The 2011 Joe Shuster Awards were presented at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo on Saturday, and Flash artist (and soon-to-be co-writer) Francis Manapul has won the award for Outstanding Comic Book Artist.
The summary reads:
In 2009, Francis Manapul adopted an ink-wash style that semi-renders his figures and backgrounds, and combined the new approach with his already solid skills as a comics penciler to add a depth and tonality to his environments that gives his work a unique quality. His work on the Flash in 2010 is both mature in its storytelling and some of the best use of his new technique so far.
The Joe Shuster Awards are given to honor outstanding Canadian comics creators, and are named after Superman co-creator Joe Shuster.
This is Francis Manapul’s second nomination (he was previously nominated in 2010) and first win for the award.
Congratulations to Francis Manapul!
I’m tickled that the retailer award is named after an old-school comic shop owner here in town who passed away a few years ago. He was a bit standoffish and weird (at least when I encountered him in the last years of his life), but his shop was literally one of the oldest comic shops in the world. It was really eclectic. Sadly, it closed sometime after his death.
He also had the distinction of getting my current comic shop owner started in the business, and even the notorious Dave Sim. Yes, Dave Sim used to work at Now And Then Books, which also supported his work when he started making his own comics.
Congrats to Francis for winning; he really deserves it!