Transformers, Wonder Woman, Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, and more: The Eisner Awards 2024 nominations are here

Art from Transformers #7.

It's that time again... The full list of this year's Eisner Award nominations has been revealed. More than 150 print and online titles have been nominated in 32 different categories this year, with Image, DC, and Fantagraphics standing out as the publishers with the most nods. 

The competition - named for the great cartoonist Will Eisner - is in its 36th year and is voted for by comics biz professionals, with the final decisions made by a judging panel made up of educator Ryan Claytor, writer and art historian N. C. Christopher Couch, educator Andréa Gilroy, writer and publisher Joseph Illidge, comics retailer Mathias Lewis, and writer and librarian Jillian Rudes.

For our money this is a very solid list. We're hearted to see Newsarama favorites like Transformers, Birds of Prey, and Somna getting nods, while the chart-topping Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees is another very well-deserved nominee. We're also very pleased to see Michael Molcher's excellent text on Judge Dredd - I Am the Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future - get some love, as well as the gorgeous color omnibus of Alan Moore and Ian Gibson's classic The Ballad of Halo Jones.

The winners of the 2024 Eisner Awards will be presented with their trophies at an awards ceremony on the evening of July 26, right in the middle of this year's San Diego Comic Con, so keep an eye out then to see which of your favorites won. Now, to the nominations...

(Image credit: DSTLRY)

Best short story

• “Friendship Is Forever,” by Sam Maggs and Keisha Okafor, from My Little Pony 40th Celebration (IDW)
• “The Kelpie,” by Becky Cloonan, from Four Gathered on Christmas Eve (Dark Horse)
• “The Lady of the Lake,” by Joe S. Farrar and Guilherme Grandizolli, from BUMP: A Horror Anthology #3 (BUMP)
• “Talking to a Hill,” by Larry Hancock and Michael Cherkas, from Comics for Ukraine (Zoop)
• “World’s Finest, Part 1,” by Tom King and Belen Ortega, from Wonder Woman #3 (DC)

Best single issue/one-shot

• Horologist, by Jared Lee and Cross (Grim Film)
• Nightwing #105, by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo (DC)
• Star Trek: Day of Blood—Shax’s Best Day, by Ryan North and Derek Charm (IDW)
• Superman 2023 Annual, by Joshua Williamson and others (DC)
• Sweet Paprika: Black, White, & Pink, by Mirka Andolfo and others (Image)

Best continuing series

• Birds of Prey, by Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Basto Romero (DC)
• Nightwing, by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo (DC)
• Shazam! by Mark Waid and Dan Mora (DC)
• Transformers, by Daniel Warren Johnson (Image / Skybound)
• Wonder Woman, by Tom King and Daniel Sampere (DC)

Best limited series

• The Cull, by Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis (Image)
• Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons, by Frank Tieri and Inaki Miranda (IDW)
• Kill Your Darlings, by Ethan S. Parker, Griffin Sheridan, and Robert Quinn (Image)
• PeePee PooPoo, by Caroline Cash (Silver Sprocket)
• Superman: Lost, by Christopher Priest and Carlo Pagulayan (DC)

Best limited series

• Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, by Patrick Horvath (IDW)
• Black Cloak, by Kelly Thompson and Meredith McClaren (Image)
• Local Man, by Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs (Image)
• Phantom Road, by Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Hernández Walta (Image)
• Somna: A Bedtime Story, by Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay (DSTLRY)

Best publication for early readers

• Bigfoot and Nessie: The Art of Getting Noticed, by Chelsea M. Campbell and Laura Knetzger (Penguin Workshop/Penguin Random House)
• Burt the Beetle Lives Here! by Ashley Spires (Kids Can Press)
• Go-Go Guys, by Rowboat Watkins (Chronicle Books)
• The Light Inside, by Dan Misdea (Penguin Workshop/Penguin Random House)
• Milk and Mocha: Our Little Happiness, by Melani Sie (Andrews McMeel)
• Tacos Today: El Toro & Friends, by Raúl the Third (HarperCollins/Versify)

Best publication for kids

• Buzzing, by Samuel Sattin and Rye Hickman (Little, Brown Ink)
• Mabuhay!, by Zachary Sterling (Scholastic Graphix)
• Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir, by Pedro Martín (Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Young Readers)
• Missing You, by Phellip Willian and Melissa Garabeli. translation by Fabio Ramos (Oni Press)
• Saving Sunshine, by Saadia Faruqi and Shazleen Khan (First Second/Macmillan)

Best publication for teens

• Blackward, by Lawrence Lindell (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Danger and Other Unknown Risks, by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (Penguin Workshop/Penguin Random House)
• Frontera, by Julio Anta and Jacoby Salcedo (HarperAlley)
• Lights, by Brenna Thummler (Oni Press)
• Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story, by Sarah Myer (First Second/Macmillan)
• My Girlfriend’s Child, vol. 1, by Mamoru Aoi, translation by Hana Allen (Seven Seas)

Best humor publication

• How to Love: A Guide to Feelings & Relationships for Everyone, by Alex Norris (Candlewick/Walker Books)
• I Was a Teenage Michael Jackson Impersonator, and Other Musical Meanderings, by Keith Knight (Keith Knight Press)
• It’s Jeff: The Jeff-Verse #1, by Kelly Thompson and Gurihiru (Marvel)
• Macanudo: Optimism Is for the Brave, by Liniers (Fantagraphics)
• The Yakuza’s Bias, by Teki Yatsuda. translation by Max Greenway (Kodansha)

Best anthology

• Comics for Ukraine, edited by Scott Dunbier (Zoop)
• Deep Cuts, by Kyle Higgins, Joe Clark, Danilo Beyruth, and others (Image)
• The Devil’s Cut, edited by Will Dennis (DSTLRY)
• Marvel Age #1000, edited by Tom Brevoort (Marvel)
• The Out Side: Trans & Nonbinary Comics, edited by The Kao, Min Christensen, and David Daneman (Andrews McMeel)
• Swan Songs by W. Maxwell Prince and others (Image)

Best reality-based work

• Are You Willing to Die for the Cause? by Chris Oliveros (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Last on His Feet: Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century, by Adrian Matejka and Youssef Daoudi (Liveright)
• Messenger: The Legend of Muhammad Ali, by Marc Bernardin and Ron Salas (First Second/Macmillan)
• Thing: Inside the Struggle for Animal Personhood, by Samuel Machado and Cynthia Sousa Machado with Steven M. Wise (Island Press)
• Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller: The Man Who Created Nancy, by Bill Griffith (Abrams ComicArts)

Best graphic memoir

• Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam, by Thien Pham (First Second/Macmillan)
• A First Time for Everything, by Dan Santat (First Second/Macmillan)
• In Limbo, by Deb JJ Lee (First Second/Macmillan)
• Memento Mori, by Tiitu Takalo, translation by Maria Schroderus (Oni Press)
• Sunshine: How One Camp Taught Me About Life, Death, and Hope, by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Scholastic Graphix)
• The Talk, by Darrin Bell (Henry Holt)

Best graphic album - new

• Ashes, by Álvaro Ortiz, translation by Eva Ibarzabal (Top Shelf/IDW)
• Eden II, by K. Wroten (Fantagraphics)
• A Guest in the House, by Emily Carroll (First Second/Macmillan)
• Parasocial, by Alex De Campi and Erica Henderson (Image)
• Roaming, by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best graphic album - reprint

• Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise Treasury Edition, by Tradd Moore (Marvel)
• The Good Asian, by Pornsak Pichetshote and Alexandre Tefenkgi (Image)
• Hip Hop Family Tree: The Omnibus, by Ed Piskor (Fantagraphics)
• Orange Complete Series Box Set, by Ichigo Takano, translation by Amber Tamosaitis (Seven Seas)
• Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons, by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha, and Nicola Scott (DC)

Best adaptation from another medium

• Bea Wolf, adapted by Zach Weinersmith and Boulet (First Second/Macmillan)
• #DRCL midnight children, vol. 1, based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, by Shin’ichi Sakamoto, translation by Caleb Cook (VIZ Media)
• H.P. Lovecraft’s The Shadow over Innsmouth, adapted by Gou Tanabe, translation by Zack Davisson (Dark Horse Manga)
• The Monkey King: The Complete Odyssey, adapted by Chaiko, translation by Dan Christensen (Magnetic)
• Watership Down, by Richard Adams, adapted by James Sturm and Joe Sutphin (Ten Speed Graphic)

Best US edition of international material

• Ashes, by Álvaro Ortiz, translation by Eva Ibarzabal (Top Shelf/IDW)
• Blacksad, Vol 7: They All Fall Down, Part 2, by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, translation by Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander (Europe Comics)
• A Boy Named Rose, by Gaëlle Geniller, translation by Fabrice Sapolsky (Fairsquare Comics)
• The Great Beyond, by Léa Murawiec, translation by Aleshia Jensen (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Shubeik Lubeik, by Deena Mohamed (Pantheon Books/Penguin Random House)
• Spa, by Erik Svetoft, translation by Melissa Bowers (Fantagraphics)

Best US edition of international material - Asia

• #DRCL midnight children, vol. 1, based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, by Shin’ichi Sakamoto, translation by Caleb Cook (VIZ Media)
• Goodbye, Eri, by Tatsuki Fujimoto, translation by Amanda Haley (VIZ Media)
• The Horizon, vol. 1, by JH, translation by ULTRAMEDIA Co. Ltd. (Yen/Ize Press)
• My Picture Diary, by Fujiwara Maki, translation by Ryan Holmberg (Drawn & Quarterly)
• River’s Edge, by Kyoko Okazaki, translation by Alexa Frank (Kodansha)
• The Summer Hikaru Died, vol. 1, by Mokumokuren, translation by Ajani Oloye (Yen Press)

Best archival collection/projects - strips

• Dauntless Dames: High-Heeled Heroes of the Comic Strips, edited by Peter Maresca and Trina Robbins (Fantagraphics)
• David Wright’s Carol Day: Lance Hallam, edited by Roger Clark, Chris Killackey, and Guy Mills (Slingsby Bros, Ink!)
• Popeye Sundays Vol 3: The Sea Hag and Alice the Goon, by E.C. Segar, edited by Conrad Groth and Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
• Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies 1932-1935: Starring Bucky Bug and Donald Duck and Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies 1935-1939: Starring Donald Duck and Big Bad Wolf, edited by David Gerstein (Fantagraphics)
• Where I’m Coming From, by Barbara Brandon-Croft, edited by Peggy Burns and Tracy Hurren (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best archival collection/projects - comic books

• Adventures Into Terror: The Atlas Comics Library, vol. 1, edited by Michael J. Vassallo (Fantagraphics)
• All-Negro Comics 75th Anniversary Edition, edited by Chris Robinson (Very GOOD Books)
• The Ballad of Halo Jones Full Colour Omnibus, by Alan Moore and Ian Gibson, edited by Olivia Hicks (2000AD/Rebellion)
• The John Severin Westerns Featuring American Eagle, edited by Michael Dean (Fantagraphics)
• Michael Golden’s Marvel Stories Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)

Best writer

• Stephen Graham Jones, Earthdivers (IDW)
• Mariko Tamaki, Roaming (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Tom Taylor, Nightwing, Titans (DC)
• Kelly Thompson, Birds of Prey, Harley Quinn, Black White and Redder (DC); Black Cloak, The Cull (Image); It’s Jeff, Captain Marvel (Marvel)
• Mark Waid, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Shazam!, World’s Finest: Teen Titans (DC)
• G. Willow Wilson, Poison Ivy (DC); Hunger and the Dusk (IDW)

Best writer/artist

• Emily Carroll, A Guest in the House (First Second/Macmillan)
• Bill Griffith, Three Rocks (Abrams ComicArts)
• Daniel Warren Johnson, Transformers (Image/Skybound)
• Mokumokuren, The Summer Hikaru Died, vol. 1 (Yen Press)
• Zoe Thorogood, Hack/Slash: Back To School (Image)
• Tillie Walden, Clementine Book Two (Image/Skybound)

Best penciller/inker or penciller/inker team

• Jason Shawn Alexander, Detective Comics (DC); Killadelphia, with Germán Erramouspe (Image)
• Tula Lotay, Barnstormers: A Ballad of Love and Murder (Comixology Originals/Best Jackett)
• Inaki Miranda, Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons (IDW)
• Dan Mora, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Shazam! (DC)
• Chris Samnee, Fire Power (Image Skybound)
• Jillian Tamaki, Roaming (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best painter/multimedia artist (interior art)

• Jason Shawn Alexander, Blacula: Return of the King (Zombie Love Studios)
• Chaiko, The Monkey King (Magnetic)
• Juanjo Guarnido, Blacksad, Vol 7: They All Fall Down, Part 2 (Europe Comics)
• Liam Sharp, Nocterra: Nemesis Special (Best Jackett); Starhenge: The Dragon and the Boar (Image)
• Martin Simmonds, Universal Monsters: Dracula (Image/Skybound)
• Sana Takeda, The Night Eaters: Her Little Reapers (Abrams ComicArts); Monstress (Image)

Best cover artist

• Jen Bartel, DC Pride 2023, Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville #1 (DC); Captain Marvel: Dark Tempest #1, Demon Wars: Scarlet Sin #1, Scarlet Witch #9, Sensational She-Hulk (Marvel)
• Evan Cagle, Detective Comics (DC)
• Jenny Frison, Alice Never After #1, BRZRKR: Fallen Empire #1, and other alternate covers (BOOM! Studios); Knight Terrors: Harley Quinn #1–2, Poison Ivy #8, #12 (DC)
• E. M. Gist, Expanse Dragon Tooth #1, Something Is Killing the Children #28 & #34, Wild’s End, vol 2 #4 and other alternate covers (BOOM! Studios); Amazing Spider-Man #23, Doctor Aphra #36, Moon Knight #3, Nightcrawlers #1, Wolverine #38 (Marvel)
• Peach Momoko, Demon Wars: Scarlet Sin, various alternate covers (Marvel)
• Dan Mora, Coda #3, Damn Them All #4, MMPR 30th Anniversary Special #1, Rare Flavours #3 and other alternate covers (BOOM! Studios); Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Outsiders #1, Poison Ivy #9, Shazam!, Titans #1 (DC)

Best coloring

• Jordie Bellaire, Batman, Birds of Prey (DC); Dark Spaces: Hollywood Special (IDW)
• Matt Hollingsworth, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, Punisher (Marvel)
• Lee Loughridge, Red Zone (AWA); Edgeworld, Grammaton Punch, Nostalgia (Comixology Originals); The Devil’s Cut, Gone, Somna (DSTLRY); Star Trek (IDW); Killadelphia (Image); Hunt. Kill. Repeat. (Mad Cave)
• Dave McCaig, The Sacrificers (Image), The Walking Dead Deluxe (Image Skybound)
• Dean White, Conan the Barbarian (Titan Comics)

Best lettering

• Lauren Bowes, Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes (Titan Comics)
• Emily Carroll, A Guest in the House (First Second/Macmillan)
• Bill Griffith, Three Rocks (Abrams ComicArts)
• Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, The Unlikely Story of Felix and Macabber, The Witcher: Wild Animals, and others (Dark Horse); Batman: City of Madness, The Flash, Poison Ivy, and others (DC); Black Cat Social Club (Humanoids); Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees (IDW); The Cull, What’s the Furthest Place from Here? (Image); and others
• Richard Starkings, Barnstormers: A Ballad of Love and Murder, Canary (Comixology Originals/Best Jackett); Parliament of Rooks (Comixology); Astro City, Battle Chasers (Image); Conan the Barbarian (Titan Comics)
• Rus Wooton, Monstress, The Sacrificers (Image); Fire Power, Kroma, Transformers, The Walking Dead Deluxe, Universal Monsters: Dracula, Void Rivals (Image/Skybound); Hunt. Kill. Repeat., A Legacy of Violence, Nature’s Labyrinth (Mad Cave)

Best comics-related periodical/journalism

• The Comics Journal #309; edited by Gary Groth, Kristy Valenti, and Austin English (Fantagraphics)
• “The Indirect Market,” by Brandon Schatz and Danica LeBlanc, comicsbeat.com
• Rob Salkowitz, for Forbes, ICv2.com, Publishers Weekly
• SKTCHD, by David Harper, www.sktchd.com
• SOLRAD: The Online Literary Magazine for Comics, www.solrad.co (Fieldmouse Press)

Best comics-related book

• Bryan Talbot: Father of the British Graphic Novel, by J. D. Harlock and Bryan Talbot (Brainstorm Studios)
• Confabulation: An Anecdotal Autobiography, by Dave Gibbons (Dark Horse)
• Flamed Out: The Underground Adventures and Comix Genius of Willy Murphy, edited by Mark Burstein (Fantagraphics)
• I Am the Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future, by Michael Molcher (Rebellion)
• The Pacific Comics Companion, by Stephan Friedt and Jon B. Cooke (TwoMorrows)
• Thalamus: The Art of Dave McKean (Dark Horse)

Best academic/scholarly work

• Asian Political Cartoons, by John A. Lent (University Press of Mississippi)
• The Claremont Run: Subverting Gender in the X- Men, by J. Andrew Deman (University of Texas Press)
• Desegregating Comics: Debating Blackness in the Golden Age of American Comics, edited by Qiana Whitted (Rutgers University Press)
• If Shehrazad Drew: Critical Writings on Arab Comics, by George Khoury-Jad (Sawaf Center for Arab Comics Studies and American University of Beirut Press)
• In Visible Archives: Queer and Feminist Visual Culture in the 1980s, by Margaret Galvan (University of Minnesota Press)
• Super Bodies: Comic Book Illustration, Artistic Styles, and Narrative Impact, by Jeffrey A. Brown (University of Texas Press)

Best publication design

• Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein boxed set, designed by Mike Kennedy (Magnetic)
• Gratuitous Ninja, by Ronald Wimberly, designed by Chloe Scheffe (Beehive Books)
• Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes, designed by Donna Askem (Titan Comics)
• Iron Maiden: Piece of Mind, designed by Josh Bernstein and Rob Schwager (Z2)
• Toilet-bound Hanako-kun First Stall Box Set, designed by Wendy Chan (Yen Press)

Best webcomic

• Asturias: The Origin of a Flag, by Javi de Castro, https://www.javidecastro.com/asturias-the-origin-of-a-flag
• Daughter of a Thousand Faces, by Vel (Velinxi), https://tapas.io/series/daughter-of-a-thousand-faces/info (Tapas)
• Lore Olympus, by Rachel Smythe, https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/lore-olympus/s3-episode-226/viewer?title_no=1320&episode_no=231 (WEBTOON)
• Matchmaker, vol. 6, by Cam Marshall at https://matchmakercomic.com/. (Silver Sprocket)
• 3rd Voice, by Evan Dahm, https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/3rd-voice/list?title_no=828919 (WEBTOON)
• Unfamiliar, by Haley Newsome: https://tapas.io/series/unfamiliar/info (Tapas)

Best digital comic

• Blacksad, Vol 7: They All Fall Down, Part 2. by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, translation by Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander (Europe Comics)
• Friday, by Ed Brubaker and Marcos Martin, vols. 7–8 (Panel Syndicate)
• Parliament of Rooks, by Abigail Jill Harding (Comixology Originals)
• Practical Defense Against Piracy, by Tony Cliff (delilahdirk.com)
• A Witch’s Guide to Burning, by Aminder Dhaliwal (Instagram.com/aminder_d)