The Inkwell Award, sometimes shortened to the Inkwells, is a trophy given in the field of inking in American comic books. The awards were partially named after the Yahoo group whose members include many in the inking community,[1] and after the personal website name of organization founder Bob Almond.[2] The awards concept was created in an "Inkblots" column by Almond in Sketch Magazine #35 in 2007, which saw print in 2008 after the group formation.[3] The mission statement is, "To promote and educate about the craft of comic book inking and to show recognition for ink artists."[4]
History
In January 2008, Bob Almond began an online discussion on the Inkwell Yahoo Group about recognition for comic book inkers. where the topic of an award was broached. Almond invited participants from the group to form a core committee.[5] The founding members were artists Tim Townsend, Jim Tournas, and Bill Nichols, and writer Daniel Best.[6] Artist Adam Hughes and DC Comics editor Mike Marts were recruited as ambassadors to lend support.[7]
For year one, the committee selected several career-retrospective categories.[8] The resulting ballot was open and ran for two months from April through May with the committee selecting nominations for the Hall of Fame award, the "Joe Sinnott", named in honor of that veteran inker.[5] Voting took place online and was open to the public.[9] Following the inaugural results,[10] Townsend departed in July and Nichols in August.[6] The core group choose as successor artist representative Bob Shaw in November and artist-writer Dave Simons in December.[6][11][12][13] An Inkwell Awards forum was created September 16, 2008.[11]
The following year, with the partially revised ballot categories, a separate Nomination Committee was selected to choose nominees whose work had appeared in the previous year.[8][14] The election took place for one month in June 2009.[14][15] Following Simons' death,[16] the core created the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship for students attending the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. Artist Nathan Massengill joined the core after the 2009 awards were announced.[17] In January 2010, artist Ethan Van Sciver joined as ambassador.[18]
Wizard Entertainment announced in February 2010 that it would support the Inkwell Awards through promotion and space at its shows, and by sponsoring the awards' first live presentation, scheduled to take place at The New England Comic Con on October 1–3, 2010.[19] Voting was rescheduled from June to August.[20] This presentation did not take place, however. In 2011, Heroes Convention took up the position of host show for the annual live presentation ceremony.[21]
In March 2010, the organization introduced its spokesperson character, Ms. Inkwell, conceived by Almond and designed by artist Randy Green with assistance from Massengill.[22] The character debuted publicly at the Pittsburgh Comicon on April 23, 2010.[22]
Staff
Inker Michael Kellar is assistant director of the Inkwell Awards, overseeing auctions and fundraising. Mike Pascale (storyboardist, writer, and artist) is the copy & graphics assistant, handling public relations announcements, proofreading, and fundraising. Erick "the Guru" Korpi oversees the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund. He has been the Ms. Inkwell Model Liaison in 2011 and 2013.
Some committee members do not currently serve full-time. They include Stacey Aragon (who served on the committee from November 2011 to June 2012, handling social networking, press release circulation, and fundraising); Sarah L. Covert (who was technical consultant from November 2011 to August 2013), and Joe Goulart (who was the administrative assistant for conventions, Ms. Inkwell model liaison, and fundraiser from January 2013 to September 2014).
Funding
The Inkwell Awards are self-funded and rely entirely on donations.[23] A 2010 donation book produced by Jimmy Tournas debuted at the Boston Comic Con that April.[24]
Award winners
Favorite Inker
Favorite ink artist over the pencil work of another artist from award year cover-dated, interior, American comic book material.
Favorite Finisher / Embellisher
Most-Prolific Inker
Most-Adaptable Inker
Ink artist showing exceptional ink style versatility over other pencil artists in award year interior, cover-dated, American comic book material.
Props Award
Ink artist deserving of more attention for their work over other pencilers from award year interior cover-dated American comic book material.
MVP Award
The Call of Duty Award
The "SPAMI" Award (Small Press and Mainstream-Independent)
Favorite Small Press And Mainstream-Independent award year interior, cover-dated, American comic book ink work over another pencil artist (Non-Marvel or DC work).
The All-in-One Award
Favorite artist known for inking his/ her own pencil work in award year interior, cover-dated, American comic book material.
Special Recognition Award (aka Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award” (SASRA))
At the June 2017 Inkwell Awards ceremony, founder Bob Almond announced the Special Recognition Award will be renamed the Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award in honor of the long-standing Inkwells member "who ... passed after a decade-long battle with cancer" in 2017[34]. This change will take effect in 2018.
The Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award
A hall of fame designation for an inking career in American comic books of outstanding accomplishment (lifetime achievement, 25 years minimum; two winners chosen annually).
Ambassadors
The position of ambassador is one of honor and appreciation.[40] It recognizes creators for their support for the Inkwell Awards. Unless noted otherwise, all ambassadors continue to hold this position.
Special Ambassadors
- Joe Sinnott, 2008. (Artist) The position of special ambassador was actually offered on June 23, 2012. Almond offered it retroactively in appreciation for Sinnott's support of the Awards.
- Mike McKone, July 2010. (Artist)
- J. David Spurlock, March 2011. (Publisher, editor, author, artist, advocate)
- Clifford Meth, August 2014. (Writer, advocate)
Ambassadors
The Inkwell Awards have supporting artists who support inkers. These artists who help advocate for inkers are called ambassadors.[41]
- Adam Hughes, February 2008. (Artist)
- Mike Marts, February 2008. (Editor)
- Ethan Van Sciver, January 2010 (Artist)
- Sal Velluto, July 2010 (Artist)
- Mark Brooks, June 2010 (Artist)
- Trevor Von Eeden, July 2010 (Artist)
- Cully Hamner, June 2011 (Artist)
- Joe Kubert, September 2011 until his death in August 2012 (Artist, cartoonist, letterer, colorist, author, editor, legend)
- Eric Basaldua, September 2011 (Artist)
- Phil Jimenez, September 2011 (Artist)
- Jim Shooter, January 2012 (Writer, editor)
- Brian Pulido, October 2012 (Artist, writer, editor, publisher)
- Jim Starlin, August 2014 (Artist, writer)[42]
- Laura Martin, August 2014 (Colorist)[42]
- Rich Buckler, 2015 until his death in May 2017[34] (Penciller)[43][41]
Guests of honor and keynote speakers
At many of the live ceremonies, notable comic book creators are invited as guests of honor and keynote speakers.
Contributors
Volunteer contributors[6][7] include artist Dan Panosian, who designed the Inkwell Awards logo. In January 2010, artist Randy Green was added as visual designer of the Ms. Inkwell charity spokesperson character, personified by model Chrissy Cutler.[22]
