The collectors’ website ComicArtFans has partnered with The Estate of Jack Kirby and The Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center to create the Jack & Roz Kirby Awards, a set of seven awards that will recognize “innovation, excellence, and humanity in narrative communication,” according to the official announcement. The first awards ceremony will be held at Original Art Expo in Orlando, Florida, on February 20-22, 2026.
The structure of the awards is very different from the Eisner and Harvey awards, with new categories, no time restrictions (except for the Newcomer Award), and a rule that award winners will be ineligible for nomination for five years after receiving the award.
The categories are divided into two types: Core Awards and Legacy Awards. The five Core Awards, with definitions supplied by the committee, are:
Independence – “One who remains steadfast and fierce”
The nominee has demonstrated the ability to operate outside the confines of established systems and control structures to freely create works that express deeply personal beliefs, themes, and values without censorship and commercial pressure.
Innovator – “One distinguished by new methods, approaches, and ideas”
The nominee has demonstrated clear innovation in methods, techniques, styles, storytelling, solutions, and/or packaging, and in so doing, has challenged the status quo and expanded the possibilities for all.
Visionary – “One distinguished by vital originality”
The nominee has demonstrated the ability to display and communicate worlds, characters, ideas, symbols, and realities beyond our current norms and understanding in contributing to our general comprehension and evolution.
Newcomer – “One to support in all ways”
The nominee has demonstrated early in their artistic life unique capabilities, viewpoints, perspectives, dedication, and perseverance that invites the possibility of consistently unique and impactful works being created.
Storyteller – “One adept at shared human connection”
The nominee has demonstrated the ability to synthesize the complex and varied components of storytelling to powerfully connect with, engage, and impact others.
The Legacy Awards are more like lifetime achievement awards. The two categories are:
Teacher – “One who suspends self and readily bestows experience and guidance”
The nominee has demonstrated the rare and critical ability to take that which they’ve experienced and learned and in a natural and discerning manner communicate their knowledge to others in a way that’s timely, uplifting, and impactful.
Creator – “One whose life’s work is exemplar for those to come”
The nominee has demonstrated the desire, ability, and commitment to time and again reenter the creative process and engage the often unpredictable and arduous creative journey towards conveying to us new stories, characters, themes, symbols, and possibilities.
The awards are administered by three bodies:
The Oversight Council is responsible for overseeing the entire process and can nominate and vote for the two Legacy Awards. The members are Kasra Ghanbari, CEO of ComicArtFans and creator of the Kirby Awards; Tracy Kirby, representative of The Rosalind Kirby Trust; and Tom Kraft, President and Trustee of The Kirby Museum.
The Voting Committee, all of whose members are creators, can nominate and vote for candidates for all seven awards. The members of the Voting Committee are Dean Haspiel, Jimmy Palmiotti, Eli Schwab, Tom Scioli, and Allison Sohn.
The Advisory Board will take a broader view, offering perspectives on the direction of the awards, the ceremony and marketing, and Voting Committee candidates; members can also make one nomination for each of the Legacy Awards. The members are Rodney Barnes, Julie Bell, Sarahjane Blum, Jim Demonakos, Andrew Farago, Gamal Hennessy, Esq., Tamsin Isles, Jann Jones, Adam Kubert, Chris Ryall, ICv2 columnist Rob Salkowitz, Roy Schwartz, Jeff Singh, MD, Jim Steranko, Jeff Trexler, Esq., Sean Watkins, PhD, and Joe Wos.
ComicArtFans is a website for collectors of comic art and is owned by the public benefit company Collectors Network Holdings, PBC.
Source: ICv2
