24 Apr 2023

(New Bedford, MA/USA—April 24, 2023) The Inkwell Awards is now open for fans and professionals to choose their industry favorites. The official public ballot will be available on the Inkwells’ homepage for two weeks, from Wednesday April 26 through May 10.

Voting is open in five categories: Favorite Inker, Most Adaptable, Props (inkers deserving more attention), The S.P.A.M.I. (Small Press And Mainstream/Independent for non-Marvel/DC work) and All-In-One for artists who ink their own pencils. The awards cover all printed American comic books cover-dated 2022.

“This year we continue with the new addition to our ballot,” said Bob Almond, founder, and director of The Inkwell Awards, the only non-profit organization devoted to public education and promotion of the art of comic book inking. “In answer to myriad requests, last year we were able to link sample images submitted by the nominated artists on the ballot. This will help both voters and artists to hopefully make the process easier and fairer. The Inkwell core committee team and our webmaster Steven Freivogel spent much time and effort in discussion and preparation to make this work and we’re confident it will help everyone.”

He added, “Our nomination procedure continues to include inkers who submitted their work in addition to those chosen by our internal nomination committee. Too many ink artists are passed over and go unnoticed by most awards events. Ours caters specifically to inkers so they can be recognized and appreciated for their best work. We encourage all who appreciate quality artwork to participate and share on social media; the more voters, the better.”

The internally-chosen lifetime achievement accolades, the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame award and the Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award (SASRA), were announced March 9, separately from the ballot categories like we did last time. Without a host-show awards ceremony this year, there are currently no restrictions on how and when winners are announced.

The Inkwell Awards is the only official 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and educate regarding the art form of comic-book inking, as well as annually recognize the best ink artists and their work. Established in 2008, the Inkwells are overseen by a volunteer committee of industry professionals and assisted by various professional ambassadors and contributors. They sponsor the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund for the Kubert School and host the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award. This year they celebrate their 15th anniversary.
22 Apr 2023

logo: Rik Offenberger

Due to funding delays, we at the Inkwell Awards were not able to include the trophies for the internal/community-based Above & Beyond winners when we released the results for the lifetime achievement winners for the Joe Sinnott Hall of fame and the Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award (SASRA). The A&B Award is not an annual category but only awarded when the need arises, whenever an internal member of the organization goes above & beyond and when someone in the community promotes the artform of inking and its artists (none were offered in 2020). Begun in 2018 at the final Heroes Con-hosted ceremony, the A&B Award’s first recipients were Mark Sinnott and Hailey Skaza-Gagne to recognize the extraordinary dedication they have provided for the organization, and Robert Haines for being the first Nomination Committee (NomCom) candidate to reach 10 years of service. Since then several NomCom members have reached a decade of service and Heroes Con promoter Shelton Drum was rewarded one for acting as our host show for eight years.

Rik Offenberger

This year Rik Offenberger, journalist and owner of First Comics News, and creator Tony Parker reached their much-deserved 10-year NomCom incentive award. Upon receipt of the trophy Rik said, “I would like to thank the Inkwell Awards for the Award” and Tony said “THANK YOU Bob Almond AND THE INKWELL AWARDS! Happy to help! (I’m horrible at receiving recognition, so thank y’all for understanding.)”

Bob Almond, Keith Williams, Hailey Skaza-Gagne, Little Giant Comics’ Old School Comic Show, 4/14/2023 (pic: Marjet Williams)

Next is Ink artist and former Marvel editor, Keith Williams. First, some background: Since 2011, the non-profit Inkwells has held the annual Joe Sinnott Inking Challenge, where Joe would draw two fully-rendered images of characters for participating pro & amateur artists, to ink over a blueline of Joe’s pencils (shortly after that began, one of the images was drawn tightly and the other loosely for those who wanted to do art finishes). That lasted eight years, six of which were published in book form, helping to bring attention to the contributions of ink artists with before and after images.
Keith inked 17 out of the 18 drawings before Joe retired and later passed away. After that a “Tribute Challenge” began with one of Joe’s top art partners, Ron Frenz, drawing Thor and then (the name changed to “Legacy Challenge”) another common collaborator, Alex Saviuk, was recently featured with a Spider-man & Mary Jane image, both of which were graced with Keith’s inks.

An exclusive spin-off of the event, the Sinnott Inking Challenge Spotlight, featured art by other iconic legends and contemporary fan-favorites, has had six years to date of single characters that Keith also joined up to ink but he missed the event launch with Jim Lee’s Superman. At 22 inked donations out of a possible 24, more than anyone else who participated, the prolific Keith has selflessly contributed to help raise awareness about what ink artists bring to the table and donate to the essential Inkwell fundraising. His award was presented personally at the 2023 Little Giant Comics Old School Comic Show in Concord, NH on April 14.

A longtime veteran since the early 1980s, Keith said:

“Thank you so much for this amazing award! The Above and Beyond Award will have a special place on my fireplace! I would like to thank Bob, Hailey, and, of course, The Inkwell Awards.  I love inking. And enjoy doing the challenges every year. I hope that the part that I play in this helps promote the art of inking as a true art form and inspire new comic book artists to take up the challenge.”

Ray Burke

Lastly, recipient Ray Burke has been an Inkwell contributor since 2011 and his skill set and work ethic led to him being added to the core committee in late 2020. Since then he’s been the “Go-To Guy” due to committee creators like Bob, Mike Pascale and Joe Prado being often beset by work schedule obstacles so Ray has adapted to fit in and reliably assisted in almost every project, picking up the slack with tech matters, graphic design, book production, proofing, communications and more than we want to admit. Adds founder Bob Almond, “In fact, he’s been my right hand guy for some time now. Sadly, as a low-tier non-profit advocacy we cannot pay for these voluntary but exceptional achievements, so offering Ray an MVP version of the Above & Beyond award will show him how much he means to us.”
Ray’s statement after receiving the trophy was: “When I first met Bob Almond over a decade ago, I had a basic knowledge of comic book inking. I knew inkers took pencilled work and applied ink. Like most fans that was about all I really understood. Bob asked me to assist in the live ceremonies to have a slide show presentation for people to follow. I agreed, becoming a multimedia contributor. Since that time, thanks to the Inkwell Awards, I’ve met some of the biggest names in the comic book business. Not only that, I’ve learned that ink artists do more than just lay down ink. They can take finished pencils and enhance and embellish them. I have gained insight about their importance in the comic book world, and how inking can take artwork and add depth. The Inkwell Awards’ mission is to to educate the public and celebrate inking. I’m glad to have been on this journey so far because I’ve already learned so much. Looking back I’m surprised I’ve been a part of so many events and projects with the Inkwell Awards. Looking forward I can’t wait to see what’s in store. It is with great honor that I accept this 2023 Above & Beyond Award, and I’m excited to see what’s next!”
Congratulations to all of our current winners!
The Inkwell Awards is the only official 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and educate regarding the art form of comic-book inking, as well as annually recognize the best ink artists and their work. Established in 2008, the Inkwells are overseen by a volunteer committee of industry professionals and assisted by various professional ambassadors and contributors. They sponsor the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund for the Kubert School and host the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award. This year they celebrate their 15th anniversary.
11 Apr 2023

We normally have the artist’s birth and passing dates but his bios don’t reveal his birthday or age. But Mike’s wife Eve Machlan announced his passing on her Facebook feed as being on April 1st at 2:40am. Daily Obits dot com described his health issues as such: “passed away unexpectedly on April 1 as a result of complications coming from a stroke he suffered on March 30. His passing was caused by complications. The first of April was the day he passed away. Machlan has a prosperous career as an inker, contributing to a wide variety of publications for both Marvel and DC.” Inkwell contributor posted a column on Mike and his career at his blog. The Inkwell Family wishes his widow, family, loved ones and many fans their sincerest condolences.