It's an Honor Just to be Nominated

Wow. Imagine my surprise when I awoke this past weekend to discover that I have been nominated for my first ever Eisner Award. The Eisner Awards are, I suppose, the comics industry equivalent to the Motion Picture Academy's Oscar, and they are given out each year at the San Diego Comic-Con, which will be held this year from July 23-27. If you're planning to go to the Con, you have to register online (admissions are no longer sold at the door) and you can find out everything you need to know about that here.

What fascinates (and, I must admit, terrifies) me most about my nomination is that I'm nominated for the Hall of Fame, which either means that I'm being recognized for my considerable body of work over the years, or my career is officially over. I'm frankly not sure which.

By what may or may not be an odd coincidence, my 40th anniversary as a professional writer is this Friday, March 28th. Four decades ago on that date, I sold my first story to DC's House of Mystery title, a still-(thankfully)-unpublished little opus called "The Final Day of Nicholas Toombs."

Now I don't really expect to win the award, mind you. My considerable competition in the category this year includes classic Golden Age artist Matt Baker, legendary Green Lantern and Flash writer John Broome, Blackhawk artist Reed Crandall, Katzenjammer Kids creator Rudolph Dirks, Doom Patrol and Deadman writer/creator Arnold Drake, Terry and the Pirates illustrator George Evans, writer/artist of the newspaper strip David Crane (and the man who drew the cover to Detective Comics #1, fer pete's sake) Creig Flessel, EC artist "Ghastly" Graham Ingels, Vigilante artist Mort Meskin, Miss Fury creator/artist Tarpe Mills, The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers own Gilbert Shelton, Marvel master artist George Tuska, longtime Superman editor Mort Weisinger, and Conan the Barbarian's own Barry Windsor-Smith. Not a bad company to be counted among, I must admit.

If you're a comics professional or retailer and are interested in voting for the award, the polls are open until April 18th, and voting can be done online by clicking here. Regardless of the outcome, I truly am thrilled to have been thought of and remembered. Thanks to all who nominated me.

See ya at the Awards ceremony in July. I'll be the one with the silly grin pasted on my face.