CXC bestows three awards each year to celebrate comics creators both in the early stages of an exciting career and those well-established into careers that have transformed comics in fundamental ways: the Master Cartoonist Award, the Transformative Work Award, and the Emerging Talent Prize. The Emerging Talent Prize comes with a $7500 award sponsored each year by Jeff Smith and Vijaya Iyer.
Annual exhibitors and invited special guests are eligible for consideration for Master Cartoonist, Transformative Work, and Emerging Talent. The awards are determined by a diverse committee of CXC volunteers.
2021 marked the introduction of the Tom Spurgeon Award. The award is named after CXC’s founding executive director who died in 2019 and was a champion of the cartoon arts. The award, suggested by Tom’s family, is a way to honor individuals who have made substantial contributions to the field but are not primarily cartoonists.
Master Cartoonist Award
The Master Cartoonist Award recognizes significant and sustained professional artistic accomplishments of an individual.
2023: Daniel Clowes
2022: Keith Knight
2021: Shary Flenniken
2020: Diane Noomin
2019: P. Craig Russell
2018: Jeff Smith & Jim Woodring
2017: Kyle Baker
2016: Carol Tyler & Sergio Argones
2015: Bill Griffith
Transformative Work Award
The Transformative Work Award recognizes a work’s significant impact on the direction, quality, and expression within cartoon art.
2023: Smile, Raina Telgemeier
2022: Wimmen’s Comix, Lee Marrs & Trina Robbins
2021: Fun Home, Alison Bechdel
2020: March, Nate Powell, Andrew Aydin & The Honorable John Lewis
2019: The Nib
2018: King-Cat Comics, John Porcellino
2017: Stuck Rubber Baby, Howard Cruse
2016: Doonesbury, Garry Trudeau
2015: RAW, Art Spiegelman & Françoise Mouly
Emerging Talent Prize
The Emerging Talent recognizes artistic accomplishment, potential growth, and the uniqueness of a cartoonist’s achievements early in their career. This award is accompanied by a $7500 no-strings-attached honoraria to the creator. Annual exhibitors and invited special guests are eligible for consideration for Master Cartoonist, Transformative Work, and Emerging Talent. The awards are determined by a diverse committee of CXC volunteers.
2023: Evan Salazar
2022: Victoria Douglas
2021: Robyn Smith
2020: Gabby Metzler
2019: Carta Monir
2018: Keren Katz
2017: Kat Fajardo
2016: K Czap
2015: Katie Skelly
Tom Spurgeon Award
The award is to honor individuals who have made substantial contributions to the field but are not primarily cartoonists. After an initial slate of posthumous awards, CXC will award an individual annually and invite them to the festival. The award is named after CXC’s founding executive director who died in 2019 and was a champion of the cartoon arts.
2023: Calvin Reid
2022: Frederik L. Schodt
2021: Mollie Slott, Orrin Evans, and Kim Thompson