This week, our Canadian chapter of the National Cartoonists Society (NCS) will be corralling around the submissions pictured above to judge and select the winner of the 2011 NCS Divisional Award for Newspaper Panel Cartoons.
As you can see, we have our work cut out for us.
Still, I think it's tremendously encouraging to see so many entries because each one represents a professional cartoonist working at his or her drawing board (traditional or digital), creating cartoons for audiences to enjoy.
Right now, fellow NCS chapters across the United States are preparing to judge (or have already judged!) other divisions of the NCS awards, from animation to illustration, gag cartoons to greeting cards, comic strips to comic books, and more!
The nominees for all divisions will be announced sometime in the next few weeks on the NCS website. And the winners will be recognized on May 26th at the 66th Annual NCS Reuben Awards dinner (being hosted this year in Las Vegas, NV).
As current NCS president, Tom Richmond, has described:
"The Reubens have been called 'the Oscars of cartooning,' and this is exactly what they are. It's where we celebrate and recognize professional excellence in the art form, and where we show the rest of the world what great cartooning is being done in various areas of our industry."
The most prestigious of all these awards is the Reuben Award for "Cartoonist of the Year." This year, the nominees are ...
- Brian Crane, creator of Pickles
- Stephan Pastis, creator of Pearls Before Swine
- Tom Richmond, best known for his MAD Magazine work.
More detailed bios of each Reuben nominee can be found on the NCS website.
And so, get ready to place your bets folks! The cartoonists are getting ready to go on a roll (and have a dinner roll or two) in Las Vegas.
Special thanks to Canada Post, the United States Postal Service, and other international couriers, for their help and patience delivering all the division award entries. I can now go back to cartooning in my pyjamas.
BTW ... Tom Richmond has posted a very cool "behind the scenes" look at how he created the above Reubens poster art.
Stay TOONed!
- Mike Cope
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