Seven amazing comics retailers were nominated for the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer award, including stores from all over the United States. We have personal knowledge of many of these retailers and can testify that they all exemplify the passion and love of comics that is the heartbeat of the industry
The winner will be announced tonight at the Eisner Awards.
Comic-Con International: San Diego (Comic-Con), the largest comic book convention of its kind in the world, announced the finalists for the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award today. Each year the Spirit Award is presented as part of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards.
This years finalists include:
A Comic Shop
Alternate Reality
Bridge City
Challengers Comics and Vegetables
The Comic Bug
The Dragon
Green Brain Comics.These nominees come from all over the United States and are nominated by peers, retailers or fans.
Comic-Con’s director of marketing and public relations, David Glanzer, said the organization was pleased with the nominations and the judges will have a difficult decision to make.
“The Will Eisner Spirit Award is a very prestigious accolade presented to the best of the best in comics retailing,” said Glanzer.
The panel of judges includes Diamond UK’s Mike Holman, cartoonist Jeff Smith (Bone, RASL), writer/editor Anina Bennett (Heartbreakers, Boilerplate), BOOM Studios’ Chip Moser, and last year’s Spirit Award winners, Vault of Midnight co-owners Curtis Sullivan and Steve Fodale. The 2011 winner(s) will join the panel for next year.
The nominees are selected using a variety of criteria including support for a wide variety of innovative material, knowledge of the comics field, community activity, quality of store image and adherence to standard ethical business practices.
The awards ceremony will be held Friday, July 22 at 8:30 p.m. in the Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. Attendance is free to Comic-Con badge holders and will be seated on a first come first serve basis.
Click here for more information about the Will Eisner Awards and the Spirit Award.
While I would love to frequent a store called “Challengers Comics and Vegetables,” I’m pretty sure that’s a bizarre error, Heidi. There’s an awesome comics shop (with adjacent gallery dedicated to sequential art) in Chicago called Challengers Comics + Conversation, and I’m pretty sure that’s the store you mean.
The other store is called Comics and Vegetables and it’s in Israel (I’m pretty sure they don’t sell vegetables, that’s just some kind of a joke).
Heidi, are you going to live blog the Eisners like you did last year?
There’s actually eight finalists if you break up Challenger Comics & Comics and Vegetables (not that I’ve been paying too much attention to this category this year – grin!).
John loved Disney comic books plus wild about animation.
……….he really did learn to read that way. Read Juior encyclopedia slong with comic books. A great combination.
My only regret is last years apart.