Eagle Awards logo from c. 2012. It uses the same image from the UK's Eagle comic, modeled on the top of a large brass inkwell owned by Marcus Morris, the comic's founder.[1]
Awarded for
British-based awards for comic book creators, titles, and characters
Sponsored by
Mike Conroy (1977–1990, 2000–2014) Cassandra Conroy (2008–2014)
The Eagle Awards were a series of British awards for comic book titles and creators. They were awarded by UK fans voting for work produced during the previous year. Named after the UK's seminal boys' comic Eagle, the awards were launched in 1977 for comics released in 1976.[2]
"[S]et up and financed by a group of dealers and fanzine editors" with the intention of including "people with... diverse interests... to make the poll as impartial as possible,"[2] the Eagles were described as "the first independent [in the UK], nationally organised comic art awards poll." The hope was that the Eagle Awards would "become a regular annual fandom event,"[2] and indeed, they were the preeminent British comics award in the 1980s and the 2000s (being mostly dormant in the 1990s), variously described as the country's comics equivalent of the Oscars[3] or the BAFTAs.[4][5] The Eagle Awards were usually presented in a ceremony at a British comic book convention; venues over the years included the British Comic Art Convention, UKCAC, Comic Festival, Comic Expo, and the London MCM Expo. Hosts for the ceremonies included such notables as Simon Pegg, Norman Lovett, Fraser Ayres, Billy West, and Anthony Stewart Head.
Initially the Eagle Award itself was a certificate; eventually the award became an engraved trophy.
Notable repeat Eagle Award winners included Alan Moore, who won the Favourite Comicbook Writer award an impressive eleven times (including sweeping the U.K. and U.S. categories in the period 1985–1987); Terry Austin, who won the Favourite Inker award nine times; Alex Ross, who won the Favourite Comics Artist (Fully Painted Artwork) seven times in ten possible years; and Laura DePuy Martin, who won the Favourite Colourist award six straight times. 2000 AD won the Favourite (Colour) Comic award 12 times, while The Walking Dead won Favourite Black & White Comicbook seven straight times. Batman was voted Favourite Comicbook Character 12 times and Judge Dredd won the award seven times; while the X-Men dominated the Favourite Comicbook Group or Team category, winning it eight times in the span of 11 years. Wolverine won the Favourite Comicbook Character category three times, the Favourite Supporting Character award three times, and the Character Most Worthy of Own Title twice.
In 2014, in connection with Stan Lee, the Eagle Awards were renamed, and presented as, the True Believer Comic Awards. They have not returned since then.
History
1977: conception and debut
Original Eagle Award logo
The Eagle Awards were set up by prominent British comics enthusiasts Mike Conroy, Nick Landau, Colin Campbell, Phil Clarke, and Richard Burton. Because the Eagle logo was perceived (as described by Burton) as "a standard of quality ... seldom reached" in early 1977, the Eagle Awards were named "with official blessing from IPC" (Eagle's former publisher).[2]
The Eagle Awards were launched at the British Comic Art Convention,[2] the earliest British fan convention devoted entirely to comics (and usually known by the moniker Comicon). The first awards ceremony was held on 3 September 1977, at the Bloomsbury Centre Hotel, London. The 1978 and 1979 awards were also presented at the British Comic Art Convention. Almost from the beginning, the awards included separate UK and US sections.
The 1980s: a Golden Age
The 1980 Eagle Awards (for comics published in 1979) were sponsored by Burton, Conroy, Colin Campbell, Dark They Were and Golden Eyed, Steve Dillon, Forbidden Planet, Forever People, Nostalgia & Comics, Bob Smart, and Valhalla Books; and organised by Burton and Conroy.[6] The 1981 edition was again organised by Burton and Conroy, and sponsored by Burton, Conroy, Colin Campbell, Forbidden Planet, Nostalgia & Comics, Bob Smart, and Comics Showcase.[7]Marvel's X-Men comic and creators dominated the 1981 Eagles, winning Favourite Comic Book, Artist (John Byrne), Writer (Chris Claremont), Inker (Terry Austin), Character (Wolverine), Single Comic Book Story (X-Men #137, "The Fate of the Phoenix"), Continued Comic Book Story ("The Dark Phoenix Saga," X-Men #135–137), and Cover (X-Men #136, by Byrne and Austin).[8] The 1981 awards were organised by Burton and Conroy, and sponsored by Burton, Conroy, Colin Campbell, Bob Smart, and four UK comics retailers: Forbidden Planet, Forever People, Nostalgia & Comics, and Comics Showcase.[8]
The 1984 Eagle Award nominations were announced in May[9] with Howard Chaykin's American Flagg! dominating the nominations – Favourite Penciler, Inker, Writer, Comic, Character (Reuben Flagg), Supporting Character (Raul the cat), New Comic, Single or Continued Story, and two nominations for Favourite Cover[9] – and winning seven of them.[10] The 1984 awards presentation was at the Birmingham Comic Art Show.
By the mid-1980s the work of British authors often dominated both the UK and US categories. In 1985 Alan Moore won favorite writer in both categories, and in 1986 (presented on June 1 at the Birmingham Comic Art Show),[11][12] the awards "proved to be a virtual clean sweep ... by Alan Moore," who not only again won "favourite writer in both the US and UK categories," but had his work win for favourite comic book, supporting character and new title in the US, and character, continuing story and "character worthy of own title" in the UK (in which last category his works held all top three spots).[13]
The awards became almost fully annual in 1987, in conjunction with the United Kingdom Comic Art Convention (UKCAC); they were held at the UKCAC in 1987, 1988, and 1990.
The 1990s: a fallow period
The Eagle Awards went dormant during most of the 1990s, as organizer Mike Conroy focused on his freelance writing (including becoming an editor of Comics International).[14] From 1990 to 1997, the Eagles were replaced by the UK Comic Art Awards, and then from 1997 until 2003 (with the exception of the year 2000) were supplanted by the National Comics Awards.[15]
The 2000s: a return to (hesitant) prominence
In 2000, on the 50th anniversary of the birth of Eagle,[16] the Eagle Awards returned. The ceremony was held April 22, 2000, at the Bristol Comic Festival (known as "Comics 2000"); this time MC'd by actor/comedian Simon Pegg.[16] There were no Eagle Awards distributed in 2001; voting for comics published in 2000 ended in October 2001 and the winners were announced in June 2002 (at the Comic Festival,[citation needed] which had replaced UKCAC), so news reports announced these variously as the 2000, 2001, or 2002 Eagle Awards.[17] The Eagles again went dormant in 2003 (replaced by the National Comics Awards).
The Eagle Awards returned in 2004 (sponsored by the retailer Ace Comics)[18] and were presented at the inaugural Comic Expo, held November 6–7, at the Ramada City Inn in Bristol;[18] the Eagles were again not presented in 2005.
The 2006–2008 awards presentations were held at the Comic Expo in Bristol, with the 2008 awards being notable for accusations of ballot-stuffing.[4]
Management of the Eagle Awards was transferred from co-founder Mike Conroy to his teenage daughter Cassandra Conroy in 2009 (although Mike Conroy stayed on as advisor). The previous years' venue the Bristol Comic Expo scaled back that year, and was not available for the evening awards ceremony. After attempting to go forward with the Eagle Awards as an online-only process,[19] the Conroys were forced to cancel the 2009 awards due to a "lack of nominations."[20]
2010–2014: rifts, name changes, and demise
The 2010–2012 awards were presented at the London MCM Expo. At the 2012 awards it was announced that the award would in future be called the MCM Award.[21][22] The announcement prompted a public rift between MCM and the Conroys;[23][24] as a result no Eagles were awarded in 2013.
The Conroys decided to continue the awards separate from MCM, and in April 2014 it was announced that the award would be presented at the London Film and Comic Con (LFCC) and be named The Stan Lee Eagle Award, with the backing of Stan Lee in his last European convention appearance.[24] In June 2014, however, it was announced that the new award would be called the True Believer Comic Awards.[25][26] The inaugural True Believer Comics Awards were presented July 12, 2014,[27] at the LFCC, with host Anthony Stewart Head and a special appearance by Stan Lee.[28] They have not been awarded since.
first (and only) presentation of the True Believer Comic Awards; special appearance by Stan Lee
Nominations and voting
At the outset of the Eagle Award, ballots were made available to "most dealers, shops and fanzines." The initial method of casting votes was designed to be inclusive and straightforward,[2] with completed forms able to be returned to the same place, rather than a centralised location. An initial ballot formed a list of nominees, from which the voting ballot was created and disseminated in the same manner.[2]
The awards for 1983 used an open voting system, with no pre-selected nominees.[31] In 1984, the Eagles introduced a new nomination system composed of "prominent British fans, publishers, dealers, and artists," which put forward three names in each category.[3]
The 1986 Eagles saw the introduction of a "free vote . . . rather than pre-selected nominees," creating a "fairer reflection of fans' opinions – and some anomalous results, especially in the Roll of Honor category."[13]
The 2004 awards saw online voting for the first time; over 13,000 voting forms were "received via post, email and website counting centres."[18]
For the 2007 awards, nominations were made by the general comics-reading public via the Eagle Awards website; the five most popular became nominees for the awards.[40]
Categories
Over the course of their existence, the Eagle Awards were eventually awarded in more than 30 categories.
The first ballot had nominations in 19 categories:
Favourite Comicbook Artist
Favourite British Comics Artist
Favourite Comicbook Writer – U.S.
Favourite British Comics Writer
Favourite Comicbook – Dramatic
Favourite Comicbook – Humour
Favourite Dramatic Black & White Comics Magazine
Favourite Black & White Comicbook – Humour
Favourite Comic Publication All Time
Favourite Comicbook Character
Favourite British Comic Character
Favourite Comicbook Team
Favourite New Comic Title
Favourite Single Comicbook Story
Favourite Continued Comic Story
Favorite Professional British Comic Publication
Favourite British Fan Publication
Favourite British Fan Personality
Favourite Comics Creator All Time
The next year's ballot, 1978, had 21 categories, dropping Favourite British Fan Personality and Favourite Comic Publication "All Time," and adding categories for Inker, Villain, and Supporting Character. The 1979 ballot dropped categories for Favourite Comic – Dramatic and Favourite Comic – Humour and added categories for Cover and Character Most Worthy of Own Title.
The nominations for Favourite Single Comicbook Story and Favorite Continued Comicbook Story were separate from 1977 to 1980 and then again from 2011 to 2014; they were merged as one category from 2000 to 2010. Similarly, the Favourite Cover category was only divided into British and American sections from 1984 to 1990.
Reflecting an interest in long-form comics, the Best Original Graphic Novel category was added in 1986. The Favourite Team category was dropped after 1990.
With the revival of the Eagles in 2000, categories for Favourite Writer and Favourite Artist were no longer separated into UK and US sections, and a host of new categories were added:
Favourite Comics Artist – Fully Painted Artwork
Favourite Colourist
Favourite Comics Editor
Favourite Black & White Comicbook
Favourite British Small Press Title
Favourite Trade Paperback/Reprint Collection
Favourite Comic Strip/Newspaper Strip
Favourite Comics-Based Movie or TV
Favourite Comics Related Website
Favourite Comics Related Website (fan-organised)
Favourite Comics E-Zine
The Favourite Comics Related Website (Fan-Organized) category was dropped in 2002, but five more award categories were added:
Favourite Comics Writer/Artist
Favourite Manga Comic
Favourite European Comic
Favourite Comics-Related Book
Favourite Web-based Comic
The 2004 Eagles dropped awards for the long-running categories Supporting Character and Character Most Worthy of Own Title, as well as the relatively new categories of British Small Press Title, Comic Strip/Newspaper Strip, and Comics E-Zine. It added a Favourite Letterer category as well as the one-off category Favourite Comics-Related Merchandise.
The 2006 Eagles saw the addition of a Favourite Publisher award, and the 2008 Eagle Awards added categories for Favourite Newcomer: Writer and Favourite Newcomer: Artist while dropping the long-running categories Favourite Character/Hero and Favourite Villain.
The final set of awards, in 2014, were given in 28 categories.
The following is a comprehensive list of the Eagle Award categories and the years they were presented, many of which were divided into British sections and (North) American sections. These categories included:
Favourite Writer (1977–2014)
Favourite Artist/Penciler (1977–2014)
Favourite Comic/Colour Comicbook (1977–2014)
Favourite Black & White Comicbook (2000–2014)
Favourite New Title (1977–2014)
Favourite Single or Continued Story (1977–2014) – divided into separate categories for Single and Continued 1977–1980, and 2011–2014
Best Original Graphic Novel (1986–2014)
Favourite Comic Strip/Newspaper Strip (2000–2004)
Favourite Cover (1979–2014)
Favourite Character/Hero (1977–2008)
Favourite Villain (1978–2008)
Favourite Supporting Character (1978–2004)
Character Most Worthy of Own Title (1979–2004)
Favourite Specialist Comics Publication/Magazine About Comics (1977–2014)
General categories not divided into U.K. and U.S. sections were:
Favourite Comics Writer/Artist (2002–2012)
Favourite Inker (1978–2014)
Favourite Comics Artist – Fully Painted Artwork (2000–2014)
Favourite Colourist (2000–2014)
Favourite Comics Letterer (2004–2014)
Favourite Comics Editor (2000–2014)
Favourite Publisher (2006–2014)
Favourite Newcomer (1997)
Favourite Newcomer: Writer (2008–2014)
Favourite Newcomer: Artist (2008–2014)
Favourite Comic: Dramatic (1977–1978)
Favourite Comic: Humour (1977–1978)
Favourite Black & White Comicbook - Humour (1977–1980)
Favourite Comics Magazine (1977–1980)
Favourite British Small Press Title (2000–2004) – specific to the U.K.
Favourite Manga Comic (2002–2014)
Favourite European Comic (2002–2014)
Favourite Team (1977–1990) – divided into U.K./U.S. in 1985 only
Alan Moore won this award an impressive eleven times (including sweeping the U.K. and U.S. categories in the period 1985–1987), with Chris Claremont winning it four times (all in the span 1977–1981).
^The source for this and all 1986 awards is from Previous Winners: 1986 at the official Eagle Awards website, archived at The Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 22 September 2018.)
^"English Eagle Awards Announced," The Comics Journal #110 (August 1986), p. 18.
^ ab"Eagle Ayes" in Cefn Ridout, Bambos, Dick Hanson & Richard Ashford (ed.s) Speakeasy #64 (Jul 1986), p. 3
^Marvel Comics Film & Fantasy Convention advertisement, BEM #30 (Nov. 1980), p. 40: "All this plus the presentation of the Eagle Awards, which are voted for by the comic fans of Britain and denote achievement in the comic field."
^Green, Steve. "This Month,"The Birmingham Science Fiction Group #147 (Nov. 1983), p. 2.
^The source for this and all 2006 awards is from Previous Winners: 2006 at the official Eagle Awards website, archived at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 16 January 2020.)
^The source for this and the other 1977 awards is Previous Winners: 1977, at the official Eagle Awards website, archived at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 9 September 2018.)
^The source for this and the other 1979 awards is Previous Winners: 1979, at the official Eagle Awards website, archived at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 9 September 2018.)
^The source for this and all 1984 awards is from Previous Winners: 1984 at the official Eagle Awards website, archived at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 22 September 2018.)
^The source for this and all 1985 awards is from: TH. "1984 Eagle Awards announced," The Comics Journal #101 (Aug. 1985).
^The source for this and all 1987 awards is from Previous Winners: 1987 at the Eagle Awards website, archived at The Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 22 September 2018.)
^The source for this and all 1988 awards is from Previous Winners: 1988 at the Eagle Awards website, archived at The Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 22 September 2018.)
^The source for this and other winners is Previous Winners: 1980, at the official Eagle Awards website, archived at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 9 September 2018.)
^The source for all of these winners is "Previous Winners: 1990" at the Eagle Awards website, archived at The Wayback Machine.
^The source for this and the other 1978 winners is Previous Winners: 1978, at the official Eagle Awards website, archived at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 9 September 2018.)
^Terry Austin entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Accessed Jan. 16, 2020.
^Groth, Gary. "Visions of Today and Tomorrow," The Comics Journal #72 (May 1982), p. 55.
^The source for this and all 1986 awards is from Previous Winners: 1985 at the official Eagle Awards website, archived at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 16 January 2020.)
^Mick Austin entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Accessed Jan. 16, 2020.
^Steve Ditko entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Accessed Jan. 16, 2020.
