2010 Will Eisner Comics Industry AwardsMedia Release -- The cast of the upcoming Universal Pictures film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World kicked things off at the 22nd annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards (the Eisner Awards) by awarding the Best Humor trophy to cartoonist Bryan Lee O'Malley for the graphic novel Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe (published by Oni Press).

The top winner at the gala awards ceremony held July 23 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront in San Diego was graphic novelist David Mazzucchelli, whose critically acclaimed Asterios Polyp (published by Pantheon) garnered the Best Graphic Album–New award as well as Best Writer/Artist and Best Lettering.

The Eisner Awards ceremony, which honors comics' best and brightest, is at the premier awards event for the industry, held at Comic-Con International (Comic-Con), the largest comic book and popular arts event in Western Hemisphere.

The other creators who received multiple awards were manga creator Yoshihiro Tatsumi for A Drifting Life (Best Reality-Based Work and Best U.S. Edition of International Material–Asia), published by Drawn & Quarterly; artist Jill Thompson for Beasts of Burden (Best Publication for Teens, Best Painter), published by Dark Horse; artist J. H. Williams III for Detective Comics (Best Penciller/Inker, Best Cover Artist), published by DC); and writer/artist team Eric Shanower and Skottie Young for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Best Limited Series, Best Publication for Kids), published by Marvel.

No single publisher dominated the evening. DC Comics had four winners, including two for Absolute Justice; Dark Horse, IDW, Image, and Marvel Comics all received three trophies; and First Second and Drawn & Quarterly receive two.

The awards were presented at the Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. MCs Maurice LaMarche (voice actor, Pinky and the Brain, Futurama) and Bill Morrison (creative director for Matt Groening's Bongo Comics) kept the program going at a brisk pace. Assisting them on stage was actress Kayre Morrison. Presenters during the evening besides the Scott Pilgrim cast included actor Thomas Jane (The Punisher, Hung), writer/actor Ben Garant (Reno 911) who was joined via video by writing partner Tom Lennon; voice actor Phil LaMarr (Futurama, Samurai Jack); Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons; award nominees James Robinson, C. Tyler, and Laurie Sandell; and Comic-Con special guests Berkeley Breathed, Chris Claremont, Milo Manara, Peter Bagge, James Sturm, and Jillian Tamaki.

Sergio Aragonés once again presented the Hall of Fame Awards. The six inductees and their acceptors were: Steve Gerber (accepted by his daughter, Samantha), Dick Giordano (accepted by his longtime business partner Pat Bastienne), Burne Hogarth (accepted by his son, Ross), Michael Kaluta (accepted by his editor, Shelly Bond), Bob Montana (accepted by his daughter Paige and son Donald), and Mort Weisinger (accepted by his daughter, Joyce).

Among the other awards given out over the evening were the Comic-Con's Clampett and Manning awards. The Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award, presented by Bob's daughter Ruth, went to Jeannie Schulz, widow of Charles Schulz and the Founding Board President of the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California. The Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award went to Marian Churchland (writer/artist of Beast, published by Image Comics) and was presented by past Manning recipient Eric Shanower.

The sixth annual Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing was presented by Mark Evanier and Jerry Robinson to Silver Age DC Marvel writer Gary Friedrich (Sgt. Fury, Ghost Rider) and to Golden Age writer Otto Binder (Captain Marvel), whose award was accepted by Bill Schelly. Maggie Thompson (editor of Comics Buyers Guide) once again handled the special In Memoriam salute.

The Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award, given to a store that has done an outstanding job of supporting the comics art medium both in the community and within the industry at large, went to Vault of Midnight of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Baby Tattoo, publishers of books for kids and adults, sponsored the retailer award.

The principal sponsors for this year's Eisner Awards included Gentle Giant, Lebonfon Printing, and LongBox. Supporting sponsors were Alternate Reality Comics of Las Vegas, NV, Atlantis Fantasyworld of Santa Cruz, CA, comicsunlimited.com, Diamond Comic Distributors, Flying Colors Comics and Other Cool Stuff of Concord, CA, Isotope Comics of San Francisco, mycomicshop.com, and Mel Thompson and Associates.

The Eisner Awards are part of, and underwritten by, Comic-Con International: San Diego, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contributions of comics to art and culture.

Best Short Story
"Urgent Request," by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim, in The Eternal Smile (First Second)

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
Captain America #601: "Red, White, and Blue-Blood," by Ed Brubaker and Gene Colan (Marvel)

Best Continuing Series
The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard (Image)

Best Limited Series or Story Arc
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young (Marvel)

Best New Series
Chew, by John Layman and Rob Guillory (Image)

Best Publication for Kids
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz hc, by L. Frank Baum, Eric Shanower, and Skottie Young (Marvel)

Best Publication for Teens
Beasts of Burden, by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson (Dark Horse)

Best Humor Publication
Scott Pilgrim vol. 5: Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe, by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni)

Best Anthology
Popgun vol. 3, edited by Mark Andrew Smith, D. J. Kirkbride, and Joe Keatinge (Image)

Best Digital Comic
Sin Titulo, by Cameron Stewart, www.sintitulocomic.com

Best Reality-Based Work
A Drifting Life, by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Adaptation from Another Work
Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter, adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)

Best Graphic Album—New
Asterios Polyp, by David Mazzuccheilli (Pantheon)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint
Absolute Justice, by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, and Doug Braithewaite (DC)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips
Bloom County: The Complete Library, vol. 1, by Berkeley Breathed, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books
The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures deluxe edition, by Dave Stevens, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material
The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert, Didier Lefèvre, and Frédéric Lemerier (First Second)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia
A Drifting Life, by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Writer
Ed Brubaker, Captain America, Daredevil, Marvels Project (Marvel) Criminal, Incognito (Marvel Icon)

Best Writer/Artist
David Mazzuccheilli, Asterios Polyp (Pantheon)

Best Writer/Artist–Nonfiction
Joe Sacco, Footnotes in Gaza (Metropolitan/Holt)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
J. H. Williams III, Detective Comics (DC)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
Jill Thompson, Beasts of Burden (Dark Horse); Magic Trixie and the Dragon (HarperCollins Children's Books)

Best Cover Artist
J. H. Williams III, Detective Comics (DC)

Best Coloring
Dave Stewart, Abe Sapien, BPRD, The Goon, Hellboy, Solomon Kane, Umbrella Academy, Zero Killer (Dark Horse); Detective Comics (DC); Luna Park (Vertigo)

Best Lettering
David Mazzuccheilli, Asterios Polyp (Pantheon)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
The Comics Reporter, produced by Tom Spurgeon (www.comicsreporter.com)

Best Comics-Related Book
The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics, by Denis Kitchen and Paul Buhle (Abrams ComicArts)

Best Publication Design
Absolute Justice, designed by Curtis King and Josh Beatman (DC)

Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award
Vault of Midnight, Ann Arbor, Michigan

HALL OF FAME:
- Burne Hogarth
- Bob Montana
- Steve Gerber
- Dick Giordano
- Michael Kaluta
- Mort Weisinger
Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award:
Jeannie Schulz

Bill Finger Award for Achievement in Comic Book Writing:
Otto Binder, Gary Friedrich

Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award:
Marian Churchland (Beast)