Each year Comic-Con International honors retailers from around the globe with the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award, named after the visionary creator of The Spirit. When Will approached Comic-Con about initiating the award in the early 1990s, he wanted it as a way to acknowledge the important role that comics retailers play in the industry, nurturing the relationship between creators and their readers. The comic book retailer provides that vital link in getting the work from the creators and publishers to the public. Will recognized the importance of that link, and Comic-Con continues to recognize it over 20 years after Will’s original idea.

The Award is given out yearly to retailers who have done an outstanding job of supporting the comics medium both in the industry at large and in their local community. Comics fans around the world have the opportunity to nominate their favorite stores via the Comic-Con International website.

This year’s nominee list includes 20 comic retail stores from across the United States, plus Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Argentina, and Israel. The finalists will be announced during the week of Comic-Con, here on our website, after the judges meet in San Diego. The recipient will be announced as part of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards on Friday, July 22, starting at 8:00 PM at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel.

The 2016 nominees (in alphabetical order) are: