EISNERS ANNOUNCE 20 NOMINATIONS

FOR IMAGE COMICS

And the nominees are… On sale, 50% off all digital editions for a limited time

Comic-Con International announced the nominations for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards 2014 this morning, 17 of which were published by Image Comics. An additional three nominations were shared with other publishers, bringing the total nominations for Image Comics to 20.   Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ SAGA, a winner of previous Eisner awards, was nominated in four categories. The hit series was nominated for Best Continuing Series, writer Brian K. Vaughan was nominated for Best Writer, and artist Fiona Staples was nominated in the Best Painter/Multimedia Artist and Best Cover Artist categories.   Eric Stephenson and Nate Bellegarde’s NOWHERE MEN held its own with three nominations and an additional shared nomination. The series was nominated in the Best Continuing Series category, writer and Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson was nominated for Best Writer, artist Nate Bellegarde was nominated for Best Penciller/Inker, and Jordie Bellaire was nominated in the Best Coloring category for several projects that included NOWHERE MEN, as well as other Image titles like THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS, PRETTY DEADLY, and ZERO.   Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta’s EAST OF WEST also raked in three nominations, including Best Continuing Series. Artist Nick Dragotta was nominated for Best Penciller/Inker and Frank Martin was nominated for Best Coloring for their work on the series.   Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky’s SEX CRIMINALS, which has taken the comics industry by storm and was hailed by TIME Magazine as “comic series of the year,” earned two nominations, one for Best Continuing Series and one for Best New Series. In addition, writer Matt Fraction was nominated for Best Writer for several series, including SEX CRIMINALS.   Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Ríos’s PRETTY DEADLY received two nominations, plus another two shared nominations. Emma Ríos was nominated for Best Penciller/Inker and Best Cover Artist. The shared nominations included Kelly Sue DeConnick for Best Writer and Best Coloring for Jordie Bellaire.    Greg Rucka and Michael Lark’s critically acclaimed dystopian action series LAZARUS was nominated in the Best New Series category, as was Shadowline/Image’s fantasy series RAT QUEENS by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch.    OUTLAW TERRITORY, VOL. 3, edited by Michael Woods, was nominated for Best Anthology.    “I couldn’t be more proud of all the insanely awesome men and women currently working with us at Image Comics,” said Eric Stephenson, Publisher at Image Comics. “One of the great joys of my life has been watching all of these incredible comics make the transition from an exciting idea to an amazing series, and I think our strong showing on this year’s Eisner ballot only further underscores the strength and vitality of creator-owned comics.”   In celebration of the nominated series, Image Comics will offer 50% off all the digital editions of the following nominated titles—available on the Image Comics Website immediately, and on ComiXology, Google Play, Amazon, and Apple iBooks beginning 4/16—through midnight EST on April 21, 2014: EAST OF WEST, NOWHERE MEN, SAGA, SEX CRIMINALS, LAZARUS, RAT QUEENS, PRETTY DEADLY, MANHATTAN PROJECTS, ZERO, and OUTLAW TERRITORY, VOL. 3.    Voting for the awards will open soon at www.eisnervote.com. All professionals in the comic book industry are eligible to vote. The deadline for voting is June 13. The results of the voting will be announced in a gala awards ceremony on the evening of Friday, July 25 at Comic-Con International in San Diego.   FULL LIST OF IMAGE COMICS EISNER 2014 NOMINATIONS:   Best Continuing Series: East of West, by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta Sex Criminals, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky Nowhere Men, by Eric Stephenson and Nate Bellegarde  Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples    Best New Series: Lazarus, by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark Rat Queens, by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch (Image/Shadowline) Sex Criminals, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky    Best Anthology:  Outlaw Territory, edited by Michael Woods    Best Writer: Eric Stephenson, Nowhere Men Brian K. Vaughan, Saga    Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team: Nate Bellegarde, Nowhere Men Nick Dragotta, East of West Emma Ríos, Pretty Deadly    Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art):  Fiona Staples, Saga    Best Cover Artist: Emma Rios, Pretty Deadly Fiona Staples, Saga    Best Coloring:  Frank Martin, East of West    SHARED NOMINATIONS:   Best Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick, Pretty Deadly Matt Fraction, Sex Criminals   Best Coloring: Jordie Bellaire, The Manhattan Projects, Nowhere Men, Pretty Deadly, Zero    ABOUT THE EISNER AWARDS Named for acclaimed comics creator the Will Eisner, the awards are celebrating their 26th year of highlighting the best publications and creators in comics and graphic novels.

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS

Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.