FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (New Bedford, MA/USA—February 14, 2019) The Inkwell Awards, the only non-profit organization devoted to public education and promotion of the art of comic book inking, invites everyone to VOTE for the industry’s best of the year. The official public ballot will be available on the Inkwells’ homepage from February 15 through March 1.

Voting is open to fans and professionals alike. The five categories are “Favorite Inker,” “Most Adaptable,” “Props” (inkers deserving more attention), the “S.P.A.M.I.” (Small Press And Mainstream/Independent) and “All-In-One” for pencilers who ink their own work. The ballot covers all printed American comic books cover-dated 2018.

“This is the first ballot with our revamped nomination procedure where inkers could submit their work,” said Bob Almond, founder, and director of The Inkwell Awards. “It made a huge difference. Every category had two to four names that were chosen from artist submissions.”

As a courtesy, also listed on the ballot are the nominees for two lifetime achievement honors. The first is the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame (“HoF”) award for an outstanding inking career of 25 or more years in American comics, whose winners are chosen by an internal committee (to avoid a “popularity contest” where recent names have more influence than past masters). Two nominees are awarded each year.

The other is the Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award (SASRA), which differs from the HoF due to the artist being out of the “public eye,” having limited name-recognition due to semi- or full retirement or death, limited-yet-influential output, social barriers such as gender/race, or other factors that might otherwise limit their consideration for the traditional HoF award. It was posthumously named in honor of the first female member of the Inkwells who, according to Almond, “was the heart and soul of our organization.”

He also added, “Too many inkers go unnoticed or are glossed over by some awards events. Ours caters specifically to ink artists and allows them to be recognized and appreciated for their best work. We encourage all who appreciate great artwork to participate and share on social media; the more voters, the better.”

The winners will be announced at the live awards ceremony at The Great Philadelphia Comic Con! in Oaks, PA the weekend of April 12-14.

 

SAMPLE BALLOT

THE INKWELL AWARDS 

OFFICIAL NOMINATION BALLOT

for 2018 cover-dated, interior, printed American comic-book material

(in alphabetical order).

Favorite Inker: Favorite ink artist over the pencil work of another artist. 

(Cannot also be nominated for the “Props” award.)

A) Jay Leisten: Suicide Squad (DC); Astonishing X-Men, Avengers, Incredible Hulk, Return of Wolverine, Spider-Geddon, Venom Inc.: Omega (Marvel)

B) Mark Morales: Justice League (DC); Avengers (Marvel)

C) Joe Prado: Superman (DC)

D) Trevor Scott: Damage (DC)

E) Dexter Vines: The Wild Storm: Michael Cray (DC/Wildstorm)

F) Walden Wong: Astonishing X-Men, Captain America Annual, Incredible Hulk, Marvel Two-In-One, Venom (Marvel)

Most-Adaptable Award:  

Artist showing exceptional ink style versatility over other pencil artists.

A) Marc Deering: Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, The Black Order, Black Panther, Legion (Marvel)

B) Jay Leisten: Suicide Squad (DC); Astonishing X-Men, Avengers, Incredible Hulk, Return of Wolverine, Spider-Geddon, Venom Inc.: Omega (Marvel)

C) Norm Rapmund: Action Comics, Batgirl, Batman Beyond, Deathstroke, Mera, Teen Titans, Titans (DC)

D) Cam Smith: Hal Jordan And The Green Lantern Corps, Nightwing (DC); Amazing Spider-Man, Hunt For Wolverine: Claws of a Killer, X-Men Gold (Marvel)

E) Walden Wong: Justice League (DC); Astonishing X-Men, Black Panther, Captain America Annual, Incredible Hulk, Marvel Two-In-One, Venom (Marvel)

Props Award: Ink artist deserving of more attention for their work over other pencil artists. (Those nominated for, or past winners of, “Favorite Inker” are ineligible.) 

A) Elisabetta D’Amico: G.I. Joe (IDW); Avengers, Fantastic Four, Spider-Men II (Marvel)

B) Eber Ferreira: Detective Comics, Hal Jordan And The Green Lantern Corps  (DC)

C) Ruy Jose: Avengers, Immortal Hulk (Marvel)

D) Daniel Henriques: Aquaman, Hawkman, Justice League, Supergirl (DC)

E) Jordi Tarragona: Hal Jordan And The Green Lantern Corps (DC)

F) Le Beau Underwood: Noble, Superb (Lion Forge); Immortal Hulk (Marvel)

The S.P.A.M.I: Favorite Small Press And Mainstream/Independent ink work over another pencil artist (non-Marvel/DC work).

A) Stefano Guadiano: Walking Dead (Image)

B) Andrew Pepoy: The Simpsons (Bongo Comics); Yellow Submarine (Titan Books)

C) Brian Albert Thies: X-O Manowar: Barbarians (Valiant)

D) Le Beau Underwood: Noble, Superb (Lion Forge) 

E) Ryan Winn: Bloodshot: Rising Spirit, Ninja-K (Valiant)

All-in-One Award: Favorite artist known for inking his/her own pencil work.

A) Joelle Jones: Batman, Catwoman (DC) 

B) Mike Perkins: Green Lantern (DC)

C) Andrew Pepoy: Dinosaucers (Lion Forge)

D) Liam Sharp: Brave And The Bold, Green Lanterns (DC)

E) Lee Weeks: Batman, Batman Annual (DC)

**Sorry about posting this article late. It’s the follow-up to our earlier article. ~B

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Inkwell Awards Announces Artists For David Finch Spotlight Challenge

(New Bedford, MA/USA—December 26, 2018) The non-profit Inkwell Awards, devoted to promoting the art of comic book inking, has released the list of 24 artists participating in its fourth annual Sinnott Inking Challenge Spotlight. This year’s Challenge features artist David Finch‘s take on DC’s iconic Batman. The artwork will be auctioned afterwards for fundraising.

The artists (in alphabetical order) are:

Gerry Acerno

Kenneth Branch

Brett Breeding

John Beatty

Keith Champagne

Kevin Conrad

Marc Deering

John Dell

John Floyd

Scott Hanna

Tony Kordos

Jay Leisten

Criss Madd

Mark McKenna

Andrew Pepoy

Joe Prado

Rodney Ramos

Victor Olazaba Serna

Bill Sienkiewicz

Andy Smith

Mark Stegbauer

LeBeau Underwood

Keith Williams

Walden Wong

According to founder/director Bob Almond, the Spotlight Challenge, which grew out of its original Joe Sinnott Inking Challenge, showcases other contemporary, fan-favorite talents on a more limited scale with veteran published inkers who may or may not have participated in other challenges. The previous three pencillers were Jim Lee, Neal Adams and Erik Larsen.

“We are thrilled to have such a positive response from such a great group,” Almond said. “We realize schedules are tight and ever-changing so we are grateful to those able to step up for this one.” He added that the list may change somewhat if schedules change but there will be 24 participants in total. “If there’s one thing we’ve learned during our decade-plus operation, it’s flexibility.”

The Challenge Spotlight furthers the inking advocacy’s dual mission of promoting the artform and educating the public. Blue-lined art files featuring a tightly pencilled David Finch Batman pinup are sent to the artists to finish and/or embellish in ink. Each inked page will be signed by Finch and the inker, and include a certificate of authenticity signed and numbered by Almond. All pages will then be auctioned off at a later date as a fundraiser. Fans will be able to see the difference in the pencilled and inked versions to better understand how much inkers contribute to the artform.

“On behalf of the Inkwells,” said Almond, “our sincerest thanks to DC, David, Erick Korpi for setting things up with myself and David, the inkers, and all involved for their cooperation, support of our program, and appreciation of ink artists.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: (New Bedford, MA/USA—December 14, 2018) The non-profit Inkwell Awards, the only organization devoted to promoting the art of comic book inking, announces its fourth annual Sinnott Inking Challenge Spotlight focusing on the pencil art of a legendary comics creator. This year features artist David Finch‘s take on DC’s iconic Batman. The artwork will be auctioned afterwards for fundraising.

“With the ongoing success of our original Joe Sinnott Challenge, we expanded the program to include the Spotlight Challenge in 2015, with even better results,” said Bob Almond, founder and director of The Inkwell Awards (AKA “The Inkwells”). “For this event, we showcase other contemporary, fan-favorite talents on a more limited scale with veteran published inkers who may or may not have participated in other challenges. Our last three pencillers included Jim Lee, Neal Adams and Erik Larsen.”

The original Joe Sinnott Challenge, which features pencils by the inking legend inked by various professionals, semi-professionals and amateur inkers, began in 2010 but is being postponed for next year due to scheduling reasons. “Our annual Inkwell Awards show has been moved up two months due to a venue change and Joe’s own schedule is full so we thought it best to take a break,” said Almond. “Plus it gives us more time to focus on the Spotlight.”

The Challenge Spotlight furthers the inking advocacy’s dual mission of promoting the artform and educating the public. Blue-lined art boards featuring a tightly pencilled David Finch Batman pinup will be sent to just 24 artists to finish and/or embellish in ink. Each inked page will be signed by Finch and the inker, and include a certificate of authenticity signed and numbered by Almond. All pages will then be auctioned off at a later date as a fundraiser. Fans will be able to see the difference in the pencilled and inked versions to better understand how much inkers contribute to the artform.

The list of participating inkers will be named later. “On behalf of the Inkwells,” said Almond, “our kindest thanks to DC, David and all involved for their cooperation, support of our program, and appreciation of ink artists.”

Much kind thanks to Inkwell venders Theresa and Kate from the Kubert Art Store for their annual donation of boards towards this program.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Extended version)

(New Bedford, MA – November 18, 2018) The Inkwell Awards is announcing that their annual live awards ceremony will be relocating to the Great Philadelphia Comic Con! at the The Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA commencing April 12-14, 2019. Their awards ceremonies for the previous eight years, including 2018, were held at the June HeroesCon in Charlotte, NC.

According to Inkwell Awards founder and director Bob Almond, HeroesCon promoter Shelton Drum invited the non-profit organization to his long-running, family-friendly show in 2011. “We had been left hanging by a major convention,” Almond said, “and Shelton, who had endured similar problems, wanted to support a kindred spirit and show that this altruistic, annual event could be done and well-supported.”

Almond added, “Changing venues is both sorrowful and exciting. Our presence at Heroes’ industry-respected and community-loved show further boosted our credibility and exposure, which helped with fundraising in the long run. We can truly thank HeroesCon for where we are now. But the 16-hour drives and related travel expenses each season would leave our budget almost wiped out.”

When asked about the switch in locations, Almond explained, “When Great Philadelphia Con’s Creator Relations and Artist Alley Director Stan Konopka with promoter Christopher D. Wertz offered us their venue and funding support for all expenses, we were thrilled. A mere six-hour drive is a huge relief for us. Christopher’s convention has grown in a short time in reputation and attendance from both the celebrity/artist guests and the fans.”

Continue reading Inkwell Awards Changing Host Show Location from HeroesCon to the Great Philadelphia Comic Con!