The Inkwell Awards, a non-profit organization devoted to educating and promoting the art of inking, invites the public to vote for the industry's best of the past year. The official public ballot will be available on the Inkwell Awards' homepage from April 15 through April 30. Voting is open to everyone, whether fans or professional peers. The winners will be announced at the live awards ceremony at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC June 20-22 on Saturday the 21st at 12:30pm.

As with last year, the ballot will still list the nominees for the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame lifetime achievement award, which were chosen by the internal and separate Hall of Fame Nomination Committee (made up of the core committee, former committee members, ambassadors, contributors and existing Hall of Fame award recipients). To avoid a “popularity contest” where recent names have more influence than past masters, the two winners have been chosen by the HoF Nomination Committee rather than the public and will be announced at the ceremony. Current nominees are listed as a courtesy. Past Hall of Fame award recipients include Joe Sinnott, Terry Austin & Dick Giordano, Klaus Janson & Al Williamson, Wallace Wood & Kevin Nowlan, Mark McKenna & Scott Williams, and last year, Dick Ayers & Murphy Anderson.

“We’re so excited for this event, where everyone’s hard work will pay off and the best of the best ink artists and their work will be recognized,” said Bob Almond, founder and director of The Inkwell Awards (AKA "The Inkwells"). "Inkers have their own fans and followers, and often go unsung or glossed over in traditional awards events. Ours caters specifically to ink artists and allows several to be recognized and appreciated in various categories.”

Ballots and instructions can be viewed at The Inkwells' web site beginning on tax day, April 15. A direct link will additionally be posted on their Facebook group page, where people may also ask any questions.

The Inkwell Awards is an official 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and promote the art form of comic-book inking, as well as annually recognize and award the best ink artists and their work. Now in its seventh year, the organization is overseen by a committee of industry professionals and assisted by various professional ambassadors and numerous contributors. They sponsor the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund for the Kubert School and host the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award. 

Web site: http://www.inkwellawards.com/

Over at my section at my art rep's site of Comic Art House all of my available original art is 75% off the listed prices effective immediately until January 2nd.  This includes pages from three issues of Marvel's Heroes for Hire and the HfH: Spider-Island One Shot (all penciled by Kyle Hotz), two full issues of Green Force One: Tsunami (by Geof Isherwood) and complete short stories and related pin-ups from Stan Lee's NHL Guardian Project with pencil art by Sal Velluto, Jack Purcell and Al Bigley! Look for a special gift for a loved one or reward youself while time and pages last!  HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

My last post talks about how I've not been around and that I would poke my head out publicly at Rhode Island Comic Con as 'proof of life'.  Well, if you were one of those who saw me Saturday November 2 in Providence, I was probably looking more like proof of imminent death! After setting up at the convention hall Friday night I developed immediate and excruciating abdominal pains followed by flu-like symptoms.  Due to the obligations to my non-profit Inkwell Awards and the attending team with fundraising, I went in only to be in agony all day and leave 90 minutes before the show ended. The next morning I went back but simply in order to pack up my stuff and the Inkwell material and explain to the promoter that I had to leave and was going straight to the ER (unfortunate being that I had prepared for days before the show and I had done relatively well that Saturday).  That lead to 13 days in the hospital after being diagnosed with acute diverticulitis (I'd thought it was my gall bladder or appendix).  I've had this problem for over a decade but the flare ups had never been so sudden or painful as to send me to the hospital for what is my first actual admittance. After being hooked up to ivs, starving, allowed only ice chips for much of my stay, taking narcotics for my pain, experiencing nausea and migraines, and experiencing overall misery (that I will save you the nasty details of), a drainage tube was inserted in me to drain the infection from the abscesses and I was sent home last Friday night.  I've been slowly recovering, I'm on solid food again, and I'm waiting for the tube to be removed....shooting for tomorrow at this point.  There is elective surgery being planned for my near-future to remove the problematic section of colon in this drama.  But for now, I'm trying to increase my strength, spirit and work production and return to a semblance of normalcy.  Much thanks to those of you who have wished me well on my Facebook page and elsewhere.  That went a long way.  I will survive;-)

Hi!  Sorry I haven't been around here, friends, but my workload has been pretty busy with that project that I can't talk about. And I've spent most of October being really sick causing me to fall behind in my schedule.  But, I will be attending the 2nd Rhode Island Comic Con in Providence in a week (November 2-3), along with my non-profit Inkwell Awards, so if you'll be in the area feel free to drop by and say "hi" back!  This will probably be my last convention appearance until Heroes Con in June 2014, although if I can sneak out for Albany Con for a day just before that event I will.  I hope to add 3-4 new commisions to my gallery here within a month or so, maybe other site updates. But since I don't expect to be very vocal here for a while with Halloween around the corner, in case I don't get a chance or remember later, I WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

With mixed feelings I can announce that my longtime association with Sketch Magazine is seemingly over now after 13 printed 'Inkblots' columns for issues 30-40 and now 42, my final printed one for the publisher Blue Line Pro (5 later columns were posted online at FirstComicsNews, 2 originally intended for the magazine here and here, so I've done 18 in all). The great benefits from the arrangment, initiated by editor, artist and pal Bill Nichols, allowed me to add the position of columnist to my resume and also gave me a format to 'create' The Inkwell Awards concept in issue 35. Unfortunately, there were regrets along the way. My column article names were usually altered, sometimes the wrong titles for the actual feature. Attached files weren't always used. A two-part column was printed out of order with part two first...it took two issues for them to print both parts together to make ammends, minus files. And scheduling was really behind. It took months to years to get particular issues shipped.  One reason for this was due to some personal trauma in Bill's case, leading to him to drop out as editor, placing John Wilson in charge but only for an issue, and then Bill returned. There might have also been some confusion turmoil behind the scenes with the publisher and staff (my emails were not always replied to and if they were, I wasn't feeling the love). Anyway, I don't recall if that's why my column was skipped for issue 41.  But readers didn't realize that many of the articles were submitted years before they saw print as I wrote up several of them in 2006-7. The most disappointing aspect of this relationship was that I only got cover hype on issues 30-32 and 39 even though I was the only regular columnist they had which felt like a snub. And the last issue not only changed my title again but the magazine didn't even lable my column as 'Inkblots', only  the generic 'Inking'.  It's like they forgot I'd been in ten consecutive issues with that label.

So I may not get paid for typing up articles for Rik Offenberger at FCN, but at least I have full control there. Sadly, between personal issues, work assignments and obligations with running my Inkwell Awards, I haven't been able to post anything new there for some time.  But I intend to once I have a window because I still had other topics in mind while working for BlueLinePro.  Another plus from this experience is that early on I asked Bill if I could use my columns anywhere else after they debuted in the magazine and he said yes. My hope is that should time ever allow, I would love the compile all of the articles from both Sketch and FCN in order and make all the necessary edits so that they appear as original intended with proper titles and images.  This book would then be sold via the Inkwell Awards so that all sales would go to my official not-for-profit charity.  That way maybe some worthwhile and longterm good would come from this history.