The 38th Annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards were held on Friday, July 24, 2026, during San Diego Comic-Con. Named after comics luminary Will Eisner, awards were given in 32 categories for comics published in 2025.

The ceremony was hosted by Phil LaMarr (Futurama) and Thomas Lennon (Reno 911) with presenters including Doug Jones and Ivana Baquero (Pan’s Labyrinth), Jim Cummings (voice of Winnie the Pooh), Sung Kang and Tamara Braun (Drifter), writers AJ Mendez, Ildy Modrovich, and Aimee Garcia (Day of the Dead Girl), Felicia Day (The Guild), Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson (writer of The Mandrake Project graphic novel), David Dastmalchian (Suicide Squad), Ashley Eckstein (voice of Ahsoka Tano), Thomas Jane (The Punisher), CBLDF director Jeff Trexler, and Mark Buckingham (Fables).

DC’s Absolute Manhunter by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez was the top prize winner, taking home the Best Limited Series and Best Penciller/Inker, and sharing Best Cover Artist for Rodriguez and Best Lettering for Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki and Nicole Goux was the only other title with multiple wins for Best Publication for Teens and Best Writer.

DC won the most awards for a publisher with 8 plus 2 shared. Abrams won 4, Fantagraphics won 3, and Image own 2 plus 2 shared.

The Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award was given to Richard and Wendy Pini, and the Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award went to artist Stipan Morian. The 19th annual Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing was awarded to Jenny Black Isabella and Martin Pasko. The Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retail Award went to Books with Pictures of Eugene, Oregon.

The Hall of Fame judges’ choices were Bob Bolling, Gerry Conway, Denys Cowan, Edwina Dumm, Mike Friedrich, Ollie Harrington, Don Heck, Abe Kanegson, Lee Marrs, Go Nagai, Paul S. Newman, Héctor Germán Oesterheld, Tom Palmer, Sr., Bud Plant, Mike Royer, Dav Sim, Jimmy Swinnerton, Carol Tyler, and Rick Veitch. The voter selections were Colleen Doran, Jeff Smith, Akira Toriyama, and Chris Ware.

The 2026 Eisner Award winners are:

Best Short Story
“Blood Harvest” in Brain Damage by Shintaro Kago, translated by Zack Davisson (Fantagraphics)

Best One-Shot/Single Issue
Absolute Batman 2025 Annual #1 by Daniel Warren Johnson, James Harren, and Meredith McClaren (DC)

Best Continuing Series
Absolute Batman by Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, and others (DC)

Best Limited Series
Absolute Martian Manhunter by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez (DC)

Best New Series
Assorted Crisis Events by Deniz Camp and Eric Zawadski (Image)

Best Publication for Early Readers
All the Hulk Feels by Dan Santat (Abrams Fanfare/Marvel)

Best Publication for Kids
The Cartoonists Club by Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud (Scholastic Graphix)

Best Publication for Teens
This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki and Nicole Goux (Abrams Fanfare)

Best Humor Publication
Physics for Cats by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Anthology
DC Pride 2025 edited by Andrea Shea and Jillian Grant (DC)

Best Reality-Based Work
Black Arms to Hold You Up: A History of Black Resistance by Ben Passmore (Pantheon)

Best Graphic Memoir
It Rhymes with Takei by George Takei, Harmony Becker, Steven Scott, and Justin Eisinger (Top Shelf)

Best Graphic Album – New
Drome by Jesse Lonergan (23rd St. Books)

Best Graphic Album – Reprint
Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen: The Deluxe Edition by Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber (DC)

Best Adaptation from Another Medium
Lord of the Flies: The Graphic Novel by William Golding, adapted by Aimée De Jongh (Penguin Classics)

Best US Edition of International Material
Nocturnos by Laura Perez, translated by Andrea Rosenberg (Fantagraphics)

Best US Edition of International Material – Asia
Purgatory Funeral Cakes by Sanho, translated by Danny Lim (Dark Horse)

Best Archival Collection/Project – Strips
The George Herriman Library: Krazy & Ignatz 1928-1930 edited by J. Michael Catron and Bill Blackbeard (Fantagraphics)

Best Archival Collection/Project – Comic Books
AKIRA Volumes 1-5 Hardcover Collection by Katsuhiro Otomo, edited by Haruko Hashimoto, Ajani Oloye, and Lauren Scanlan (Kodansha USA Publishing)

Best Academic/Scholarly Work
Manga’s First Century: How Creators and Fans Made Japanese Comics, 1905-1989 by Andrea Horbinski (University of California Press)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
SKTCHD by David Harper, www.sktchd.com

Best Comics-Related Book
Crumb: A Cartoonist’s Life by Dan Nadel (Scribner)

Best Publication Design
The Essential Peanuts designed by Shawn Dahl with Chip Kidd (Abrams ComicArts)

Best Webcomic
Tiger, Tiger by Petra Erika Nordlund (tigertigercomic.com)

Best Digital Comic
Practical Defense Against Piracy by Tony Cliff (delilahdirk.com)

Best Writer
Mariko Tamaki, This Place Kills Me (Abrams Fanfare)

Best Writer/Artist
Jamal Campbell, Zatanna (DC)

Best Penciller/Inker
Javier Rodriguez, Absolute Martian Manhunter (DC)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist
Martin Simmonds, The Department of Truth (Image)

Best Cover Artist
Javier Rodriguez, Absolute Martian Manhunter, Batman & Robin: Year One #7, The New Gods #8 (DC)

Best Coloring
Jordie Bellaire, Absolute Wonder Woman and The Nice House by the Sea (DC); The Exorcism at 1600 Penn (IDW); Assorted Crisis Events, The Department of Truth, Exquisite Corpses, and W0RLDTR33 (Image); GI Joe (Image/Skybound); EC Catacomb of Torment and EC Epitaphs from the Abyss (Oni Press)

Best Lettering
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Ill Vacation and Stillman (Comixology Originals); Absolute Martian Manhunter, Challengers of the Unknown, DC K.O., The Flash, Green Arrow, and Poison Ivy (DC); Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, and Starship Godzilla (IDW); Author Immortal (Image); Our-Soot-Stained Heart (Mad Cave)