When you think of comic books, one of the last things you think about is if any comic books receive any accolades. Is there such a thing as comic book awards?

Apparently there are. In America alone, there are several companies that the awards are given to different comic book genres.

One of the main companies that provide awards to the comic book industry is called The National Cartoonist Society Awards, which houses fifteen categories. A panel of judges does the selection. There are regional chapters and the general members do the voting.

Another comic book award company is the comic buyers guide fan awards. The first year the awards were handed out was in 1983. The awards are broken up into several different categories from favorite publisher to favorite inker to favorite comic book hero. In 2003, the most current year there are statistics, the favorite publisher of comic books was DC, which held a forty-six percent majority, with Marvel receiving about twenty-three percent. Dark Horse had a merger two percent (rounded up) of the votes. The favorite comic book was the JSA (Justice Society of America) with almost eight percent of the votes. The favorite comic book hero was Batman with a little more than fourteen percent of the tally.
Americans are not the only country to give out awards for the comic strip and comic book industries. The now defunct Eagle award came hailed from England. In addition, England has, up until the year 2002, an award company called the National Comics awards where a panel of judges award the best comic of the year. All other awards are nominated by everyone and are open to everyone.

France, Spain and Japan all have their equivalent awards.

France has an award called the Grand Prize of the City of Angouleme where a living author, cartoonist or scriptwriters are recognized for their lifetime contribution.

In Spain, one of the awards given is called the Haxtur Awards. The Haxtur Awards celebrate the best long story, best short
story, best cover and a host of other awards that are given annually.

The Japanese have a slew of awards. One of them is called Japanese Cartoonists’ Association Awards. The nominations are open to all artists who submit their work. The Association creed is the enrichment and expansion of cartooning in Japan. Another example of Japan’s dedicated environment for fostering the art of comic books and its artist’s is the Media Arts Awards. Its inception was in 1997 and like its counterpart, all nominations are based on artists who submit there works.
These countries, others not mentioned, and ours help spread the word on comic books and their wide assortment of personnel. The bylaws in their charter differ in there nomination process and the awards given out, but they represent an industry that achieves greatness through their respective works.

To receive tributes is an honor and helps sustain the industry. Bestowing the awards also helps the respective nations lure potential artists within their country to seek out jobs related to the field. The awards and the ceremony help cement the artists and the comic books.