Nominations have just been announced for the 2024 Ignatz Prize, the premier award for small press comics. Additionally, The Small Press Expo (SPX), which sponsors the Ignatzes, is launching The Ignatz Archive, a section of its website dedicated to past nominees and winners.
There’s no major trend among the nominees other than excellence: a nice mix of veterans Huizenga, Nilsen, McDonnell and newcomers (all the others! Look at them!).
The 2024 Ignatz Prize judges are
- Caroline Cash
- Martha Coleman
- dawn pound
- Lawrence Lindell
- Cleota Wilberg
- Emma Jensen
The nominees are:
Outstanding Artist
- Flippy, Nate Garcia (Domino Books)
- Night Fever (from Gladiolus Magazine #1), Published by Robyn Smith (Black Josei)
- Body Portrait, Julie Delport (Paintings and Quarterly)
- Spirals and Other Stories, Aidan Koch (New York Review Comics)
- The Great Beyond, Léa Murawiec (Drawings and Quarterly)
Outstanding Anthology
- Let Her Be Evil , Cassandra Jones, editor. (zoo)
- Pulping, Jenn Woodall, Jon Iñaki, Jonathan Rotsztain, Mitch Lohmeier, and Paterson Hodgson, editors. (Pulping Collective)
- We Belong, Viktor T. Kerney and William O. Tyler, editors. (Stacked Deck Press)
- Wheels on the Bus, Lucio Luis, ed. (Jupati Books)
- Won’t Back Down: An Anthology of Supporting Choice Comics, Trina Robbins, Editor. (last breath)
Outstanding Collection
- The Collected Works of Buzzelli Vol. 1: “Labyrinth”, Guido Buzzelli, translated by Jamie Richards (Ukiyo Comics)
- The Complete and Complete Malachi, November Garcia (Fieldmouse Press)
- Gender Studies: Confessions of an Accidental Outlaw, Ajuan Mance (Rosarium Press)
- Offshore Lightning, Saito Nazuna, Translated by Alexa Frank (drawn and quarterly)
- Resenter, Yoshiki Murakami (self-published)
Excellent comics
- Outfielder #2, Kevin Huizenga (draw and quarter)
- “Follow the Doll” Issue 2, Daryl Seitchik (Parsifal Press)
- “My Body Is Wrapped” Leo Fox (Silver Sprocket)
- Sunflower, Keezy Young (Silver Sprocket)
- The Audra Show #7: Love Matters, Audra Stan (self-published)
Outstanding Graphic Novel
- Optometry, Xiang Yatta (Driftwood Press)
- Wandering, Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki (Drawing and Quarterly)
- Conversation, Darin Bell (Macmillan)
- Nervous Time, Ms. Harkness (Fantagraphics)
- Not Over, Josh Baier (Uncivilized Books)
Excellent mini comic
- Find Your Seat, Faye Stacey (Quindrie Press)
- Hyper Fawnus, Anna II (self-published)
- Lullaby, Jordan Jeffries (Cosmic Dog House Press)
- Comic Magic Cube, Lohas (self-published)
- Pauline Newman, Greer de Maglie (self-published)
Excellent web comics
Outstanding Series
- CosmoKnights, Hannah Templer (Top Shelf Productions)
- CRAM, Andrew Alexander, editor. (cram school book)
- Jaywalk, Floyd Tangeman, ed. (Domino Books)
- WHO! Baltic Comics Magazine, Various(Who)
- “Tongue” by Anders Nielsen (self-published)
Wonderful story
- “The Art of Joy”, Sami Alwani (Pulping Collective)
- “When I see you, I’ll tell you everything” (from You Are Not a Guest), Leela Corman (Fieldmouse Press)
- Venus in Scorpio Rising #1, Corinne Halbert (self-published)
- The Gift, Jamila Rowser and Sam Wade (Black Josei Press)
- A Superhero Journey, Patrick MacDonald (Abrams Books)
Promising new talent:
- 10-10 In the Wind, Cole Degenstein (Fieldmouse Press)
- Gift Box, Pingnan Road (self-published)
- Optometry, Xiang Yatta (Driftwood Press)
- “The Orissa Story” by Hugo Canuto (Abrams)
- The Great Beyond, Léa Murawiec (Drawings and Quarterly)
Voting for the Ignatz Award will be open to anyone on the SPX email list and anyone who requests a vote. There will be no in-person voting at the show, as voting for the prestigious Ignatz Award is open to all independent comics fans.
The Ignatz Awards Ceremony will be held on Saturday, September 14 at 9:30 pm in the White Oak Room at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center.
For additional information about SPX 2024 and the Ignatz Prize, please visit www.smallpressexpo.com.
Ballots and voting messages
- Voting for the 2024 Ignatz Prize will be by email only and there will be no in-person voting.
- Ballots will be emailed to everyone on the SPX email list on Thursday, August 15th.
- If you don’t see your ballot, please check your spam folder.
- Voting closes Friday, September 13th at 11:00 PM ET.
Key dates for the 2024 Ignatz Prize
- August 15 – Initial ballots sent via email and voting begins
- September 13 • 11:00 PM ET — Voting closes for 2024 Ignatz Prize
- September 14 • 9:30 p.m. ET – Ignatz Award Winners Ceremony, White Oak Room at Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center
