Month: June 2018

(New Bedford, MA/USA—June 17, 2018) The Inkwell Awards released the list of winners of its 11th annual awards for excellence in the art form of comic-book inking. Nominees were again chosen by a separate and independent nomination committee. This year featured the greatest number of nominees, including female inkers in three of the five categories. Voting by professionals and fans took place in April via live ballot at the non-profit advocacy’s website. One winner was chosen in each of five categories based on American interior comic-book work cover-dated 2017.

Separately, the Inkwells selected internally the two recipients of the annual Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award and one recipient for the Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award (SASRA). Winners were contacted and many of the invited guests were present to receive their trophies during North Carolina’s HeroesCon, the host show for the Inkwells. Winners are listed with their nominated credits and the percentage of votes received, where applicable.

FAVORITE INKER: Scott Hanna (29.4%)
(Booster Gold/The Flintstones Special, DC Holiday Special, Justice League Of America, Legion of Super-Heroes/Bugs Bunny Special, Superman, Trinity [DC]; All-New Wolverine, Black Panther, Black Panther & The Crew, Great Lakes Avengers, Ultimates 2, X-men Blue [Marvel]).
Other nominees: Bill Sienkiewicz, Jonathan Glapion, John Dell, Mick Gray, John Floyd, Dan Green, Seth Mann.

MOST-ADAPTABLE INKER: Scott Hanna (30.9%)

(See above credits.) Other nominees: Walden Wong, Mark Morales, Jonathan Glapion, Dexter Vines, Jay Leisten.

PROPS AWARD (inker deserving of more attention): Joe Prado (37.8%)
(Justice League Of America: Rebirth, Green Lanterns, Superman [DC]).

Other nominees: Tony Kordos, Marc Deering, Michelle Delecki, Daniel Henriques, Jason Paz.

S.P.A.M.I. (Small Press and Mainstream Independent): Sal Buscema (25.1%) (ROM [IDW]).
Other nominees: Mark Morales, Stefano Gaudiano, Irene Flores, Rodney Ramos, Ryan Winn, Robin Riggs.

 

ALL-IN-ONE (pencilling and inking together): Liam Sharp (18.46%)

(Justice League, Wonder Woman [DC]).
Other nominees: Dan Panosian, David Marquez Stan Sakai, Joelle Jones, Terry Moore, Mitch Gerads, Mico Suayan.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT:

THE STACEY ARAGON SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD (SASRA): Russ Heath
Other nominees: John Byrne and Jim Sanders III.

THE JOE SINNOTT HALL OF FAME: Joe Giella and Bob McLeod

Other nominees: Dan Adkins, John Beatty, Mike Esposito, Mark Farmer, Al Gordon, Bob Layton, Pablo Marcos, Frank McLaughlin and Bernie Wrightson.

“I was thrilled to hear that two very fine inkers were selected for induction into the Inkwell Awards Hall of Fame for 2018,” said Joe Sinnott, the award’s namesake and first recipient. “Both Joe and Bob have previous ties to the Inkwells, Bob being the keynote speaker at their awards ceremony at HeroesCon in 2012, and Joe being the Guest of Honor at the 2017 ceremony. It is with great pride that we honor these two excellent ink artists into the Inkwell Awards family as 2018 recipients of the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award. Congratulations, fellas, on jobs, and careers, well done!”

The live awards ceremony began with a special appearance by guest of honor and industry legend Mike Royer, who discussed the art form of comic-book inking, his career in the medium, and its artists. Inkwell Awards founder and director Bob Almond acted as ceremony host. He was joined by hostess and spokesmodel “Ms. Inkwell,” as portrayed by both Hailey Skaza-Gagne and 2011 spokesmodel Kathy Denise Taylor. Artist and Inkwell Contributor Dan Panosian presented the five main awards. Artist and Inkwell Ambassador Pat Broderick presented the Hall of Fame and SASRA awards.

In celebration of the non-profit’s 10th anniversary, Almond created the Above & Beyond Award for those organization members who have performed exceptionally (or others in the community who have made special efforts to advance the art form of inking). These went to:

–Hailey Skaza-Gagne, the longest-running Ms. Inkwell spokesmodel, who has appeared at four straight Heroes conventions and attended 21 consecutive events, raised thousands of dollars in fundraising, all the while expanding her duties to include public speaking and moderating panels.

–Robert Haines, the first person to serve on the nomination committee for 10 consecutive years since it began.

–Mark Sinnott, who has been a Senior Inkwell Contributor for a decade, acting as the liaison between the Inkwells and his father, Joe. “Without Mark’s generosity and diligence,” Almond said, “there would certainly not be nearly as many achievements nor funds raised for the organization–successes which allowed us to reach 10 years of operations and altruism.”

Almond also awarded “Silver Inkwells” to three nomination committee members who participated in five years of service: Matt Herring, Tony Parker and Rik Offenberger.

Thanks to the following people for their generous cooperation: Stephen Wyatt, Jeffrey Harnett and Pat McGrealy.

Full acceptance statements from the winners can be found in the “Results” section of the Inkwell Awards’ website.

(New Bedford, MA/USA—June 6, 2018) Voting results from the annual Inkwell Awards will be presented at the inking advocacy group’s live awards ceremony at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC this month. The event, also celebrating the non-profit’s 10th anniversary, is scheduled for Friday June 15, 5:00 PM, at the Charlotte Convention Center, in room 209-210.

Bronze-age DC Comics ink artist and one of Jack Kirby’s top inkers, Mike Royer, is scheduled to appear as Guest of Honor. “We are very fortunate to have one of the best ink artists in the field attending our special day of recognition,” said Bob Almond, the Inkwells’ founder/director and MC of the ceremony. “Since the other top Kirby inker is our Hall of Fame award’s namesake, Joe Sinnott, we’re doubly excited.”

The Inkwells have five categories: Favorite Inker, Most-Adaptable Inker, the “Props” award for under-recognized professionals, the S.P.A.M.I. for Small Press And Mainstream-Independent work, and the “All-in-One” for the artist who inks his/her own pencil art. Voters-–fans and professionals alike–all cast their ballots at the group’s website in April to show their support and choose their favorites.

Announced with the publicly-chosen award-winners will be the internally-voted two recipients of the yearly Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award and one winner of the annual Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award. To celebrate their decade anniversary, the Inkwells have created the “Above & Beyond” Award for members, volunteers and others who have served beyond the call of duty to promote the artform of comic book inking and it’s ink artists.

Almond added, “There’s so much turnover when you are working with unpaid members, so when those rare volunteers stay long-term and go the extra yard for the organization, we need to thank those special folks for their exceptional dedication.”

In addition to Royer, Almond will MC the event, while artist and longtime Inkwell contributor Dan Panosian will act as presenter. Recently-added Inkwell ambassador, artist Pat Broderick, will present the lifetime achievement awards. Also appearing will be veteran hostess Hailey Skaza-Gagne as spokesmodel Ms. Inkwell, who will be joined by 2011 Heroes Con Ms. Inkwell, Kathy Denise Taylor, in her first return to Heroes Con as a co-spokesmodel. She shared “I’m super excited to be able to come back and help again!”

Other related guests at the Heroes show itself include Inkwell ambassadors Buzz and Cully Hamner. There may also be surprise appearances at the ceremony by member-creators, the award recipients or other supporters.

As an added bonus, the first 25 non-member attendees will receive a raffle ticket for a door prize. After the event, every ticket holder will also win a prize as explained at the ceremony.

“We’ve had record attendance for the last couple years,” said Almond, “and plan to repeat that achievement, especially with our impressive lineup and prizes.”

During the show, The Inkwells will be set up in Artists Alley at 1615-1616 as can be seen at the Heroes Con website. To help raise much-needed funds, they’ll be offering (for donations) a variety of Inkwell merchandise, including their recently-released Ms. Inkwell Gallery art book, signed by cover artist Bill Sienkiewicz, Joe Sinnott, Bob Almond, and spoksemodels Hailey Skaza-Gagne, Skylar Lauren Godwin and Kathy Denise Taylor. (Their latest Joe Sinnott Inking Challenge Book and 10th Anniversary Album will be available later in the year.)

Almond concluded, “We can’t show enough gratitude to promoter Shelton Drum and the Heroes Con staff for annually supporting the community and giving fans an opportunity to learn more about and appreciate this often overlooked industry craft and its artists. We’re really looking forward to seeing everyone on Friday and during the con!”