DC Comics dominated the 2026 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, winning 10 categories at a ceremony held Friday, July 24, at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel during San Diego Comic-Con. The ceremony, hosted by Phil LaMarr and Thomas Lennon, handed out trophies across 32 categories plus several special honors.
“Absolute Martian Manhunter,” written by Deniz Camp with art by Javier Rodriguez, was the night’s biggest winner, taking Best Limited Series, Best Penciller/Inker for Rodriguez, and sharing Best Cover Artist and Best Lettering honors. Rodriguez alone collected three trophies tied to the series.
Image Comics followed with four wins, including Best New Series for “Assorted Crisis Events,” also written by Camp. “This Place Kills Me,” by Mariko Tamaki and Nicole Goux, was the only other title with multiple wins, taking both Best Publication for Teens and Best Writer for Tamaki.
Other category winners included “Absolute Batman” for Best Continuing Series, “Absolute Batman 2025 Annual” #1 for Best Single Issue/One-Shot, “DC Pride 2025” for Best Anthology, and “Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen: The Deluxe Edition” for Best Graphic Album, Reprint.
The 22nd annual Bill Finger Award for excellence in comic book writing went to Jenny Blake Isabella, known for her work on “Black Lightning” and “Luke Cage,” and the late Martin Pasko, known for “Dr. Fate” and “Justice League of America,” according to Comic-Con International. The Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award went to “Elfquest” creators Wendy and Richard Pini for a $500,000 donation establishing a comics and cartoon endowment at Columbia University.
Nineteen individuals were inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame by the judges’ panel, including Gerry Conway, Denys Cowan and Dave Sim among the living honorees. Voters separately selected Colleen Doran, Jeff Smith, Chris Ware and the late Akira Toriyama for Hall of Fame induction.
The Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award went to Books With Pictures, an Oregon comic shop with locations in Eugene and Portland, while the Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award was shared by artist Stipan Morian for his work on “Our Soot Stained Heart” and “20th Century Men.”
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