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New York Comic Con’s Harvey Award nominations show streaming services gaining ground

August 14, 2019 at 11:49 a.m. EDT
Cha Cha (Mary J. Blige) and Hazel (Cameron Britton) are time-traveling hitmen in the Netflix adaptation "The Umbrella Academy." (Netflix) (Netflix)

The ongoing rise of streaming services is sharply reflected in the 31st Harvey Award nominations, which will be officially announced Wednesday by ReedPOP and New York Comic Con.

This year, nearly half of the 10 nominees for best comics adaptation come from streaming services. They are Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy” and “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” Amazon’s “The Boys” and DC Universe’s “Doom Patrol.”

The adaptation nominees also include Sony’s Oscar-winning feature “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame,” which recently became the highest-grossing movie ever ($2.8 billion) before adjusting for inflation — as well as the live performance “The Snagglepuss Chronicles.”

“We’re seeing incredible work come from not just traditional comic publishers but from digital publishers, as well by a hugely diverse group of creators across nearly every genre,” Mike Armstrong, vice president of ReedPOP, told The Washington Post.

Elsewhere, Tillie Walden’s “On a Sunbeam,” Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s “Hey Kiddo” and “Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me,” by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, were among the multiple graphic-novel nominees.

The award is named for the legendary cartoonist and editor Harvey Kurtzman, who most notably worked for Mad magazine and Playboy. The awards, which recognize the best in comics and adaptations, are voted on from the nominations by industry professionals.

NYCC, the East Coast’s biggest comics and pop-culture festival, will be Oct. 3 to 6 at the Javits Center.

Here is the full list of nominees:

Book of the Year Award

  • “Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home” by Nora Krug, Scribner
  • “Berlin” by Jason Lutes, Drawn & Quarterly
  • BTTM FDRS by Ezra Claytan Daniels and Ben Passmore, Fantagraphics
  • “Hey Kiddo,” by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Scholastic Graphix
  • “Kid Gloves,” by Lucy Knisley, First Second
  • Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me,” by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, First Second
  • “My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies,” by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, Image Comics
  • “On a Sunbeam,” by Tillie Walden, First Second
  • “Upgrade Soul,” by Ezra Claytan Daniels, Lion Forge
  • “When I Arrived at the Castle,” by Emily Carroll, Koyama Press

Digital Book of the Year Award

Best Children’s or Young Adult Book Award

  • “Hey Kiddo,” by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Scholastic Graphix
  • “Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me,” by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, First Second
  • “Mr. Wolf’s Class #2: Mystery Club,” by Aron Nels Steinke, Scholastic Graphix
  • “New Kid,” by Jerry Craft, HarperCollins Children’s Books
  • “On a Sunbeam,” by Tillie Walden, First Second

Children’s or Young Adult Book Award

  • “Frankenstein: Junji Ito Story Collection,” by Junji Ito, VIZ Media
  • “Mob Psycho 100,” by ONE, Dark Horse Manga
  • “My Hero Academia,” by Kohei Horikoshi, VIZ Media
  • “Our Dreams at Dusk,” by Yuhki Kamatani, Seven Seas
  • “Smashed,” by Junji Ito, VIZ Media
  • “Witch Hat Atelier,” by Kamome Shirahama, Kodansha Comics

European Book Award

  • “Corto Maltese,” by Hugo Pratt, IDW Publishing
  • “O Josephine,” by Jason, Fantagraphics
  • “Radiant,” by Tony Valente, VIZ Media
  • “Red Ultramarine,” by Manuele Fior, translated by Jamie Richards, Fantagraphics
  • “Waves,” by Ingrid Chabbert and Carole Maurel, Archaia

Comics Adaptation Award

  • “Alita: Battle Angel,” Twentieth Century Fox, based on Battle Angel Alita (Kodansha USA)
  • “Avengers: Endgame,” Marvel Studios, based on The Avengers (Marvel Comics)
  • “The Boys,” Amazon Studios, based on The Boys (Dynamite Entertainment)
  • “Captain Marvel,” Marvel Studios, based on Captain Marvel (Marvel Comics)
  • “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” Netflix, based on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Archie Comics)
  • “Doom Patrol,” DC Universe, based on Doom Patrol (DC Comics)
  • “Marvel’s Spider-Man,” Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive, based on Spider-Man (Marvel Comics)
  • “The Snagglepuss Chronicles,” Provincetown (Mass.) Tennessee Williams Theater Festival and Die-Cast, based on Exit, Stage Left!: The Snagglepuss Chronicles (DC Comics)
  • “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, based on Spider-Man (Marvel Comics)
  • “The Umbrella Academy,” Netflix, based on The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse Comics)

Read more:

From ‘Black Panther’ to ‘Black Hammer,’ here are the 2018 Harvey Awards nominees