| Harvey Awards | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Achievement incomic books |
| Location | Chicago Comicon (1988) Dallas Fantasy Fair (1989–1995) WonderCon (1997–1999) Pittsburgh Comicon (2000–2002) MoCCA Festival (2004–2005) Baltimore Comic-Con (2006–2016) New York Comic Con (2017–present) |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Harvey Awards Executive Committee |
| First award | 1988; 37 years ago (1988) |
| Website | https://www.harveyawards.com  |
TheHarvey Awards are given for achievement incomic books. Named for writer-artistHarvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded byGary Groth in 1988, president of the publisherFantagraphics, to be a successor to theKirby Awards, which were discontinued in 1987.[1]
The Harvey Awards are now nominated by the Harvey Awards Nomination Committee.[2] The winners are selected by an open vote among comic-book professionals. The Harveys are no longer affiliated with Fantagraphics.[when?] The Harvey Awards Executive Committee is made up of unpaid volunteers, and the Awards are financed through sponsorships.[3]
Since their inception, the awards have been hosted at a string ofcomic book conventions, starting at theChicago Comicon, and subsequently moving to theDallas Fantasy Fair,WonderCon, thePittsburgh Comicon, theMoCCA Festival, theBaltimore Comic-Con, and currently theNew York Comic Con.
The Harvey Awards were created as an industry award voted on entirely by comics professionals (as opposed to awards such as theComics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards and theEagle Awards, which were also voted on by fans). The new awards established several categories that were new from their predecessor theKirby Awards, including awards for inking, lettering, coloring, and production design.[4]
The Harvey Awards were initially sponsored byFantagraphics, the Texas-based retailerLone Star Comics, and theEastern Region Comic Book Retailers Association (ERCBRA). Fantagraphics established the relationship withHarvey Kurtzman, designed the ballots, and compiled a mailing list of more than 1,000 comics professionals. Employees at Lone Star Comics were in charge of tabulating the ballots.[4]
The nominations for the first Harvey Awards were announced in May 1988,[4] and the awards were presented at theChicago Comicon in July 1988.[5]
TheDallas Fantasy Fair hosted the awards from 1989 until the Fair's demise in 1996. The 1993 Awards presentation took place shortly after Kurtzman's death; weekend events at the convention were geared toward raising money to keep the awards going.[6] Because the Dallas Fantasy Fair was cancelled at the last minute in July 1996,[7] the awards banquet/presentation was also cancelled. The awards were later mailed out to the recipients.[8]
WonderCon hosted the awards from 1997 to 1999.[9] The 2000–2002 awards were presented at thePittsburgh Comicon,[10] withEvan Dorkin serving as master of ceremonies.Jeff Smith was the keynote speaker of the 2000 awards.[9]Frank Miller gave the keynote speech at the 2001 award ceremony, in which he vilified thecomic book speculating industry, in particularWizard magazine. He ended his speech by tearing up a copy ofWizard.[11][12]Tony Millionaire gave the keynote speech at the 2002 awards ceremony. In 2003, due to a cancellation by scheduled keynote speakerNeil Gaiman, funding shortages forced the cancellation of that year's ceremony and banquet (which had been scheduled for the Pittsburgh Comicon). The award winners were announced at the convention.[9]
In 2004 and 2005, the presentation was held at theMuseum of Comic and Cartoon ArtMoCCA Festival inNew York City.[13][14]
In 2006[15] the awards' presentation was moved toBaltimore Comic-Con,[16] where it was subsequently held annually through 2016. During this era, Paul McSpadden served as the Harvey Awards administrator.[17]
Beginning on October 7, 2017, the Harvey Award ceremony was moved to theNew York Comic Con. The first year, only a small reception honoring the legacy of Harvey Kurtzman was held, and no nominations or voting took place.[18] Darwyn Cooke was posthumously awarded Harvey Awards Hall of Fame induction, presented by Adam Kubert and accepted by Cooke's widow Marsha.[19]
In 2018, the 30th anniversary of the awards was celebrated with a full ceremony held during the convention.[20] Beginning that year, the Harvey Awards were revised to six new categories for the main awards and three possible Special Awards. The main award nominations go to works instead of individuals. The nomination process was also revamped to be done by a selection committee instead of an open vote. Final selection for the main awards was still done by an open vote by industry professionals.[2]
In 2019, the Harvey Awards gala was held on October 4, at an invite only gala in New York City during New York Comic Con. In addition to announcing the winners in the individual nominated categories, seven creators were inducting into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame includingMike Mignola andAlison Bechdel. The inclusion of an additional five creators inducted posthumously,Will Elder,Jack Davis,Marie Severin,John Severin, andBen Oda, served to correct past omissions. In regards to these additional inductees, theNew York Times quoted Harvey Awards co-chair John Lind as explaining “We decided to balance the induction class with some of the past creators who may have been overlooked.”[21]
In October 2020, the Harvey Awards were presented during a virtual ceremony broadcast "as part ofNew York Comic Con andMCM Comic Con’s Metaverse, hosted byVivek Tiwary and featuring appearances fromGene Luen Yang,Neil Gaiman,Jill Thompson andDamon Lindelof".[22]
TheHarvey Awards are awarded in the following categories:
As of 2020, awards are presented in six main categories:[2][23][22]
Special Awards chosen by the Harvey Awards Executive Committee: