The Inkwell Awards is now open for fans and professionals to choose their industry favorites. The official public ballot will be available on the Inkwells‘ homepage for two weeks, from Wednesday April 26 through May 10.
Voting is open in five categories: Favorite Inker, Most Adaptable, Props (inkers deserving more attention), The S.P.A.M.I. (Small Press And Mainstream/Independent for non-Marvel/DC work) and All-In-One for artists who ink their own pencils. The awards cover all printed American comic books cover-dated 2022.
“This year we continue with the new addition to our ballot,” said Bob Almond, founder, and director of The Inkwell Awards, the only non-profit organization devoted to public education and promotion of the art of comic book inking. “In answer to myriad requests, last year we were able to link sample images submitted by the nominated artists on the ballot. This will help both voters and artists to hopefully make the process easier and fairer. The Inkwell core committee team and our webmaster Steven Freivogel spent much time and effort in discussion and preparation to make this work and we‘re confident it will help everyone.”
He added, “Our nomination procedure continues to include inkers who submitted their work in addition to those chosen by our internal nomination committee. Too many ink artists are passed over and go unnoticed by most awards events. Ours caters specifically to inkers so they can be recognized and appreciated for their best work. We encourage all who appreciate quality artwork to participate and share on social media; the more voters, the better.”
The internally-chosen lifetime achievement accolades, the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame award and the Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award (SASRA), were announced March 9, separately from the ballot categories like we did last time. Without a host-show awards ceremony this year, there are currently no restrictions on how and when winners are announced.