The Winners and Finalists of the 2021 Prism Awards were announced Monday night, December 27, 2021, in a virtual presentation on the Prism Comics YouTube channel and Prism Comics Prism Awards page.
The program featured video appearances from both Winners and Finalists in six categories – webcomics; short form comics; small to midsize press; mainstream press; anthology; and a new category this year – young readers (13 and under). The program will remain online for future viewing.
The Prism Awards were founded by Prism Comics, The Queer Comics Expo, and The Cartoon Art Museum to recognize, promote, and celebrate diversity and excellence in queer comics and graphic novels. Winner and Finalist Awards are presented to comic works by queer creators that promote the growing body of diverse, powerful, innovative, positive or challenging representations of LGBTQAI+ characters and stories in fiction or nonfiction comics.
Award Recipients are voted on by six diverse panels of comics professionals, educators, librarians, journalists and writers. Prism Awards Chair Person, Gladys Ochoa, shared the Awards Committee’s gratitude for everyone involved in this year’s Awards presentation: “Prism Comics, The Queer Comics Expo and The Cartoon Art Museum would like to thank the creators, publishers and judges for all of their contributions to this year’s Prism Awards. The quality of the works submitted and the representations of identities, backgrounds and genres were amazing. We were also pleased to add the Young Readers category this year. There are so many terrific comics and graphic novels for young readers coming out, and it’s vitally important for young queer kids to see themselves in comics.”
Here are the Winners and Finalists for the 2021 Prism Awards:
Webcomics
Winner: Superpose (Artist & Writer: Seosamh; Artist & Writer: Anka)
Finalist: Shaderunners (Artist: Alex Assan; Writer: Lin Darrow)
Finalist: A Guide To A Healthy Relationship (Creator: Copper)
Short Form Comics
Winner: God Sees Me Crying in the Bathroom Stall (Creator: Vincy Lim)
Finalist: QAT Person number 3 (Creator: Dylan Edwards)
Finalist: The Unfading Flower (Creator: Hari Conner)
Small/Midsize Press
Winner: To Cut (Creator: Noella Whitney)
Finalist: How To Be Ace: A Memoir of Growing Up Asexual (Creator: Rebecca Burgess)
Finalist: Sasha From The Gym (Creator: Otava Heikkilä)
Mainstream Press
Winner: The Low Low Woods (Publisher: DC Comics, Written by: Carmen Maria Machado & Joe Hill Art by: Dan McDaid & Dani Strips)
Finalist: The Deep & Dark Blue (Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Creator: Niki Smith)
Finalist: Juliet Takes a Breath (Publisher: Boom Studios, Writer: Gabby Rivera; Illustrator, Celia Moscote; Colorist, James Fenner; Letterer: DC Hopkins)
Anthology
Winner: A.B.O. Comix: A Queer Prisoners Anthology Vol 4 (Publisher: A.B.O. Comix, Editor: Casper Cendre,)
Finalist: Ambrosia: Trans Masc & Non Binary Erotic Comics (Edited by: Tab Kimpton and Jade Sarson)
Finalist: Confined Before COVID19: A Pandemic Anthology by LGBTQ Prisoners (Publisher: A.B.O. Comix, Editor: Casper Cendre)
Young Readers (13 and under)
Winner: The Deep & Dark Blue (Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Creator: Niki Smith,)
Finalist: The Magic Fish (Publisher: Random House Graphic, Creator: Trung Le Nguyen)
Finalist: Space Battle Lunchtime Vol. 3: A Dish Best Served Cold (Publisher: Oni Press, Creator: Natalie Riess)
Source: Graphic Policy
