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.
Bob Almond's Homepage 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.''Sketch Magazine'' #35, Blue Line Pro, 2008, p. 45 The mission statement is, "To promote and educate about the craft of comic book inking and to show recognition for ink artists."
Inkwell Awards Homepage

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.

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. In 2020, there was no live ceremony. Originally there was to be a rescheduled ceremony at the Great Philadelphia Comic Con!, but this convention was later canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.First Comics News: 2020 Inkwell Awards Voting Results
/ref> There was no live ceremony in 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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.Ms. Inkwell
/ref> 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.Hailey Skaza-Gagne
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Staff

Inker Michael Kellar was the first assistant director of the Inkwell Awards, overseeing auctions and fundraising. Mike Pascale (storyboardist, writer, and artist), 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. In April 2021, Joe Prado joined the core committee, becoming the first to hold a dual role as a committee member and special ambassador.Committee - Inkwell Awards Official Site
/ref> Rik Offenberger has been a member of the nominating committee from 2012 to present

Some committee members do not currently serve full-time. They include Stacey Aragon (who served on the committee from November 2011 to June 2012, handling social networking, press release circulation, and fundraising); Sarah L. Covert (who was a technical consultant from November 2011 to August 2013), and Joe Goulart (who was the administrative assistant for conventions, Ms. Inkwell model liaison, and fundraiser from January 2013 to September 2014).

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
* 2008 Danny Miki

The Call of Duty Award
* 2008 Bob Almond

Favorite Finisher / Embellisher
* 2008 (retro) Tom Palmer/ (modern) Kevin Nowlan

Most-Prolific Inker
* 2008 Danny Miki

Favorite Inker

Favorite ink artist over the pencil work of another artist from award year cover-dated, interior, American comic book material.
* 2008 (retro) Terry Austin & Joe Sinnott (tie)/ (modern) Danny MikiInkwell Awards 2008 Winners
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* 2009 Wade Von GrawbadgerInkwell Awards 2009 Winners
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* 2010 Mark MoralesInkwell Awards 2010 Winners
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* 2011 Scott HannaInkwell Awards 2011 Winners
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* 2012 Mark FarmerInkwell Awards 2012 Winners
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* 2013 Klaus JansonInkwell Awards 2013 Winners
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* 2014 Norm RapmundInkwell Awards 2014 Winners
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* 2015 Victor OlazabaInkwell Awards 2015 Winners
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* 2016 Joe PradoInkwell Awards 2016 Winners
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* 2017 Scott HannaInkwell Awards 2017 Winners
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* 2018 Scott HannaInkwell Awards 2018 Winners
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* 2019 Walden WongFirst Comic News: 2019 Inkwell Awards Voting Results & Ceremony
/ref>Word of the Nerd: 2019 Inkwell Award Winners
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* 2020 Walden WongGamesRadar+ 2020 Inkwell Award Winners
/ref>Inkwell Awards Winners 2020
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* 2021 Ruy José2021 Inkwell Awards Voting Results
/ref>2021 Winners - Inkwell Awards Official Site
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* 2022 Eber FerreiraComic Art News: Inkwell Awards Announces 2022 Honorees
/ref>Comics for Sinners: 2022 Inkwell Awards Celebrates Gunslinger Spawn’s Corona, 4th time winner Rapmund and more… #ink-magic
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Most-Adaptable Inker

Ink artist showing exceptional ink style versatility over other pencil artists in award year interior, cover-dated, American comic book material.
* 2008 Danny Miki
* 2009 Tim Townsend
* 2010 Scott Hanna
* 2011 Scott Hanna
* 2012 Scott Hanna
* 2013 Jonathan Glapion
* 2014 Walden Wong
* 2015 Walden Wong
* 2016 Walden Wong
* 2017 Walden Wong
* 2018 Scott Hanna
* 2019 Walden Wong
* 2020 Walden Wong
* 2021 Norm Rapmund
* 2022 Norm Rapmund

Props Award

Ink artist deserving of more attention for their work over other pencilers from award year interior cover-dated American comic book material.
* 2008 Danny Miki
* 2009 Matt Ryan
* 2010 Jonathan Glapion
* 2011 Art Thibert
* 2012 Scott Hanna
* 2013 Eber Ferreira
* 2014 Walden Wong
* 2015 Wade Von Grawbadger
* 2016 Wade Von Grawbadger
* 2017 Scott Hanna
* 2018 Joe Prado
* 2019 Elisabetta D'Amico
* 2020 Eber Ferreira
* 2021 Eber Ferreira
* 2022 Tim Townsend

The "SPAMI" Award (Small Press and Mainstream-Independent)

Favorite Small Press And Mainstream-Independent award year interior, cover-dated, American comic book ink work over another pencil artist (Non-Marvel or DC work).
* 2009 Tim Townsend
* 2010 Dan Parsons
* 2011 Cliff Rathburn
* 2012 Dexter Vines
* 2013 Sal Buscema
* 2014 Andrew Pepoy
* 2015 Dan Parsons
* 2016 Stefano Gaudiano
* 2017 Jonathan Glapion
* 2018 Sal Buscema
* 2019 Stefano Gaudiano
* 2020 Stefano Gaudiano
* 2021 Adelso Corona
* 2022 Adelso Corona

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.
* 2009 Mike Mignola
* 2010 Amanda Conner
* 2011 Francis Manapul
* 2012 J.H. Williams
* 2013 Skottie Young
* 2014 Stan Sakai
* 2015 Fiona Staples
* 2016 Jason Fabok
* 2017 Erik Larsen
* 2018 Liam Sharp
* 2019 Lee Weeks
* 2020 Liam Sharp
* 2021 Chris Samnee
* 2022 Walter Simonson

Special Recognition Award (aka Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award” (SASRA))
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.
* 2015 Bernie Wrightson
* 2016 Vince Colletta
* 2017 Allen Milgrom and Violet Barclay. The award for Violet Barclay was accepted posthumously by Allen Bellman