There are two big AAEC announcements to make today. First up, congratulations to Charis Jackson Barrios, the winner of this year's John Locher Memorial Award.
Barrios recently received a BFA on a full scholarship from The Cooper Union in NYC. While a student, the cartoonist did design and illustration projects with places like Frederator Studios and BuzzFeed. She has made comics for The Nib and Splinter News, and more of her work can found at her website https://www.charisjb.
The judges noted: "Charis is producing well-crafted, smart, affecting comics that are equally adept in dishing out facts and relating personal anecdotes, especially with regard to race. Her comics are thoughtful and substantive, executed in a bold, readable style, and address a range of timely, relevant topics from a unique perspective underrepresented in political cartooning."
You can read the winning comics here:
Why Don’t You Just Pick One? My Life With a Biracial Identity
2017: The Year Black Women Slayed (Again)
Know Your Hate Groups
The judges also wanted to recognize the following cartoonists for their outstanding submissions to the 2018 Locher Award:
1. Leila Abdelrazaq
2. Sage Coffey
3. Madeleine Witt
4. Caroline Cook
5. Jake Thrasher
More details on the John Locher Memorial Award and this year's panel of judges can be found here: https://locheraward.org/news/2018/7/15/2018-locher-award-winner
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Next, a big congrats to cartoonist and comics historian R.C. Harvey, who was bestowed with the Inkpot Award during last week's San Diego ComicCon. The Inkpot is given annually to "individuals for their contributions to the worlds of comics, science fiction/fantasy, film, television, animation, and fandom services." Bob Harvey has been an integral member of the AAEC for decades — most recently serving on the board as Secretary/Treasurer — and a constant, wry presence at its annual confabs.
This year's Inkpot recipients included, among others, cartoonists Shannon Wheeler and Brian Fies, as well as actors Kevin Smith and Nichelle Nichols. Good company indeed! Here's a photo of Bob excitedly waving his award about in San Diego.
