The Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards were a set of awards for achievement in

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

, presented from 1985 to 1987. Voted on by comic-book professionals, the Kirby awards were the first such awards since the

Shazam Awards The Academy of Comic Book Arts (ACBA) was an American professional organization of the 1970s that was designed to be the comic book industry analog of such groups as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Composed of comic-book professio ...

ceased in 1975. Sponsored by ''

Amazing Heroes ''Amazing Heroes'' was a magazine about the comic book medium published by American company Fantagraphics Books from 1981 to 1992. Unlike its companion title, '' The Comics Journal'', ''Amazing Heroes'' was a hobbyist magazine rather than an anal ...

'' magazine (which was published by

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the Erotic comics, erotic Eros Comix imprint. They have managed sev ...

), and managed by ''Amazing Heroes'' managing editor Dave Olbrich, the Kirby Awards were named after the pioneering writer and artist

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

History

The Kirby Awards came about in reaction against the 1983 institution of the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards, which were voted on by fans; Olbrich (and the editors at Fantagraphics) wished to create an award voted on by comics professionals (meaning creators, retailers, and distribution personnel).TH. "1984 Kirby Awards Announced," ''The Comics Journal'' #101 (Aug. 1985), p. 26. Nominations for the Kirby Awards were made by ''

'' editors and warehouse employees, with the final ballots printed in issues of ''Amazing Heroes''. The awards themselves were distributed at the annual

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

, with Jack Kirby himself on hand to congratulate the winners. In 1985, 238 ballots were cast, about 100 of them by comics creators. In 1987, a dispute arose when Olbrich and

, publisher of ''Amazing Heroes'', each claimed ownership of the awards, and Kirby removed himself from the equation. A compromise was reached, and starting in 1988, the Kirby Award was discontinued. Two new awards were created: the

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...

, managed by Olbrich and named after

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner ( ; March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) wa ...

; and the Fantagraphics-managed

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be a successor to the Kirby Awards, which were ...

, named for

Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ...

. Both of the new awards allowed voting only by comics industry professionals.

List of Jack Kirby Award winners

The following is a list of winners of the Kirby Award, sorted by category.

Best Single Issue

*1985 ''

Swamp Thing Swamp Thing is a superhero and antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several different incarnations throughout his publication. The ch ...

Annual'' #2, by

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...

, Steve Bissette and John Totleben (

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

) *1986 '' Daredevil'' #227, by Frank Miller and

David Mazzucchelli David John Mazzucchelli (; born September 21, 1960) is an American comics artist and writer, known for his work on seminal superhero comic book storylines ''Born Again (comics), Daredevil: Born Again'' and ''Batman: Year One'', as well as for gra ...

(

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

) *1987 '' Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'' #1, by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley (DC)

Best Continuing Series

*1985 ''Swamp Thing'', by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette and John Totleben (DC) *1986 ''Swamp Thing'', by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette and John Totleben (DC) *1987 ''Swamp Thing'', by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette and John Totleben (DC)

Best Black & White Series

*1985 '' Cerebus'' by

Dave Sim Dave Sim (born 17 May 1956) is a Canadian cartoonist and publisher, known for his comic book ''Cerebus the Aardvark, Cerebus'', his artistic experimentation, his advocacy of self-publishing and creators' rights, and his controversial political an ...

(

Aardvark-Vanaheim Aardvark-Vanaheim is a Canadian independent comic book publisher founded in 1977 by Dave Sim and Deni Loubert and is best known for publishing Sim's '' Cerebus''. For a brief time, the company also published other titles, sometimes under the n ...

) *1986 '' Love & Rockets'' by

Gilbert Hernandez Gilberto Hernández (born February 1, 1957), usually credited as Gilbert Hernandez and also by the nickname Beto (), is an American cartoonist. He is best known for his ''Palomar''/''Heartbreak Soup'' stories in ''Love and Rockets (comics), Love ...

and

Jaime Hernandez Jaime (sometimes spelled Xaime) Hernandez (born 1959) is the co-creator of the alternative comic book '' Love and Rockets'' with his brothers Gilbert and Mario. Early life Jaime Hernandez grew up in Oxnard, California.Aldama, p. 119. He is the ...

(Fantagraphics) *1987 ''Cerebus'' by Dave Sim (Aardvark-Vanaheim)

Best Finite Series

*1985 ''

Crisis on Infinite Earths ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' is a 1985 to 1986 American comic book fictional crossover, crossover series published by DC Comics. Written by Marv Wolfman and penciller, pencilled by George Pérez, it was first released as a 12-issue limited ser ...

'', by

Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's ''The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade (character), Blade, and DC Comi ...

and

George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' and ''The Avengers (c ...

(DC) *1986 ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'', by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez (DC) *1987 ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 19 ...

'' by Alan Moore and

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story " For the M ...

(DC).

Best New Series

*1985 '' Zot!'', by

Scott McCloud Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod; June 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist and comics theorist. His non-fiction books about comics, ''Understanding Comics'' (1993), '' Reinventing Comics'' (2000), and '' Making Comics'' (2006), are made in comic ...

(

Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book store, comic book specialty stor ...

) *1986 '' Miracleman'', by Alan Moore and various artists (Eclipse) *1987 ''Watchmen'', by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (DC)

Best Graphic Album

*1985 ''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translat ...

'', by Jerry Bingham ( First Comics) *1986 '' The Rocketeer'', by Dave Stevens (Eclipse) *1987 '' Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'', by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson (DC)

Best Writer

*1985 Alan Moore, for ''Swamp Thing'' (DC) *1986 Alan Moore, for ''Swamp Thing'' (DC) *1987 Alan Moore, for ''Watchmen'' (DC)

Best Writer/Artist (single or team)

*1986 Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, for ''Daredevil'' (Marvel) *1987 Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, for ''Watchmen'' (DC)

Best Artist

*1985 Dave Stevens, for ''The Rocketeer'' ( Comico) *1986 Steve Rude, for ''

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'' (First) *1987

Bill Sienkiewicz Boleslav William Felix Robert Sienkiewicz ( ; ; born May 3, 1958) is an American artist known for his work in comic books—particularly for Marvel Comics' ''The New Mutants (comic book), The New Mutants'', ''Moon Knight,'' and ''Elektra: Assassi ...

, for '' Elektra: Assassin'' (Marvel)

Best Art Team

*1985 Steve Bissette and John Totleben, for ''Swamp Thing'' (DC) *1986 George Pérez and

Jerry Ordway Jeremiah Joseph Ordway (born November 28, 1957) is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books. He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining ''Crisis on Infinite E ...

, for ''Crisis On Infinite Earths'' (DC) *1987 Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley, for ''Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'' (DC)

Best Cover

*1985 ''Swamp Thing'' #34, by Steve Bissette and John Totleben (DC)

Best Comics Publication

*1985 ''

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The publ ...

'' (Krause)

Hall of Fame

*1987

Carl Barks Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comics, Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of ...

*1987

References

{{American Comic Book Industry Awards Comics awards in the United States Awards established in 1985 1985 establishments in California

History

List of Jack Kirby Award winners

Best Single Issue

Best Continuing Series

Best Black & White Series

Best Finite Series

Best New Series

Best Graphic Album

Best Writer

Best Writer/Artist (single or team)

Best Artist

Best Art Team

Best Cover

Best Comics Publication

Hall of Fame

See also

References