December 2, 2012

The wait is– almost– over! The Slate Book Review and the Center for Cartoon Studies are proud to announce the nominees for the first Cartoonist Studio Prizes. Ten graphic novels and ten webcomics have been selected by Slate Book Review editor Dan Kois, the faculty and students at the Center for Cartoon Studies, and this year’s guest judge, legendary New Yorker art editor Françoise Mouly. The winner in each category, to be announced on March 1st, will receive $1000.

Notes The New Yorker’s Françoise Mouly: “Working with Dan and James, we ended up distilling an unbelievably rich year that saw fusion of all genres, major works by established cartoonists, breakthrough works by emerging artists, women artists, comics for kids and so much more. It’s not easy to pick ‘the best’ when the field is so alive and varied; it’s wrenching when one of your darlings doesn’t make the cut. But Dan and James and I pitted our different views against each other’s so that now I can proudly say: Look at all of these, it’s been an amazing year. Can’t wait to see what 2013 will bring—and am I glad they’ll ask another judge to narrow it down to only 10 Best!”

Adds the CCS’s director, James Sturm: “It’s exciting to be living in a golden age of comics but it sure makes the job of choosing just a handful for recognition challenging. The list we came up with is a broad weave of genres and styles with a common thread of excellence.”

And the nominees are…..(click here to view the shortlists!)