The year 2023 marks the 35th anniversary of the Harvey Awards, one of the most prestigious ceremonies in comics—and a celebration of the myriad forms they’ve inspired across the world and across mediums. To mark the occasion, io9 has teamed up with the organization to lift the lid on this year’s nominees, ahead of the annual gala and award ceremony at New York Comic Con.
“The Harvey Awards continues to distinguish itself by honouring the unique talents required to create the very best graphic novels,” Harvey Awards co-chair John Lind said in a press release provided to io9. “This year is especially impressive given the range of diversity among authors, illustrators, and content being created in the field and we are thrilled to recognize these accomplishments.”
“The candidates for this year’s Harvey Awards represent the amazing spectrum of excellence in the comics field,” co-chair Nellie Kurtzman added. “We can’t wait to honour the creators who filled these past 12 months with such magnificent reading.”
Highlights from this year’s nominees include Kate Beaton’s Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands for Book of the Year; Lore Olympus, the wildly popular webseries by Rachel Smythe, up for Digital Book of the Year; and a stacked Best Manga category—including two nods for Tatsuki Fujimoto and translator Amanda Haley for both Chainsaw Man and Goodbye, Eri. Beyond the realm of books and into adaptations, Marvel and DC dominate the Best Adaptation from Comic Book/Graphic Novel category with the likes of The Sandman, She-Hulk, Sweet Tooth, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse all getting nods alongside the likes of Nimona, Wednesday, and more. Check out the full list of nominees for Book and Digital Book of the Year, Best Children’s or Young Adult Book, Best Manga, Best International Book, and Best Adaptation from Comic Book/Graphic Novel below, making their debut here on io9!
Book of the Year
• Acting Class by Nick Drnaso (Drawn and Quarterly)
• Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton (Drawn and Quarterly)
• Follow Me Down: A Reckless Book by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips and Jacob Phillips (Image Comics)
• Girl Juice by Benji Nate (Drawn and Quarterly)
• It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood (Image Comics)
• Little Monsters Vol. 1 by Jeff Lemire & Dustin Nguyen (Image Comics)
• The Man in the McIntosh Suit by Rina Ayuyang (Drawn and Quarterly)
• Mimosa by Archie Bongiovanni (Abrams ComicArts/Surely)
• Public Domain Vol. 1 by Chip Zdarsky (Image Comics)
• Who Will Make The Pancakes by Megan Kelso (Fantagraphics)
Digital Book of the Year
• Barnstormers by Scott Snyder and Tula Lotay (Comixology Originals)
• Deeply Dave by Grover
• Everything is Fine by Mike Birchall
• Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe
• Ripple Effects by Jordan Hart, Bruno Chiroleu, Justin Harder, and Shane Kadlecik
Best Children’s or Young Adult Book
• Clementine Fox and the Great Island Adventure by Leigh Luna (Graphix/Scholastic)
• Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Club: Roll Call by Molly Knox Ostertag and Xanthe Bouma (HarperAlley)
• Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega and Rose Bousamra (First Second)
• Hungry Ghost by Victoria Ying (First Second)
• In Limbo: A Graphic Memoir by Deb JJ Lee (First Second)
• Northranger by Rey Terciero and Bre Indigo (HarperAlley)
Best Manga
• Cat + Gamer by Wataru Nadatani, translated by Zack Davisson (Dark Horse Manga)
• Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimoto, translated by Amanda Haley (VIZ Media)
• Goodbye, Eri by Tatsuki Fujimoto, translated by Amanda Haley (VIZ Media)
• Shuna’s Journey by Hayao Miyazaki, translated by Alex Dudok de Wit (First Second)
• Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo, translated by Casey Loe (VIZ Media)
Best International Book
• Alice on the Run: One Child’s Journey Through the Rwandan Civil War by Gaspard Talmasse, translated by Nanette McGuinness (Life Drawn)
• Always Never by Jordi Lafebre and Clemence Sapin, translated by Montana Kane (Dark Horse Books)
• Ashes by Álvaro Ortiz, translated by Eva Ibarzabal (Top Shelf Productions)
• Blacksad: They All Fall Down Part 1 by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, translated by Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander (Dark Horse Books)
• The Extraordinary Part: Book One: Orsay’s Hands by Florent Ruppert and Jérôme Mulot, translated by M.B. Valente (Fantagraphics)
• Tiki: A Very Ruff Year by David Azencot, Fred Leclerc and Lucie Firou, translated by Nanette McGuinness (Life Drawn)
Best Adaptation from Comic Book/Graphic Novel
• American Born Chinese (Disney+), based on American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (First Second)
• Drops of God (Apple TV+), based on Drops of God by Tadashi Agi and Shu Okimoto (Vertical)
• Moon Knight (Disney+), based on Moon Knight (Marvel Comics)
• Nimona (Netflix), directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, based on Nimona by ND Stevenson (Quill Tree Books)
• The Sandman (Netflix), based on The Sandman (DC Comics)
• She-Hulk (Disney+) based on She-Hulk (Marvel Comics)
• Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, based on Spider-Man (Marvel Comics)
• The Stuff of Legend – The Board Game, based on The Stuff of Legend by Mike Raicht Brian Smith and Charles Paul Wilson III (Th3rd World Studios)
• Sweet Tooth Season 2 (Netflix) based on Sweet Tooth by Jeff Lemire (DC Comics)
• Wednesday (Netflix), based on The Addams Family by Charles Addams
The Harvey Awards Gala will take place at New York Comic Con, which runs this year from October 12-15. More details about the ceremony and the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame nominees will be revealed at a later date.