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House of Mystery title, a still-(thankfully)-unpublished little opus called "The Final Day of Nicholas Toombs."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.