Nominees for Outstanding Publisher, Retailer and “Comics for Kids” Awards announced
Toronto, Canada — April 28, 2010.
Since it was established in 2004, the Joe Shuster Award has been Canada’s national awards program for recognizing the outstanding achievements of Canadian comic book creators, publishers and retailers. The awards are named after pioneering Toronto-born artist Joe Shuster who, along with writer Jerry Siegel, created the iconic super-powered hero, Superman.
In March 2010, the Awards Association announced the nominees for the categories of Outstanding Artist, Cartoonist, Colourist, Cover Art, Webcomic Creator/Creative Team and Writer. These nominees can be viewed here: http://joeshusterawards.com/2010/03/17/nominations-for-the-2010-joe-shuster-awards/
We are now honoured to announce the additional nominees for the categories of Outstanding Canadian Publisher, as well as the Finalists for the Harry Kremer Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Retailer Award and the Comics for Kids Award, for books aimed at younger readers by Canadian creators.
The Harry Kremer Retailer Award, is named after the late owner of Kitchener, ON store Now & Then Books. Kremer’s store was one of the first comic book specialty shops in North America and Kremer has a tremendous impact as a retailer, aficionado and patron of the sequential arts. His legacy is seen in the five tremendous nominees this year, some of the best stores in North America, let alone Canada – including stores from Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, London and Montreal.
While there are at least a dozen great Canadian publishers, the five nominees for this year’s Outstanding Publisher Award all distinguished themselves in ways that our nominating committee felt set them apart. The five nominees include three Quebec-based publishers – three time winner Drawn & Quarterly last year’s winner Les 400 Coups and multiple nominee La Pastèque. Nova Scotia’s Conundrum Press has been distinguishing itself with a series of unique and engaging graphic novels, and Toronto-based Kids Can Press who have been producing a lot of great material aimed at younger readers, as evidenced by the three nominations the company received for the Comics for Kids Award.
This will be the second year for the Comics for Kids Award, an award that we are particularly proud of here at the Awards Association – as it is one nominated by teachers and aimed at identifying books for educators, libraries and parents that they feel are quality material for younger readers (aged 15 years or younger). As educators and librarians report to us, there is a growing interest in quality graphic novels aimed at younger readers and we want to do our part to identify the Canadian-created books that are worthy of their attention.
The winners of the 2010 Joe Shuster Awards will be announced at a free admission public ceremony in Toronto on the evening of Saturday, June 5th, 2010 at the University of Toronto’s Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Avenue. The Master of Ceremonies will be Jonathan Llyr. The presentation ceremony date also coincides with the 6th Annual Toronto ComiCON Fan Appreciation Event at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on June 5 & 6, 2010.
Publisher/Éditeur
– Conundrum Press – www.conundrumpress.com
– Drawn & Quarterly – www.drawnandquarterly.com
– Les 400 Coups – www.editions400coups.com
– Kids Can Press – www.kidscanpress.com
– La Pastèque – www.lapasteque.com
The Harry Kremer Award for Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Retailer /Le Prix Harry Kremer pour Détaillant Exceptionnel Canadien de Bandes Dessinées
– Another Dimension (Calgary, AB) www.another-dimension.com
– The Beguiling (Toronto, ON) www.beguiling.com
– Elfsar (Vancouver, BC) www.elfsar.com
– Fichtre! (Montreal, QC) www.fichtre.qc.ca
– Heroes (London, ON) www.heroescomics.ca
Comics for Kids / Bandes Dessinées pour Enfants
– Binky the Space Cat – Ashley Spines (Kids Can Press)
– Capitaine Static, tome 3: L’Étrange Miss Flissy – Alain M. Bergeron, Samuel Parent/Sampar (Québec Amérique)
– Laflèche, tome 02: Cobequid – Mario Landry, Marcel Levasseur (Boomerang)
– Horus, tome 1 – L’enfant À Tête De Faucon – Johane Matte (Les 400 Coups)
– Jellaby, Book 2: Monster in the City – Kean Soo (Hyperion)
– Nightschool: The Weirn Books Vol. 1-2 – Svetlana Chmakova (Yen Press)
– Scaredy Squirrel at Night – Melanie Watt (Kids Can Press)
– A Sam & Friends Mystery, Book 2: Lake Monster Mix-Up – Mary Labatt, Jo Rioux (Kids Can Press)
Nominees for the Publisher and Harry Kremer Retailer Awards were selected by the Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards Association Executive Committee after a careful review of published materials and a retailer review/screening process that included retailer interviews conducted on our website. In order to qualify for the Retailer Award a store must be in business for three years or longer.
Nominees for the Comics for Kids Award were selected by:
– Jennifer Stewart, MA, B.Ed — High School teacher at The Linden School, owner of The Dragon comic shop in Guelph, ON
– Beth Alexander, B.Ed — Elementary teacher at The Linden School
– Diana Pai, B.Ed — High School teacher at St. Clements School
A final announcement in May for the inductees into the Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame / Temple de la renommée Créateur Canadien de Bandes Dessinées as well as the finalists for the for the Gene Day Award for Canadian Self-Publishers / Le Prix Gene Day pour Éditeurs Direct Canadian de Bandes Dessinées.
Submissions from self-publishers will be accepted until May 10, 2010 for the Gene Day Award for Canadian Self-Publishers / Le Prix Gene Day pour Éditeurs Direct Canadian de Bandes Dessinées. Please visit http://joeshusterawards.com/gene-day-award-for-canadian-self-publishers/ for full details. The winner of the Gene Day Award also receives a $500 Bursary.
Congratulations to all of the nominees!
About Joe Shuster (1914 – 1992)
With the permission of his estate, the Joe Shuster Awards are named in honor of the great artist, JOE SHUSTER (1914-1992), whose clear, dynamic style and inventive visual flourishes set the standard for graphic storytelling during the infancy of the North American comic book industry. It was Superman, a co-creation of Shuster and Siegel, which electrified the industry 71 years ago and, almost overnight, transformed comic books into an enormous pop-cultural phenomenon that endures to this day.
About The Joe Shuster Award
Created in 2004, the Joe Shuster Award is Canada’s first national achievement award program for Canadians working on comic books, graphic novels and webcomics. The Joe Shuster Award program is administered by the Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards Association, a not-for-profit organization.
For more information please contact [email protected] or visit www.joeshusterawards.com
