The Dwayne McDuffie Award for Kids' Comics is given to a comic book aimed at younger readers that fulfills the criteria of quality, timelessness, originality, diversity, and inclusion. It is named in honour of Dwayne McDuffie, a creator known for his work creating comics and animation. The award was created after consultation with McDuffie's widow Charlotte Fullerton. Kids Read Comics administers the award. It is presented each year at the Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival at

Ann Arbor District Library The Ann Arbor District Library (AADL) is a public library system that serves the residents of the Ann Arbor, Michigan school district. The Downtown Library, located at 343 South Fifth Avenue, was dedicated in 1957 and had building additions in 197 ...

. Anyone can nominate a title for the award, but the shortlist and winner are chosen by a panel of judges including reviewers, librarians, teachers, and comic industry professionals.

Criticism

In 2017 the award was criticized for creating a shortlist of comics created almost entirely by white people. Raina Telgemeier won the award that year and in her acceptance speech highlighted ten recent graphic novels by diverse creators and gave away ten copies of each to members of the audience. In response to the criticism the award began to allow anyone to nominate titles.

Award winners and nominees

2015

* '' Hilda and the Black Hound'' by Luke Pearson (Flying Eye Books) * ''Bird and Squirrel on Ice'' by James Burks (Graphix) * ''Cat Dad, King of the Goblins'' by Britt Wilson (Koyama Press) * ''Cleopatra in Space'' by Mike Maihack (Graphix) * '' Costume Quest: Invasion of the Candy Snatchers'' by Zac Gorman (Oni Press) * ''

El Deafo ''El Deafo'' is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Cece Bell. The book is a loose autobiographical account of Bell's childhood and life with her deafness. The characters in the book are all anthropomorphic bunnies. Cece Bell, in an int ...

'' by

Cece Bell Cecelia Carolina Bell (born December 26, 1970) is an American freelance author and illustrator born in Richmond, Virginia. She attended the Paier College of Art as an art major and went on to get a graduate degree in illustration and design at ...

(Harry N. Abrams) * ''Hidden: A Child’s Story of the Holocaust'' by

Loïc Dauvillier Loïc or Loick is a male personal forename chiefly used in Brittany, in western France, and in the Breton community in French-speaking countries. Origins ''Loïc'' is a Breton given name, based on ''Laou'', a Breton diminutive of Gwilherm or Gw ...

, Marc Lizano, and

Greg Salsedo Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (more commonly spelled " Gregg") is also a surname. People with the name *Greg Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people *Greg Abel (born 1961/1962), Canadi ...

(First Second) * ''Lowriders in Space'' by

Cathy Camper Cathy Camper (born in 1956, in Madison, Wisconsin) is an Arab-American artist, librarian and author of books for children and teens. She wrote ''Bugs Before Time'', illustrated by Steve Kirk, and the graphic novel series ''Lowriders in Space'', il ...

and

Raúl the Third Raúl the Third (born 1976) is a Mexican American artist and illustrator. Life and career Raúl González was born in El Paso. His father was from that town while his mother was from the neighboring Mexican city of Juárez. Raúl spent his chil ...

(Chronicle Books) * ''Jim Henson's The Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow'' by Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl, adapted and illustrated by Roger Langridge (Archaia) * '' Sisters'' by Raina Telgemeier (Graphix)

2016

* '' Awkward'' by Svetlana Chmakova (Yen Press) * ''

Chi's Sweet Home is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kanata Konami. It was serialized in Kodansha's Seinen, ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Morning'' from 2004 to 2015, with its chapters collected in twelve ''tankōbon'' volumes. The ...

, Vol. 12'' by

Konami Kanata is a Japanese manga artist best known for her cat manga ''Chi's Sweet Home''. Her first manga was published in the magazine Nakayoshi in 1982. Both ''Chi's Sweet Home'' and have been published in English by Vertical Inc. Manga artist Risa ...

(Vertical) * '' Courtney Crumrin, Vol. 7: Tales of a Warlock'' by Ted Naifeh (Oni Press) * ''Flop to the Top!'' by Eleanor Davis and

Drew Weing Drew Weing is an American comic artist. Debuting in 2010 with the black-and-white graphic novel ''Set to Sea'', Weing went on to create the webcomic ''The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo''. Together with his wife Eleanor Davis, Weing has taught c ...

(Toon Books) * ''The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Crazy Critter Race'' by Maxwell Eaton III (Random House) * ''Human Body Theater'' by

Maris Wicks Maris may refer to: Personal names *Māris (name), a Latvian masculine given name, including a list of people with the name *Maris (given name), including a list of people and mythical or fictional characters * Maris (surname), including a list of ...

(First Second) * '' Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy'' by ND Stevenson,

Grace Ellis Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...

Shannon Watters Shannon may refer to: People * Shannon (given name) * Shannon (surname) * Shannon (American singer), stage name of singer Shannon Brenda Greene (born 1958) * Shannon (South Korean singer), British-South Korean singer and actress Shannon Arrum Will ...

, and Brooke Allen (BOOM! Box) * ''Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: The Underground Abductor'' by Nathan Hale (Abrams) * '' Ultraman'' by Tomohiro Shimoguchi and Eiichi Shimizu (Viz) * '' The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 1: Squirrel Power'' by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (Marvel)

2017

* ''

Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

'' by Raina Telgemeier (Graphix) * ''

Bad Machinery ''Bad Machinery'' is a webcomic written and drawn by John Allison and set in the fictional town of Tackleford, West Yorkshire, England. ''Bad Machinery'' started on 21 September 2009 loosely based on characters and situations from John Allison' ...

, Vol. 6: The Case of the Unwelcome Visitor'' by John Allison (Oni Press) * ''Blip!'' by Barnaby Richards (TOON Books) * ''The Cloud'' by K.I. Zachopoulos and Vincenzo Balzano (Archaia) * ''The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo'' by

(First Second) * ''

Goldie Vance ''Goldie Vance'' is a comic book series created by Eisner award winning writer Hope Larson and artist Brittney Williams. It was a monthly ongoing series from 2016 to 2017, then switched to a series of original graphic novels in 2018. In 2019, th ...

'' by Hope Larson, Britney Williams, and

Sarah Stern Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious ...

(BOOM! Box) * '' Hilda and the Stone Forest'' by Luke Pearson (Flying Eye Books) * ''

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur ''Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur'', or simply ''Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur'', is an American animated television series developed by Steve Loter, Jeffrey M. Howard, and Kate Kondell and produced by Cinema Gypsy Productions, Disney T ...

, Vol. 1: BFF'' by

Amy Reeder Amy Reeder (born August 25, 1980), formerly known as Amy Reeder Hadley, is an American comic book artist and writer known for her work on titles such as ''Fool's Gold'', ''Madame Xanadu'', ''Batwoman'', and '' Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur''. Ea ...

, Brandon Montclare, and

Natacha Bustos Natacha may refer to: * ''Natacha'' (comics), a Franco-Belgian comics series * ''Natacha'' (novel), a children's book by Luis Pescetti * Natacha (given name), people with the given name ''Natacha'' *Polikarpov R-Z The Polikarpov R-Z was a Sovi ...

(Marvel) * ''

Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat! Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among It ...

, Vol. 1: Hooked On A Feline'' by Kate Leth,

Brittney Williams Brittney LaDawn Williams (October 10, 1989) is an American character designer and comic artist. She has worked on comics such as Patsy Walker, Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat! with Kate Leth and Goldie Vance with Hope Larson. She has also done chara ...

, and Natasha Allegri (Marvel) * ''Princess Princess Ever After'' by

Katie O'Neill Kay O'Neill (also known as K. O'Neill, and who has published under the name Katie O'Neill) is an illustrator and writer from New Zealand. Biography O'Neill is a self-taught artist who has produced several comics and graphic novels. They initi ...

(Oni Press)

2018

* '' The Tea Dragon Society'' by

(Oni Press) * ''As the Crow Flies'' by

Melanie Gillman Melanie Gillman is an American queer Genderqueer, non-binary cartoonist, illustrator, and lecturer, specializing in LGBT comics, LGBTQ comics for Young Adult fiction, Young Adult readers, including the webcomic ''As the Crow Flies.'' Their comics ...

(Iron Circus Comics) * ''The Backstagers, Vol. 1: Rebels without Applause'' by

James Tynion IV James Tynion IV (born December 14, 1987) is an American comic book writer. He is best known for his work on the Batman franchise at DC Comics, his DC Black Label series ''The Nice House on the Lake'' and his independent series '' Department of ...

and Rian Sygh (BOOM! Box) * ''Garbage Night'' by Jen Lee (Nobrow) * ''I am Alfonso Jones'' by

Tony Medina Tony Medina (José Antonio Medina) was a Cuban-born songwriter and writer of popular literature. He is known for the diversity of his musical compositions, which have been recorded by top Latin music artists like Rocio Jurado, Daniela Romo, and ...

, Stacey Robinson, and John Jennings (Lee & Low Books) * ''It’s Treason, by George!'' by

Steve Hockensmith Steve Hockensmith (born August 17, 1968) is an American author. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He currently lives in California's bay area with his wife, two children, and pet dog. Biography Hockensmith is the author of the ''Holmes on th ...

, Chris Kientz, and Lee Nielsen (Smithsonian Books) * ''Nightlights'' by Lorena Alvarez Gomez (Nobrow Press;) * ''

Space Battle Lunchtime ''Space Battle Lunchtime'' is an American comic book created by Natalie Riess and published through Oni Press. The first issue of the eight-issue monthly miniseries was released May 4, 2016. The story is about Peony, a young pastry chef who is cho ...

, Vol. 2: A Recipe for Disaster'' by

Natalie Riess Natalie Riess (born December 7) is an American artist, illustrator, and webcomic creator. She gained public recognition after her comic ''Space Battle Lunchtime'' was published by Oni Press in 2016. Her webcomic ''Dungeon Critters'' created with ...

(Oni Press) * ''Where’s Halmoni?'' by Julie Kim (Little Bigfoot) * ''Witch Boy'' by

Molly Knox Ostertag Molly Knox Ostertag (born October 28, 1991) is an American cartoonist and writer. Her work includes the animated series ''The Owl House'', webcomic ''Strong Female Protagonist'', the middle grade graphic novel series (''The Witch Boy'', ''The ...

(Graphix)

2019

* ''The Cardboard Kingdom'' by Chad Sell (Knopf Books for Young Readers)ICV2
"The 2019 Dwayne McDuffie Award for Kids Comics Goes To Chad Sell's 'The Cardboard Kingdom'"
''ICV2'', 2019-06-18 * ''Be Prepared'' by Vera Brosgol (First Second) * ''Hidden Witch'' by

(Graphix) * ''Last Pick'' by Jason Walz (First Second) * '' Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compass'' by Lilah Sturges and polterink (BOOM! Box) * ''My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder'' by Nie Jun (Graphic Universe) * ''Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter'' by Atelier Sento (Tuttle Publishing) * ''Peter & Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths'' by Graham Annable (First Second) * ''The Prince and the Dressmaker'' by

Jen Wang Jennifer Sheena "Jen" Wang (born March 22, 1984) is an American cartoonist, writer and illustrator based in Los Angeles. Wang has published graphic books including ''Koko Be Good,'' ''In Real Life'' (with Cory Doctorow), and '' The Prince and th ...

(First Second) * ''Sanity & Tallulah'' by Molly Brooks (Disney-Hyperion)

References

External links

The Dwayne McDuffie Award for Kids' Comics
(Official Facebook Page)
Ann Arbor Comic Art Festival
(Official website) {{American Comic Book Industry Awards 2015 establishments in the United States Annual events in the United States Awards established in 2015 Comics awards African-American comics