10 Jan 2018

WHAT IS IT?

The Inkwell Awards invites you to the eighth annual Joe Sinnott Inking Challenge. With his approval and support, we have taken a couple of his pencil art fundraising donations and converted them to bluelines for inking. 

We’ve chosen ink artists who are A) part of our organization, B) Inkwell-Award recipients, or C) notable for their career inkwork, but any inker can take part, including novices. Some of you who missed previous Challenges asked to be added to the list and you are included here.

For fundraising and educational purposes, would you be willing to participate in inking one or both of these pieces? We’ll take the final images and post them on our Comic Art Fans gallery for comparison to Joe’s initial pencil art to showcase to the public the contributions and talents of ink artists. These pieces would also be auctioned off to raise funds for our vital operational needs and philanthropic programs. These include: 

—The Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund to the Kubert School; 

—The COMPliments Program (allowing HoF inkers who are not receiving collections of their work from publishers to receive them through us instead);

—Expenses for our live awards ceremony every June at Heroes Con, such as purchasing winners’ trophies, flights for award recipients, etc.

Thanks to generous artists like you, last year’s successful program (not counting the Neal Adams Spotlight spin-off) brought in over $2,100 and this year we anticipate an even better outcome. You can see samples of donations from our previous years at our Comic Art Fans gallery (top left-labeled links): http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=35444

ALL PROCEEDS RAISED go 100% to the non-profit and the only members paid for any services are legal, accounting and spokesmodels, as needed. NO Inkwell Committee Members or Volunteers have EVER received payment for their services.

WHAT TO DO?

If you are interested in contributing please REPLY back to myself <dmralmond@gmail.com> and senior contributor Tom Schloendorn <tom_schloendorna4@comcast.net> to confirm that you have the tools/capabilities to print up a hi-res blueline file on 11×17 2-ply Strathmore vellum board to ship back to me and we will promptly email you the hi-res file of either one or both images– please specify WHICH attached character you want. Files will usually be emailed within 24 hours of requests. (THE SAMPLES BELOW ARE LO-RES SIMPLY FOR REFERENCE ONLY). If you don’t have the printing capabilities and are an established, published professional but you’d like us to ship either or both pages of bluelined boards to you, please forward your shipping address to us in your reply. 

ONCE YOU ARE FINISHED, PLEASE EMAIL ME A 300dpi SCAN OF YOUR WORK BEFORE SHIPPING THE PAGE if you want to be included in any subsequent book collections.

If you cannot participate we totally understand about your busy schedules and lives making it a challenge but PLEASE LMK ASAP, REGARDLESS (if we do this again, we’d probably touch base with you again…BUT NOT IF YOU DIDN’T RESPOND). Should you know of another notable inker willing to participate, please pass on their email address so we can invite them; however, we have the right to not include a request and please be aware that no work is guaranteed to be included in our subsequent book collection. But to be eligible for the book you MUST send us a 300ppi hi-res scan at full size upon completion and before shipping. We will be following-up with friendly reminders prior to the deadline. 

WHAT’S THE DEADLINE?

The deadline is MONDAY, April 2, 2018 (12+ weeks). THE ART MUST BE SHIPPED AND RECEIVED by Mark Sinnott at:

Mark Sinnott

Joe Sinnott Inking Challenge

44 Spaulding Lane

Saugerties, NY 12477

***Joe Sinnott will sign every page. If you leave his blueline signature blank, he will sign it there (but it won’t be in the scan if used in the book). If you ink in his sig, he will sign the page outside the borders or wherever there is a good spot. Mark Sinnott will subsequently ship them to me for the auctions, which will run subsequent to that in 2-4 waves in April. (The less-inclusive Erik Larsen Spotlight Challenge art will run in late February-early March.)

SPECIFIC INKING NOTES: You can ink it ‘as is’ or reinterpret it, bringing something extra to the table….this year we will have a tightly-drawn LOKI and a loosely-drawn HELA.  You are encouraged to ink the logos to motivate more auction bids but you don’t have to.

Please LMK if you have any questions.

SUMMARY:

* reply to myself AND Tom if interested and request the hi-res blue line file(s) to be emailed or (vets only) the blueline print up(s) to be mailed with your shipping address.

* ship the art back upon completion to the Mark Sinnott address above. After that you can post it online publicly as long as you plug that (you may copy/paste): “It’s for the 8th JOE SINNOTT INKING CHALLENGE for the INKWELL AWARDS (https://inkwellawards.com) to promote and educate about the art form of inking and to raise funds for their non-profit organization and their annual Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund to the Kubert School.” (NOTE: Again, any art that is not hi-res scanned can NOT be scanned by us and will NOT used in a book.)

* we will be happy to mail you tax-exempt receipts upon request for your contribution.

* we will contact you later if we plan to include you in the book collection for the previous year’s contributions and get your bio/photo/comment information.

THANK YOU for your time, effort, and support, especially those who have been involved in this program for several years (you know who you are!).

Sincerely,

Bob Almond, director: The Inkwell Awards (w/ special thanks to asst director Mike Pascale)

19 Jun 2017

photo: Hailey Skaza-Gagne


 

 

 

(New Bedford, MA/USA—June 19, 2017) The Inkwell Awards has released the names of the winners of its 10th annual awards for excellence in the art form of comic book inking. As before, nominees were chosen by a separate and independent nomination committee; this year had more nominees than ever. Voting by professionals and fans alike took place via live ballot at the non-profit advocacy’s website. One winner was chosen in each of five categories based on American-based interior comic-book work cover-dated 2016.

 

Separately, the Inkwells internally selected the two recipients of the annual Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award and, this year, two recipients for the Special Recognition Award (SRA) category. Winners were contacted and many of the invited guests were present to receive their trophies during North Carolina’s Heroes Con, the host show for the Inkwells, for their seventh live ceremony. Winners and nominees are listed below, along with the percentage of votes received, where applicable.

 

FAVORITE INKER: Scott Hanna (21.06%)

(Action Comics, Batman, Justice League, Superman: Lois & Clark, Wonder Woman [DC]; A-Force, All-New Wolverine, Avengers: Standoff, Civil War II: The Fallen, Drax, Nova, Squadron Supreme, Uncanny Inhumans, Web Warriors, [Marvel]).

Other nominees: Sandra Hope-Archer (16.02%), Danny Miki (12.95%), Jonathan Glapion (12.53%),  Matt Banning (12.22%), Tim Townsend (11.44%), Eber Ferriera (9.15%),  Stefano Gaudiano (6.92%) and Mick Gray (5.2%)

 

 

 

MOST-ADAPTABLE INKER: Walden Wong (19.97%)

(Earth 2, Robin War [DC]; Jupiter’s Circle v2 [Image]; All-New Wolverine, Guardians of Infinity, Max Ride, Web Warriors [Marvel]).

Other nominees: Scott Hanna (14.87%), Sandra Hope-Archer (12.43%), Jonathan Glapion (12.38%), Mark Morales (11.23), Victor Olazaba (9.57%), Norm Rapmund (9.2%), Danny Miki (8.01%), Jay Leisten (4.42%), Wayne Faucher and Dexter Vines, both at (4.06%)

 

 

 

PROPS (inker deserving of more attention): Scott Hanna (24.34%)

(Action Comics, Batman, Justice League, Superman: Lois & Clark, Wonder Woman [DC]; A-Force, All-New Wolverine, Avengers: Standoff, Civil War II: The Fallen, Drax, Nova, Squadron Supreme, Uncanny Inhumans, Web Warriors, [Marvel]).

Other nominees: Jonathan Glapion (19.14%), Klaus Janson (18.72%), Dexter Vines (13%), Tony Kordos (12.64%), Andrew Hennessey (9.67%) and Jason Paz (6.76%)

 

 

 

S.P.A.M.I. (Small Press and Mainstream Independent): Jonathan Glapion (23.45%)(Reborn [Image]).

Other nominees: Stefano Gaudiano (23.09%), Karl Story (22.93%),  Brian Shearer (13.68%), Ryan Winn (12.43%) and Cliff Rathburn (6.66%)

 

 

 

 

 

ALL-IN-ONE (pencilling and inking together): Erik Larsen (18.46%)

(Savage Dragon [Image])

Other nominees: Nicola Scott (16.33%), Liam Sharp (16.28%), Stan Sakai (13.99%), Walter Simonson (12.95%), Jerome Opena (9.98%) and Joelle Jones (6.71%)

 

 

 

 

THE SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD (SRA): Violet Barclay, aka Valerie Smith (Golden/Silver Age) and Allen Milgrom (Bronze/Modern Age)

Other nominees (in alphabetical order): Michael Allred, Sy Barry, John Byrne, Ernie Chan, Jack Davis, Tony Dezuniga, Will Elder, Mike Esposito, Frank Frazetta, Gerhard, Geoff Isherwood, George Klein, Frank McLaughlin, Mike Mignola and Mike Royer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rudy Nebres (Photo: Luigi Novi)

THE JOE SINNOTT HALL OF FAME: Jerry Ordway and Rudy Nebres. Other nominees: Mike DeCarlo, Mark Farmer, Bob Layton, Pablo Marcos, Bob McLeod and Mike Royer.

Joe Sinnott, the award’s namesake and first recipient, made a statement regarding this year’s inductees:

I have always been in awe of the fabulous art that Rudy Nebres does. Such detailed and beautiful ink lines are displayed on every page. I really enjoyed the outstanding work that Rudy did on The Savage Sword Of Conan. It is in my opinion some of the best illustration that I have ever seen. It is always a pleasure when we get together at shows. We always have such a good time. I only wish we could do it more often.

“Jerry Ordway, much like Rudy, is such a great artist in his own right. I greatly enjoyed his work on Superman. It is some of the finest that I’ve seen. I did have the pleasure of inking one of Jerry’s Fantastic Four issues, #296. He was one of many artists that I was able to ink on the FF through the years, and certainly one of the best. I only wish that we could have done more than just that lone issue together.

“I am so proud that these two fine gentlemen can now join our elite group. Welcome to the Joe Sinnott Hall Of Fame Class of 2017, Rudy and Jerry. You are both well deserving, and it is great to have you on board as members.

“Also, once again, a huge thank you to The Inkwell Awards for doing such an outstanding job in promoting and educating about the art of comic book inking. And to the Inkwells’ committee for electing Rudy and Jerry. To all the comic book fans, a big thank you for your continued support of The Inkwell Awards. And lastly to Bob Almond. Without Bob, none of this would be possible.”

The ceremony began with a special appearance by Guest Speaker and industry legend Joe Giella, who discussed the artform of comic-book inking, his career in the medium, and its artists. Inkwell Awards founder and director Bob Almond acted as both ceremony host and co-presenter, joined by hostess “Ms. Inkwell,” as portrayed by Hailey Skaza-Gagne (formerly Holly Black).  Artist and Inkwell Assistant Director Mike Pascale acted as co-presenter. Industry pioneer Allen Bellman acted as guest speaker to discuss his days in art school and at Timely Comics alongside SRA award recipient Violet Barclay. Joe Goulart gave a tribute for his friend, Rich Buckler, the recently departed legendary creator and Inkwell Ambassador. Almond offered a tribute for long-standing and inspiring Inkwell member Stacey Aragon, who recently passed after a decade-long battle with cancer. He renamed the SRA Award the Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award (SRA), starting in 2018. All acceptance statements from the winners can be found in the “Results” section of the Inkwell Awards’ website in the near future.

The Inkwell Awards is the only existing official 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and promote the art form of comic-book inking, as well as annually recognize and award the best ink artists and their work. Now approaching its 10-year anniversary, the organization is overseen by a 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.

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15 Apr 2017

UPDATE: THE BALLOT BOX IS NOW CLOSED FOR THE 9th SEASON.  THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN CONTACTED.  RESULTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED FRIDAY JUNE 16 AT THE HEROES CON 7TH LIVE AWARDS CEREMONY AND IN PRESS ANNOUNCEMENTS FOLLOWING THAT EVENT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

 

Ballot Voting for the 2016 Inkwell Awards categories is now open at the following link
 
Click HERE to vote.
15 Apr 2016

UPDATE: THE BALLOT BOX IS NOW CLOSED FOR THE 8th SEASON.  THE WINNERS WILL BE CONTACTED THIS WEEKEND.  RESULTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED FRIDAY JUNE 7 AT THE HEROES CON 6TH LIVE AWARDS CEREMONY AND IN PRESS ANNOUNCEMENTS FOLLOWING THAT EVENT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Ballot Voting for the 2016 Inkwell Awards categories is now open at the following link

Click HERE to vote.