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British Comic Awards
British Comic Awards logo
Awarded forAchievement in comic books by British creators
Sponsored byPage 45 (2015)
LocationThought Bubble Festival
CountryUnited Kingdom
First awarded2012
Last awarded2016

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.[1] 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

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The British Comic Awards were given out in five categories:

  • Best Book — "for long-form comics and collections"[2]
  • Best Comic — "for short-form, self-contained stories"[2]
  • Young People's Comic Award — "for short and long-form comics suitable for children voted for by young people"[2]
  • Emerging Talent — "to recognize irrepressible talent and potential in a young or new creator"[2]
  • Hall of Fame — "to commemorate the career and legacy of an influential figure from Britain’s rich comic history"[2]

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.[3] 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.[4][5]

The judging committee changed every year;[4] 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.[6][7][8][9][10][11]

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.[4]

History

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The Awards were founded in 2012 by Adam Cadwell.[12] There were some complaints after the first set of nominations were announced that the Awards seemed to favor alternative and independent titles rather than "mainstream" British comics like 2000 AD, The Beano, and The Dandy.[13]

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.[14] The 2015 awards were managed by BCA Founder Adam Cadwell.[12]

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.[15]

Following the 2016 awards, it was announced that the British Comic Awards were "on hiatus" and would return,[16] but in the years since they have disappeared.

Awards

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Winners listed by year; for some categories, other nominees are listed after the winner.

Best Book

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Best Comic

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Young People's Comic Award

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Emerging Talent

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Hall of Fame

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Qualifying Work," British Comic Awards official website. Archived at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ a b c d e Freeman, John. "British Comic Awards launched," DownTheTubes.net (JULY 2, 2012).
  3. ^ a b Freeman, John. "British Comic Awards Shortlist announced, Beano artist Dudley D. Watkins enters 'Hall of Fame.'" DownTheTubes.net (OCTOBER 2, 2015).
  4. ^ a b c "THE VOTING SYSTEM," British Comic Awards official website. Archived at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ "Nominees and Winners 2013/14," British Comic Awards official website. Archived at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ^ Virtue, Graeme. "Thought Bubble and Grace, Jerry, Jessica And Me: the month in comics," The Guardian (15 November 2014).
  7. ^ "Nominees and Winners 2011/12," British Comic Awards official website. Archived at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ^ "Nominees and Winners 2012/13," British Comic Awards official website. Archived at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ^ "This year's Judges and Longlists revealed!". British Comic Awards. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  10. ^ Ahktar, Zainab (13 October 2014). "British Comic Awards reveal 2014 judging panel". Comics Alliance. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  11. ^ Leonard (13 October 2014). "British Comic Awards 2014: Judging Panel announced, inc. Jonathan Ross, Jessica Hynes and Jonathan Entwistle". An Englishman in San Diego. Archived from the original on Oct 21, 2014.
  12. ^ a b "Nominees and Winners 2014/15," British Comic Awards official website. Archived at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ^ Freeman, John. "British Comic Awards: The Winners," DownTheTubes.net (NOVEMBER 18, 2012).
  14. ^ Freeman, John (July 14, 2015). "British Comic Awards Call for Entries opens, partnership with Page 45 announced". DownTheTubes.net.
  15. ^ "Young People's Comic Awards Nominees 2016," British Comic Awards official website (September 6, 2016). Archived at the Wayback Machine.
  16. ^ Freeman, John. "Leeds Library partners with Thought Bubble for Young People’s Comic Award, Submissions Invited," DownTheTubes.net (JULY 11, 2016).
  17. ^ a b c d e Champion, Danny. "The British Comic Awards," Comic Book Daily (November 20, 2012).
  18. ^ a b c d Alverson, Brigid (14 Nov 2015). "British Comic Awards announces 2015 winners". CBR. Retrieved 14 Nov 2015.
  19. ^ a b c d MacDonald, Heidi. "British Comic Awards winners announced," The Beat (Nov. 17, 2014).
  20. ^ "Young People's Comic Award Winner 2016," British Comic Awards official website. Archived at the Wayback Machine.
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