Small Press Expo Announces 2016 Ignatz Award Nominees

The Small Press Expo has announced the 2016 nominations for the Ignatz, the annual awards for independent comics. Indie Comics mainstays like Daniel Clowes and Adrian Tomine are represented, alongside newer stars like Carolyn Nowak and Tillie Walden.

The Ignatz Awards are named after the brick-throwing mouse from George Herriman's Krazy Kat, and they've been given at the Small Press Expo every year since 1997. The nominations are chose by a jury of five cartoonists, and all attendees of the SPX festival have a chance to vote on the awards. The 2016 Jury consisted of Tony Breed, Summer Pierre, Keiler Roberts, C. Spike Trotman and J.T. Yost.

The Award Ceremony is Saturday, September 17 at 9:30 p.m., at the Marriott North Bethesda Hotel and Conference Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The Ignatz Awards ceremony is open to the public.

Here's the complete list of nominees:

OUTSTANDING ARTIST

Daniel Clowes, Patience
Ryan Heshka, Mean Girls Club
Kevin Huizenga, Ganges
Noah Van Sciver, Disquiet
Tillie Walden, The End of Summer

OUTSTANDING ANTHOLOGY OR COLLECTION

Beverly, Nick Drnaso
Beyond: The Queer Sci Fi & Fantasy Anthology, Edited by Sfé R. Monster and Taneka Stotts
The Complete Wimmen's Comix, Edited by Trina Robbins
Killing and Dying, Adrian Tomine
Step Aside, Pops, Kate Beaton

OUTSTANDING GRAPHIC NOVEL

Hot Dog Taste Test, Lisa Hanawalt
Nod Away, Joshua Cotter
Sick, Gabby Schulz
Soldier's Heart, Carol Tyler
Trashed, Derf Backderf

OUTSTANDING STORY

The Hunter, Joe Sparrow
Killing and Dying, Adrian Tomine
“Megg & Mogg in Amsterdam” from Megg & Mogg in Amsterdam and Other Stories, Simon Hanselmann
My Hot Date, Noah Van Sciver
"Shrine of the Monkey God" from Kramers Ergot 9, Kim Deitch

PROMISING NEW TALENT

Kevin Budnik, Hand Book
Maia Kobabe, Tom O'Bedlam
Sara Lautman, The Ultimate Laugh, Grape Nuts
Carolyn Nowak, Radishes
Tillie Walden, I Love This Part

OUTSTANDING SERIES

Cartozia Tales, edited by Isaac Cates
Demon, Jason Shiga
Ganges, Kevin Heizenga
Megg, Mogg & Owl, Simon Hanselmann
Powdered Milk, Keiler Roberts

OUTSTANDING COMIC

As the Crow Flies, Melanie Gillman
Be Good, John Martz
Fantasy Sports No. 1, Sam Bosma
Patience, Daniel Clowes
"Shrine of the Monkey God" from Kramers Ergot 9, Kim Deitch

OUTSTANDING MINICOMIC

The Experts, Sophie Franz
Laffy Meal, Pranas T. Naujokaitis
Maps to the Suns, Sloane Leong
Radishes, Carolyn Nowak
The Unofficial Cuckoo's Nest, Luke Healy

OUTSTANDING ONLINE COMIC

A Cartoonist's Diary, Rina Ayuyang
Just Doing My Job, Glynnis Fawkes
Octopus Pie, Meredith Gran
A Small Revolution, Samantha Leriche-Gionet (aka "Boum")
Vattu, Evan Dahm