News

After a few years’ absence, the Inkwell Awards organization proudly returns to the annual Boston Comic Con on August 3 and 4 at the World Seaport Trade Center (having been rescheduled and relocated after the Boston Marathon bombing crisis). The ever-growing, popular show has become a notable presence in the community served by the six year-old non-profit, which seeks to promote and educate about the art of comic book inking.

Founder and Director, Bob Almond, said, “Many of our members and half the active core committee are from the Boston area, so we’re thrilled to deliver our message so close to home. Though we will not have a formal booth, fans can still find some of our most-recent books (such as the Joe Sinnott Inking Challenge) and T-shirts available at my table in artist alley.” Also appearing with Almond is the Inkwells’ popular spokesmodel, Ms. Inkwell, who’s making her Boston debut. She’ll be taking photos with fans and seeking donations from creators and attendees to support the group’s vital mission.

Jessi Durland

Ms. Inkwell will be portrayed on Saturday by model Jessi Durland from Wilmington, MA. On Sunday, model and cosplayer Zeal Grace from Brighton, MA, will be the character. Ms. Inkwell was created by artists Bob Almond and Randy Green in 2009 and became an instant fan favorite, appearing at many Inkwell Awards-attended public venues every year since. Original model Chrissy Cutler returned to the role at the recent 2013 Charlotte, NC Heroes Con where last season’s live awards ceremony was held.

“We hope to add Boston Comic Con to our list of several supportive convention venues who share ongoing relationships with us”, Almond added. “We look forward to a great event this weekend and an enthusiastic reception to kick off our seventh season!”

The Inkwell Awards is an 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. The organization is overseen by a committee of industry professionals and assisted by professional ambassadors and numerous contributors. They sponsor the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund for The Kubert School and host the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award.

Ms. Inkwell cover art by Ed Coutts inspired by Chrissy Cutler for the Regular Edition

Franchesco and Scott Hanna cover art for the signed & numbered Special Edition with a Flip Book Cover and pull-out centerfold poster

The Results for the 2013 Inkwell Awards are in! Please visit our awards page and FCN for all the details.

*2013 INKWELL AWARDS DONATION & RESULTS BOOK: besides the regular edition we mentioned earlier with sexy cover art of Ms. Inkwell by Ed Coutts, we have another fantastic version available! A Special Edition of this book will sport front and back cover art by the fan-favorite good-girl/pin-up artist, Franchesco, with his own *stunning* rendition of our spokes model character! (The “partial image” is the inventive flip cover–are we clever or what?) 🙂

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“Voting for the 6th annual Inkwell Awards has ended, the ballots have been tallied and the comic book inking advocacy now prepares for its third live awards ceremony at the 2013 Heroes Con June 7-9 to reveal the highly-anticipated results.  Voting was done online through the group’s web site and heavily promoted through Facebook, Twitter, comics sites and other outlets.

“After a long year of fundraising, programs, conventions, promotion, various duties and all of the passion and effort involved, the Inkwell family is always ecstatic to celebrate our goal of promoting the art form of Inking and the industry’s best Ink Artists” said Bob Almond, the non-profit organization’s founder and director. “We can never show enough gratitude to Heroes Con promoter Shelton Drum and his staff for making this mission an annual reality, supporting inkers in the community with the respect and recognition they deserve.”

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The Kubert School Scholarship Ceremony- May 3, 2013!

For the Inkwell Awards-sponsored Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund, this year’s winner and 4th recipient was Ji Wook Moon! And with perfect attendance to boot!

To see all of the 2013 Winners click this link!

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Three years after the passing of his wife, J. David Spurlock announced today on his Facebook page of the passing of the artist himself:

I went to Reading PA yesterday to buy Steranko and Adkins dinner. Neither Steranko nor myself had been able to reach Adkins. After dinner with Steranko, I hit the road back to New York only to be phoned by Steranko who had just received word from Adkins’ son that Dan left this world last week. In addition to many other credits, including T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, Dr. Strange, lots of sci-fi illustrations, and much of the best inking ever done for Marvel, Adkins served as an art director at Marvel, was key to Wood launching Witzend, and he also mentored a number of young artists including Paul Gulacy, Val Mayerik and P. Craig Russell. He is missed.

— J. David Spurlock

For those not familiar with Dan and his career, Mark Evanier has posted an article on him. The Inkwell Awards extends it’s sincere condolences for his family and friends for their loss.

What does a non-profit charity do when a major comic book convention is cancelled and a city put on lockdown due to evil terrorists, blocking them from seeking donations for essential fundraising? You call in your spokesmodel….Ms. Inkwell to the Rescue! The Inkwell Awards are auctioning off their previously donated original art intended for the upcoming Ms. Inkwell Gallery charity book in order to raise funds necessary to buy trophies and bring in award recipients to the Charlotte Heroes Con live awards ceremony June 7-9. Wave One takes place Saturday the 27th and Wave Two the following weekend. If you like sexy, good girl art then check the art interpretations of Ms. India Wells by the likes of artists Trevor Von Eeden, Fred Hembeck, Neil Vokes, Gerry Acerno, Jay Fife, Mark McKenna, Mike Pascale, Michael Netzer, Sara Richard, Tom Schloendorn, Tod Allen Smith, Mike Okamoto, Jeremy Dale, Dean Kotz, Alex Saviuk, Louis Small, Jr., Ed Coutts, Roger Andrews, Phil Moy, Michael W. Kellar, Charles Barnett III, Bob Almond, Leonardo Gondim and the original prelim design drawings of Ms. Inkwell from 2009 by Randy Green! Visit The Inkwell eBay site

We at the Inkwell Awards have received a couple of notes that people couldn’t access the official voting ballot page (https://inkwellawards.justsurvey.me/323041814f54).  Those sources that we heard from were using Mac computers. But other Mac users told us that they were successful.  So all we can deduct from this is that some Mac users may have settings that are not compatible or that your browser isn’t.  When these users used Safari and had a problem, going to Firefox solved the dilemma.  Or using one’s 4g phone or iPad or another venue did.  If you are one of the silent minority that have had issues with our ballot, please take a second to try the alternative plan.  We hope it works and truly appreciate your time and effort.

The Inkwell Awards Committee Team