Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer AwardMedia Release -- The Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award is presented under the auspices of Comic-Con International: San Diego and is given to an individual retailer who has done an outstanding job of supporting the comic art medium both in the community and within the industry at large. Each year Comic-Con honors retailers from around the globe with the award, named after the visionary creator of The Spirit. When Eisner approached Comic-Con about initiating the award in the early 1990s, he wanted it to acknowledge the important role that comics retailers play in the industry, nurturing the relationship between creators and their readers.

This year's 19 nominees are:

Acme Comics, Greensboro, NC
Akira Comics, Madrid, Spain
Bosco's, Anchorage, AK
Bridge City Comics, Portland, OR
Challengers Comics + Conversation, Chicago, IL
Collectors Corner, Baltimore, MD
The Comic Bug, Manhattan Beach, CA
Comix Experience, San Francisco, CA
The Dragon, Guleph, Ontario, Canada
Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy, Austin, TX
Drawn to Comics, Glendale, AZ
Green Brain Comics, Dearborn, MI
Happy Harbor, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Jesse James Comics, Glendale, AZ
Legacy Comics, Laredo, TX
Packrat Comics, Hillard, OH
Pop Culture Paradise, Tempe, AZ
Shazam! Comics, Santiago, Chile
Things From Another World, Beaverton, OR

A panel of industry judges will meet at Comic-Con the week of July 8 to decide the Award finalists and recipient. The finalists will be announced on Wednesday, July 11; the recipient will be named at the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards on Friday, July 13 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel, in a ceremony that begins at 8:00 pm.