Anyone who has received or bought our annually, published books knows that I have always included a chronological list of the dearly departed from our community that had past away in the ending Inkwell season (June-June) on the book’s credits pages. This started with the Inkwell Awards Donation & Results books and then continued with the Sinnott Inking Challenge books. However, as has been announced, we skipped this year with producing the next Inking Challenge collection, which would’ve been our 6th edition. For that reason, I will post here that list. I never know if these lists are complete as I record what I see and read on social media and that’s not the most-thorough way to handle this. So please feel free to add any I missed in the comments section. All subsequent deaths will be mentioned in the 2018 book. The Inkwell Awards offer their sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the recently departed and may they all rest in peace. ~B
The next stop on the Inkwell show tour is Garden State Comic Fest (GSCF) taking place on Saturday-Sunday July 8-9 ion Morristown, NJ. The reason that is significant and worthy of an announcement is that Inkwell Awards founder and director, inker Bob Almond will be joining the panel alongside friends and peers
Hailey at Rhode Island Comic Con, 2015
Scott Hanna, Christopher Ivy, Bob Wiacek and Mark McKenna. For the first time Hailey Skaza-Gagne who acts as the non-profit’s spokesmodel Ms. Inkwell will moderate the panel Saturday from 12:30-1:30. Bob Last moderated an inking panel in the 200s at the Pittsburgh Comicon. He was last an inking panel panelist at the 2011 Heroes Con. Scott Hanna is the record-breaking, seven-time Inkwell award recipient and Mark McKenna was a 2012 Sinnott Hall of Fame award recipient.
(New Bedford, MA/USA—June 19, 2017) The Inkwell Awards has released the names of the winners of its 10th annual awards for excellence in the art form of comic book inking. As before, nominees were chosen by a separate and independent nomination committee; this year had more nominees than ever. Voting by professionals and fans alike took place via live ballot at the non-profit advocacy’s website. One winner was chosen in each of five categories based on American-based interior comic-book work cover-dated 2016.
Separately, the Inkwells internally selected the two recipients of the annual Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award and, this year, two recipients for the Special Recognition Award (SRA) category. Winners were contacted and many of the invited guests were present to receive their trophies during North Carolina’s Heroes Con, the host show for the Inkwells, for their seventh live ceremony. Winners and nominees are listed below, along with the percentage of votes received, where applicable.
FAVORITE INKER: Scott Hanna (21.06%)
(Action Comics, Batman, Justice League, Superman: Lois & Clark, Wonder Woman [DC]; A-Force, All-New Wolverine, Avengers: Standoff, Civil War II: The Fallen, Drax, Nova, Squadron Supreme, Uncanny Inhumans, Web Warriors, [Marvel]).
Other nominees: Sandra Hope-Archer (16.02%), Danny Miki (12.95%), Jonathan Glapion (12.53%), Matt Banning (12.22%), Tim Townsend (11.44%), Eber Ferriera (9.15%), Stefano Gaudiano (6.92%) and Mick Gray (5.2%)
MOST-ADAPTABLE INKER: Walden Wong (19.97%)
(Earth 2, Robin War [DC]; Jupiter’s Circle v2 [Image]; All-New Wolverine, Guardians of Infinity, Max Ride, Web Warriors [Marvel]).
Other nominees: Scott Hanna (14.87%), Sandra Hope-Archer (12.43%), Jonathan Glapion (12.38%), Mark Morales (11.23), Victor Olazaba (9.57%), Norm Rapmund (9.2%), Danny Miki (8.01%), Jay Leisten (4.42%), Wayne Faucher and Dexter Vines, both at (4.06%)
PROPS (inker deserving of more attention): Scott Hanna (24.34%)
(Action Comics, Batman, Justice League, Superman: Lois & Clark, Wonder Woman [DC]; A-Force, All-New Wolverine, Avengers: Standoff, Civil War II: The Fallen, Drax, Nova, Squadron Supreme, Uncanny Inhumans, Web Warriors, [Marvel]).
Other nominees: Jonathan Glapion (19.14%), Klaus Janson (18.72%), Dexter Vines (13%), Tony Kordos (12.64%), Andrew Hennessey (9.67%) and Jason Paz (6.76%)
S.P.A.M.I. (Small Press and Mainstream Independent): Jonathan Glapion (23.45%)(Reborn [Image]).
Other nominees: Stefano Gaudiano (23.09%), Karl Story (22.93%), Brian Shearer (13.68%), Ryan Winn (12.43%) and Cliff Rathburn (6.66%)
ALL-IN-ONE (pencilling and inking together): Erik Larsen (18.46%)
(Savage Dragon [Image])
Other nominees: Nicola Scott (16.33%), Liam Sharp (16.28%), Stan Sakai (13.99%), Walter Simonson (12.95%), Jerome Opena (9.98%) and Joelle Jones (6.71%)
THE SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD (SRA): Violet Barclay, aka Valerie Smith (Golden/Silver Age) and Allen Milgrom (Bronze/Modern Age)
Other nominees (in alphabetical order): Michael Allred, Sy Barry, John Byrne, Ernie Chan, Jack Davis, Tony Dezuniga, Will Elder, Mike Esposito, Frank Frazetta, Gerhard, Geoff Isherwood, George Klein, Frank McLaughlin, Mike Mignola and Mike Royer.
Rudy Nebres (Photo: Luigi Novi)
THE JOE SINNOTT HALL OF FAME: Jerry Ordway and Rudy Nebres. Other nominees: Mike DeCarlo, Mark Farmer, Bob Layton, Pablo Marcos, Bob McLeod and Mike Royer.
Joe Sinnott, the award’s namesake and first recipient, made a statement regarding this year’s inductees:
“I have always been in awe of the fabulous art that Rudy Nebres does. Such detailed and beautiful ink lines are displayed on every page. I really enjoyed the outstanding work that Rudy did on The Savage Sword Of Conan. It is in my opinion some of the best illustration that I have ever seen. It is always a pleasure when we get together at shows. We always have such a good time. I only wish we could do it more often.
“Jerry Ordway, much like Rudy, is such a great artist in his own right. I greatly enjoyed his work on Superman. It is some of the finest that I’ve seen. I did have the pleasure of inking one of Jerry’s Fantastic Four issues, #296. He was one of many artists that I was able to ink on the FF through the years, and certainly one of the best. I only wish that we could have done more than just that lone issue together.
“I am so proud that these two fine gentlemen can now join our elite group. Welcome to the Joe Sinnott Hall Of Fame Class of 2017, Rudy and Jerry. You are both well deserving, and it is great to have you on board as members.
“Also, once again, a huge thank you to The Inkwell Awards for doing such an outstanding job in promoting and educating about the art of comic book inking. And to the Inkwells’ committee for electing Rudy and Jerry. To all the comic book fans, a big thank you for your continued support of The Inkwell Awards. And lastly to Bob Almond. Without Bob, none of this would be possible.”
The ceremony began with a special appearance by Guest Speaker and industry legend Joe Giella, who discussed the artform of comic-book inking, his career in the medium, and its artists. Inkwell Awards founder and director Bob Almond acted as both ceremony host and co-presenter, joined by hostess “Ms. Inkwell,” as portrayed by Hailey Skaza-Gagne (formerly Holly Black). Artist and Inkwell Assistant Director Mike Pascale acted as co-presenter. Industry pioneer Allen Bellman acted as guest speaker to discuss his days in art school and at Timely Comics alongside SRA award recipient Violet Barclay. Joe Goulart gave a tribute for his friend, Rich Buckler, the recently departed legendary creator and Inkwell Ambassador. Almond offered a tribute for long-standing and inspiring Inkwell member Stacey Aragon, who recently passed after a decade-long battle with cancer. He renamed the SRA Award the Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award (SRA), starting in 2018. All acceptance statements from the winners can be found in the “Results” section of the Inkwell Awards’ website in the near future.
The Inkwell Awards is the only existing official 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and promote the art form of comic-book inking, as well as annually recognize and award the best ink artists and their work. Now approaching its 10-year anniversary, the organization is overseen by a committee of industry professionals, and assisted by various professional ambassadors and contributors. They sponsor the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund for the Kubert School and host the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award.
Joe Giella photo by Luigi NoviAllen Bellman photo by Watchtower Geeks
(New Bedford, MA/USA—June 6, 2017) Results from the 10th annual Inkwell Awards will be presented at the inking advocacy group’s 7th live awards ceremony at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC. The awards ceremony is scheduled for Friday June 16, 5:00 PM at the Charlotte Convention Center, in room 209-210.
Golden/Silver Age ink artist and famed DC Comics mainstay Joe Giella is scheduled to appear as Guest of Honor. Golden Age and Timely (Marvel) pioneer and penciller/inker Allen Bellman will act as Guest Speaker for one of two Special Recognition Award recipients.
“We are very fortunate to have two living legends from the dawn of the American comic book industry to attend our celebration of inking in the sequential arts”, said Bob Almond, the Inkwell Awards’ founder/director and MC of the ceremony. “Together they’ve inked many seminal works that have influenced generations of professionals and readers alike.”
The Inkwells have five categories: Favorite Inker, the “Props” award for under-recognized professionals, the S.P.A.M.I. for Small Press And Mainstream-Independent work, Most-Adaptable Inker, and the “All-in-One” for the artist who inks his/her own pencil art. Thousands of voters cast their ballots at the group’s website in April to log their support and choose their favorites.
Mike Pascale
In addition to Giella and Bellman, other speakers/attendees include host and presenter Almond, hostess Hailey Skaza-Gagne as spokesmodel Ms. Inkwell, Inkwell Assistant Director/co-presenter and artist Mike Pascale, and other volunteer staff members. Announced with the publicly-chosen award-winners will be the internally-voted two recipients of the yearly Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award and two recipients of the third annual Special Recognition Award.
Almond added, “We’re thrilled to have more award-recipient creators appearing live than ever before, so fans will get to see and hear more of their favorites.”
Other related guests at the Heroes show itself include Inkwell ambassadors Laura Martin, Mike McKone, Cully Hamner and J. David Spurlock. There may also be surprise appearances at the ceremony by member-creators, the award recipients or other supporters. As an added bonus, the first 25 non-member attendees will receive a raffle ticket for an automatic door prize. After the event, every ticket holder will win a prize as explained at the ceremony.
“We’ve had record attendance for the last couple years,” said Almond, “and plan to repeat that achievement, especially with our impressive lineup and prizes.”
The Inkwells will be set up in Artists Alley at an as of yet unspecified location to be announced soon at the Heroes Con website, offering (for donations) their recently-released Ms. Inkwell Gallery art book, signed by cover artist Bill Sienkiewicz as well as Joe Sinnott, Bob Almond and Hailey Skaza-Gagne, along with plenty of other Inkwell merchandise to help raise much-needed funds. (The organization will delay the next Joe Sinnott Inking Challenge book until 2018 to celebrate their tenth anniversary.)
Hailey Skaza-Gagne as Ms. Inkwell (photo: Bob Almond)
Almond concluded, “We can’t show enough gratitude to promoter Shelton Drum and the Heroes Con staff for annually supporting the community and giving fans an opportunity to learn more about and appreciate this often overlooked industry craft and its artists. Looking forward to seeing everyone on Friday and during the con!” The Inkwell Awards (old.inkwellawards.com) is an official 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to educate the public and promote the art form of comic-book inking, as well as annually recognize the best ink artists and their work. Now approaching it’s tenth year, the organization is overseen by a committee of industry professionals and assisted by various professional ambassadors and numerous contributors. They sponsor the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund for the Kubert School and host the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award.
Yesterday Stacey Aragon’s husband David Hansen posted on his Facebook page that his wife of several years had passed after a long battle with cancer. She was only 39. She was being treated for her illness for ten years, not telling me about it until much later after she joined us in July of 2009. She served as a contributor for social networking and fundraising until October of 2011 when she was promoted to the core committee, our first woman added to our committee roster. She only had a brief stint there from November 2011 to June 2012 because her cancer and treatments got more serious and she would need to move cross-country for viable health care in another state. But she remained as a senior contributor from November of 2013 until she passed, even sharing an auction notice on Facebook for us ten days before the end. She handled several duties over that time like updating our site’s Inker Resources section and Database, Fundraising, Nomination Committee Coordinator and a Volunteer Network. From this list she wasn’t able to significantly get the last two projects off the ground because her condition kept deteriorating. One of the projects she was experienced about and wanted to create was a multi-tier membership system so that we could collect annual dues with an incentive system. That was not to be. She would wrap up her final days sharing all of our announcements and even attending some conventions in her area with Dave because it got her away from all the angst of reality and she was able to use it as therapy, even collecting donations from artists to ship to us. She so enjoyed helping and giving to others that it made her feel better. This, her husband, and her connection to friends/family/loved ones via the internet were her lifelines and what I believe kept her fighting for as long as she did. She would often say that the Inkwells were her family. She was as close to family as anyone in my organization until recently with my present spokesmodel Hailey. As her availability lessened I never removed her from our team credits and in her last couple of years I listed as her position on our brochures, website and books as “heart & soul”. That’s where she touched me and so many who knew her. I will be dedicating the Heroes Con live awards ceremony to her and give a brief tribute to honor her. I owe her at least that much for her gifts and making my non-profit better than it was when she joined it. Rest in peace and thank you, Stacey. Your friend, Bob Almond
The Inkwells send their condolences to David Hansen and her loved ones who are mourning her loss. I posted the following on my own Facebook page yesterday while sharing David’s announcement:
It happened at 3:01 this morning that after a decade of being sick and battling to survive, this world lost one of the most beautiful and selfless souls I had ever met. Stacey Aragon was a special, one of a kind spirit who had no bounds to her generosity, compassion, kindness, sweetness, strength and courage. I never had the honor to meet her in person but through nothing but some phone calls and numerous messages I knew all I needed to know over the years. That we were blessed to know her and to know her was to love her. She deserved better. Rest in peace, my friend. Thank you for all you did for my organization which you treated as your family, and may your husband and loved ones find peace, joy and love from your memory. We’ll most-assuredly miss you.
When she joined the committee I asked her for a bio and photo for the website committee page. She sent me several images of her when younger but this is the one she wanted to use and we did. Others are below: After her Ms. Inkwell: (top-bottom) pre-school/wedding/her with her cat Bermuda/and the rest pics from the 2000s.A rare look at Stacey as a custom designed Ms. Inkwell which she volunteered to do while going to a show to represent us and collect donations. Her collar and tie may look weird but she explained that her treatments made her skin very sensitive to certain materials. I regrettably don’t recall the show she was going to or the year.
Rich Buckler passed away yesterday after a long battle with cancer. He was 68 years old. His career spanned decades starting in 1967 to the present and in the 1970s-1980s he had significant runs at the mainstream publishers like Marvel Comics (Jungle Action with Black Panther, Fantastic Four, Thor,Spectacular Spider-man, and Astonishing Tales with Deathlok, a character he created), Archie Comics (Red Circle Comics line), and DC Comics (All-Star Squadron as created by both Rich and Roy Thomas, Justice League, World’s Finest Comics). Rich, or “Ron Validar” a 1970s pseudonym, rendered a wide assortment of covers for the “Big Two”; in a sense his work became a cover house style for them to draw in readers. As an artist he specialized as a penciller, inker, painter, an editor (Archie) and even a writer who wrote How-To books for Solson Publications. He also mentored and recruited artists as assistants that entered the comic book field. Two examples being George Perez and Denys Cowan.
In 2015 Bob Almond asked Rich if he’d accept the position of Inkwell Awards ambassador after listening to Rich repeatedly praise the necessity of comic book ink artists, a position that he accepted. He followed-up in 2016 with a reworked article on his views of inking for exclusive use at the Inkwell website. Rich was the last ambassador inducted to the non-profit organization to date.
Joe Goulart, a former Inkwell core committee member and close friend of Rich, shared the following announcement on his Facebook timeline and the FB Inkwell group page today:
“Yesterday the Art Community lost one of its greatest Ambassadors. Rich Buckler lost his long battle with cancer. Rich, having put smiles on so many of his fans faces, is an understatement to his ability to bring comic heroes to life in comics. From the Avengers, to Superman, from the Fantastic Four to the Secret Society of Super Villians, from Black Panther to Black Lightning, from Namor the Sub-Mariner to the Crusaders, and to his Iconic Creation of Deathlok. Rich was not only an artistic creator I had the privilege of bringing to my shows’ artists alley, Rich was my friend. Along with his wife, Mila, they became a part of my life and my family.
I will cherish all the times and memories Rich and I have spent together, he is no longer suffering.
Rest in peace my dearest friend.
RIP, Rich Buckler.
Heaven now has an artist of utmost talent.
I will miss you.
Joe”
Rich with Ms. Inkwell (Hailey Skaza-Gagne) at the 2015 Rhode Island Comic Con
Inkwell Awards friends from the Kubert School Michael Chen and Carol Thomas Hon have informed me and announced publicly today that the award recipient of the 8th Dave SimonsInkwell Awards Memorial Scholarship Fund was awarded on Friday May 5 at their annual awards ceremony to student Brian Benjamin! I regret that Hailey Skaza-Gagne, our spokesmodel Ms. Inkwell and I could not attend this year and appreciated special ambassador and scholarship maestro Clifford Meth filling in for us again. Dave’s sister Bette Simons has been notified and is excited as usual about this. Congrats to Brian and all the students awarded! And thanks to all the donors over the past year for their support!
For the group photo this is the copy that came with it from the school:
Brian Benjamin
Congrats to all our scholarship and award winners!
The final wave of the 7th JOE SINNOTT INKING CHALLENGE is running now in our eBay Store until Saturday May 6. After that we will run two more biweekly miscellaneous donation auction waves (mostly from Indiana Comic Con) with some scattered remainder and new, belated Challenge pages (from both Joe and Neal Adams). These auctions help us cover the travel expenses for our season finale and 7th live awards ceremony at Heroes Con which include trophies and costs to bring in award recipients. (Below, the 2nd and final Sinnott Challenge gif as designed by Mike Pascale.) Happy bidding and thanks for the support!
UPDATE: THE BALLOT BOX IS NOW CLOSED FOR THE 9th SEASON. THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN CONTACTED. RESULTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED FRIDAY JUNE 16 AT THE HEROES CON 7TH LIVE AWARDS CEREMONY AND IN PRESS ANNOUNCEMENTS FOLLOWING THAT EVENT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Ballot Voting for the 2016 Inkwell Awards categories is now open at the following link
New Bedford, MA/USA—April 12, 2016) Who’s your favorite inker? The Inkwell Awards, a non-profit organization devoted to the education and promotion of the art of comic book inking, invites all to vote for the industry’s best of the year. The official public ballot will be available on the Inkwells’ homepage from April 15 through April 30.
Voting is open to fans and professionals alike. In addition to “Favorite Inker,” categories include “Most Adaptable,” “PROPS” (inkers deserving more attention), the “S.P.A.M.I.” (Small Press And Mainstream Independent) and “All-In-One” for pencillers who ink their own work.
As a courtesy, also listed on the ballot are the nominees for the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame (“HoF”), a lifetime achievement honor 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 years ago the Special Recognition Award (SRA) was introduced and nominees for it also listed on the ballot with voting being done internally. This lifetime achievement honor differs from the HoF award due to one or more factors such as 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 them from being nominated for a traditional HoF award. The SRA nominees are not listed this year but they will be discussed at the awards ceremony along with the SRA award recipients.
“We’re as excited as ever for this event, where the best of the best ink artists and their work get the recognition they deserve,” said Bob Almond, founder and director of The Inkwell Awards. “Though inkers have their fans and followers, many often go unnoticed or glossed over by most awards events. Ours caters specifically to ink artists and allows them to be recognized and appreciated in various categories. The more voters, the better.”
Once voting ends after April 30, the winners will be announced at the live awards ceremony at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC on Friday, June 16th.
The Inkwell Awards is an official 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and promote the art form of comic-book inking, as well as annually recognize and award the best ink artists and their work. Now in its ninth year, the organization is overseen by a committee of industry professionals and assisted by various professional ambassadors and numerous contributors. They sponsor the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund for the Kubert School and host the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award.
The next stop on the Inkwell show tour is 
“I am so proud that these two fine gentlemen can now join our elite group. Welcome to the Joe Sinnott Hall Of Fame Class of 2017, Rudy and Jerry. You are both well deserving, and it is great to have you on board as members.
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