Comments on: 2009 Shuster Awards Nominees

By: Eisners, Shusters nominees announced | Tokyovation

Eisners, Shusters nominees announced | Tokyovation — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 02:44:28 +0000

[...] nominees for the Joe Shuster Award have also been released, which you can find at Comics212. While strictly a Canadian affair, sometime manga publishers Drawn and Quarterly and Udon [...]

By: Kevin Boyd

Kevin Boyd — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:23:51 +0000

We’re moving sideways with the JSAs Joey… keeping the core awards (Artist, Cartoonist, Writer, Colourist, Webcomics, Publisher, Retailer, Cover Art) and eliminating the popular vote categories in favour of the new Gene Day self-publishing award and the Comics for Kids award (for material aimed at younger readers). We’re handing out 10 awards this year (plus the Hall of Fame inductees).

Sorry that you feel the Eisner model cheapens things (the Eisners have 26 categories this year + hall of fame)… the way I look at it is this way… between the JSAs and the DWAs the whole Canadian comics scene is covered. This isn’t meant to be a competition. Sure, some creators may overlap – but the categories don’t.

By: Joey

Joey — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:07:29 +0000

It’s more of a demographic question. It seems like the Wrights have done a much better job of bringing attention to cartoonists from outside of the introverted comic book industry, especially the fanboy demo — there’s a bigger press push, more literary and news media coverage, and prominent Canadians from across the cultural spectrum pitch in every year. They’re almost like the ‘external’ representatives.

The Shusters do a much better job of working their way around the comics community and are more receptive to works that are created on a division-of-labour model. There’s a little more blog hype and a slightly more diverse pool of candidates (though this may be due to the fact that, like other comics awards, they have 8,000 categories).

They’ve both done a good job, the Wrights bringing in other artistic establishments to strengthen the place of Canadian cartoonists on the national scene and the Shusters empowering the community from within.

The only complaint might be that the Eisner model cheapens things. It makes works a dime a dozen and you see people getting like eight and nine awards in a year. It’s actually really hard to get a Doug Wright Award, which gives the prize a bit more weight and prestige. It seems like the Shusters have realized this too, cutting down on categories and moving to a jury like the Wrights.

By: Kevin Boyd

Kevin Boyd — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:23:14 +0000

Hey Brad, I do agree that it is hard to describe what our aesthetic is because in most of the categories, the nominees are selected by people located all over the country, with different tastes and interests – but by applying our balanced two round voting rules we always end up with a reasonable balance of types and styles in each category. That might lead someone to say we are unfocused, where we are happy with a cross-section that shows off Canada’s artistic diversity.

In our overall approach there is some slight resemblance to other comics industry awards like the Eisners and the Harveys.

By: Chip Zdarsky

Chip Zdarsky — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:38:04 +0000

“the Chip Zdarsky Annual Award for Achievement in the Area of Excellence.”

This is exactly what I wanted, thank you.
-chip

By: Brad M.

Brad M. — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:26:52 +0000

I think that with multiple awards orgs that aim to recognize the same medium (say, Canadian comics) there’s bound to be some crossover.

I also think it’s worth noting that the DWAs (and, i assume the Shusters) have gradually settled on their individual focus over the past five years. For us, i think that while we fashion ourselves on traditional “book” awards, rather than industry awards, our taste isn’t necessarily categorizable in one word or phrase. I mean, calling our categories “indy-focused” for instance is a bit of a misnomer, since that would discount D+Q, Fantagrahpics and Oni books. (And, technically, people are nominated in the Best Emerging Talent award – their published works listed in a secondary position.)

In the end, the DWAs and the Shusters each have their own clear aesthetic that sets them apart from each other. But I don;t think you can sum it up in a short phrase, or one-liner.

By: Brad M.

Brad M. — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:39:53 +0000

Chip – Sorry for the oversight. I should explain, that we’re working on a separate category called the Chip Zdarsky Annual Award for Achievement in the Area of Excellence. Look out for it next year!

By: Scott Chantler

Scott Chantler — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:35:15 +0000

What Kevin said. The JSAs, for some reason, tend to be considered the “mainstream” awards. But a quick look at their nominations and winners in past years reveals an impressively diverse assortment of works.

There is occasionally some overlap between them and the DWAs. I’ve been nominated for both in the same year. So have Darwyn Cooke, and Jeff Lemire (I’m in good company). It may not be common, but it happens.

By: Kevin Boyd

Kevin Boyd — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:46:07 +0000

I lifted this from wiki: A common comparison of the two is that the JSAs are mainstream-biased and the DWAs are more indie-oriented. A more accurate comparison is that the JSAs are comic book industry oriented awards (honouring individual Canadians who work on comics and graphic novels in a variety of roles for their body of work from the previous year) while the DWAs are graphic novel (single work)-centric awards (Canadian cartoonists win for best graphic novel or best non-linear work or best emerging talent with a specific graphic novel).

By: Kevin Boyd

Kevin Boyd — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 03:15:02 +0000

This is the 2nd year of juried awards.

By: Chip Zdarsky

Chip Zdarsky — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 02:42:19 +0000

Something that both awards have in common is that I’ve never been nominated for either. Oversight or scandal? YOU DECIDE.

By: SJW

SJW — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 02:34:33 +0000

I understand the DWA’s angle. While perhaps not completely “inclusive” of the whole spectrum of comics, they definitely have a cohesive vision. Perhaps the JSA’s are trying to hit every single point on that spectrum, but to me, it comes off as a little unfocussed.

But as you say, it’s cool…