Inkwell Awards


The Inkwell Award, sometimes shortened to the Inkwells, is a trophy given in the field of inking in American comic books. The awards were partially named after the Yahoo group whose members include many in the inking community, and after the personal website name of organization founder Bob Almond. The awards concept was created in an "Inkblots" column by Almond in Sketch Magazine #35 in 2007, which saw print in 2008 after the group formation. The mission statement is, "To promote and educate about the craft of comic book inking and to show recognition for ink artists."

History

In January 2008, Bob Almond began an online discussion on the Inkwell Yahoo Group about recognition for comic book inkers. where the topic of an award was broached. Almond invited participants from the group to form a core committee. The founding members were artists Tim Townsend, Jim Tournas, and Bill Nichols, and writer Daniel Best. Artist Adam Hughes and DC Comics editor Mike Marts were recruited as ambassadors to lend support.
For year one, the committee selected several career-retrospective categories. The resulting ballot was open and ran for two months from April through May with the committee selecting nominations for the Hall of Fame award, the "Joe Sinnott", named in honor of that veteran inker. Voting took place online and was open to the public. Following the inaugural results, Townsend departed in July and Nichols in August. The core group choose as successor artist representative Bob Shaw in November and artist-writer Dave Simons in December. An Inkwell Awards forum was created September 16, 2008.
The following year, with the partially revised ballot categories, a separate Nomination Committee was selected to choose nominees whose work had appeared in the previous year. The election took place for one month in June 2009. Following Simons' death, the core created the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship for students attending the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. Artist Nathan Massengill joined the core after the 2009 awards were announced. In January 2010, artist Ethan Van Sciver joined as ambassador.
Wizard Entertainment announced in February 2010 that it would support the Inkwell Awards through promotion and space at its shows, and by sponsoring the awards' first live presentation, scheduled to take place at The New England Comic Con on October 1–3, 2010. Voting was rescheduled from June to August. This presentation did not take place, however. In 2011, Heroes Convention took up the position of host show for the annual live presentation ceremony. In 2018, the Inkwells announced the annual live presentation ceremonies would now be hosted in Oaks, Pennsylvania at the Great Philadelphia Comic Con! starting with its 2019 ceremony.

Ms. Inkwell

In March 2010, the organization introduced its spokesperson character, Ms. Inkwell, conceived by Almond and designed by artist Randy Green with assistance from Massengill. The character debuted publicly at the Pittsburgh Comicon on April 23, 2010 as portrayed by Chrissy Cutler. Bob Almond envisioned Ms. India Wells as a more than a "booth babe" but instead a respectable, family friendly member. Ms Inkwell models draw attention to the Inkwell Awards, serving as the public face at many conventions and events. One of their most vital duties are fundraising efforts, including being liaisons between the Inkwell Awards and notable artists for donation support. The longest running Ms Inkwell model is Hailey Skaza-Gagne, who not only has headed fundraising but has been invited personally as a guest since 2017. Hailey has done public speaking and also moderated panels at comic book conventions. She also is the first Ms Inkwell to advance to senior contributor.

Staff

Inker Michael Kellar was the first assistant director of the Inkwell Awards, overseeing auctions and fundraising. Mike Pascale, who became the second assistant director, is the copy & graphics assistant, handling public relations announcements, proofreading, and fundraising. Erick "the Guru" Korpi oversaw the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund. He was the Ms. Inkwell Model Liaison in 2011 and 2013. Erick resigned from the committee in 2015 but joined back up in 2017, the first member to ever serve two terms.
Some committee members do not currently serve full-time. They include Stacey Aragon ; Sarah L. Covert, and Joe Goulart.

Funding

The Inkwell Awards are self-funded and rely entirely on donations. A 2010 donation book produced by Jimmy Tournas debuted at the Boston Comic Con that April.

Award winners

MVP Award
The Call of Duty Award
Favorite Finisher / Embellisher
Most-Prolific Inker
Favorite Inker

Favorite ink artist over the pencil work of another artist from award year cover-dated, interior, American comic book material.
Most-Adaptable Inker

Ink artist showing exceptional ink style versatility over other pencil artists in award year interior, cover-dated, American comic book material.
Props Award

Ink artist deserving of more attention for their work over other pencilers from award year interior cover-dated American comic book material.
The "SPAMI" Award

Favorite Small Press And Mainstream-Independent award year interior, cover-dated, American comic book ink work over another pencil artist.
The All-in-One Award

Favorite artist known for inking his/ her own pencil work in award year interior, cover-dated, American comic book material.
Special Recognition Award
At the June 2017 Inkwell Awards ceremony, founder Bob Almond announced the Special Recognition Award will be renamed the Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award in honor of the long-standing Inkwells member "who... passed after a decade-long battle with cancer" in 2017. This change will take effect in 2018.
The Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award

A hall of fame designation for an inking career in American comic books of outstanding accomplishment.
Above & Beyond Award

In celebration of the 10th anniversary in 2018, Almond created this award for organization members who have performed exceptionally or non-members who have made special efforts to further inking as an art form.
The position of ambassador is one of honor and appreciation. It recognizes creators for their support for the Inkwell Awards. Unless noted otherwise, all ambassadors continue to hold this position.

Special Ambassadors

The Inkwell Awards have supporting artists who support inkers. These artists who help advocate for inkers are called ambassadors.
At many of the live ceremonies, notable comic book creators are invited as guests of honor and keynote speakers.
Volunteer contributors include artist Dan Panosian, who designed the Inkwell Awards logo. In January 2010, artist Randy Green was added as visual designer of the Ms. Inkwell charity spokesperson character, personified by model Chrissy Cutler.