Via PR, the nominees for the annual retailing award have been announced:

SAN DIEGO, Comic-Con International (Comic-Con), the largest comic book and popular arts event in the United States, has announced its list of nominees for the prestigious Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award (The Eisner Spirit Award). This year organizers are happy to note that Baby Tattoo, publishers of books for kids and adults, is the official sponsor of the Award.

Since 1993, The Eisner Spirit Award has been presented to an individual retailer who has performed an outstanding job of supporting the comics art medium both in the community and within the industry at large. Any retailer established in business for at least two years is eligible for nomination, and retailers, professionals, or fans may place a name in nomination. A panel of industry judges select a group of finalists to be subjected to an in-depth examination based on award criteria. These criteria include:

Support of a wide variety of innovative material: Providing opportunities for creators’ material to reach buyers; stocking a diverse inventory.

Knowledge: Working to stay informed on retailing as well as on the comics field.

Community activity: Promoting comics to the community; maintaining relationships with schools and libraries; keeping active in social, business, and arts community organizations.

Quality of store image: Innovative display approaches; using store design creatively.

Adherence to standard ethical business practices.

This years nominees are:
Acme Comics, Greensboro, NC;
Big B Comics, Ontario, Canada;
Comic Book Ink, Tacoma, WA;
Comic Oasis, Las Vegas, NV;
Comics & Vegetables, Tel Aviv, Israel;
Comicopia, Boston, MA;
Cosmic Monkey Comics, Portland, OR;
Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy, Austin, TX;
Drawn To Comics, Glendale, AZ;
Happy Harbor Comics, Edmonton, AB, Canada;
Krypton Comics, Omaha, NE;
Legends Comics, Victoria, BC Canada;
OK Comics, Leeds England;
Phantom of the Attic, Pittsburgh, PA;
Tate’s Comics, Fort Lauderdale, FL;
The Comic Vault, Chicago, IL;  
Up, Up & Away, Cincinnati, OH.

Past winners are not eligible for nomination.

The Eisner Spirit Awards are part of, and underwritten by, Comic-Con International: San Diego, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contributions of comics to art and culture.

1 COMMENT

  4. While I did not nominate any store, and do not participate in the Eisner voting, I am glad to see Krypton Comics nominated. They run a clean, well-organized store; offer Saturday art instruction; program the ever-lovin’ heck out of FCBD; and, of course, offer a wide selection of merchandise!

    Has anyone made a Google Earth map of past and present nominees? When I travel, I always like to stop at comics stores.

  8. I thought they said on Around Comics that Dark Tower in Chicago had been nominated? Maybe that was a different award?

    None of these are near me in Michigan so I have no one to root for : (

  13. Comicopia is a fantastic store. Glad to see it get recognition. It’s a real class act and quite a well structured store. Plus they’re quite good at cons. One funny bit, at Anime Boston, just before the dealer’s room closed, they started to play The Final Countdown.

  15. Comic Vault is saying this:

    The Comic Vault has been nominated for the 2009 Will Eisner ‘Spirit of Comics’ Retailer Award! This award was created by Will Eisner as a way to honor the hard work put in by comic book store owners

    I didn’t see anything on the Dark Tower Comics Web site.

    SRS

  17. Nice to see the UK represented, and I’ve got to admit, OK is my local shop, and I couldn’t be more pleased for Jared. Great shop, and a great owner

  18. I would have thought Comicopia would have won already.

    Still sad, almost 10 years later, my former store finished second the year they cut the number of winners back from 2 to 1.