The 2008 Glyph Comics Awards nominees

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE NOMINEES FOR THE 2008 GLYPH COMICS AWARDS

The third annual Glyph Comics Awards (GCAs), honoring the best in black comics and creators, will once again take place at the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC) in Philadelphia. The Awards Committee is pleased to announce this year’s nominees, as judged by the following:

- Rich Watson, GCA Committee Chair and writer for PopCultureShock.com
- Cheryl Lynn Eaton, comics journalist and founder of the Ormes Society
- Prof. William Foster, comics historian and lecturer
- Tony Isabella, comics writer and columnist
- Katherine Keller, editor-in-chief, Sequential Tart

The nominees for the 2008 Glyph Comics Awards are:

Story of the Year
Hunter’s Moon, James L. White, writer, Dalibor Talajic and Sebastian Cardoso, artists
Nat Turner: Revolution, Kyle Baker, writer and artist
Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, James Sturm, writer, Rich Tommaso, artist
Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm, Percy Carey, writer, Ronald Wimberly, artist
Welcome to Tranquility, Gail Simone, writer, Neil Googe, artist

Best Writer
Percy Carey, Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm
Dwayne McDuffie, Fantastic Four
Gail Simone, Welcome to Tranquility
James Sturm, Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow
James L. White, Hunter’s Moon

Best Artist
Kyle Baker, Nat Turner: Revolution
Olivier Coipel, Thor
Georges Jeanty, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Jeremy Love, Bayou
Ronald Wimberly, Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm

Best Male Character
Emmet Wilson, Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow; James Sturm, writer, Rich Tommaso, artist
Luke Cage, New Avengers; Brian Michael Bendis, writer, Leinil Francis Yu, artist
MF Grimm, Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm; Percy Carey, writer, Ronald Wimberly, artist
Nat Turner, Nat Turner: Revolution; Kyle Baker, writer and artist
The Spectre, Tales of the Unexpected; David Lapham, writer, Eric Battle & Prentis Rollins, artists

Best Female Character
Amanda Waller, Checkmate; Greg Rucka, writer, Joe Bennett & Jack Jadson, artists
Lee Wagstaff, Bayou; Jeremy Love, writer and artist
Martha Washington, Martha Washington Dies; Frank Miller, writer, Dave Gibbons, artist
Saida Nri, Adrenaline; Tyler Chin-Tanner, writer, James Boyle & Fabio Redivo, artists
Thomasina Lindo, Welcome to Tranquility; Gail Simone, writer, Neil Googe, artist

Rising Star Award
Marguerite Abouet, Aya
Marc Bernardin & Adam Freeman, Monster Attack Network
Mark Haven Britt, Full Color
Klio, SPQR Blues
Korby Marks, Stormbringers

Best Reprint Publication
Aya, Drawn & Quarterly; Chris Oliveros, publisher, Helge Dascher, translator
Beyond Premiere HC, Marvel; Tom Brevoort, editor
It Rhymes With Lust, Dark Horse; Mike Richardson, publisher
Storm Premiere HC, Marvel; Axel Alonso, editor
Stormwatch: Post Human Division V1, DC/Wildstorm; Ben Abernathy, editor

Best Cover
Blade #5, Marko Djurdjevic, illustrator
Highwaymen #1, Brian Stelfreeze, illustrator
JSA Classified #28, Steve Uy, illustrator
Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm, Ronald Wimberly, illustrator
Special Forces #2, Kyle Baker, illustrator

Best Comic Strip
Bayou, Jeremy Love, writer and artist
Candorville, Darrin Bell, writer and artist
Funny Cartoon of the Week, Kyle Baker, writer and artist
The K Chronicles, Keith Knight, writer and artist
Watch Your Head, Cory Thomas, writer and artist

Once again, fans will be able to vote for their favorite black comic in the poll for the Fan Award for Best Comic. This year’s nominees are:

Fantastic Four: The New Fantastic Four, Dwayne McDuffie, writer, Paul Pelletier & Rick Magyar, artists
JSA Classified #28, Fabian Nicieza, writer, Steve Uy, artist
New Warriors #1-6, Kevin Grevioux, writer, Paco Medina & Juan Vlasco, artists
Squadron Supreme: Hyperion vs. Nighthawk, Marc Guggenheim, writer, Paul Gulacy, artist
Stormwatch: Post Human Division, Christos Gage, writer, Doug Mahnke and Andy Smith, aritsts
write-in choice

The poll is now up at the ECBACC website (http://ecbacc.com/wordpress/?page_id=76) and will remain open until March 31, 2008.

ECBACC 2008 will take place May 16-17 at Temple University’s Anderson Hall in Philadelphia. For more information about the GCAs, e-mail Rich Watson at cptsisko318@aol.com.

About the Glyph Comics Awards:
The Glyph Comics Awards recognize the best in comics made by, for, and about people of color from the preceding calendar year. While it is not exclusive to black creators, it does strive to honor those who have made the greatest contributions to the comics medium in terms of both critical and commercial impact. By doing so, the goal is to encourage more diverse and high quality work across the board and to inspire new creators to add their voices to the field.

The awards are named for the blog Glyphs: The Language of the Black Comics Community at Pop Culture Shock (http://glyphs.popcultureshock.com), started in 2005 by comics journalist Rich Watson as a means to provide news and commentary of comics with black themes, as well as tangential topics in the fields of black science-fiction/fantasy and animation.

About ECBACC:
The East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC), in association with the Temple University Pan-African Studies Community Education Program, is an annual gathering of comic book creators and retailers who create and sell material that caters to black readers of all ages. In addition to selling their work, they also take part in panel discussions and self-publishing workshops for aspiring creators. The convention is held on the Temple University campus in Philadelphia each May. ECBACC is an outgrowth of the original Black Age of Comics Convention in Chicago, founded by Turtel Onli.

For more information about ECBACC, contact event coordinator Maurice Waters at maurice.waters@ecbacc.com.