
by BK Munn
The nominations for this year’s Joe Shuster Awards are out. This is the 16th year for the awards and this round recognizes work done in 2019. The winners will be announced online in late October. Of special note this year is the splitting of the Gene Day Award into individual and anthology categories, and the awarding of the T.M. Maple Award, which usually goes to a fan or non-professional “for achievements made outside of the creative and retail categories”, to the entire Canadian comics community for its efforts keeping comics alive during the pandemic.
ARTIST
- Yana Bogatch – Grimoire Noir (First Second)
- Jamal Campbell – Far Sector #1-2, Naomi #1-6 (DC Comics)
- Mike Del Mundo – Thor #9-10, 12-13, 15-16 (Marvel Comics)
- Dale Eaglesham – Shazam #3-8 (DC Comics)
- Faith Erin Hicks – Pumpkinheads (First Second)
- Karl Kerschl – Isola #6-9 (Image Comics)
- Ken Lashley – Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 5 #18.HU, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #7-10, 13-14 (Marvel Comics), Bloodshot: Rising Spirit #3 (Valiant Comics)
- Simon Leclerc – Jours D’attente (La Pastèque)
- François Miville-Deschênes – Zaroff (Lombard)
WRITER
- Ed Brisson – Contagion #1-5, Dead Man Logan #3-12, Ghost Rider Vol. 9 #1-3, Ghost Rider 2099 Vol. 2 #1, New Mutants Vol. 4 #1-4, Absolute Carnage: Symbiote of Vengeance #1, X-Force Vol. 5 #2-10, Age of X-Men: Nextgen #1-5, Uncanny X-Men Vol. 5 Annual #1, plus contributions to Alpha Flight: True North #1, Marvel Comics #1000, Incoming #1, Uncanny X-Men Vol. 5 #8-10 (Marvel Comics)
- Cecil Castellucci – Batgirl #37-42, Female Furies #1-6, Mysteries of Love in Space #1 (DC Comics)
- Thomas Desaulnier-Brousseau – Jours D’attente (La Pastèque)
- Brendan Fletcher – Isola #6-9 (Image Comics), Robotech: Remix #1-3 (Titan)
- Jeff Lemire – Berserker Unbound #1-4, Black Hammer/Justice League #1-5, Black Hammer ’45 (with Ray Fawkes) #1-4 , Black Hammer: Age of Doom #9-12, Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy #1, The Quantum Age: From the World of Black Hammer #6 (Dark Horse Comics), The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage #1 (DC Comics), Ascender #1-8, Gideon Falls #10-19 (Image Comics), plus contributions to Marvel Comics #1000 (Marvel Comics)
- Jed Mackay – Black Cat #1-7, Annual #1, Absolute Carnage: Weapons Plus #1, Man Without Fear #1-5, plus contributions to Bizarre Adventures #1, Spider-Verse Vol. 3 #1, 3 (Marvel Comics)
- Mariko Tamaki – Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me (First Second), Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass (DC Comics), Spider-Man and Venom: Double Trouble (Marvel Comics), Archie #706-709 (Archie Comics)
- Darcy Van Poelgeest – Little Bird #1-5 (Image Comics)
- Chip Zdarsky – The White Trees #1-2 (Image Comics), Daredevil Vol. 6 #1-15, Spider-Man: Life Story 1-6, Invaders Vol. 3 #1-12, Doom 2099 Vol. 2 #1, as well as contributions to Amazing Spider-Man: Full Circle #1,, Incoming #1, Marvel Comics #1000, War of the Realms: War Scrolls #1 (Marvel Comics)
CARTOONIST
- Brigitte Archambault – Le projet shiatsung (Mecanique Generale)
- Sophie Bedard – Les petits garcons (Pow Pow)
- Nina Bunjevac – Bezimena (Fantagraphics)
- Emily Carroll – When I Arrived at the Castle (Koyama Press)
- Michael Deforge – Stunt (Koyama Press)
- Sarah Leavitt – Agnes, Murderess (Freehand Books)
- Jeff Lemire – Frogcatchers (Simon and Schuster)
- Renee Nault – The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel (McClelland & Stewart) adapted from the novel by Margaret Atwood
- Jay Stephens – Dejects (Black Eye Books)
COVER ARTIST
- Kaare Andrews
- Sweeney Boo
- Nick Bradshaw
- Michael Cho
- Mike Del Mundo
- Dale Eaglesham
- David Finch
- Dale Keown
- Francis Manapul
WEBCOMICS/DIGITAL COMICS
- S.M. Beiko – Krampus is My Boyfriend
- Boum – Boumeries
- Tony Esteves – Cigarro & Cerveja
- Karl Kerschl – The Abominable Charles Christopher
- Isabelle Melançon (with Megan Lavey-Heaton – USA) – Namesake
- Ronn Sutton (with Martin Powell – USA) – Edgar Rice Burroughs’ The Man-Eater
- Chip Zdarsky, Jason Loo – Afterlift
GENE DAY AWARD FOR SELF-PUBLISHED COMICS / GRAPHIC NOVELS
- Daniel Brodie, Robert Jennex – Morgan’s Organs #3
- Naomi Cui, Janice Liu – Chicken Soup & Goji Berries
- A. Shay Hahn – Beaver Damn #3, Our Hearts Are Full, Vladiasaurs
- Becka Kinzie – Gehenna: Death Valley
- Jonathan Kociuba – Lover Man Vol. 1
- Minikim – Maman, Papa… et moi! et moi! et moi!
- Chris Sanagan, Jason Lapidus – Group of 7 #4-6
GENE DAY AWARD FOR ANTHOLOGY COLLECTIONS
- Cauldron Magazine #2 (Ricky Lima, Sam Noir, Shane Heron Publishers)
- Life Finds a Way (Cloudscape Comics Collective)
- RAID Two (RAID Studio)
- Shout Out (TO Comix)
- This Place: 150 Years Retold (Highwater Press)
- The Witching Hours (Cloudscape Comics Collective)
THE DRAGON AWARD (COMICS FOR YOUNGER READERS)
- Marvel Action: Captain Marvel – Sam Maggs, Sweeney Boo (IDW Publishing/Marvel Comics)
- Mort et Déterré T.1: Un cadavre en caval – Jocelyn Boivert, Pascal Colpron (Dupuis)
- Operatic – Kyo Maclear, Byron Eggenschwiler (Groundwood Books)
- Peter and Ernesto: The Lost Sloths – Graham Annable (First Second Books)
- Surviving the City Vol. 1 – Tasha Spillett-Sumner, Natasha Donovan (Highwater Press)
- Si on Était T.1 – Axelle Lenoir (Front Froid)
HARRY KREMER RETAILER RECOGNITION AWARD
- Alpha Comics (Calgary, AB)
- Comic Book Addiction (Whitby, ON)
- Comic Hunter (Moncton, NB)
- Cyber City Comix (Toronto, ON)
- Golden Age Collectables (Vancouver, BC)
- Heroes World (Markham, ON)
- Librarie Z (Montreal, QC)
CANADIAN COMIC CREATOR HALL OF FAME
Two creators will be inducted into the Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame in 2020:
- Gregory Gallant, pen name Seth (1962-)
- Bernard Edward “Bernie” Mireault (1961-)
The T.M. Maple Award goes to someone (living or deceased) selected from the Canadian comics community for achievements made outside of the creative and retail categories who have had a positive impact on the community.
In 2020 there will not be a single TM Maple Award recipient:
- Members of the Canadian comics community – the many creators, retailers, publishers, fans and other members of the community who have stepped up to help others during the still ongoing COVID-19 Crisis with fundraising efforts.