2018 Harvey Award Nominees Announced; Schedule Changed
A month ago, the new, radically revised Harvey Awards plans were announced. The nominating committee would select a slate for voting by August 1, and the voting would end August 23.
The nominees were announced on August 9, instead, and voting closes September 3 just before midnight Eastern time. (That’s Labor Day this year.) The biggest change, as previously discussed, is getting rid of all the creator awards but adding a movie/TV category as one of the only six categories.
There doesn’t seem to be a specified number of nominees, with every category having at least five, but “Book of the Year” having 15 and “Best Adaptation” (the movie/TV show one) getting 10.
Book of the Year
BLACK HAMMER: SECRET ORIGINS by Jeff Lemire, Dean Ormston and Dave Stewart (Dark Horse)
BOUNDLESS by Jillian Tamaki (Drawn and Quarterly)
EVERYTHING IS FLAMMABLE by Gabrielle Bell (Uncivilized Books)
HOSTAGE by Guy Delisle (Drawn and Quarterly)
KINDRED by Octavia E. Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy and illustrated by John Jennings (Abrams ComicArts)
LIGHTER THAN MY SHADOW by Katie Green (Lion Forge)
MONSTRESS by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Image)
MY FAVORITE THING IS MONSTERS by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)
ROUGHNECK by Jeff Lemire (Gallery 13)
SHADE THE CHANGING GIRL by Cecil Castellucci and Marley Zarcone (DC Comics)
SPINNING by Tillie Walden (First Second)
THE BEST WE COULD DO by Thi Bui (Abrams Books)
THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS WRONG by Mimi Pond (Drawn and Quarterly)
THE FLINSTONES by Mark Russell and Steve Pugh (DC Comics)
THE PRINCE AND THE DRESSMAKER by Jen Wang (First Second)
Digital Book of the Year
BANDETTE by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover (Monkeybrain)
BARRIER by Brian K. Vaughn, Marcos Martin, and Muntsa Vicente (Panel Syndicate)
CHECK, PLEASE!: #HOCKEY by Ngozi Ukazu (checkpleasecomic.com)
NOT DRUNK ENOUGH by Tess Stone (ndecomic.com)
THE TEA DRAGON SOCIETY by Katie O’Neill (teadragonsociety.com)
Best Children or Young Adult Book
BRAVE by Svetlana Chmakova (JY)
REAL FRIENDS by Shannon Hale and LeUyeun Pham (First Second)
SPINNING by Tillie Walden (First Second)
THE PRINCE AND THE DRESSMAKER by Jen Wang (First Second)
THE TEA DRAGON SOCIETY, by Katie O’Neill (Oni Press)
Best Adaptation from a Comic Book/Graphic Novel
ATOMIC BLONDE (Focus Features) – Directed by David Leitch. Adapted from “The Coldest City” (Oni Press)
BLACK PANTHER (Walt Disney Pictures) – Directed by Ryan Coogler. Adapted from “Black Panther” (Marvel Comics)
THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE (Warner Bros.) – Directed by Chris McKay. Adapted from “Batman” (DC Comics)
LOGAN (20th Century Fox) – Directed by James Mangold. Adapted from “Wolverine” (Marvel Comics)
MY FRIEND DAHMER (FilmRise) – Directed by Marc Meyers. Adapted from “My Friend Dahmer” (Abrams ComicArts)
PREACHER (AMC) – Developed by Sam Catlin, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg. Adapted from “Preacher” (DC/Vertigo)
RIVERDALE (The CW) – Developed by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Adapted from “Archie” (Archie Comics)
THE END OF THE F***ING WORLD (Netflix) – Written by Charlie Covell. Adapted from “The End of the F***ing World” (Fantagraphics)
THOR: RAGNAROK (Walt Disney Pictures) – Directed by Taika Waititi. Adapted from “Thor” (Marvel Comics)
WONDER WOMAN (Warner Bros.) – Directed by Patty Jenkins. Adapted from “Wonder Woman” (DC Comics)
Best Manga
MY BROTHER’S HUSBAND by Gengoroh Tagame Anne Ishii (Pantheon Graphic Library)
MY HERO ACADEMIA by Kohei Horikoshi (Viz Media)
MY LESBIAN EXPERIENCE WITH LONELINESS by Nagata Kabi (Seven Seas)
TOKYO GHOUL by Sui Ishida (Viz Media)
YOUR NAME by Makoto Shinkai and Ranmaru Kotone (Yen Press)
Best European Book
AUDUBON: ON THE WINGS OF THE WORLD by Fabien Grolleau and Jerémie Royer (Nobrow)
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’: CASS ELLIOT BEFORE THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS by Pénélope Bagieu (First Second)
FLIGHT OF THE RAVEN by Jean-Pierre Gibrat (IDW)
THE GHOST OF GAUDI by El Torres and Jesús Alonso Iglesias (Magnetic Press)
THE LADIES IN WAITING by Santiago García and Javier Olivares (Fantagraphics)
My Thoughts
Having run awards before, I have some detail questions. For instance, Lighter Than My Shadow is a straight-up reprint of a book that originally came out in 2013 in the UK. What are the eligibility guidelines and/or restrictions? Why isn’t this in the “European Book” category? Does a “European Book” have to have been translated?
Some of the “Book of the Year” came out in spring 2017, a year and a half before the ceremony. Which year is being recognized here?
Two of the “Digital Book of the Year” nominees are better known for their print editions. Some are designed as serialized webcomics, and some drop “issues” digitally. This is a growing divide in these kinds of categories. Plus, there’s the question of whether we need to recognize format in this way.
Three of the “Best Children’s or Young Adult Book Award” nominees are also “Book of the Year” nominees. Which indicates a nice inclusiveness, but it will be interesting to see what effect the repetition has.
The “Best Adaptation” category plays fast and loose with source material. Saying Logan was adapted from the generic Wolverine? And Riverdale wasn’t an adaptation, but a reworking with a genre graft. I note that there are none of the Netflix shows included, and none of the CW superhero shows. (I would have considered Black Lightning myself.)
Eligible industry professionals are now able to apply to vote at the awards website. The award winners will be announced October 5 at the New York Comic Con. For more information, visit HarveyAwards.com.
The Winners
As announced earlier this month, the winners are
Book of the Year: Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Image)
Digital Book of the Year: Barrier by Brian K. Vaughn, Marcos Martin, and Muntsa Vicente (Panel Syndicate)
Best Children or Young Adult Book: Tie between The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang (First Second) and The Tea Dragon Society, by Katie O’Neill (Oni Press)
Best Adaptation from a Comic Book/Graphic Novel: Black Panther (Walt Disney Pictures)
Best Manga: My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness by Nagata Kabi (Seven Seas)
Best European Book: California Dreamin’: Cass Elliot Before the Mamas & the Papas by Pénélope Bagieu (First Second)
A lot of woman-centric stories there, aren’t there?