One of Canada's best known national award recognizing outstanding achievements by Canadian creators in the creation and publication of comic books and graphic novels returns in 2008 for it’s fourth year: the JOE SHUSTER CANADIAN COMIC BOOK CREATOR AWARDS, named after pioneering Toronto-born artist Joe Shuster who, along with writer Jerry Siegel, created the iconic super-powered hero, Superman.

From coast to coast, Canada is home to many of the comic book industry's top talents. The JOE SHUSTER AWARDS are a way of recognizing and celebrating the achievements of Canadian creators - past, present and future.

Nominees were selected by a two round voting process. Now that the list of nominees has been finalized, the nominated creators will have their work reviewed by a jury, who will ultimately decide which of the nominated creators will receive a Joe Shuster Award. In previous years winners were selected by a public vote.

Between now and the end of May, fans can vote for the following categories online at www.joeshusterawards.com:
- FAVOURITE CANADIAN COMIC BOOK CREATOR – ENGLISH LANGUAGE
- FAVOURITE CANADIAN COMIC BOOK CREATOR - FRENCH LANGUAGE
- FAVOURITE INTERNATIONAL (NON-CANADIAN) COMIC BOOK CREATOR

Winners will be announced at a public ceremony on June 14th in Toronto. The awards will be the final event at the Sequential Art Symposium to be held in the auditorium of the Toronto Public Library’s Lillian Smith branch on College Street on Saturday, June 14. The Symposium will feature talks related to comics and the 70th anniversary of the Superman character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, as well as a Superman-themed art exhibit entitled “Visions of an Icon” featuring work by Canadian comic book artists. Guests for the symposium include Darwyn Cooke, Tom Grummett, J. Torres, Ty Templeton and more creators to be announced. All nominees are invited to attend and participate.

About Joe Shuster (1914 – 1992)
The Joe Shuster Awards are named in honor of the great artist, JOE SHUSTER (1914-1992), whose clear, dynamic style and inventive visual flourishes set the standard for graphic storytelling during the infancy of the North American comic book industry. It was Superman, a co-creation of Shuster and Siegel, that electrified the industry 70 years ago in 1938 and, almost overnight, transformed comic books into an enormous pop-cultural phenomenon.

About The Joe Shuster Awards
The first and most widely recognized national achievement award for Canadians working on comic books, graphic novels and webcomics, the Joe Shuster Awards were established in 2004 and first presented in April 2005. The awards are named after Joe Shuster, the Canadian-born co-creator of Superman, and are named as such with permission of his estate. The Joe Shuster Awards honour the people who create comics, publish comics and sell comics.

Creator nominees are nominated for their BODY OF WORK during the previous calendar year, not just for one specific work. Hall of Fame and Retailer Awards are selected by individual committees after a review and discussion of eligible candidates. Four Hall of Fame candidates will be initiated into the Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame in 2008. Aside from the retailer award committee, active creators can only act as advisors so as not to influence a bias in any of the creative awards categories.

The Joe Shuster Awards are run by the Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards Association (CCBCAA), a not-for-profit organization that relies on sponsorship, eBay and convention sales of prints and memorabilia or private donations. 2008 sponsors include: Lionshead Resort, Comic Guaranty LLC (CGC), Sipps Publishing, Diamond Distributors, Quebecor World, comicspriceguide.com and Metro News.

For more information please contact joeshusterawards@yahoo.ca

JOE SHUSTER AWARDS 2008 NOMINEES for Work Published in 2007

OUTSTANDING CANADIAN COMIC BOOK WRITER

- Ian Boothby for Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #13, Futurama #29, 31-33, Simpsons Comics #126, 128, 130, 134, 136 (Bongo)

- Cecil Castellucci for The P.L.A.I.N. Janes (DC/Minx)

- Maryse Dubuc for Les Nombrils 2: Sale Temps pour les Moches (Editions Dupuis)

- Jim Munroe for Therefore Repent (No Media Kings) Comics Festival! 2007 (Legion of Evil Press)

- phlppgrrd aka Philippe Girard for Danger public (La pastèque)

- Ty Templeton for Howard the Duck #1-3, Marvel Adventures The Avengers #17-19, She-Hulk #20-21 (Marvel Comics)

- J. Torres for The Black Canary Wedding Planner #1, Blue Beetle #15, Wonder Girl #1-4, Wonder Woman #11-13 (DC Comics), Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century #1,2,5,6, Teen Titans GO! #39-50, The Batman Strikes #29, 34 (DC/Johnny DC), Ninja Scroll 5-7, 10, 12 (DC/Wildstorm), Degrassi TNG: Extra Credit Vols. 3-4 (H.P, Fenn Publishing Co.)

- Howard Wong for After the Cape #1-3, After the Cape II #1-2 (Image Comics)

OUTSTANDING CANADIAN COMIC BOOK ARTIST

- Dale Eaglesham for Justice Society of America #2-4, 6-7, 9-11 (DC Comics)

- David Finch for Moon Knight #7-8, Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #4: Spider-Man, Legion of Monsters: Morbius #1 (Marvel Comics)

- Tom Grummett for Exiles #100, Thunderbolts Presents Zemo: Born Better #1-4, Mystic Arcana: Black Knight #1 (Marvel Comics)

- Pia Guerra for Y the Last Man #55-59 (DC/Vertigo), Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #13 (Bongo)

- Stuart Immonen for Ultimate Spider-Man #111-117, Marvel Comics Presents #1-4, Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. #12 (Marvel Comics)

- Karl Kerschl for All-Flash #1, 52 #47 (DC Comics)

- Thierry Labrosse for Moréa 5: La Brûlure des Ténèbres (Soleil Production)

- Jacques Lamontagne for Les Druides 3: La Lance de Lug, Les Contes de l'Ankou 3: Au Royaume des Morts (Soleil Production)

OUTSTANDING CANADIAN COMIC BOOK CARTOONIST (WRITER/ARTIST)

- Kaare Andrews for Spider-Man: Reign 2-4 (Marvel Comics)

- Pascal Blanchet for Bologne: Contes en 3 Actes Symphoniques (La Pastèque)

- Darwyn Cooke for The Spirit 2-6, 8-11 (DC Comics), Comics Festival! 2007 (Legion of Evil Press)

- Julie Doucet for 365 Days: A Diary (Drawn + Quarterly)

- Faith Erin Hicks for Zombies Calling (Slave Labor Graphics)

- Jeff Lemire for Essex County Vol. 1: Tales From The Farm, Essex County Vol. 2: Ghost Stories (Top Shelf)

- Bryan Lee O'Malley for Scott Pilgrim Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together (Oni Press) Comics Festival! 2007 (Legion of Evil Press)

- Jean-Louis Tripp & Regis Loisel for Magasin Generale 3: Les Hommes (Casterman)

OUTSTANDING COVER BY A CANADIAN COMIC BOOK ARTIST

- Scott Chantler for The Annotated Northwest Passage (ONI Press)

- Darwyn Cooke for The Spirit #2 (DC Comics)

- Dale Eaglesham for Justice Society of America #10 Variant (DC Comics)

- David Finch for X-Men #200 (Marvel Comics)

- Stuart Immonen for Ultimate Spider-Man #112 (Marvel Comics)

- Yanick Paquette for Ultimate X-Men #85 (Marvel Comics)

- Steve Skroce for Doc Frankenstein #6 (Burleyman)

- Cameron Stewart for The Other Side #5 (DC/Vertigo)

- Jean-Louis Tripp for Magasin Generale 3: Les Hommes (Casterman)

OUTSTANDING CANADIAN COMIC BOOK COLOURIST

- Blond for Avengers vs. Transformers #3 (Marvel Comics), Velocity: Pilot Season, Witchblade Manga Vols. 1-10, City of Heroes #18-30, Hunter Killer #11-12, Freshman II: Fundamentals of Fear #2-6, Madame Mirage #1 (Top Cow)

- Chris Chuckry for The Creeper #4-6, The Helmet of Fate – Ibis the Invincible #1, The Helmet of Fate – Sargon the Sorcerer #1, Countdown to Mystery #1-2, Simon Dark #1 (DC Comics), Red Sonja: Vacant Shell #1 (Dynamite), Code #2 (The Guardian Line), Legion of Monsters – Man-Thing #1 (Marvel Comics), The Nightmare Factory OGN (Fox Atomic Comics), L’Histoire Secrete Vols. 8-9 (Delcourt), Empire Vols. 2-3 (Delcourt)

- Maryse Dubuc for Les Nombrils 2: Sale Temps pour les Moches (Editions Dupuis)

- Nathan Fairbairn for Annihilation Conquest - Star-lord #1-4, Marvel Illustrated: The Illiad #1 (Marvel Comics), Witchblade 110-111 (Top Cow Comics)

- Lovern Kindzierski for Hellboy Vol. 7: The Troll Witch and Others (Dark Horse) Joe & Max #4-5, The Seekers #1 (The Guardian Line)

- Francois Lapierre for Magasin Générale 3: Les Hommes (Casterman)

- Dave McCaig for Nextwave, Agents of H.A.T.E. #12, New Avengers #27-35, Fallen Son – The Death of Captain America #1: Wolverine, Marvel Comics Presents #1-4, Wolverine #50, Avengers Classic #7 (Marvel Comics) DC Infinite Halloween Special #1 (DC Comics), The Other Side #4-5 (DC/Vertigo) Stephen Colbert’s Tek Jensen #1 (ONI Press)

- Ronda Pattison for Fallen Angel 15-16 (IDW), Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures #7-10, Star Wars: Legacy # 8, Star Wars Dark Times # 2-5 (Dark Horse Comics), Atomic Robo #1-3, (Red 5 Comics)

OUTSTANDING CANADIAN COMIC BOOK &/OR GRAPHIC NOVEL PUBLISHER

- Arcana Studio

- Conundrum Press

- Drawn & Quarterly

- Mecanique Generale

- La Pasteque

- Red 5 Comics

OUTSTANDING CANADIAN WEBCOMICS CREATOR / CREATIVE TEAM

- Michael Cho for Papercut http://www.transmission-x.com/_papercut

- Scott Hepburn for The Port http://www.transmission-x.com/_the_port

- Karl Kerschl for The Abominable Charles Christopher http://www.horhaus.com/abominable

- Gisele Lagace for Penny and Aggie http://www.pennyandaggie.com

- Ramon Perez for Kikuburi http://www.kukuburi.com and Butternut Squash with Rob Coughler http://www.butternutsquash.net

- Scott Ramsoomair for VG Cats http://www.vgcats.com

- Ryan Sohmer and Lar De Souza for Least I Can Do http://www.leasticoulddo.com and Looking for Group http://www.lfgcomic.com

- Cameron Stewart for Sin Titulo http://www.sintitulocomic.com

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT BY A CANADIAN RELATED TO COMIC BOOKS

TBA

CANADIAN COMIC BOOK CREATOR HALL OF FAME

4 Inductees in 2008 - TBA

Congratulations to all of the nominees and all of the eligible creators for another memorable year of great comics, both in print and online!