The British Comic Awards (BCA) were a set of British awards for achievement in comic books. Winners were selected by a judging committee; the awards were given out on an annual basis from 2012 to 2016 for comics made by United Kingdom creators published from September of the previous year until September of the current year."Qualifying Work," British Comic Awards official website. Archived at the Wayback Machine. Award presentations were held at the Leeds Thought Bubble Festival, in the fall of the year.
The British Comic Award took the place of the National Comics Awards (1997–2003) and the Eagle Awards, both of which had petered out by the early 2010s.
Overview The British Comic Awards were given out in five categories: Best Book — "for long-form comics and collections"Freeman, John. "British Comic Awards launched," DownTheTubes.net (JULY 2, 2012). Best Comic — "for short-form, self-contained stories" Young People's Comic Award — "for short and long-form comics suitable for children voted for by young people" Emerging Talent — "to recognize irrepressible talent and potential in a young or new creator" Hall of Fame — "to commemorate the career and legacy of an influential figure from Britain's rich comic history"
Award recipients — except the Hall of Fame winner — were selected from a list of five nominees in each category. Before the nominees were whittled down to five, the BCA committee would release a longlist of eligible books, comics, and people. Nominations were accepted from the general public via a form on the BCA website.
The BCA committee, which changed slightly each year, was made up of from seven to nine British individuals from academia and the arts. Committee members at various times included Lisa Wood, Maura McHugh, Jamillah Knowles, and Andy Oliver. The BCA committee chose that year's Hall of Fame recipient."Nominees and Winners 2013/14," British Comic Awards official website. Archived at the Wayback Machine.
The judging committee changed every year;"THE VOTING SYSTEM," British Comic Awards official website. Archived at the Wayback Machine. it generally had five to seven members. Judges at various times included Eddie Argos, Kate Beaton, Hunt Emerson, John Freeman, and Stephen L. Holland of the Nottingham-based comics retailer Page 45.Virtue, Graeme. "Thought Bubble and Grace, Jerry, Jessica And Me: the month in comics," The Guardian (15 November 2014)."Nominees and Winners 2011/12," British Comic Awards official website. Archived at the Wayback Machine."Nominees and Winners 2012/13," British Comic Awards official website. Archived at the Wayback Machine.
The Young People's Comic Award was not selected by the BCA judges; it was chosen by children from a selection of British schools and libraries.
History The Awards were founded in 2012 by Adam Cadwell. There were some complaints after the first set of nominations was announced that the Awards seemed to favor alternative and independent titles rather than "mainstream" British comics like 2000 AD, The Beano, and The Dandy.Freeman, John. "British Comic Awards: The Winners," DownTheTubes.net (NOVEMBER 18, 2012).
For the 2015 awards, the BCA opened a call for nominations from the general public, which could be submitted through its website; at that point, the Awards also partnered with the Nottingham-based comics retailer Page 45. The 2015 awards were managed by BCA Founder Adam Cadwell."Nominees and Winners 2014/15," British Comic Awards official website. Archived at the Wayback Machine.
The 2016 awards were co-sponsored by the Thought Bubble Festival and the Leeds Library & Information Service; they were limited to the Young People's Comic Award only. The nominated titles were sent to over a dozen schools across Leeds and throughout the country for young readers to read and judge. Their winning title was revealed at a special ceremony on 4 November in Leeds as part of the 10th anniversary of Thought Bubble; over 100 of the young judges were in attendance."Young People's Comic Awards Nominees 2016," British Comic Awards official website (September 6, 2016). Archived at the Wayback Machine.
Following the 2016 awards, it was announced that the British Comic Awards were "on hiatus" and would return,Freeman, John. "Leeds Library partners with Thought Bubble for Young People's Comic Award, Submissions Invited," DownTheTubes.net (JULY 11, 2016). but in the years since they have disappeared.
Awards Winners listed by year; for some categories, other nominees are listed after the winner.
Best Book 2012:Champion, Danny. "The British Comic Awards," Comic Book Daily (November 20, 2012). Nelson, edited by Rob Davis and Woodrow Phoenix Don Quixote: Volume 1 by Rob Davis Goliath by Tom Gauld Hilda and the Midnight Giant by Luke Pearson Science Tales by Darryl Cunningham 2013: The Nao of Brown by Glyn Dillon The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil by Stephen Collins Judge Dredd: Trifecta by Al Ewing, Rob Williams, Simon Spurrier, Henry Flint, D’Israeli, Carl Critchlow, and Simon Coleby The Man Who Laughs by David Hine and Mark Stafford. Adapted from the novel by Victor Hugo. Mrs. Weber's Omnibus by Posy Simmonds 2014: The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg The Absence by Martin Stiff Celeste by I. N. J. Culbard Lighter Than My Shadow by Katie Green Sally Heathcote: Suffragette by Mary Talbot, Kate Charlesworth, and Bryan Talbot 2015: The Motherless Oven by Rob Davis Comic Book Slumber Party: Fairytales for Bad Bitches by Hannah Chapman (editor) Supercrash: How to Hijack the Global Economy by Darryl Cunningham The Rabbi by Rachael Smith Tim Ginger by Julian Hanshaw
Best Comic 2012: Bad Machinery: The Case of The Fire Inside by John Allison The Accidental Salad by Joe Decie Girl & Boy by Andrew Tunney Hemlock by Josceline Fenton Tuk Tuk by Will Kirkby 2013: Winter's Knight: Day One by Robert M. Ball The Absence #5 by Martin Stiff The Listening Agent by Joe Decie Mud Man #6 by Paul Grist Soppy #2 by Philippa Rice 2014:MacDonald, Heidi. "British Comic Awards winners announced," The Beat (Nov. 17, 2014).The Wicked + The Divine #1 by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matt Wilson, and Clayton Cowles Dangeritis: A Fistful of Danger by Robert M. Ball and Warwick Johnson-Cadwell In The Frame by Tom Humberstone Raygun Roads by Owen Michael Johnson, Indio!, Mike Stock, and Andy Bloor Tall Tales & Outrageous Adventures #1: The Snow Queen & Other Stories by Isabel Greenberg 2015: Grey Area: From the City to the Sea by Tim Bird Beast Wagon #1 by Owen Michael Johnson, John Pearson, and Colin Bell Hand Me Down by Kristyna Baczynski Lost Property by Andy Poyiadgi Strip by Sarah Gordon
Young People's Comic Award 2012: Hilda and the Midnight Giant by Luke Pearson Bad Machinery: The Case of The Fire Inside by John Allison Dinopopolous by Nick Edwards Gum Girl volume 1: Catastrophe Calling by Andi Watson The Lost Boy by Kate Brown 2013: The Complete Rainbow Orchid by Garen Ewing Cindy & Biscuit #3 by Dan White Hilda & The Bird Parade by Luke Pearson Playing Out by Jim Medway The Sleepwalkers by Vivianne Schwarz 2014: Hilda and the Black Hound by Luke Pearson Bad Machinery Vol 2: The Case of The Good Boy by John Allison BOO! by Paul Harrison-Davies, Andrew Waugh, Warwick Johnson-Cadwell, Jonathan Edwards, James Howard, Gary Northfield, and Jamie Smart Corpse Talk: Season 1 by Adam Murphy The Beginner's Guide to Being Outside by Gill Hatcher 2015: Star Cat: Book 01 by James Turner Cindy and Biscuit Vol 1: We Love Trouble by Dan White Gary's Garden: Book 1 by Gary Northfield Ghost Cat's Pedigree Chums by Craig Conlan Maleficium by EdieOP 2016:"Young People's Comic Award Winner 2016," British Comic Awards official website. Archived at the Wayback Machine. Lost Tales by Adam Murphy with Lisa Murphy Mega Robo Bros by Neill Cameron with Lisa Murphy Parsley Girl: Carrots by Matthew Swan Tamsin and the Deep by Neill Cameron and Kate Brown Zorse by Ramzee with Liz Greenfield
Emerging Talent 2012: Josceline Fenton Kristyna Baczynski Will Kirkby Louis Roskosch Jack Teagle 2013: Will Morris for The Silver Darlings Isabel Greenberg for The River of Lost Souls Dilraj Mann for Frank Ocean VS Chris Brown, Make You Notice, and Turning Point Jade Sarson for Cafe Suada: Cup 3 – Strange Stains Lizzy Stewart for Solo, Four Days In Brussels, Four Days in Iceland, and Object Stories 2014: Alison Sampson for her artwork in Genesis (Image Comics) and "Shadows" from the In The Dark anthology (IDW Publishing) Briony May Smith for Tam Lin, The Courting of Fair Spring, and Red-Nosed Frost and The Mermaid Rachael Smith for House Party, One Good Thing, Flimsy, Vicky Park (a weekly comic in the Leicester Mercury), and "The Amazing Seymore" from the Moose Kid Comics anthology Becca Tobin for Eye Contact, "Peppermint Butler's Peppermint Bark" from Adventure Time #30 (Boom! Studios), and numerous short comics Corban Wilkin for Breaker's End 2015: Rachael Stott for her artwork in Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor – SDCC Exclusive (Titan Comics), Star Trek #46 and #47 (IDW Publishing), and Star Trek/Planet of the Apes #1-5 (IDW). Sarah Graley for Our Super Adventure, Pizza Witch, and Rent Quest Matt Taylor for The Great Salt Lake and his artwork on Wolf #1 and #2 (Image Comics) Adam Vian for Long Lost Lempi and Snippets: Extracts from 4 Comics that Don't Exist Christian Ward for his artwork on ODY-C Volume 1 and ODY-C #6 (Image Comics)
Hall of Fame 2012: Raymond Briggs 2013: Leo Baxendale 2014: Posy Simmonds 2015: Dudley D. WatkinsFreeman, John. "British Comic Awards Shortlist announced, Beano artist Dudley D. Watkins enters 'Hall of Fame.'" DownTheTubes.net (OCTOBER 2, 2015).
See also Ally Sloper Award Eagle Award National Comics Awards UK Comic Art Award
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