Eisner nominations: DC leads with 16

Comic-Con International announced the 2026 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award nominees on May 15, putting DC Comics at the top of the publisher tally with 16 nominations and 10 shared nominations. The official list covers works published between January 1 and December 31, 2025, and spans 32 categories. The organization said the nominees represent more than 170 print and online titles from about 75 publishers. Among individual creators, Deniz Camp led with five nominations, while Absolute Martian Manhunter was the single most-nominated work with six. ### Why did DC finish first in the publisher count? DC Comics led the field with 16 nominations of its own, according to Comic-Con International’s nominee announcement. The publisher also collected 10 shared nominations, a separate count used when a nominated creator or work is tied to multiple publishers. Absolute Martian Manhunter and Absolute Batman drove much of that total. Comic-Con said Absolute Martian Manhunter had six nominations overall — three standalone and three shared — while Absolute Batman had five, including two standalone and three shared. (comic-con.org) ### Which books and creators stood out most? Absolute Martian Manhunter was the most-nominated title in this year’s field, landing six nominations across categories including Best Limited Series and Best Single Issue for its first issue. (comic-con.org) Comic-Con’s official list also shows Absolute Batman with five nominations, including Best Continuing Series and a Best One-Shot/Single Issue nod for Absolute Batman 2025 Annual #1. Deniz Camp led all creators with five nominations. Comic-Con said those included Best Limited Series for Absolute Martian Manhunter, Best New Series for Assorted Crisis Events, two Best Single Issue nominations, and a Best Writer nomination. James Tynion IV followed with four nominations, while Juni Ba, Javier Rodriguez, Jesse Lonergan, Linnea Sterte, Kelly Thompson and Eric Zawadski each had three. (comic-con.org) ### How did other publishers place behind DC? Fantagraphics finished close behind with 14 nominations, while Image Comics had 12 nominations plus nine shared nominations, according to Comic-Con’s breakdown. Image’s strongest performers included Assorted Crisis Events with five nominations and The Department of Truth with four. Abrams imprints accounted for nine nominations, Drawn & Quarterly had six, and Random House had five. (comic-con.org) IDW Publishing said separately that it earned 11 total nominations, made up of five solo nominations and six shared nominations. Comic-Con’s publisher table listed IDW with two nominations plus five shared, reflecting a narrower publisher-only count, while IDW’s own release included Top Shelf Productions titles within its total. ### Why do the IDW numbers look different? IDW Publishing said in a May 14 release that its 11 nominations covered titles including Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring, More Weight: A Salem Story and It Rhymes with Takei. (comic-con.org) The company described that total as five solo nominations and six shared nominations. Comic-Con International’s official nominee page used a different publisher breakout. (comic-con.org) That page listed IDW with two nominations plus five shared, while separately counting Top Shelf, an IDW imprint, among publishers with three nominations plus one shared. The difference appears to come from whether Top Shelf nominations are rolled into IDW’s company total or listed under the imprint name. (idwpublishing.com) ### Who picked the nominees, and what happens next? The 2026 nominees were selected by a judging panel made up of writer Regine Sawyer, librarian Jerry Dear, reviewer and journalist Tiffany Babb, comics retailer Katie Pryde and comics scholar Randy Duncan, Comic-Con said. The nominations cover comics and graphic novels published during the 2025 calendar year. The 2026 Eisner Awards winners are scheduled to be announced on July 24 during Comic-Con in San Diego. (comic-con.org) Comic-Con has posted the full nominee list on its Eisner Awards page, and comics professionals will vote to determine the winners, according to ICv2’s report on the announcement. (icv2.com)