Inkwell Awards
Encyclopedia
The Inkwell Award, sometimes shortened to the Inkwells, is a trophy given in the field of inking
in American comic book
s. The awards were partially named after the Yahoo group whose members include many in the inking community, and after the personal website
name of organization founder Bob Almond
. The awards concept was created in an "Inkblots" column by Almond in Sketch Magazine #35 in 2007, which saw print in 2008 after the group formation. The mission statement is, "To promote and educate about the craft of comic book inking and to show recognition for ink artists."
inker
s. where the topic of an award was broached. Almond invited participants from the group to form a core committee. The founding members were artists Tim Townsend, Jim Tournas, and Bill Nichols, and writer Daniel Best. Artist Adam Hughes
and DC Comics
editor Mike Marts were recruited to lend support.
For year one, the committee selected several career-retrospective categories. The resulting ballot was open and ran for two months from April through May with the committee selecting nominations for the Hall of Fame award, the "Joe Sinnott
", named in honor of that veteran inker. Voting took place online and was open to the public. Following the inaugural results, Townsend departed in July and Nichols in August. The core group choose as successor artist representative Bob Shaw in November and artist-writer Dave Simons in December. An Inkwell Awards forum was created September 16, 2008.
The following year, with the partially revised ballot categories, a separate Nomination Committee was selected to choose nominees whose work had appeared in the previous year. The election took place for one month in June 2009. Following Simons' death, the core created the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship for students attending the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. Artist Nathan Massengill
joined the core after the 2009 awards were announced. In January 2010, artist Ethan Van Sciver joined the core.
Wizard Entertainment
announced in February 2010 that it would support the Inkwell Awards through promotion and space at its shows, and by sponsoring the awards' first live presentation, scheduled to take place at The New England Comic Con on October 1–3, 2010. Voting was rescheduled from June to August. In March, the organization introduced its spokesperson character, Ms. Inkwell, conceived by Almond and designed by artist Randy Green with assistance from Massengill. The character debuted publicly at the Pittsburgh Comicon on April 23, 2010.
Favorite Finisher / Embellishe
Most-Prolific Inker
Most-Adaptable Inker
Props Award
MVP Award
The Call of Duty Award
The "SPAMI" Award (Small Press and Mainstream-Independent)
The All-in-One Award
The Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
in American comic book
American comic book
An American comic book is a small magazine originating in the United States and containing a narrative in the form of comics. Since 1975 the dimensions have standardized at 6 5/8" x 10 ¼" , down from 6 ¾" x 10 ¼" in the Silver Age, although larger formats appeared in the past...
s. The awards were partially named after the Yahoo group whose members include many in the inking community, and after the personal website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
name of organization founder Bob Almond
Bob Almond
Bob Almond is an American comic book inker whose credits include the Marvel Comics publications Warlock and the Infinity Watch, Black Panther and Annihilation: Conquest: Quasar.-Early life:...
. The awards concept was created in an "Inkblots" column by Almond in Sketch Magazine #35 in 2007, which saw print in 2008 after the group formation. The mission statement is, "To promote and educate about the craft of comic book inking and to show recognition for ink artists."
Membership and history
In January 2008, Bob Almond began an online discussion on the Inkwell Yahoo Group about recognition for comic bookComic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
inker
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
s. where the topic of an award was broached. Almond invited participants from the group to form a core committee. The founding members were artists Tim Townsend, Jim Tournas, and Bill Nichols, and writer Daniel Best. Artist Adam Hughes
Adam Hughes
Adam Hughes is an American comic book artist who has worked for companies such as DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Lucasfilm, Warner Bros...
and DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
editor Mike Marts were recruited to lend support.
For year one, the committee selected several career-retrospective categories. The resulting ballot was open and ran for two months from April through May with the committee selecting nominations for the Hall of Fame award, the "Joe Sinnott
Joe Sinnott
Joe Sinnott is an American comic book artist. Working primarily as an inker, Sinnott is best-known for his long stint on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, from 1965 to 1981 , initially over the pencils of industry legend Jack Kirby...
", named in honor of that veteran inker. Voting took place online and was open to the public. Following the inaugural results, Townsend departed in July and Nichols in August. The core group choose as successor artist representative Bob Shaw in November and artist-writer Dave Simons in December. An Inkwell Awards forum was created September 16, 2008.
The following year, with the partially revised ballot categories, a separate Nomination Committee was selected to choose nominees whose work had appeared in the previous year. The election took place for one month in June 2009. Following Simons' death, the core created the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship for students attending the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. Artist Nathan Massengill
Nathan Massengill
Nathan Massengill is an American comic book artist, most known for his work as a brush inker. His work includes Marvel Comics' Deadpool and DC Comics' the Justice Society of America. He is best known for inking Ed McGuinness, penciler on the Deadpool series...
joined the core after the 2009 awards were announced. In January 2010, artist Ethan Van Sciver joined the core.
Wizard Entertainment
Wizard Entertainment
Wizard Entertainment, formerly known as Wizard Press, was a New York-based publisher of Wizard and ToyFare magazines, along with various special issues for each magazine and the annual Toy Wishes holiday guide....
announced in February 2010 that it would support the Inkwell Awards through promotion and space at its shows, and by sponsoring the awards' first live presentation, scheduled to take place at The New England Comic Con on October 1–3, 2010. Voting was rescheduled from June to August. In March, the organization introduced its spokesperson character, Ms. Inkwell, conceived by Almond and designed by artist Randy Green with assistance from Massengill. The character debuted publicly at the Pittsburgh Comicon on April 23, 2010.
Funding
The Inkwell Awards are self-funded and rely entirely on donations. A 2010 donation book produced by Jimmy Tournas debuted at the Boston Comic Con that April.Award winners
Favorite Inker- 2008 (retro) Terry AustinTerry Austin (comics)Terry Austin is an American comic book artist, working primarily as an inker. He is best known for his work embellishing John Byrne's pencils on The Uncanny X-Men from 1977–1981.-Early life and career:...
& Joe Sinnott (tie)/ (modern) Danny Miki - 2009 Wade Von GrawbadgerWade Von GrawbadgerWade von Grawbadger is a comic book artist who is known mostly for his inking work for Marvel and DC comics.-DC Comics:* Alpha Centurion Special #1* Birds of Prey: Manhunt #1, 3, 4* Showcase '95 #1, 2...
Favorite Finisher / Embellishe
- 2008 (retro)Tom PalmerTom Palmer (comics)-Biography:Although Palmer has done a small amount of pencilling work , the vast majority of his artistic output since the 1960s has been as a comic book inker...
/ (modern) Kevin NowlanKevin NowlanKevin Nowlan is an American comic-book artist who works as penciler, inker, colorist and letterer.He has been called "one of the few artists who can be called 'artists's artist'", a master of the various disciplines of comic production, from "design to draftsmanship to dramatics".-Biography:Kevin...
Most-Prolific Inker
- 2008 Danny Miki
Most-Adaptable Inker
- 2008 Danny Miki
- 2009 Tim Townsend
Props Award
- 2008 Danny Miki
- 2009 Matt Ryan
MVP Award
- 2008 Danny Miki
The Call of Duty Award
- 2008 Bob Almond
The "SPAMI" Award (Small Press and Mainstream-Independent)
- 2009 Tim Townsend
The All-in-One Award
- 2009 Mike MignolaMike MignolaMichael Joseph "Mike" Mignola is an American comic book artist and writer who created the comic book series Hellboy for Dark Horse Comics. He has worked for animation projects such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire and the adaptation of his one shot comic book, The Amazing Screw-On Head.-Career:Mignola...
The Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award
- 2008 Joe Sinnott
- 2009 Terry Austin/ Dick GiordanoDick GiordanoRichard Joseph "Dick" Giordano was an American comic book artist and editor best known for introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes, and serving as executive editor of then–industry leader DC Comics...