Harvey Awards | |
---|---|
Awarded for | Achievement in comic books |
Location | Chicago Comicon (1988) Dallas Fantasy Fair (1989–1995) WonderCon (1997–1999) Pittsburgh Comicon (2000–2002) MoCCA Festival (2004–2005) Baltimore Comic-Con (2006–2016) New York Comic Con (2017–present) |
Country | United States |
Presented by | Harvey Awards Executive Committee |
First awarded | 1988 |
Website | https://www.harveyawards.com ![]() |
The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued in 1987. [1]
The Harvey Awards are now nominated by the Harvey Awards Nomination Committee. [2] The winners are selected by an open vote among comic-book professionals. The Harveys are no longer affiliated with Fantagraphics.[ when? ] The Harvey Awards Executive Committee is made up of unpaid volunteers, and the Awards are financed through sponsorships. [3]
Since their inception, the awards have been hosted at a string of comic book conventions, starting at the Chicago Comicon, and subsequently moving to the Dallas Fantasy Fair, Wondercon, the Pittsburgh Comicon, the MoCCA Festival, the Baltimore Comic-Con, and currently the New York Comic Con.
The Harvey Awards were created as an industry award voted on entirely by comics professionals (as opposed to awards such as the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards and the Eagle Awards, which were also voted on by fans). The new awards established several categories that were new from their predecessor the Kirby Awards, including awards for inking, lettering, coloring, and production design. [4]
The Harvey Awards were initially sponsored by Fantagraphics, the Texas-based retailer Lone Star Comics, and the Eastern Region Comic Book Retailers Association (ERCBRA). Fantagraphics established the relationship with Harvey Kurtzman, designed the ballots, and compiled a mailing list of more than 1,000 comics professionals. Employees at Lone Star Comics were in charge of tabulating the ballots. [4]
The nominations for the first Harvey Awards were announced in May 1988, [4] and the awards were presented at the Chicago Comicon in July 1988. [5]
The Dallas Fantasy Fair hosted the awards from 1989 until the Fair's demise in 1996. The 1993 Awards presentation took place shortly after Kurtzman's death; weekend events at the convention were geared toward raising money to keep the awards going. [6] Because the Dallas Fantasy Fair was cancelled at the last minute in July 1996, [7] the awards banquet/presentation was also cancelled. The awards were later mailed out to the recipients. [8]
WonderCon hosted the awards from 1997 to 1999. [9] The 2000–2002 awards were presented at the Pittsburgh Comicon, [10] with Evan Dorkin serving as master of ceremonies. Jeff Smith was the keynote speaker of the 2000 awards. [9] Frank Miller gave the keynote speech at the 2001 award ceremony, in which he vilified the comic book speculating industry, in particular Wizard magazine. He ended his speech by tearing up a copy of Wizard. [11] [12] Tony Millionaire gave the keynote speech at the 2002 awards ceremony. In 2003, due to a cancellation by scheduled keynote speaker Neil Gaiman, funding shortages forced the cancellation of that year's ceremony and banquet (which had been scheduled for the Pittsburgh Comicon). The award winners were announced at the convention. [9]
In 2004 and 2005, the presentation was held at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art MoCCA Festival in New York City. [13] [14]
In 2006 [15] the awards' presentation was moved to Baltimore Comic-Con, [16] where it was subsequently held annually through 2016. During this era, Paul McSpadden served as the Harvey Awards administrator. [17]
Beginning on October 7, 2017, the Harvey Award ceremony was moved to the New York Comic Con. The first year, only a small reception honoring the legacy of Harvey Kurtzman was held, and no nominations or voting took place. [18] Darwyn Cooke was posthumously awarded Harvey Awards Hall of Fame induction, presented by Adam Kubert and accepted by Cooke's widow Marsha. [19]
In 2018, the 30th anniversary of the awards was celebrated with a full ceremony held during the convention. [20] Beginning that year, the Harvey Awards were revised to six new categories for the main awards and three possible Special Awards. The main award nominations go to works instead of individuals. The nomination process was also revamped to be done by a selection committee instead of an open vote. Final selection for the main awards was still done by an open vote by industry professionals. [2]
In 2019, the Harvey Awards gala was held on October 4, at an invite only gala in New York City during New York Comic Con. In addition to announcing the winners in the individual nominated categories, seven creators were inducting into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame including Mike Mignola and Alison Bechdel. The inclusion of an additional five creators inducted posthumously, Will Elder, Jack Davis, Marie Severin, John Severin, and Ben Oda, served to correct past omissions. In regards to these additional inductees, the New York Times quoted Harvey Awards co-chair John Lind as explaining “We decided to balance the induction class with some of the past creators who may have been overlooked.” [21]
In October 2020, the Harvey Awards were presented during a virtual ceremony broadcast "as part of New York Comic Con and MCM Comic Con’s Metaverse, hosted by Vivek Tiwary and featuring appearances from Gene Luen Yang, Neil Gaiman, Jill Thompson and Damon Lindelof". [22]
The Harvey Awards are awarded in the following categories:
As of 2020, awards are presented in six main categories: [2] [23] [22]
Special Awards chosen by the Harvey Awards Executive Committee:
Fantagraphics is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the erotic Eros Comix imprint.
Peter Bagge is an American cartoonist whose best-known work includes the comics Neat Stuff and Hate. His stories often use black humor and exaggerated cartooning to dramatize the reduced expectations of middle-class American youth. He won two Harvey Awards in 1991, one for best cartoonist and one for his work on Hate. In recent decades Bagge has done more fact-based comics, everything from biographies to history to comics journalism. Publishers of Bagge's articles, illustrations, and comics include suck.com, MAD Magazine, toonlet, Discover, and the Weekly World News, with the comic strip Adventures of Batboy. He has expressed his libertarian views in features for Reason.
Harvey Kurtzman was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book Mad from 1952 until 1956, and writing the Little Annie Fanny strips in Playboy from 1962 until 1988. His work is noted for its satire and parody of popular culture, social critique, and attention to detail. Kurtzman's working method has been likened to that of an auteur, and he expected those who illustrated his stories to follow his layouts strictly.
The Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards were a set of awards for achievement in comic books, presented from 1985 to 1987. Voted on by comic-book professionals, the Kirby awards were the first such awards since the Shazam Awards ceased in 1975. Sponsored by Amazing Heroes magazine, and managed by Amazing Heroes managing editor Dave Olbrich, the Kirby Awards were named after the pioneering writer and artist Jack Kirby.
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry, often referred to as the industry's equivalent to the Academy Awards.
Amazing Heroes was a magazine about the comic book medium published by American company Fantagraphics Books from 1981 to 1992. Unlike its companion title, The Comics Journal, Amazing Heroes was a hobbyist magazine rather than an analytical journal.
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William Elder was an American illustrator and comic book artist who worked in numerous areas of commercial art but is best known for a frantically funny cartoon style that helped launch Harvey Kurtzman's Mad comic book in 1952.
Bernard Krigstein was an American illustrator and gallery artist who received acclaim for his innovative and influential approach to comic book art, notably in EC Comics. His artwork usually displayed the signature B. Krigstein. His best-known work in comic books is the eight-page story "Master Race", originally published in the debut issue of EC Comics' Impact.
William Carl Schelly was an Eisner Award-winning author who chronicled the history of comic books and comic book fandom, and wrote biographies of comic book creators, including Otto Binder, L.B. Cole, Joe Kubert, Harvey Kurtzman, John Stanley, and James Warren as well as silent film comedian Harry Langdon.
The Inkwell Award, sometimes shortened to the Inkwells, is an award given for inking in American comic books. Its stated goal is to promote and educate about the craft of comic book inking and to recognize ink artists.
Ben Oda was a Japanese-American letterer for comic books and comic strips.
Edward R. Piskor Jr. was an American alternative comics cartoonist. Piskor was known primarily for his work on Hip Hop Family Tree, X-Men: Grand Design, and the Red Room trilogy. Piskor also co-hosted the YouTube channel Cartoonist Kayfabe with fellow Pittsburgh native cartoonist Jim Rugg. In March 2024, Piskor was accused via social media of sexual misconduct. Piskor died on April 1, 2024, at the age of 41, hours after posting a suicide note via social media, defending himself against the allegations leveled against him.
The Pittsburgh Comicon, later known as Wizard World Comic Con Pittsburgh and since succeeded by Steel-City Con, was a comic book convention held in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1994 by Michael and Renee George. It was traditionally a three-day event and featured a fan-friendly experience that allowed the fans to interact with comic professionals at all levels.
The Dallas Fantasy Fair was an annual multi-genre fan convention held between 1982 and 1995 in Dallas, Texas. From 1989 until the show's demise in 1996, it was the home of the Harvey Award ceremonies. During its heyday, the show was one of the largest comics conventions in the country, third in attendance behind the San Diego Comic-Con and the Chicago Comicon.
A comic book convention or comic con is a fan convention emphasizing comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels, or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activities and panels, with a larger number of attendees participating with cosplay than for most other types of fan conventions. Comic book conventions are also used as a method by which publishers, distributors, and retailers represent their comic-related releases. Comic book conventions may be considered derivatives of science-fiction conventions, which began during the late 1930s.
Dave Olbrich is an editor and executive in the American comic book industry. He was instrumental in the creation of two awards for achievement in comic books, voted on by professionals, the Kirby Awards and the Eisner Awards. He was a co-founder and publisher of Malibu Comics. While at Malibu, he helped launch Image Comics. Currently he produces and hosts a YouTube channel about comics and comic-related issues, Geekview Tavern, which began releasing episodes in 2020.