Eisner Awards FAQ

The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are considered the “Oscars” of the comics world. Named for the pioneering comics creator and graphic novelist Will Eisner, the awards are given out in over 30 categories during a ceremony each year at Comic-Con International: San Diego.

The nominees in each category are chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges who meet in San Diego in the spring of each year.

The judging panel, which changes each year, consists of six people representing various aspects of the comics industry. Usually included are a comics creator, a critic/reviewer, a graphic novel librarian, a comics retailer, a scholar, and a member of the Comic-Con organizing committee. The judges are selected by a special awards committee within Comic-Con International. This committee is open to input from a variety of sources.

In early January a Call for Entries is issued that specifies the process for submission and lists the expected categories. The Call for Entries is available in PDF form on the Eisner Awards webpage and is also sent out via email to publishers.

Printed works must have been distributed in the United States between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year. Online material must have been first published in that same time period.

Publishers are invited to submit up to five eligible nominees in each category. Creators who self-publish their works or who have reason to believe their publisher is not submitting their work can also send in nominations.

No, only one copy of each comic or book is needed, no matter how many categories it is being submitted for. For online material, providing appropriate URLs is a must, but printouts can also be helpful for the judges.

Best Short Story
A short story is a story within an anthology or a bigger work or else appears online. (It isn’t a single issue.)

Best Single Issue/One-Shot
Works can range from small (16 pages) to as many as 48 or more pages. Single issues of ongoing comics qualify only if they can stand alone as a separate story.

Best Continuing (Comic Book) Series
At least two comic book issues must have been published in 2024.

Best Limited (Comic Book) Series
At least half of the series must have been published in 2024.

Best New Series
At least two issues must have been published starting in 2024.This category is for continuing comic book series only and does not include book series or manga series.

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8)
These can be comic books or graphic novels.

Best Publication for Kids (ages 9-12)
These can be comic books or graphic novels.

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)
These can be comic books or graphic novels.

Best Humor Publication
This category can include previously published items (such as comic strip collections) and can range from single-issue comics to graphic novels to archival works.

Best Anthology
This category is for collections of work by a variety of creators, so does not include collections of stories by one person. (It can be one author with multiple artists.) Note: The submission letter should include the editor but not a list of contributors.

Best Reality-Based Work
This category should include only “real-life” nonfiction stories and not works that happen to be set in a historical period or those “based on” something but with fictional elements.

Best Graphic Memoir
This category is for autobiographical works. It was separated out from the Reality-Based category several years ago.

Best Graphic Album—New
This category is primarily for works normally referred to as “graphic novels” but can include, for instance, collections of short stories by one person. The work should be at least 50 percent new material, at least 50 percent graphic storytelling (as opposed to prose or illustrated prose), and at least 64 pages long.

Best Graphic Album—Reprint
This category is for reprints of material that was first published within the last 20 years. The judges take into account whether there is added material or other “added value” to the original version.

Best Adaptation from Another Medium
Adaptations can be from novels, films, stage shows, or even song lyrics. Works need to be direct adaptations and not “reimaginings” or something set in the same “universe” but otherwise all new.

Best U.S. Edition of International Material
Material can have been published in other countries earlier than 2024; it’s the U.S. edition that must be 2024.

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia
This category includes works from Japan, Korea, India, China, and other areas of Asia.

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips
At least 50 percent of the material must be 20 or more years old.

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books
At least 50 percent of the material must be 20 or more years old.

Best Writer
This is for writers who do not do their own art. It can be for comics or graphic novels (but not academic works or comics-related books).

Best Writer/Artist
This is for “cartoonists”: creators who write and draw their own works.

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
This for artists who aren’t the writers of the work.

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
This is for those who create their art with paint or multimedia (as opposed to coloring pencils/inks).

Best Cover Artist
This is for artists who create multiple covers and tends to be for comic books only.

Best Coloring
This is for coloring that is added to already pencilled/inked work.

Best Lettering
This can be for hand or computer lettering.

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
This category encompasses both printed periodicals and online sites; it can also include individual journalists.

Best Comics-Related Book
This category is for books about comics history or comics creators, geared toward the general reader or fan.

Best Academic/Scholarly Work
This category is for works about comics geared to an academic audience.

Best Publication Design
Books from any print category are eligible for this category.

Publishers/creators can suggest the categories for their submissions, but the judges have the discretion to determine the most appropriate categories. Each year, some categories are added and others are combined or dropped, so the final category list will reflect the publishing patterns of that year.

They are if they were distributed in the United States. These works are eligible in all of the regular categories as well as in the specific categories of Best U.S. Edition of International Material.

For the Best Webcomic category, works must be longform—that is, comparable to comic books or graphic novels in storytelling or length. Webcomics similar to daily newspaper strips, for example, would not be eligible. For the Best Digital Comic category, online works should be in comic book or graphic novel format and usually available as pdfs. Digital comics should have a unique URL, be part of a webcomics site, or otherwise stand alone (not be part of a blog, for instance).

Voting is open to comic book/graphic novel/webcomic creators (writers, artists, cartoonists, pencillers, inkers, letterers, colorists, translators); all nominees in any category; comic book/graphic novel publishers and editors; comics historians and educators; graphic novel librarians; and owners and managers of comic book specialty retail stores. Once the nominees have been chosen (usually in May), voting opens on the online ballot site, and registered voters are able to cast their ballots.

The winners are announced in a gala ceremony at Comic-Con International: San Diego. The awards ceremony is held on the Friday night of Comic-Con in the Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.

The ceremony is open to anyone with a Comic-Con four-day or Friday badge. There is also a special seating area for those with Comic-Con Professional badges.

Yes, all nominees, presenters, sponsors, and special guests have VIP seating in the front area of the ballroom. All nominees who wish to attend the ceremony should contact Eisner Awards administrator Jackie Estrada in advance of Comic-Con to reserve VIP seats.

Sponsorships are available to any company that would like to support the Eisner Awards program, with the exception of publishers whose works are eligible for nomination. Sponsorship information can be obtained from Eisner Awards administrator Jackie Estrada by emailing: jackie@comic-con.org

You’ll get a souvenir program as you enter the ballroom on Friday night. During the course of the evening you can expect to see top creators from the comics industry as well as comics-related celebrities onstage to announce the nominees in each category and hand out the trophies to the winners. The onstage festivities and nominated works are projected on giant screens in the beautiful Indigo Ballroom. Be sure to hold onto your program so that you can keep notes on titles that pique your interest. In addition to the Eisner Awards, you’ll see presentations of the Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award, the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award, the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award, and the Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing. No-host bars are available both inside and outside the ballroom area, and at the conclusion of the awards, you can mingle with the greats of the comics industry at the afterparty in the ballroom foyer.

All the nominated works are on display in the Art Show, in the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel.

Since 2023 a separate group of judges, all experts on the history of comics, have chosen automatic inductees along with nominees to be voted on. The judges’ choice inductees include significant figures from the Bronze, Golden, and Silver Ages of comics, international creators, newspaper cartoonists, and underground comix creators. The judges also choose 16 nominees to be voted on by comics professionals, with the top 4 being inducted. The Hall of Fame ceremony is held in the Convention Center on the Friday morning of Comic-Con.