Rebellious Comics That Fascists Hate: The 2023 Ignatz Awards Winners

This weekend marked the 26th annual Ignatz Awards as part of the 2023 Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland. The Ignatz Award, named after the brick-loving character of the same name from George Herriman’s Krazy Kat comic strip (hence the literal brick as an award), celebrates the best, weirdest, most innovative and outstanding in small press and created-owned comics, and this year’s winners are no exception.

Ngozi Ukazu, creator of Check, Please! and a 2019 Ignatz Award winner herself, delivered this year’s keynote speech and set the tone for the entire event, opening up with comments about how comics are under attack and desperately need a union.

“Esteemed guests of SPX 2023: comic festivals like this one, rooms like this one, functions like these? This is where we make things right,” Ukazu said. Speaking about fighting against book bans, she added, “By creating art and being a person of color, you rebel. By creating art and being queer, you rebel. By creating and being differently abled, you rebel! By creating art and making and telling the stories of people who cannot create art themselves, you rebel. Every single one of these nominees is a rebel.”

With Black, Asian, MENA/SWANA, queer, trans and activist comics and cartoonists sweeping the 2023 Ignatz awards, it’s fair to say that some great rebellious comics are being amplified. Highlights also include a speech from Olivia Stephens upon winning Outstanding Artist for her self-published comic Darlin’ and Her Other Names. While not there in person, Stephens’ prepared speech, which served as the sendoff for the show, serves as a wonderful reminder, stating “May we all endeavor to keep making our terrible, beautiful, angry, happy, disgusting art that keeps a fascist motherfucker up at night.” Check out the full list of nominees, with winners highlighted in bold, below:

Outstanding Story

• Wash Day Diaries (Chapter: “Ride Or Die”), Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith (Chronicle Books)
• Weeds, Kit Anderson (Parsival Press)
• Impatient Ms. “S “ (from Glaeolia 3), KOYUBI (Glacier Bay)
• Inversion, Lily Thu Fierro and Generoso Fierro (Self-Published)
• I Owe It To My Parents NOT to Come Out, Richard Mercado (Self-Published)

Outstanding Minicomic

• Sacred Grove, Celine Loup (Self-Published)
• You’re The Center Of Attention, Gina Wynbrandt (kuš!)
• Farewell, João Fazenda (kuš!)
• Hares On The Mountain, Lee Dean and Salavador Aguilera (Self-Published)
• Death Bloom, Yasmeen Abedifard (Lucky Pocket Press)

Outstanding Collection

• Boodle Fight, Ashley Topacio (Self-Published)
• Upside Dawn, Jason (Fantagraphics)
• Cankor, Matthew Allison (Self-Published)
• Who Will Make The Pancakes?, Megan Kelso (Fantagraphics)
• Griz Grobus and the Tale of Azkon’s Heart, Simon Roy, Jess Pollard & Sergey Nazarov (Self-Published)

Outstanding Anthology

• Shades Of Fear, Allison O’Toole & Ashanti Fortson, ed. (Balustrade Press)
• Cram Comics No. 1, Andrew Alexander, ed. (Cram Books)
• Glaeolia 3, Emuh Ruh, ed. (Glacier Bay)
• NOW No. 12, Eric Reynolds, ed. (Fantagraphics)
• Home: A Comics Anthology On Belonging In Ireland Today, Katherine Foyle, ed. (Dublin Comics Arts Festival)

Outstanding Series

• Tales Of Old Snake Creek, Drew Lerman (Self-Published)
• Venomyths, Joshua Ray Stephens (Self-Published)
• Maple Terrace 01, Noah Van Sciver (Uncivilized Books)
• Viewotron Comics & Stories No. 2, Sam Sharpe and Peach S. Goodrich (Radiator Comics)
• Fizzle No. 4, Whit Taylor (Radiator Comics)

Outstanding Online Comic

• Adversary, Blue Delliquanti
• Trans Classic Movies, Jett Allen
• Growing Up, And Getting Out, Lonnie Mann
• Whale Fall, Mara Ramirez
• The God Of Arepo, Reimena Yee

Promising New Talent

• In Limbo, Deb JJ Lee (First Second)
• Pokey, Grayson Bear (Bred Press)
• My Body Unspooling, Leo Fox (Self-Published)
• I Owe It To My Parents NOT to Come Out, Richard Mercado (Self-Published)
• Sennen, Shanti Ray (Avery Hill)

Outstanding Comic

• Platonic Love, A ee mi (Paradise Systems)
• Lemon Yellow, Ciara Quilty-Harper (kuš!)
• Gordita: Built Like This, Daisy “Draizys” Ruiz (Black Josei Press)
• Forget Me Not, Gabriel Howell (Secret Acres)
• Live Rock Part 1: Aquarium Life, Ross Jackson (Secret Room Press)

Outstanding Graphic Novel

• Mimosa, Archie Bongiovanni (Abrams Comic Arts)
• Nervosa, Hayley Gold (Street Noise Books)
• Ducks: Two Years In The Oil Sands, Kate Beaton (Drawn & Quarterly)
• The Man In The McIntosh Suit, Rina Ayuyang (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Last Chance To Find Duke, Shang Zhang (PEOW Studio)

Outstanding Artist

• Joe Death And The Graven Image, Benjamin Schipper (Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics)
• PeePee PooPoo No. 420, Caroline Cash (Silver Sprocket)
• That Distant Fire (with J.R. Hughto, writer), Curt Merlo (Black Eye Books)
• Joseph Smith And The Mormons, Noah Van Sciver (Abrams Comic Arts)
• Darlin’ And Her Other Names, Olivia Stephens (Self-Published)

(featured image: Small Press Expo)