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Nominations Open for Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Comics Award

Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Comics Award nominees announced, ahead of San Diego Comic-Con 2025 presentation

Published Tue, 06 May 2025 12:58:24 -0500

Last updated Tue, 06 May 2025 13:05:16 -0500

Article Summary

Nominations open for the 42nd Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Comics Award at San Diego Comic-Con 2025
Eligible artists must have debuted in comics after January 2021 and submit published work samples
Five finalists selected by Comic-Con panel; winner chosen by industry professionals and past Manning winners
Russ Manning Award honors early-career excellence; see full list of previous recipients from 1982–2024

Submissions are now being accepted for the 42nd annual Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award. The award will be presented on the Friday, the 25th of July 2025 during the Eisner Awards Ceremony at San Diego Comic-Con. The deadline is the 30th of May.

Nominations Open for Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Comics Award — Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Comics Award

Started in 1982 in conjunction with the West Coast Comics Club (which no longer exists), this award honors a comics artist who, early in his or her career, shows a superior knowledge and ability in the art of creating comics. To qualify for the award, the artist must be a newcomer to the comic field, with no professional work published prior to January 2021. Exceptions to this rule are work done as an unaccredited assistant to another artist, small press with a print run of 500 or fewer, or a one-shot in a new talent anthology comic

The artist's work must have been published prior to submission, a sample of the artist's work must be included, a sample of the artist's pencil work should be submitted if it was inked by another artist, if multiple names are credited to the work, what the artist contributed must be made clear, and if selected as a nominee, the artist (or publisher) should be prepared to provide 25 copies of the work to be sent to the judges.

All submissions will be reviewed by a panel of representatives from Comic-Con and the comics community, who will select the five finalists. The winner will then be chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of comics professionals, including prior Russ Manning winners and Russ Manning's former assistants. Submissions should include a submissions form and be sent to Russ Manning Award, Comic-Con International, 4375 Jutland Drive, San Diego, CA 92117. For questions about submitting, contact Jackie Estrada on jackie@comic-con.org.

The Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award is named for Russ Manning, the artist best known for his work on the Tarzan and Star Wars newspaper strips and the Magnus, Robot Fighter comic book. The first recipient of the award was former Manning assistant Dave Stevens, who went on to create The Rocketeer. Other past recipients have included Jan Duursema, Steve Rude, Scott McCloud, Art Adams, Eric Shanower, Dan Brereton, Jeff Smith, Gene Ha, David Petersen, Eleanor Davis, Tyler Crook, Dan Mora, Anne Szabala, Zoe Thorogood, and Greg Smallwood, to name a few. In fact, let's name them all.