2024 Inkwell Awards Ballot Winners (EXCLUSIVE Expanded Results Version)

(FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: New Bedford, MA–July 5, 2024) The Inkwell Awards has announced the winners of its 16th annual awards for excellence in the comic-book inking art form at their new host-show the Hershey Comic Con June 29. Nominees were chosen by a separate and independent nomination committee based on their own research as well as from artist submissions. Voting by professionals and fans took place for two weeks in March on the official ballot at the non-profit advocacy’s website. After 1365 ballots were tallied, one winner was chosen in each of five categories for 2023 cover-dated interior American published comic-book material.

The 2024 INKWELL AWARDS VOTING RESULTS were circulated July 2 and more recently the INKWELL AWARDS’ 2024 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT WINNERS (were) ANNOUNCED. Now we present the expanded “Racehorse” version like those that were posted in our annual Sinnott Inking Challenge Books and were inspired by the past Comic Buyer’s Guide/CBG Fan Awards results. This one supplies all of the nominees’ votes, percentages, race observations and winners’ statements (those who sent in typed statements). There are less race observations this time, however, because the winners lead the pack from start to finish, almost unheard of in our history since announcing race observations.

Favorite Inker Award: Favorite ink artist over the pencil work of another artist. (NOTE: Cannot be nominated for the PROPS award.)

1. Oclair Albert: Flash [DC] 212
2. Eber Ferreira: Black Adam [DC] 267
3. LeBeau Underwood: Moon Knight, Wakanda: Killmonger [Marvel] 297 (Runner-up)
4. Wade von Grawbadger: 589 (43%): Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War- Scorched Earth, Beast World Special, Wonder Woman, World’s Finest, Lazarus Planet {DC] Icon vs. Hardware [DC/Milestone], Comics for Ukraine: Sunflowers [Dunbier/Zoop]; Amazing Spider-Man, Edge of the Spider-verse [Marvel]

And the winner is WADE VON GRAWBADGER! Wade previously won in this category in 2009 and was additionally nominated in it 5 times, 4 of those times as a runner up in 2011, 2014, 2016 & 2022. He also previously won in the Props Award category twice. Eber Ferreira was previously awarded this category trophy in 2022 and the Props Award in 2021, 2020 and 2013. This was Oclair Albert’s first Inkwell ballot nomination. Runner-up LeBeau Underwood has been nominated several times in various categories to date.

Most-adaptable Award: Artist showing exceptional ink style versatility over other pencil artists. (NOTE: Every nominee must have at least two sources cited.)

1. Elisabetta D’Amico: 510 (37%): Daredevil, Venom Annual [Marvel]

2. Don Ho: Dr. Strange, Silver Surfer: Legendary [Marvel] 733. Jay Leisten: All-Out Avengers, Avengers: Beyond, Moon Knight: City of the Dead, Timeless, Predator vs. Wolverine [Marvel] 113
4. Danny Miki: Beast World Special, Batman: One Bad Day- Ra’s Al Ghul, Detective Comics [DC] 83
5. Victor Olazaba: Death of the Venomverse, Fallen Friend: Ms. Marvel, Immoral X-Men, Star Wars: Hidden Empire, Superior Spider-Man Returns, Thunderbolts [Marvel] 239 (Runner-up)
6. Cam Smith: Dark Crisis [DC]; Fury, Planet Hulk: Worldbreaker, What-if? Dark Loki, X-Men: Days of Future Past- Doomsday [Marvel] 39
7. Jonas Trindade: Action Comics, Black Adam, Nightwing [DC]; Ancient Enemies: The Djinni [Frank Miller Presents]; Crypt of Shadows One-Shot [Marvel] 112
8. Wade von Grawbadger: Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War: Scorched Earth, Beast World Special, Wonder Woman, World’s Finest, Lazarus Planet [DC]; Icon vs. Hardware [DC/Milestone]; Comics for Ukraine: Sunflowers [Dunbier/Zoop]; Amazing Spider-Man, Edge of the Spider-verse [Marvel] 196Our winner is ELISABETTA D’AMICO! From Rome, Italy, this is her first win in this category. Only Danny Miki has won this award previously from this list of nominees back in 2008, our first year. Leisten, Smith and von Grawbadger have previously been nominated for this award.

ELISABETTA: “Hi everybody, how are you? I hope you are having fun in here in Hershey! It’s truly an honor to be here with all of you and I wanted to thank Bob, Joe, his staff and Ken for making this possible and for allowing my dad to be here. Thank you so much for everything you have done! Very special thanks to my dad for being here with me, I hope that you and all my family are proud of me. Returning to these awards, I have no words. I still don’t believe it. These awards mark a very important moment for me and for my career. I like to say that we inkers are like water. I don’t know if my colleagues think like me, but I think there is no better analogy. We adapt perfectly to the pencil we have, but we never lose our essence, just like water. It is an honor to receive these awards and knowing that my ink can make a difference, knowing that my essence is felt despite everything, makes me proud of the path I have taken and of my work. Thank you all, thank you dad, for being here with me, I hope that you are proud of me.”

Props Award: Ink artist deserving of more attention for their work over other pencil artists. (NOTE: The same inker cannot be nominated for both this award and Favorite Inker; only one or the other. Nor any past Favorite Inker recipients)

1. Elisabetta D’Amico: 632 (46%): Daredevil, Venom Annual [Marvel]
2. Adriano di Benedetto: Batman [DC] 223 (Runner-up)
3. Anthony Fowler Jr.: Cyborg [DC]; Icon vs. Hardware, Milestone 30th Anniversary Special, New Talent Showcase: The Milestone Initiative One-Shot [DC/Milestone] 147
4. Mostafa Moussa: Syphon [Image/Top Cow] 185
5. Jonas Trindade: Action Comics, Black Adam, Nightwing [DC]; Ancient Enemies: The Djinni [Frank Miller Presents]; Crypt of Shadows One-Shot [Marvel] 178

For her 2nd ballot category win, ELISABETTA D’AMICO! This is Elisabetta’s 2nd time winning in this category having previously collected a trophy in 2019. Runner-up Adriano di Benedetto previously won this award last year. For Fowler Jr., Moussa and Trindade, this is their first nomination in this category.

The S.P.A.M.I. Award: Favorite Small Press And Mainstream/Independent ink work over another pencil artist or both are the sole artist. (non-Marvel or DC work; inkers who inked their own pencils are now acceptable in this category).

1. David Cabeza: Rivers of London: Here Be Dragons [Titan] 422 (runner-up)
2. Terry Moore: 610 (45%): Parker Girls [Abstract Studios]
3. Mostafa Moussa: Syphon [Image/Top Cow] 233

This race was a complete turn-around from last year where Terry Moore was runner-up, beaten out by this time runner-up David Cabeza. TERRY MOORE has never won an Inkwell before but he’s been nominated 6 times combined in both this category and the All-in-One category in 2009, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2022 and 2023 for Echo, Rachel Rising, Serial and Parker Girls! For Mostafa Moussa this is his first nomination in this category.

Terry sent a video acceptance statement here.

All-in-One Award: Favorite artist known for inking his/her own pencil work.

1. Raphael Grampa: Gargoyle of Gotham [DC] 271
2. Salvador Larocca: 537 (39%): Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars: Revelations, X-Treme X-Men [Marvel]
3. Chris Samnee: Firepower [Image] 232
4. Nicola Scott: Teen Titans [DC] 325 (runner-up)

SALVADOR LAROCCA for the win! This is Salvador’s first Inkwell nomination AND win! Chris Samnee took this trophy in 2021 after a few nominations. Runner-up Nicola Scott was a runner-up in 2017. This was Grampas’ first Inkwell ballot nomination.

SALVADOR: <emailing me his acceptance statement from the airport in Spain after finding out he couldn’t fly> “HI, FIRST THANKS TO JOSEPH AND BOB THAT WERE SO KIND TO INVITE ME TO COME TO A SO AWESOME EVENT. SECOND, THANKS TO ALL THE AUDIENCE FOR WATCHING US THAT I’M SURE THAT WOULD’VE BEEN SO NICE MEETING. THIRD, THANKS TO THOSE WHO VOTED FOR ME! IT WAS REALLY A HARD FIGHT. ALL FINALIST ARE EXTREMELY, AWESOME ARTISTS! I WAS VERY HAPPY BECAUSE I’VE NEVER RECEIVED AN AWARD BEFORE IN PERSON. WHEN I WAS NOMINEE YEARS AGO FOR THE EISNERS, MARVEL TOLD ME ‘NAAAH, YOU WON’T WIN’, SO I ULTIMATELY DIDN’T GO…. AND I WON! AND NOW, I WIN SUCH AN IMPORTANT AWARD AND I’M AT THE FRONT DESK OF A TRAVEL COMPANY BEING TOLD ‘YOU CAN’T FLY’! AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, I FEEL A TAD FRUSTRATED, BUT I’LL SEE YOU ONLINE, SO I HOPE THERE’S A BIG APPLAUSE WHEN YOU GIVE ME THE AWARD!!!! I MISS ALL OF YOU! I’M SURE IT WILL BE AWESOME!!”

<Later, he posted on his Facebook feed the following> “THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO ALL WHO VOTED FOR ME! I COULDN’T SAY IT BEFORE, BUT… WE HAVE WON !!!! EVEN THOUGH I COULDN’T PICK IT UP IN PERSON BECAUSE OF A PROBLEM WITH THE PASSPORT, HERE YOU HAVE IT!! THE NAME THING, THE FOREVER THING… I KNOW THAT MY NAME IS WRONGLY WRITTEN, BUT THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO HAVE WON AMONG SUCH GOOD CANDIDATES!!!” <Salvador was assured that the trophy would be redone properly and he can keep both versions.>

The livestream of the full awards ceremony can be found here!

The Inkwell Awards express CONGRATULATIONS to all award recipients!

The Inkwell Awards is the only official 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and educate regarding the art form of comic-book inking, as well as annually recognize the best ink artists and their work. Established in 2008, the Inkwells are overseen by a volunteer committee of industry professionals and assisted by various professional ambassadors and contributors. They sponsor the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund for the Kubert School and host the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award. Their live awards ceremony is now annually hosted by the Hershey Comic Con.

About Author

Bob Almond

Bob Almond is a long-time comic book fan and collector, professional inker of 30+ years, Jarvis-head, a Master of the Obscure, Heroclix fan, Inkwell Awards grand imperial poobah, columnist, and always proud husband and dad. Some series Bob has worked on include Black Panther, Quasar, Warlock and the Infinity Watch, Heroes For Hire (Marvel), JSA, Aquaman (DC), Vampirella: Revelations (Harris), Bloodshot (Acclaim), Archer & Armstrong (Valiant Entertainment), Captain Gravity & the Power of the Vril (Penny-Farthing Press), Star Trek: The Last Generation (IDW), A Nightmare on Elm Street (Wildstorm), The Masters (Power Comics), Monster Hunter Herkules (A Kid & a Comic), The Liberty Brigade (Thrilling Nostalgia Comics), various jobs for Kingstone Media and much more. Along with his “storyteller” creative partners from Black Panther (1999-2002) Christopher Priest and Sal Velluto, Bob has been credited in both MCU Black Panther films to date.
You can email him at Bob.Almond@firstcomicsnews.com and visit his website at almondink.com and his non-profit charity organization at inkwellawards.com.

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