Which comics, writers and artists will take home Eisner Awards this year?

The nominees for this year’s Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards were recently announced, and this year’s slate of nominees include more than a few familiar (and popular) comic book titles, writers and illustrators.

Commonly referred to as the Eisner Awards and considered the “Academy Awards of Comics,” these awards have been given annually since 1988 and are given to recognize excellence and superior creative achievement in the American comic book industry.

Eisner Awards are given in 27 categories and today I give you the nominees in what is generally perceived to be the most prominent award categories. The winners will be announced on July 13 during Comic-Con International.

Without further ado, here are the nominees for Best Short Story, Best Single Issue (or One-Shot), Best Continuing Series, Best Limited Series, Best Graphic Album-New, Best Graphic Album-Reprint, Best Writer, Best Writer/Artist and Best Cover Artist.

Best Short Story
· "A Brief History of the Art Form Known as Hortisculpture" by Adrian Tomine
· "Harvest of Fear" by Jim Woodring
· "The Seventh" by Darwyn Cooke
· "The Speaker" by Brandon Graham

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
· Daredevil #7, by Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera and Joe Rivera
· Ganges #4, by Kevin Huizenga
· Locke & Key: Guide to the Known Keys, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
· Princeless #3, by Jeremy Whitley and M. Goodwin
· The Unwritten #24: "Stairway to Heaven" by Mike Carey, Peter Gross and Al Davison

Best Continuing Series
· Daredevil, by Mark Waid, Marcos Martin, Paolo Rivera and Joe Rivera
· Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, by Naoki Urasawa
· Rachel Rising, by Terry Moore
· Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli
· Usagi Yojimbo, by Stan Sakai

Best Limited Series
· Atomic Robo and the Ghost of Station X, by Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener
· Criminal: The Last of the Innocent, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
· Flashpoint: Batman - Knight of Vengeance, by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso
· The New York Five, by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly
· Who Is Jake Ellis? by Nathan Edmondson & Tonci Zonjic

Best Graphic Album-New
· Bubbles & Gondola, by Renaud Dillies
· Freeway, by Mark Kalesniko
· Habibi, by Craig Thompson
· Ivy, by Sarah Olekysk
· Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand, adapted by Ramón K. Pérez
· One Soul, by Ray Fawkes

Best Graphic Album-Reprint
· Big Questions, by Anders Nilsen
· The Death Ray, by Dan Clowes
· Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition, by Darwyn Cooke
· WE3: The Deluxe Edition, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
· Zahra’s Paradise, by Amir and Khalil

Best Writer
· Cullen Bunn, The Sixth Gun
· Mike Carey, The Unwritten
· Jeff Jensen, Green River Killer: A True Detective Story
· Jeff Lemire, Animal Man, Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. (DC); Sweet Tooth
· Mark Waid, Irredeemable, Incorruptible; Daredevil

Best Writer/Artist
· Rick Geary, The Lives of Sacco and Vanzetti
· Terry Moore, Rachel Rising
· Sarah Oleksyk, Ivy
· Craig Thompson, Habibi
· Jim Woodring, Congress of the Animals, "Harvest of Fear," in The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror #17

Best Cover Artist
· Michael Allred, iZombie
· Francesco Francavilla, Black Panther (Marvel); Lone Ranger, Lone Ranger/Zorro, Dark Shadows, Warlord of Mars; Archie Meets Kiss
· Victor Kalvachev, Blue Estate
· Marcos Martin, Daredevil, Amazing Spider-Man
· Sean Phillips, Criminal: The Last of the Innocent
· Yuko Shimizu, The Unwritten

Awards are also given out in 17 other categories. For more information about the Eisner Awards and the nominees in the other categories, visit http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_eisners_main.php.

In the end, how many of these comics have you had a chance to read? Which did you like or dislike? Which would you recommend? Let us know in the comments section below.