in Amsterdam and Other Stories,” by Simon Hanselmann (Fantagraphics)
“She’s Not Into Poetry,” by Tom Hart (Alternative)

U.S. edition of international material

“Equinoxes,” by Cyril Pedrosa, translated by Joe Johnson (NBM)
“Irmina,” by Barbara Yelin, translated by Michael Waaler (SelfMadeHero)
“Love: The Lion,” by Frédéric Brémaud and Federico Bertolucci (Magnetic)
“Moebius Library: The World of Edena,” by Jean “Moebius” Giraud et al. (Dark Horse)
“Wrinkles,” by Paco Roca, translated by Erica Mena (Fantagraphics)

U.S. edition of international material — Asia

“The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye,” by Sonny Liew (Pantheon)
“Goodnight Punpun,” Vols. 1-4, by Inio Asano, translated by JN PRoductions (VIZ Media)
“Orange: The Complete Collection,” Vols. 1-2, by Ichigo Takano, translated by Amber
“Tamosaitis,” adaptation by Shannon Fay (Seven Seas)
“The Osamu Tezuka Story: A Life in Manga and Anime,” by Toshio Ban and Tezuka Productions, translated by Frederik L. Schodt (Stone Bridge Press)
“Princess Jellyfish,” Vols. 1-3 by Akiko Higashimura, translated by Sarah Alys Lindholm (Kodansha)
“Wandering Island,” Vol. 1, by Kenji Tsuruta, translated by Dana Lewis (Dark Horse)

Archival collection/project — Strips (at least 20 years old)

“Almost Completely Baxter: New and Selected Blurtings,” by Glen Baxter (NYR Comics)
“Barnaby,” Vol. 3, by Crockett Johnson, edited by Philip Nel and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
“Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy, Colorful Cases of the 1930s,” edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press)
“The Realist Cartoons,” edited by Paul Krassner and Ethan Persoff (Fantagraphics)
“Walt & Skeezix 1931-1932,” by Frank King, edited by Jeet Heer and Chris Ware (Drawn & Quarterly)

Archival collection/project — Comic Books (at least 20 Years Old)

“The Complete Neat Stuff,” by Peter Bagge, edited by Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
“The Complete Wimmen’s Comix,” edited by Trina Robbins (Fantagraphics)
“Fables and Funnies,” by Walt Kelly, compiled by David W. Tosh (Dark Horse)
“Trump: The Complete Collection,” by Harvey Kurtzman et al., edited by Denis Kitchen and John Lind (Dark Horse)
“U.S.S. Stevens: The Collected Stories,” by Sam Glanzman, edited by Drew Ford (Dover)

Writer

Ed Brubaker, “Criminal 10th Anniversary Special,” “Kill or Be Killed,” “Velvet” (Image)
Kurt Busiek, “Astro City” (Vertigo/DC)
Chelsea Cain, “Mockingbird” (Marvel)
Max Landis, “Green Valley” (Image/Skybound), “Superman: American Alien” (DC)
Jeff Lemire, “Black Hammer” (Dark Horse); “Descender,” “Plutona” (Image); “Bloodshot Reborn” (Valiant)
Brian K. Vaughan, “Paper Girls,” “Saga,” “We Stand on Guard” (Image)

Writer/Artist

Jessica Abel, “Trish Trash: Roller Girl of Mars” (Papercutz/Super Genius)
Box Brown, “Tetris: The Games People Play” (First Second)
Tom Gauld, “Mooncop” (Drawn & Quarterly)
Tom Hart, “Rosalie Lightning: A Graphic Memoir” (St. Martin’s)
Sonny Liew, “The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye” (Pantheon)

Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker team

Mark Brooks, “Han Solo” (Marvel)
Dan Mora, “Klaus” (BOOM!)
Greg Ruth, “Indeh” (Grand Central Publishing)
Francois Schuiten, “The Theory of the Grain of Sand” (IDW)
Fiona Staples, “Saga” (Image)
Brian Stelfreeze, “Black Panther” (Marvel)

Painter/Multimedia artist (interior art)

Federico Bertolucci, “Love: The Lion” (Magnetic)
Brecht Evens, “Panther” (Drawn & Quarterly)
Manuele Fior, “5,000 km Per Second” (Fantagraphics)
Dave McKean, “Black Dog” (Dark Horse)
Sana Takeda, “Monstress” (Image)
Jill Thompson, “Wonder Woman: The True Amazon” (DC); “Beasts of Burden: What the Cat Dragged In” (Dark Horse)

Cover artist (for multiple covers)

Mike Del Mundo, “Avengers,” “Carnage,” “Mosaic,” “The Vision” (Marvel)
David Mack, “Abe Sapien,” “BPRD Hell on Earth,” “Fight Club 2,” “Hellboy and the BPRD 1953” (Dark Horse)
Sean Phillips, “Criminal 10th Anniversary Special,” “Kill or Be Killed” (Image)
Fiona Staples, “Saga” (Image)
Sana Takeda, “Monstress” (Image)

Coloring

Jean-Francois Beaulieu, “Green Valley” (Image/Skybound)
Elizabeth Breitweiser, “Criminal 10th Anniversary Special,” “Kill or Be Killed,” “Velvet” (Image); “Outcast by Kirkman & Azaceta” (Image/Skybound)
Sonny Liew, “The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye” (Pantheon)
Laura Martin, “Wonder Woman” (DC); “Ragnorak” (IDW); “Black Panther” (Marvel)
Matt Wilson, “Cry Havoc,” “Paper Girls,” “The Wicked + The Divine” (Image); “Black Widow,” “The Mighty Thor”, “Star-Lord” (Marvel)

Lettering

Dan Clowes, “Patience” (Fantagraphics)
Brecht Evens, “Panther” (Drawn & Quarterly)
Tom Gauld, “Mooncop” (Drawn & Quarterly)
Nick Hayes, “Woody Guthrie” (Abrams)
Todd Klein, “Clean Room,” “Dark Night,” “Lucifer” (Vertigo/DC); “Black Hammer” (Dark Horse)
Sonny Liew, “The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye” (Pantheon)

Comics-related periodical/journalism

The A.V. Club comics coverage, including Comics Panel, Back Issues and Big Issues, by Oliver Sava et al.
Comic Riffs blog, by Michael Cavna
Critical Chips, edited by Zainab Akhtar (Comics & Cola)
PanelPatter.com, edited by Rob McMonigal
WomenWriteAboutComics.com, edited by Megan Purdy and Claire Napier

Comics-related book

“blanc et noir: takeshi obata illustrations,” by Takeshi Obata (VIZ Media)
“Ditko Unleashed: An American Hero,” by Florentino Flórez and Frédéric Manzano (IDW/Editions Déese)
“Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White,” by Michael Tisserand (Harper)
“The Life and Legend of Wallace Wood,” Vol. 1, edited by Bhob Stewart and J. Michael Catron (Fantagraphics)
“More Heroes of the Comics,” by Drew Friedman (Fantagraphics)

Academic/Scholarly work

“Brighter Than You Think: Ten Short Works by Alan Moore,” with essays by Marc Sobel (Uncivilized)
“Forging the Past: Set and the Art of Memory,” by Daniel Marrone (University Press of Mississippi)
“Frank Miller’s Daredevil and the Ends of Heroism,” by Paul Young (Rutgers University Press)
“Pioneering Cartoonists of Color,” by Tim Jackson (University Press of Mississippi)
“Superwomen: Gender, Power, and Representation,” by Carolyn Cocca (Bloomsbury)

Publication design

“The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye,” designed by Sonny Liew (Pantheon)
“The Complete Wimmin’s Comix,” designed by Keeli McCarthy (Fantagraphics)
“Frank in the Third Dimension,” designed by Jacob Covey, 3D conversions by Charles Barnard (Fantagraphics)
“The Realist Cartoons,” designed by Jacob Covey (Fantagraphics)
“Si Lewen’s Parade: An Artist’s Odyssey,” designed by Art Spiegelman (Abrams)

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