First BODEGA CAT Award nominees announced

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The gang at BODEGA (Brooklyn Organization Dedicated to the Endurance of

the Graphic Arts) keeps coming up with New York-themed acronyms…and also cool things. Their latest venture is the BODEGA CAT (Comics Arts Trophy) Award, with an inaurgual slate of nominations.

Winners will be announced during BEC (Brooklyn Expo of Comics) to be held November 14-15 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which is FREE to attend. They will receive a trophy designed by Brooklyn-based cartoonist <strong>Alex Krokus, modeled and brought to life by Clutter Toys in Beacon, NY.

Holy cow! Or Holy CAT! If you weren’t making comics already, you will probably start just to attempt to win one of these beauties. 

BODEGA co-founders James Tynion IV, Bryce Gold, and Courtney Menard hope the show will “celebrate independent comic and graphic arts creators and cartoonists,” something we can all join in on. 

The CAT Awards ceremony, will take place at the Mid-Con Party on Saturday, November 14th from 8pm-12am at Union Pool (484 Union Ave, Brooklyn, NY). The party is free and open to everyone 21+.

Why another comics award? There are many reasons.

“When we started ideating on everything we wanted BEC to be, we knew we wanted to create a new award that celebrated the incredible work our exhibitors made over the past year and gave them the flowers they deserve,” said Executive Director Bryce Gold. “We wanted a name that fit the BODEGA theme and another great acronym to add to our roster, as well as a tangible award that creators could proudly display on their shelf to match the prestige that comes with the recognition of being nominated by their peers. When it all came together it hit like lightning: the Comics Arts Trophy, a BODEGA CAT! We’re thrilled to bring a comics-focused award to a Brooklyn indie comics show for the very first time, and put our hat in the ring for the best- designed trophy in comics. Who wouldn’t want a little BODEGA CAT on their shelf, reminding them they made something amazing that year?”

“Those who vote in these inaugural awards have no easy task in front of them,” said BEC Co-Director and BODEGA Secretary Courtney Menard. “The amount of beautiful, medium-pushing work in the indie comics scene today is staggering and I am so happy BEC is able to showcase these talents and to honor them with the CAT Award! And it’s a cute award to boot.”

Best Minicomic 
Any self-published or small press-published single issue, one shot, or zine under 100 pages.

• Enframement, by K. Wroten, self-published

• Girl Yaoi, by Ana Two, published by Diskette Press

• Word From the Bird, by Grayson Bear, published by Secret Room Press

• Creamthing In His Golden Year, by Sam Hensley, self-published

• The Future Collapses to a Single Point, by Jon Allen, self-published

• The Old Woman Part 4, by Rebecca Mock, self-published

Best Graphic Novel
Any self-published or small press-published single work longer than 100 pages.

• Like Swimmers, by Dash Shaw, published by The New York Review of Books

• Identical, by Leah Hayes, published by Fantagraphics

• Testament, by J. Marshall Smith, published by Bulgilhan Press

• Flea, by Mara Ramirez, published by Fieldmouse Press

• A Tale Of Two Travelers, by Madita Schwenke, published by Fieldmouse Press

• The Weight, by Melissa Mendes, published by Drawn & Quarterly

• Mary Pain, by Lola Lorente, published by Drawn & Quarterly

Best Anthology
Any self-published or small press-published collection of work from more than three separate creators.

• Ex.Mag Volume 6, edited by Patrick Crotty and Wren Macdonald, published by Peow2

• SYSTEM 01: Hot Net Hotel, edited by Orion Martin, published by Paradise Systems

• CRAM Comics #5: Something Strong for when the Love is Gone, edited by Andrew Alexander, published by Cram Books

• Datura Magazine No. 4, edited by Sunmi and Mar Julia, self-published

• Witch Window, edited by Kyle Canyon, Sanike Phawde, and Sophie Page, self-published

• Leather & Lace, edited by Kelsey Short and Bets Ochoa, published by Dark Spark Press

Best Design
Any self-published or small press-published work with outstanding production design, presentation, or physical material qualities.

• SYSTEM 01: Hot Net Hotel, edited by Orion Martin, published by Paradise Systems

• A Garden of Spheres, by Linnea Sterte, published by Peow2

• Faster(Complete Edition), by Jesse Lonergan, published by Bulgilhan Press

• The Terror of the Moldy Shore, by John F. Malta, self-published

• Witch Window, edited by Kyle Canyon, Sanike Phawde, and Sophie Page, self-published

• Action Baby Comics: Animal Alphabet, by AT Pratt, self-published

• Leather & Lace, edited by Kelsey Short and Bets Ochoa, published by Dark Spark Press

• Sikh Femmes in Sick Fashion, by Jasjyot Singh Hans, self-published

Honorary New Yorker
BEC’s cartoonist of the year award! Nominees must have at least one work published in 2026 that qualifies for the previous categories, and were judged by output and by their contributions to the field beyond cartooning. 

• Alexander Laird – Frog Farm publisher, notable works: Mobile Gang Fortress, Shnork

• Andrew Alexander – CRAM Books publisher, notable works: Caught Lookin’ #1

• Caroline Cash – notable works: Nancy Comics, Adventure Time: Bonnie the Vampire Hunter Special #1

• Lee Lai – notable works: Cannon

• Lale Westvind – notable works: Void Packer 3, Void Packer 4

• Michael DeForge – notable works: Holy Lacrimony, All The Cameras In My Room

• Audra Stang – notable works: Confetti Girls, Valley Valley/Idella Dell

Voting on the winners is open to the public and you can do so here. Voting closes November 14 (Day 1 of BEC) at 4pm ET.

BEC itself is taking shape with special guests including Chris Ware (Jimmy Corrigan – the Smartest Kid on Earth), Lisa Hanawalt (Tuca and Birdie), Rosemary Vallero-O’Connell(Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me), Caroline Cash(PeePeePooPoo), Ronald Wimberly (LAAB), Tara Booth (Processing: 100 Comics That Got Me Through It), Tradd Moore (Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise), Wendy Xu (Infinity Particle), Linnea
Sterte (Stages of Rot), and more to be announced soon.

BEC is sponsored by Desert Island, Kickstarter, Oni Press, Fantagraphics, Tiny Onion, Fireball Printing, Dirty Diamonds, Pow Pow Press, and Drawn & Quarterly.

BODEGA welcomes all art enthusiasts, creatives, New Yorkers, and those who are curious to attend BEC. All events are free and accessible to the public.