Nominees and Judges for British Comic Awards announced

The nominees for this year's (and first) British Comic Awards have been announced.

The awards are intended as the definitive guide to what the very best in UK comics, focusing on great British comic work in five categories: Best Comic, Best Book, Emerging Talent, Hall Of Fame, and Young People’s Comic Award.

Best Book Nominees

• Don Quixote Volume 1 by Rob Davis (SelfMadeHero)
• Goliath by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Hilda and the Midnight Giant by Luke Pearson (Nobrow)
• Nelson, edited by Rob Davis and Woodrow Phoenix (Blank Slate Books)
• Science Tales by Darryl Cunningham (Myriad Editions)

Best Comic Nominees

• Accidental Salad by Joe Decie (Blank Slate Books)
• Bad Machinery: The Case Of The Fire Inside by John Allison
• Girl & Boy by Andrew Tunney
• Hemlock Issue 3 by Josceline Fenton
• Tuk Tuk Issue 1 by Will Kirkby

Emerging Talent Nominees

• Kristyna Baczynski – www.kristyna.co.uk
• Josceline Fenton – www.mildtarantula.com
• Will Kirkby – chamonkee.livejournal.com
• Louis Roskosch – www.louisroskosch.com
• Jack Teagle - http://jackteagle.co.uk

Young People’s Comic Awards Nominees

The nominees are (in alphabetical order by title):

• Bad Machinery: The Case of The Fire Inside by John Allison
  Published online at http://scarygoround.com, January 9th – June 28th 2012
  
• Dinopopolous by Nick Edwards
  Published by Blank Slate Publishing (Chalk Marks), October 2011
  
• Gum Girl volume 1: Catastrophe Calling by Andi Watson
  Published by Walker Books, March 2012
  
• Hilda and the Midnight Giant by Luke Pearson
  Published by Nobrow Press, November 2011
  
• The Lost Boy by Kate Brown
  Published in The Phoenix by David Fickling Books, January 7th – 1st September 2012

The judges this year are as follows:

Hunt Emerson - Master cartoonist, named as one of the 75 Masters of European Comics by the Centre Nationale de la Bande Dessinee et de l’Image, the noted French comics Academy in 2000. His latest publications are a 200-page digital anthology, “The Certified Hunt Emerson” published for iPad by Panel Nine, and his hilarious comic book version of Dante’s Inferno, from Knockabout.

John Freeman - editor of ROK Comics digital audio comics, webmaster for the Down The Tubes, editor for the launch issues of STRIP Magazine. Previous roles include directorship of the Lancaster Literature Festival, Managing Editor at Titan Magazines, Group Editor at Marvel Comics UK.

Dr. Mel Gibson - academic based at Northumbria University, trainer helping libraries and schools develop collections of graphic novels, comics and manga. She is a National Teaching Fellow and has used that award to sponsor and develop academic events and networks relating to the study of the medium.

Stephen L. Holland - co-creator, owner and manager of Nottingham-based comic retail operation Page 45 which was judged Best Independent Retailer in Nottingham 2012.

Roger Sabin - Reader in Popular Culture at Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design, University of the Arts London.

Stacey Whittle - writer at SFX Magazine website, long-running indie/small press comics podcaster, who recently edited and published a fairytale-themed comic anthology, Into the Woods.

• The winners of the first British Comic Awards, along with The entrant to the final category, the Hall of Fame award, will be announced at Leeds Thought Bubble Comic Art Festival on Saturday 17th November 2012. More info: http://britishcomicawards.com