09 Feb 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (New Bedford, MA/USA–February 09, 2023) The Inkwell Awards, a 501(c)(3) non-profit devoted to promoting the art of comic book inking, has announced that Frank Frazetta has posthumously won The Joe Sinnott Hall Of Fame Award for his career ink art. Awarded since 2008, The Sinnott Hall Of Fame, named after inking legend […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (New Bedford, MA/USA–February 09, 2023) The Inkwell Awards, a 501(c)(3) non-profit devoted to promoting the art of comic book inking, has announced that Frank Frazetta has posthumously won The Joe Sinnott Hall Of Fame Award for his career ink art.

Awarded since 2008, The Sinnott Hall Of Fame, named after inking legend Joe Sinnott, is a lifetime achievement award for a minimum 25-year inking career of outstanding accomplishment in American comic books. Two winners are chosen annually by the Inkwells’ internal committee. The second winner, along with the winners of the Inkwell’s other lifetime achievement award, the Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award (SASRA), will be announced separately at a later date.

(L to R: Frank Frazetta III and Frank Frazetta, Jr., at the Frazetta Art Museum with Inkwell Awards Sinnott with 2023 Inkwell Awards Sinnott Hall Of Fame trophy and 2021 SASRA trophy.)

Frazetta’s son, Frank Frazetta Jr., shared the following statement:

“My father’s work has touched millions worldwide and his oil paintings sell for millions. It is essential to note that his love of art, and his career, started with comics. His life’s work and how it continues to touch and stimulate new generations is a great testament to the power of the comics art form to inspire. We thank Bob Almond, the Inkwell Committee, Special Ambassador J. David Spurlock and everyone with The Inkwell Awards for recognizing Frank Frazetta’s historic contributions to the art of inking with their most prestigious award, The Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame honor; especially since today (Feb. 9) would have been Frank’s 95th  birthday. We invite everyone to visit us at The Frazetta Art Museum in East Stroudsburg, PA, to study the World’s largest collection of Frazetta art.”

Frazetta previously won the SASRA in 2021 and becomes only the second artist (with Bernie Wrightson) to win both the Inkwells’ Lifetime Achievement Awards.

02 Jul 2021

Inkwell Awards Announces Artists For Joe Sinnott Tribute Inking Challenge

(New Bedford, MA/USA—July 2, 2021) The non-profit Inkwell Awards, devoted to promoting the art of comic book inking, has released the list of artists participating in its first Joe Sinnott Tribute Challenge Spotlight. The event features artist Ron Frenz’s exclusive pencil art of Marvel’s Thor, which was scanned and sent to a variety of ink artists to embellish. The artwork will be then auctioned for fundraising.

According to founder/director Bob Almond, the event was launched to commemorate the life and career of legendary ink artist Joe Sinnott around the anniversary of his passing last year, along with the annual inking event that bore his name since 2010.

“Our previous Sinnott Inking Challenges were major events for us and our supporters,” Almond said. “Joe would give us a tightly and/or loosely pencilled drawing of a popular character. Then ink artists of various experience levels would complete the scanned art in black and white, each bringing his or her own style to the piece. Fans are then able to see the difference in the pencilled and inked versions to better understand how much inkers contribute to the artform.”

The Tribute furthers the inking advocacy’s dual mission of promoting the artform and educating the public. Each inked page will be signed by Frenz and the inker. All pages, plus a certificate of authenticity signed by Almond, will then be auctioned off as a fundraiser in biweekly waves beginning Monday, July 5.

Sinnott’s son and estate agent, Mark Sinnott, said, “Bob Almond and I had decided that we would put an end to the Joe Sinnott Inking Challenge with the passing of my dad last June, but this was too good a tribute to refuse. This was all made possible by our good friend Joe Goulart, who had reached out to Joe’s long-time collaborator Ron Frenz, to take on this task…I agreed that yes, this would indeed be a great honor and tribute for my dad. I know that Joe would be so pleased and proud of everybody’s effort in making this happen. All the different interpretations that were done with Thor, the additions of some wonderful backgrounds, it was all truly such a great display of love and a fantastic tribute to Joe which I know he would have loved to have seen. He always enjoyed seeing the pieces that were turned in for all the previous Challenges. This tribute “4 Joe”, was something very special.”

“On behalf of the Inkwells,” added Almond, “our sincerest thanks to Mark, Joe, Ron, the over four dozen participating inkers, and all involved for their cooperation, support of our program, and appreciation of ink artists.”

The participating artists that gave tribute to Joe are:
Gerry Acerno
Kent Archer
Jeff Austin
Charles Barnett III
Mike Barreiro
Noah Barrett
Sean Begley
Joe Bennett
Steven Berry
Ken Branch
Eliot Brown
Richard Clark
Kevin Conrad
Adelso Corona
Marc Deering
John Dell
Guy Dorian Sr.
Ed Eargle
William Egli
John Floyd
David Fox
Ramona Fradon
Rusty Gilligan
Jeff Graham
Don Ho
Michael W. Kellar
Scott Koblish
Enrique Lopez
J. E. Lozano
Criss Madd
Pablo Marcos
Jose Marzan Jr.
Mark McKenna
Nick Nix
Joe Orsak
Dan Parsons
Mike Pascale
Mark Pennington
Joe Prado
ince Rodriguez
Alex Saviuk
Tom Schloendorn
Belinda Sinnott
Mark Sinnott
Andy Smith
Cam Smith
J. David Spurlock
Mark Stegbauer
J.L. Straw
Jason Sylvestre
Jim Tournas
Jonas Trindade
LeBeau Underwood
Larry Welch
Keith Williams

17 Nov 2020

While our volunteer nomination committee (“NomCom”) can still submit their choices, they just can’t see all the wonderful work during the year from all publishers large and small. So it’s up to YOU! Important details:

WHAT TO SEND:

1. TWO to THREE (max) interior pages of published & printed comic-book ink work you’ve done from any USA-published comic book (per categories below) COVER-DATED 2020 (sorry, no webcomics unless also printed.). Send either links to your specific samples (not general site links), or low-res image files. (Do not send large files–we’re not a printer!) DO NOT SEND PHYSICAL COPIES–they are not eligible. 

2. NAMES of the inker and penciller, preferred EMAIL ADDRESS, the TITLE/ISSUE #(s) and PUBLISHER

3. The CATEGORY(-IES) for each sample. You may submit the same or different work to different categories, EXCEPT “Favorite Inker” and “Props”–pick one or the other. Categories are:

    1.    Favorite Inker: favorite ink artist over the pencils of another artist. (Can’t be nominated for “Props.”)

    2.    Most-adaptable: showing exceptional ink style versatility over other pencil artists. (Minimum TWO pages per penciller, up to three.)

    3.    Props award: ink artist deserving of more attention for their work over other pencillers. (Can’t be past winner or nom. for “Favorite Inker.”)

    4.    The S.P.A.M.I: for favorite Small Press And Mainstream-Independent comic book ink work over another pencil artist (Non-Marvel or DC).

    4.    All-in-one award: for favorite artist inking his/her own pencils.

(Make sure you read and understand the BIG RULES below before sending.)

WHERE TO SENDEmail samples to inkwellawards@yahoo.com, with the Subject “2020 Inkwell Awards.” (Questions? Same email or ask us on Facebook or Twitter @inkwellawards.)

WHEN TO SEND: The deadline is DECEMBER 31st, 2020 (we’ll post reminders, but earlier is better).

PLEASE help us help you by following the directions and rules specifically. If not, your work cannot be considered. We are merely a few working professionals who volunteer when time allows so we don’t have the time/manpower to micro-manage. 

THE BIG RULES (Please read):

-Inks can be with traditional or digital tools (e.g., brush, pen, marker, stylus, Apple Pen, Wacom, etc., but NOT just pencils darkened/manipulated via Photoshop/software–must be drawn by HAND). 

-Work must have been printed in the USA with a 2020 cover date. No Web-only comics.

-Our volunteer NomCom may also submit their choices. All entries will be considered equally and tallied. 

-The core committee is not permitted to nominate, nor vote, for anyone (so save your bribes). 

-All links sent must be to the specific pages being considered. Any general site links (“JohnDoe.com,” DeviantArt portfolios, etc.) will be ignored. No physical copies.

-If work does not meet the criteria above or is not submitted in accordance with these rules, it will not be considered. Fraudulent entries will be voided and will result in your not being considered for any future awards (and any awards won will be forfeited and given to the runner-up).

-The Inkwell Awards is not responsible for any power outages, server issues, software or hardware malfunctions, human error, acts of God, zombie apocalypses and any other stuff beyond our control.

Again, if you have questions or need more info, send an email to either inkwellawards@yahoo.com, or to me directly at the address below.

Thank you and good luck!

Sincerely,

Bob Almond (and The Inkwell Awards Committee)  

The Inkwell Awards

inkwellawards@yahoo.com

Site: inkwellawards.com

Facebook.com/groups/TheInkwellAwards

Twitter: @inkwellawards

WHO WE ARE: 

In case you still haven’t heard, The Inkwell Awards (inkwellawards.com) is an official 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to educate the public and promote the art form of comic-book inking, as well as annually recognize and award the best ink artists and their work. Founded in 2008, the organization is overseen by a volunteer committee of industry professionals and assisted by various pro ambassadors, numerous contributors and supporters. We sponsor the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund for the Kubert School and host the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award.

06 May 2020

Ryusei Sawada

(New Bedford, MA/USA—May 6, 2020) The Kubert School had their annual scholarship awards event earlier in May via a virtual scholarship ceremony through Google Meet, due to the Covid-19 global pandemic. The Inkwell Awards’ 11th Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Award of $1000 was presented to second-year student Ryusei Sawada. The school posted an announcement of all award recipients on its website.

Sawada is an aspiring artist originally from Tokyo, Japan, whose ultimate goal is to work for publishers like Marvel, DC, and Image as an inker/artist. He entered the Kubert School right out of high school.

Kubert School

Normally, according to The Inkwell Awards’ founder/director Bob Almond, the non-profit would send a representative to the Dover, NJ institution to attend the live ceremony and personally congratulate the winning student. But due to shelter-in-place orders, they were unable to, and school director Carol Thomas informed him that the school had already set up remote learning, which will remain in place until the end of the year.

“There were some timing issues but the virtual ceremony was a great idea,” said Almond. “This way the lucky winner was able to get even more public recognition. Kudos to school director Mike Chen and the Kubert School staff for getting it done despite many challenges. We hope to be there next year to shake the hand of the winner.”

The Inkwells created the scholarship award on behalf of their ink artist friend and committee member, Dave Simons, shortly after his passing in 2009, with the approval of his sister, Bette Simons. Bette shared the following statement:

“We are all navigating uncharted waters in this current environment. With unity, strength and faith we will manage to get through this and be stronger. Even considering all that is happening in the world right now, we must still manage to maintain some sense of normalcy which is why, for the 11th year, I am honored to recognize the recipient of The Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship for 2020.

For those of you that do not know Dave or perhaps even his accomplishments, I can tell you that he devoted his entire life to being the best artist he could be and only wanted to get better. He was always critical of his work, looking for the most seemingly insignificant detail that would have made it even just a little bit better.

He was a mentor to many and was mentored by many of the best in the business. He thrived on interacting with others, sharing ideas and inspiration. He had great successes and crushing failures but with the failures, he never lost sight of the fact that he was doing what he loved most.

It will be 11 years next month since Dave passed and I miss him every day. I have no words to express my gratitude to all of the people that continually support this scholarship program. It takes relentless effort and dedication to be able to make this presentation in Dave’s memory every year. For that, I am eternally thankful.

Congratulations to this year’s recipient Ryusei Sawadi. I wish you much success and happiness.”

Dave Simons

Dave Simons (1954-2009) was an American artist known for his work on the characters Conan, Ghost Rider, Red Sonja, Howard the Duck and Spider-Man for Marvel Comics, and “Forgotten Realms” for DC Comics. He was also a storyboard artist for the award-winning animated TV show, “Courage the Cowardly Dog,” while simultaneously handling the art for DC’s comic book spin-off. To date, Inkwells has raised $11,000 in his name to students in need.

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.

23 Jan 2015

Hello–

BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT! After 10 years and much feedback, the one-of-a-kind, non-profit Inkwell Awards is changing its nominating procedure so everyone gets a fairer shot. 

Now YOU, the ink artist (or your agent/publisher), can submit your work for nomination in any of our five categories. (Unlike some other awards, we will not charge a fee.) While our volunteer nomination committee (“NomCom”) can still submit their choices, they just can’t see all the wonderful work during the year from all publishers large and small. So it’s up to YOU! The specifics:

WHO WE ARE: 

In case you still haven’t heard, The Inkwell Awards (inkwellawards.com) is an official 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to educate the public and promote the art form of comic-book inking, as well as annually recognize and award the best ink artists and their work. Now entering our 11th year, the organization is overseen by a volunteer committee of industry professionals and assisted by various pro ambassadors, numerous contributors and supporters. We sponsor the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund for the Kubert School and host the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award.

WHAT TO SEND:

  1. Up to THREE interior pages of professional comic-book ink work you’ve done from any USA-published comic book (per categories below) COVER-DATED 2018. Send links to your sample(s) (not general site links), or low-res image files. Do not send large 300ppi files–we’re not a printer!
  2. (Make sure you read and understand the ADDITONAL RULES below before sending.)
  3. Your NAME, preferred EMAIL ADDRESS, the TITLE/ISSUE #(s) and PUBLISHER.
  4. The CATEGORY(-IES) to which it belongs. (You may submit the same or different work to different categories, EXCEPT “Favorite Inker” and “Props”–pick one or the other.) Categories are:

1) Favorite Inker: favorite ink artist over the pencils of another artist. (Can’t be nominated for “Props.”)

2) Most-adaptable: showing exceptional ink style versatility over other pencil artists. (Minimum TWO pages, up to three.)

3) Props award: ink artist deserving of more attention for their work over other pencillers.

4) The S.P.A.M.I: for favorite Small Press And Mainstream-Independent comic book ink work over another pencil artist (Non-Marvel or DC).

5)All-in-one award: for favorite artist inking his/her own pencils.

WHERE TO SENDEmail samples to inkwellawards@yahoo.com, with the Subject “2018 Inkwell Awards.” (Questions? Same email or ask us on Facebook or Twitter @inkwellawards.)

WHEN TO SENDThe deadline is DECEMBER 31st, 2018 (we’ll post reminders, but earlier is better).

Since this is our first try at this, we have to be strict. PLEASE help us help you by following the directions specifically. If not, your work cannot be considered. We are merely a few working professionals who volunteer when time allows so we don’t have the time/manpower to micro-manage. 

ADDITIONAL RULES: 

-Inks can be with traditional or digital tools (e.g., brush, pen, marker, stylus, Apple Pen, Wacom, etc., but NOT pencils darkened/manipulated via Photoshop or other software).
-Our volunteer NomCom may also submit their choices. All entries will be considered equally and tallied. 

The core committee is not permitted to nominate, nor vote, for anyone (so save your bribes). 

-All links sent must be to the specific pages being considered. Any general site links will be ignored.

-If work does not meet the criteria above or is not submitted in accordance with these rules, it will not be considered. Fraudulent entries will be voided and will result in your not being considered for any future awards (and any awards won will be forfeited and given to the runner-up.) 

-The Inkwell Awards is not responsible for any power outages, server issues, software or hardware malfunctions, human error, acts of God, zombie apocalypses and any other stuff beyond our control. 

Again, if you have questions or need more info, send an email to either inkwellawards@yahoo.com, or to me directly at the address below.

Thank you and good luck!

Sincerely,

Bob Almond (and The Inkwell Awards Committee)

dmralmond@gmail.com

inkwellawards.com

@inkwellawards

28 Nov 2014

Inkwell Awards Changing Host Show Location from Heroes Con to East Coast Comicon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (New Bedford, MA – July 3, 2018) The Inkwell Awards is announcing that their annual live awards ceremony will be relocating to the East Coast Comicon at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, NJ, commencing May 17-19, 2019. Their awards ceremonies for the previous eight years, including 2018, were held at the June HeroesCon in Charlotte, NC.

According to Inkwell Awards founder and director Bob Almond, HeroesCon promoter Shelton Drum invited the non-profit organization to his long-running, family-friendly show in 2011. “We had been left hanging by a major convention,” Almond said, “and Shelton, who had endured similar problems, wanted to support a kindred spirit and show that this altruistic, annual event could be done and well-supported.”

Almond added, “Changing venues is both sorrowful and exciting. Our presence at Heroes’ industry-respected and community-loved show further boosted our credibility and exposure, which helped with fundraising in the long run. We can truly thank HeroesCon for where we are now. But the 16-hour drives and related travel expenses each season would leave our budget almost wiped out.”

When asked about the switch in locations, Almond explained, “When East Coast Comicon promoter Cliff Galbraith offered us his venue and funding support for the expenses, we were thrilled. A mere four-hour drive is a huge relief for us. Cliff’s event began in 2011 and has grown in reputation and attendance since, from both the celebrity/artist guests and the fans.”

In a statement, Heroes promoter Drum said:

”It’s been eight years since Bob Almond made Heroes Con the home of The Inkwells. We have been privileged to be host to Bob and his team as they honored the true unsung heroes of comics, the Inkers. The annual Inkwell  Awards ceremony– the anchor of our opening day programming– has spotlighted and awarded many of the greatest inkers in comic’s history: Mike Royer, Rudy Nebres, Klaus Janson, Bob McLeod, Jerry Ordway and Joe Rubinstein, just to name a few.

“And now Bob is heading to East Coast Comicon and taking the Inkwells with him. They will be missed, but it is wonderful knowing Bob Almond will still be at it making the world a more appreciative place for our black-thumbed brethren. Godspeed, Bob.”

Almond concluded, “Shelton graciously took us in at a low-point for me. Now, as we celebrate The Inkwells’ 10th anniversary, it’s like progressing from one chapter of growth to a new one as we boldly embark on our second decade with Cliff.”