The 2016 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards were held on Friday, July 22 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel during Comic-Con International. Pictured above is the “Class of 2016,” featuring the award recipients and people who accepted awards for winners who weren’t present. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
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The stage is set and the trophies are ready to give out to the 2016 Eisner Award recipients! Photo: J. Randolph © 2016 SDCC
Eisner Awards administrator Jackie Estrada introduced the show and brought out the night’s master of ceremonies . . . Photo: J. Cortes © 2016 SDCC
... actor/writer John Barrowman, famous for his roles as Captain Jack Harkness on Torchwood and Malcolm Merlyn on Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow. Barrowman is currently co-writing a Torchwood comics series with his sister Carole for Titan Books. Photo: J. Cortes © 2016 SDCC
First presenters of the evening: Kayre Morrison, Bill Morrison, and Anina Bennett. Photo: J. Cortes © 2016 SDCC
Cartoonist Derf Backderf won the award for Best Lettering for his graphic novel Trashed. Photo: J. Randolph © 2016 SDCC
Image Comics publisher Eric Stephenson accepted the award for Best Coloring for Jordie Bellaire. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Colleen Coover and Paul Tobin received the award for Best Digital Comics for their series Bandette. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Wynonna Earp creator Beau Smith (at podium) and cast members from the Syfy TV series were the next group of presenters. Photo: J. Cortes © 2016 SDCC
Artist Cliff Chiang won the award for Best Penciller/Inker for Paper Girls, published by Image Comics and written by Brian K. Vaughan. Photo: J. Cortes © 2016 SDCC
Graphitti Designs’ head honcho Bob Chapman accepted the award for Best Publication Design for The Sandman Gallery Edition, designed by Josh Beatman/Brainchild Studios. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Artist Dustin Nguyen won the Best Painter/Multimedia Artist award for his work on Descender, published by Image Comics, and written by Jeff Lemire. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Mark Evanier (left) presented the Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing to Richard E. Hughes (1909–1974), one of comics’ most prolific writers and editors. Hughes worked for the American Comics Group for many years, where he co-created “Herbie.” Writer Marv Wolfman (at podium) accepted the award. Photo: J. Islas © 2016 SDCC
Evanier (right) with the other Bill Finger Award winner, Elliot S! Maggin, who wrote for DC Comics for many years, including their Superman titles under editor Julius Schwartz. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Artists Ronald Wimberly (Prince of Cats) and Jason Latour (Southern Bastards) were the next awards presenters. Photo: J. Cortes © 2016 SDCC
TwoMorrows publisher John Morrow accepted the award for the absent Tom Heintjes, whose comics history publication Hogan’s Alley won for Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Fantagraphics Books publisher Gary Groth made numerous trips to the stage, accepting awards for Best Comics-Related Book (Bill Schelly’s Harvey Kurtzman: The Man Who Created Mad and Revolutionized Humor in America), Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips (The Eternaut, by Héctor Germán Oesterheld and Francisco Solano Lòpez), Best Writer/Artist (Bill Griffith for Invisible Ink: My Mother’s Secret Love Affair with a Famous Cartoonist), and the Hall of Fame Award for writer/artist Jacques Tardi. Photo: J. Cortes © 2016 SDCC
Accepting the award for the Best Academic/Scholarly Work were editors Frances Gateward and John Jennings, for The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Actors Chris Gorham (Covert Affairs) and Drew Roy (Falling Skies) were presenters at this year’s Eisner Awards. Photo: J. Randolph © 2016 SDCC
BOOM! Studios’s Matt Gagnon accepted the award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material for Asaf Hanuka’s The Realist. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Drawn & Quarterly publisher Peggy Burns made numerous trips to the stage to accept awards, including those for Best Short Story (“Killing and Dying” by Adrian Tomine in Optic Nerve #14), Best Publication for Teens (SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki), Best Anthology (Drawn & Quarterly, Twenty-Five Years of Contemporary, Cartooning, Comics, and Graphic Novels, edited by Tom Devlin), Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia (Showa, 1953–1989: A History of Japan, by Shigeru Mizuki), and the Hall of Fame award for Tove Jansson, creator of Moomin. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Winners of the Best Adaptation from Another Medium award, Gabriel Bá and Fabio Moon, for their book Two Brothers published by Dark Horse. Photo: J. Randolph © 2016 SDCC
Each year Comic-Con International gives out the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award to honor people in comics and the popular arts who help others. This year’s award recipient was Matthew Inman (The Oatmeal), shown here with Ruth Clampett, the famed animation director’s daughter. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
MC John Barrowman returned to the stage in costume as Zapp Brannigan from Futurama, to introduce Futurama (and Simpsons) creator Matt Groening as one of the presenters. Photo: J. Cortes © 2016 SDCC
While they each went on to be inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame, longtime friends Lynda Barry (The Greatest of Marlys, What It Is) and Matt Groening (The Simpsons, Futurama) were also presenters during this year’s ceremony. Photo: J. Randolph © 2016 SDCC
We’re guessing cartoonist Ben Hatke was pretty excited about winning the award for Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8) for his book Little Robot, published by First Second. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Winners of the Best Publication for Kids (ages 9–12) were (left to right) Jim Campbell, Amalia Levari, and Pat McHale, for their series Over the Garden Wall, published by BOOM! Studios/KaBOOM!). Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Editor Craig Yoe accepted the Eisner Award for Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books for Walt Kelly’s Fairy Tales, published by Yoe Books/IDW. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Kate Beaton (center), pictured with presenters Matt Holm and Jennifer Holm, won the award for Best Humor Publication for her book Step Aside, Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection, published by Drawn & Quarterly. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Syndicated cartoonist Rube Goldberg (1883–1970) was inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame. The award was accepted by his granddaughter, Jennifer George. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Writer/artist/editor and creator of the Human Torch Carl Burgos (1916–1984) was also inducted into the Hall of Fame; his daughter, Susan Burgos, accepted the award. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Cartoonist Lynda Barry was another of this year’s Hall of Fame inductees ... Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
… and she sure was excited to get that award! Photo: J. Randolph © 2016 SDCC
The final 2016 inductee to the Will Eisner Hall of Fame was Matt Groening, shown here with HoF presenter, cartoonist Sergio Aragonés. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
One last look at John Barrowman in that Zapp Brannigan outfit . . . more of John to come! Photo: J. Cortes © 2016 SDCC
The Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award went to Orbital Comics of London, UK. Seen here with award facilitator Joe Ferrara (right) are Matt Dunford and Chris J. Thompson, who accepted the award for Orbital Comics. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
He’s back ... this time as the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl! Photo: J. Cortes © 2016 SDCC
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl writer Ryan North and artist Erica Henderson were the next pair of Eisner Award presenters. Photo: J. Randolph © 2016 SDCC
Jason Aaron won the Best Writer award for Southern Bastards (Image), Men of Wrath (Marvel Icon), and Doctor Strange, Star Wars, and Thor (Marvel). Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Writer Matt Fraction picked up the Best Cover Artist award for his Hawkeye cohort David Aja. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
March creators (left to right) Nate Powell, Congressman John Lewis, and Andrew Aydin presented awards in three categories. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Laura and Mike Allred accepted the Best Single Issue/One-Shot award for Silver Surfer #11, written by Dan Slott and published by Marvel Comics. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
The winners of the Best Anthology award (for Drawn & Quarterly, Twenty-Five Years of Contemporary, Cartooning, Comics, and Graphic Novels) posed for this photo with their presenters. Left to right: Rebecca Lloyd, Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, D&Q publisher Peggy Burns, Nate Powell, Chester Brown, Marcela Huerta, Sruti Islam, and Hillary Chute. Seated: Lynda Barry (left) and Kate Beaton. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award winner Dan Mora with former winner and award presenter Eric Shanower (Age of Bronze). Mora won for his work on the comics series Hexed! and Klaus, published by BOOM! Studios. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Actors Annie Wersching (24, The Vampire Diaries, Bosch) and Michael Trucco (Revenge, Grandfathered, Battlestar Galactica) were award presenters. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
The March team with their awards for Best Reality-Based Work for March, Book Two. Left to right: Anthony Aydin, Congressman John Lewis, and Nate Powell. The March trilogy is published by Top Shelf/IDW. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Rep. John Lewis with his Eisner Award for March, Book Two. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
Writer/artist Noelle Stevenson received the award for Best Graphic Album—Reprint, for her book Nimona. Photo: J. Cortes © 2016 SDCC
Cartoonist Peter Kuper snagged the award for Best Graphic Album—New, for Ruins. Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC
One more costume change for that real trouper, John Barrowman! This time he’s the classic Bruce Timm-designed version of Harley Quinn! Photo: T. Amat © 2016 SDCC