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| Inkwell Award | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Awarded for | Excellence in comic book inking |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | The Inkwell Awards Committee |
| First award | July 2008 |
| Website | http://www.inkwellawards.com/ |
The Inkwell Award, sometimes shortened to the Inkwells, is an award given for inking in American comic books.[1]
History
In January 2008, Bob Almond proposed establishing an award to recognize comic book inkers.[2] Founding members included artists Tim Townsend, Jim Tournas, Bill Nichols, and writer Daniel Best, with support from artist Adam Hughes and DC Comics editor Mike Marts.[3]
The Hall of Fame Award was named in honor of Joe Sinnott.[2]
In memory of artist Dave Simons,[4] the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship was established, offering a $1,000 annual award to a Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art student.[5]
Wizard Entertainment sponsored the first live Inkwell Awards presentation at The New England Comic Con in October 2010.[6] In 2011, Heroes Convention became the host for the annual live presentation ceremony. The Inkwell Awards moved to the Great Philadelphia Comic Con in Oaks, Pennsylvania, in 2019.[7]
Live awards presentations were suspended from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8][9] In 2024, the Hershey Comic Con was announced as the new venue for live awards presentations.[10]
Contributors
The Inkwell Awards are funded via donations.[11] In 2010, a book produced by Jimmy Tournas at the Boston Comic Con raised funds for the awards.[12]
Artist Dan Panosian designed the Inkwell Awards logo. Randy Green designed the Inkwell spokesperson costume.[13]
Award winners
Special Recognition AwardThe Special Recognition Award (SRA) a.k.a. the Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award (SASRA) in honor of the Inkwells supporter "who passed after a decade-long battle with cancer".[23]
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The Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame AwardA hall of fame designation for an inking career in American comic books (lifetime achievement, 25 years minimum; two winners chosen annually).
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Above and Beyond AwardIn celebration of the 10th anniversary in 2018, Almond created this award for organization members or non-members who have made "special efforts".
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In 2025, a special award was awarded to Larry Lieber, who was given the honorary Keeper of the Flame Award for his seven decades of career achievement in the comic book industry as a writer, editor, and artist which includes inking.[48]
Ambassadors
The position of ambassador recognizes creators for their support for the Inkwell Awards. Unless noted otherwise, all ambassadors continue to hold this position.[55]
Special Ambassadors
- Joe Sinnott, 2012 until his death in June 2020 (artist)
- Mike McKone, July 2010 (artist)
- J. David Spurlock, March 2011 (publisher, editor, author, artist, and advocate)
- Clifford Meth, August 2014 (writer and advocate)
- Aldrin "Buzz" Aw, January 2018 (artist) [56] until June 2025.
- Rags Morales, September 2018 (artist)[57][58]
- Dan Parsons, September 2018 (artist)[57][58]
- Mark Sinnott and Joe Prado, January 2021[59][55]
- Dan DiDio, August 2022 (writer, editor, and publisher)[60][61][62][63][64][65][66]
- Gail Simone, July 2025 (writer)[67]
- Dan Panosian, July 2025 (artist)[67]
- Bill Morrison, July 2025 (artist, writer, editor)[67]
Ambassadors
These supporting artists who help advocate for inkers are called ambassadors.[68]
- Adam Hughes, February 2008 (artist)
- Mike Marts, February 2008 – August 2018 (editor), inactive
- Sal Velluto, July 2010 (artist)
- Mark Brooks, June 2010 (artist)
- Trevor Von Eeden, July 2010 (artist)
- Cully Hamner, June 2011 (artist)
- Joe Kubert, September 2011 until his death in August 2012 (artist, author, editor, and legend)
- Eric Basaldua, September 2011 (artist)
- Phil Jimenez, September 2011 (artist)
- Jim Shooter, January 2012 until his death June 2025 (writer and editor)
- Brian Pulido, October 2012 (artist, writer, editor, and publisher)
- Jim Starlin, August 2014 (artist and writer)[69]
- Laura Martin, August 2014 (colorist)[69]
- Rich Buckler, 2015 until his death in May 2017[23] (artist)[70][68]
Guests of honor and keynote speakers
At many of the live ceremonies, notable comic book creators were invited as guests of honor and keynote speakers.
- 2011: Dan Panosian, Keynote Speaker[71][72] and Tim Townsend, Presenter[73]
- 2012: Bob McLeod, Keynote Speaker[74][75][76] and Ethan Van Sciver, Presenter[77]
- 2013: Jimmy Palmiotti, Keynote Speaker;[78][79][80] Cully Hamner, Presenter;[81] J. David Spurlock, Presenter Hall of Fame[81]
- 2014: Bill Sienkiewicz, Guest of Honor;[82][83][84] Dexter Vines, Presenter;[85] Steve Saffel and Ron Garney, Presenters Hall of Fame[85]
- 2015: Klaus Janson, Guest of Honor;[86] Mike McKone & Mark McKenna, Presenters;[87] Orion Zangara & Craig Yoe, Presenters Hall of Fame;[87] Scott Hampton, Presenter Special Recognition Award[87]
- 2016: Jim Steranko, Special Appearance;[88][89][90] J. David Spurlock, Presenter Special Recognition Award;[91] Todd Dezago & Mike Grell, Presenters Hall of Fame[91]
- 2017: Joe Giella, Guest of Honor[24][92] and Allen Bellman, Guest Speaker[24][92] and Presenter SASRA;[93] Mike Pascale, Presenter[93]
- 2018: Mike Royer, Guest of Honor;[25] Dan Panosian, Presenter;[93] Pat Broderick, Presenter lifetime achievement[93]
- 2019: Mark McKenna, Guest of Honor;[94] Larry Hama & J. David Spurlock, Presenters Hall of Fame[26]
- 2024: Keith Williams, Presenter;[95] Geof Isherwood, Presenter SASRA;[96] Mark Sinnott, J. David Spurlock, & Bill Morrison, Presenters Hall of Fame[96]
- 2025: Scott Hanna, Presenter; Mark Sinnott, Presenter Hall of Fame[67]
References
- ^ [1] Inkwell Awards Homepage
- ^ a b "CBGXtra Forum, The Ticker". CBGXtra.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
- ^ "Inkwell Awards Forum". InkwellAwards.com. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
- ^ "Inkwell Awards Forum - Dave Simons: 1954-2009". Inkwellawards.proboards.com. 2009-06-10. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
- ^ "Inkwell Awards Forum - Nathan Massengill and The Dave Simons Scholarship". Inkwellawards.proboards.com. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
- ^ "Wizard Entertainment press release on October 2010 New England Comic Con". wizardworld.com. Archived from the original on 2010-02-20. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
- ^ "Inkwell Ballot Goes LIVE w/ a SITE RELAUNCH on April 1st! Awards Ceremony at Heroes Con in June!". 21 February 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h First Comics News: 2020 Inkwell Awards Voting Results
- ^ News Archives - Inkwell Awards
- ^ Hershey Comic Con to host Inkwell Awards in 2024
- ^ Books, Blaq (2008-02-15). "20th Century Danny Boy: Presenting...THE INKWELL AWARDS". Ohdannyboy.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
- ^ "Inkwell Awards Forum - New 2010 Donation book to debut at Boston Comic Con". Inkwellawards.proboards.com. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
- ^ "Inkwell Awards debut Ms. Inkwell". Inkwellawards.proboards.com. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Inkwell Awards 2008 Winners
- ^ a b c d e f Inkwell Awards 2009 Winners
- ^ a b c d e f Inkwell Awards 2010 Winners
- ^ a b c d e f Inkwell Awards 2011 Winners
- ^ a b c d e f Inkwell Awards 2012 Winners
- ^ a b c d e f Inkwell Awards 2013 Winners
- ^ a b c d e f Inkwell Awards 2014 Winners
- ^ a b c d e f g Inkwell Awards 2015 Winners
- ^ a b c d e f g Inkwell Awards 2016 Winners
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Inkwell Awards 2017 Winners
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Newsarama 2017 INKWELL AWARD Winners
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Inkwell Awards 2018 Winners
- ^ a b c d e f g h First Comic News: 2019 Inkwell Awards Voting Results & Ceremony
- ^ a b c d e f g Word of the Nerd: 2019 Inkwell Award Winners
- ^ a b c d e f GamesRadar+ 2020 Inkwell Award Winners
- ^ a b c d e f g h Inkwell Awards Winners 2020
- ^ a b c d e f g h 2021 Inkwell Awards Voting Results
- ^ a b c d e f g h 2021 Winners - Inkwell Awards Official Site
- ^ a b c d e f Comic Art News: Inkwell Awards Announces 2022 Honorees
- ^ a b c d e f Comics for Sinners: 2022 Inkwell Awards Celebrates Gunslinger Spawn’s Corona, 4th time winner Rapmund and more… #ink-magic
- ^ a b c d e First Comics News - 2023 Inkwell Awards Ballot Winners
- ^ a b c d e Comics for Sinners Inkwell Awards 2023 Winners
- ^ a b c d e Inkwell Awards Announce Winners for 2023
- ^ a b c d e f First Comics News - 2024 Inkwell Awards Ballot Winners & Internal Awards
- ^ a b c d e f Inkwell Awards Ballot Winners & Internal Awards
- ^ a b c d e 2025 Inkwell Awards Ballot Winners
- ^ YouTube - Scott Hanna - Heroes Convention 2011
- ^ YouTube - Arthur Thibert - Heroes Convention 2011
- ^ a b "First Comics News - 2022 Inkwell Awards Lifetime Achievement Winners"
- ^ a b "Major Spoilers - Frazetta and Shores announced as Inkwell Awards’ 2023 Lifetime Achievement
- ^ a b "Pop Culture Podium - Frazetta & Shores Win Inkwell Lifetime Achievement Award"
- ^ a b "First Comics News - Inkwell Awards’ 2023 Lifetime Achievement Winners Announced"
- ^ a b First Comics News - Inkwell Awards Lifetime Achievement Winners Announced
- ^ a b Inkwell Awards Lifetime Achievement Winners 2024
- ^ a b c Inkwell Awards 2025 Lifetime Achievement Winners 2025
- ^ YouTube - Kevin Nowlan - Heroes Convention 2011
- ^ YouTube - J. David Spurlock - Heroes Convention 2011 - Posthumous acceptance on behalf of Wally Wood
- ^ Hailey Skaza-Gagne
- ^ First Comics News - INKBLOTS: Inkwell Awards celebrates four ABOVE & BEYOND community volunteers
- ^ Bob's Blog: Inkwell Awards celebrates four ABOVE & BEYOND community volunteers
- ^ 2025 Inkwell Awards Ballot Winners & Internal Awards
- ^ a b Ambassadors - Inkwell Awards Official Site
- ^ Inkwell Awards Celebrates Milestone 10th Season
- ^ a b First Comics News - Inkwell Awards Adds New Special Ambassadors
- ^ a b Inkwell Awards Launches 11th Season with New Special Ambassadors Rags Morales, Dan Parsons
- ^ First Comic News - Inkwell Awards Adds New Special Ambassadors
- ^ First Comics News - Inkwell Awards Adds Dan DiDio as Special Ambassador
- ^ Inkwell Awards Adds Dan DiDio As Special Ambassador
- ^ Comicbook.com - DC Comics Dan DiDio Named Inkwell Awards Special Ambassador
- ^ Comics for Sinners - Dan DiDio Added As Inkwell Awards Special Ambassador
- ^ "JournaFeed - Former DC Publisher Dan DiDio Named Inkwell Awards Special Ambassador". Archived from the original on 2022-08-31. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
- ^ Comic Crusaders - Dan DiDio Added as Inkwell Awards Special Ambassador
- ^ Erudit - Former DC Editor Dan DiDio Named Special Inkwell Awards Ambassador
- ^ a b c d Inkwell Awards Announce Three New Ambassadors
- ^ a b Inkwell Award Ambassadors
- ^ a b First Comics News Press Release - Starlin, Meth, and Martin as Inkwell Awards Ambassadors[permanent dead link]
- ^ "First Comics News Press Release - Rich Buckler named Inkwell Awards Ambassador". Archived from the original on 2016-03-19. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
- ^ The Joe Shuster Awards: Congratulations to Francis Manapul and the other winners of the 2011 Inkwell Awards
- ^ Inkwell Awards at 2011 HeroesCon
- ^ Inkwell Awards History
- ^ "She Never Slept: The 2012 Inkwell Awards". Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
- ^ YouTube - Inkwell Awards 2012 Ceremony, Bob McLeod, Keynote Speaker (Introduction)
- ^ YouTube - Inkwell Awards 2012 Ceremony, Bob McLeod, Keynote Speaker (Speech)
- ^ 2012 Inkwell Awards Donation & Results book. 2012.
- ^ "She Never Slept: 2013 Inkwell Awards". Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
- ^ Inkwell Awards: 2013 Inkwell Awards Celebrate Inkers at 3rd Annual HeroesCon Awards Ceremony
- ^ YouTube - Inkwell Awards 2013 Ceremony, Jimmy Palmiotti, Keynote Speaker
- ^ a b 2013 Inkwell Awards Donation & Results book. 2013.
- ^ Everyone's Wrong and I'm Right (The Blog of Clifford Meth): Inkwell Awards 2014 Winners and Hall Of Fame
- ^ Inkwell Awards: Bill Sienkiewicz is Guest of Honor at 2014 HeroesCon Awards Ceremony
- ^ YouTube - Inkwell Awards 2014 Ceremony, Bill Sienkiewicz Guest of Honor
- ^ a b Inkwell Awards 3rd Annual Joe Sinnott Inking Challenge. 2014.
- ^ "First Comic News: Guest of Honor Klaus Janson to speak at the 2015 Inkwell Awards Ceremony during Heroes Con". Archived from the original on 2015-12-27. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
- ^ a b c Inkwell Awards 4th Annual Joe Sinnott Inking Challenge. 2015.
- ^ First Comics News: Special Appearance by Jim Steranko to Highlight the 2016 Inkwell Awards Ceremony at Heroes Con[permanent dead link]
- ^ YouTube - Inkwell Awards 2016 Ceremony, Jim Steranko Special Appearance
- ^ Inkwell Awards 2016 Post-Show Video and Transcript
- ^ a b Inkwell Awards 5th Annual Joe Sinnott Inking Challenge. 2016.
- ^ a b Inkwell Awards: Legends Joe Giella and Allen Bellman Headline The 2017 Inkwell Awards Ceremony at Heroes Con
- ^ a b c d Inkwell Awards 6th Annual Joe Sinnott Inking Challenge. 2018.
- ^ Inkwell Awards 2019 Voting Results and Ceremony
- ^ 4C Live! Inkwell Awards
- ^ a b "FCN - Inkwell Awards Lifetime Achievement Awards". First Comics News.
