The winners of the Joe Shuster Awards were recently announced at a ceremony at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo. In their sixth year, the awards honour Canadian comic creators as well as the publishers and retailers of comics. The awards are named after the Canadian co-creator of Superman, Joe Shuster.
From our friends at the Joe Shuster Awards, the 2011 winners:
Outstanding Comic Book Artist / Dessinateur Exceptionnel de Bandes Dessinées
FRANCIS MANAPUL — Adventure Comics #6, The Flash #1-6, Superman/Batman #75 (DC Comics)
In 2009, Francis Manapul adopted an ink-wash style that semi-renders his figures and backgrounds, and combined the new approach with his already solid skills as a comics penciler to add a depth and tonality to his environments that gives his work a unique quality. His work on the Flash in 2010 is both mature in its storytelling and some of the best use of his new technique so far.
Outstanding Comic Book Cartoonist / Créateur Exceptionnel de Bandes Dessinées
TIN CAN FOREST (aka Pat Shewchuk and Marek Colek) — Baba Yaga and the Wolf (Koyama Press)
The cartooning team known collectively as Tin Can Forest are Marek Colek and Pat Shewchuk, and in Baba Yaga they draw inspiration from early Russian animated films, Slavic mythology and symbols and pictography associated with the many iterations of the Baba Yaga mythos and have given new breath to an age-old cautionary tale. Baba Yaga and the Wolf is an outstanding book, a beautiful, envelope-pushing package — Tin Can Forest and Koyama Press have produced a work that definitely deserves wider attention.
Outstanding Comic Book Colourist /Coloriste Exceptionnel de Bandes Dessinées
JULIE ROCHELEAU — La fille invisible (Glénat Québec)
The jury was taken with Julie’s expressionistic use of colours for La Fille Invisible and felt that they added so much to the overall atmosphere and tone of the book.
Outstanding Comic Book Cover Artist / Dessinateur Couvertures Exceptionnel de Bandes Dessinées
FIONA STAPLES — Mystery Society #1-5 (IDW), DV8: Gods and Monsters #1-8 (DC/Wildstorm), Superman/Batman #79 (DC Comics), Acts of Violence: An Anthology of Crime Comics (New Reliable Press), Magus #1 (12 Gauge Comics)
Fiona’s covers make excellent use of negative space, allowing characters and imagery to stand out in these bold, dynamic and eye-catching visual statements.
Outstanding Comic Book Publisher / Éditeur Exceptionnel de Bandes Dessinées
KOYAMA PRESS
Koyama Press was founded in 2007. After a career in the film industry, a brain aneurism and a risky surgery had Annie reevaluate things. Annie decided that she didn’t want to return to film, but instead nurture and assist cartoonists to get their art out in front of the world. “Art, books and connecting people,” these are her passions.
Annie Koyama publishes undiscovered or unknown creators. Her very first project was an art book by Trio Magnus, a three person art collective in Toronto. Annie sold her car and used the money to publish their book, and sent them all to Japan to promote it. This was her very first project!
Over the past two years she has produced the first book, or very early works, by an ever growing number of young, up & coming creators, including: Michael DeForge, Dustin Harbin, Steve Wolfhard, Chris Eliopoulos, the Wowee Zonk collective and many others, including Baba Yaga and the Wolf by Tin Can Forest, which was nominated for Outstanding Cartoonist.
Annie has had a huge and dramatic impact on the Toronto comic scene, one of the biggest comic scenes in the world.
She gives these young, struggling, up & coming stars of the next generation their first opportunities and they love her for that. All of the creators she works with gush about her.
She is doing the work that a publisher should: finding the next generation of creators, releasing unique, high-quality books in a variety of formats for the entire spectrum of readers, from children’s books to colouring books to anthologies, zines, comics and art books.
Anne Koyama and Koyama Press, a wonderful woman and very deserving winner of our Outstanding Publisher award.
Outstanding Web Comics Creator /Créateur Exceptionnel de Bandes Dessinées Web
EMILY CARROLL — His Face All Red, Dream Journals, The Death of José Arcadio, Out the Door, The Hare’s Bride
Carroll is a young, fresh cartooning voice, her visuals are strong and appealing, and her choice of colour and her effective storytelling was enhanced by the medium itself. From the blood line that trickles down the screen to the astonished maid in the Death of Jose Arcadio to the beat by beat, point and click storytelling used to great dramatic effect in His Face All Red, Carroll effectively makes the reader a part of the action in a way that traditional paper and print storytelling just isn’t capable of doing.
Outstanding Comic Book Writer(s) / Écrivain(s) Exceptionnel de Bandes Dessinées
ÉMILIE VILLENEUVE — La fille invisible (Glénat Québec)
In La Fille Invisible, Emilie Villeneuve tackles the topic of eating disorders in the story of Flavia, a 15- going on 16-year-old girl who is both shy and curious, but lacks self-confidence and decides that she must remake herself in order to be accepted. In her new obsession, she begins to lose control of who she is, begins purging and in doing so she becomes the Invisible Girl of the book’s title. La Fille Invisible aspires to warn readers of the very real problems that face young people and address some of the issues that lead to the development of eating disorders. The jury was particularly impressed with the way in which Villeneuve chose to tell Flavia’s story — a unique mixture of traditional story-telling and a documentary style approach enhanced by her effective research on the subject.
Comics for Kids / Bandes Dessinées pour Enfants
This award recognizes the works which capture the attention and fascination of young readers, and help to create a passion for life-long reading. Works considered for this award are comic books and graphic novels by Canadian creators that are targeted at readers 14 and under. Nominees for this award are selected from the eligible creators lists by a team of educators led by Jennifer Haines, MA, B.Ed., who is also the proprietor of Guelph, Ontario’s The Dragon comic book shop.
THREE THIEVES BOOK 1: TOWER OF TREASURE by Scott Chantler (Kids Can Press)
The winner was selected for several reasons: the art style is dynamic and instantly attracts the attention of young readers. It educates about human relationships, and has a strong female protagonist, in a story which is engaging for both boys and girls. Furthermore, the ending makes readers want more, which leads to more reading, the ultimate goal of any kids book.
The Gene Day Award for Self-Publishers / Le Prix Gene Day pour Éditeurs Direct de Bandes Dessinées
Named after the late Howard Eugene Day (1951-1982), this award honours Canadian comic book creators or creative teams who self-published their work during the previous calendar year, but did not have the books distributed by a third party distributor. The nominees were selected from over 50 individual publications submitted for review. The award winner receives a bursary of $500.
JOHN MARTZ — Heaven All Day
With Heaven All Day Martz continues to grow as a cartoonist. In this wordless story, Martz merges his draughtsman skills and animation sensibilities to produce a wonderful story filled with isolation, melancholy and, in the end, hope.
The Harry Kremer Award for Outstanding Comic Book Retailer /Le Prix de Harry Kremer pour Détaillant Exceptionnel de Bandes Dessinées
Named after the late Harry Kremer, original owner of Now & Then Books (in Kitchener, Ontario). Shops are recommended by the general public and a separate Retailer Award Committee reviews all materials received and select a short list of stores that has shown merit in a variety of categories such as: (1) Support of a wide variety of innovative material, (2) Overall appeal of the store and usage of space, (3) Knowledge, (4) Community activity, and (5) Adherence to standard ethical business practices.
PLANÈTE BD (Montreal, QC)
Congratulations to all of the nominees and all of the eligible creators for another memorable year of great comics, both in print and online!
Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame / Temple de la renommée Créateur Canadien de Bandes Dessinées
CHESTER BROWN (1960-)
Cartoonist (Louis Riel, Paying for It)
Nearly thirty years after the first issue of Yummy Fur made its debut, cartoonist Chester Brown is still exploding taboos and telling the stories no one else will in a clear, unsentimental but beautiful way. Controversial and determined, he is an artist like no other, and a uniquely Canadian voice.
TODD McFARLANE (1961-)
Artist, writer, publisher (Spider-Man, Spawn)
One of the comic book industry's most well-known personalities, Todd McFarlane came to comic book fandom as a highly competitive 17 year old baseball fanatic, used a baseball scholarship to become a successful comic artist, and used his comic artistry and success as a fan-favourite creator to become a hugely successful, uncompromising businessman and entrepreneur.
A full list of 2011 nominees can be found here:
http://joeshusterawards.com/awards/2011-nominees/
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