Joe Shuster 2009 Award Winners Announced! September 26th  2009! Above:  Winner of the Gene Day Award for Canadian Self-Publishers: Jesse Jacobs for Blue Winter, Shapes in the Snow. To The Left:  The 2009 Joe Shuster Awards Publicity Poster.   This past Saturday there was a special awards ceremony held in Toronto, Canada... Which I was made aware of when sent the ballot results, as I'm a 'Fan' of 'The Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards Fan Page' on Facebook. So what exactly are these awards and who are they named for? Well, here is that data from their Fan Page:   "The first 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 2009. Aside from the retailer award committee, active creators acted 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." My thanks to Kevin Andrew Boyd, Executive Director, who sent me the list of winners on Saturday night 9:34 PM, which is blogged here today: "Announced a few hours ago at a packed ceremony held at the University of Toronto’s Innis Town Hall, the 2009 Joe Shuster Award winners are: Artist/Dessinateur * David Finch – Ultimatum #1-2 (Marvel Comics) Cartoonist/Créateur * Dave Sim – Glamourpuss #1-4, Judenhaas (Aardvark-Vanaheim) Colourist/Dessinateur Couleur * François Lapierre - “Gédéon et la bête du lac” Contes et légendes du Québec (Glénat Québec), Magasin général 4 (Casterman) Writer/Écrivain * Mariko Tamaki - Emiko Superstar (DC/Minx), Skim (Groundwood Books) Cover/Couverture * Niko Henrichon – Hostile Tome 1 (Dupuis) Webcomics/Bandes Dessinées Web * Cameron Stewart – Sin Titulo Publisher/Éditeur * Les 400 Coups/Mécanique Générale Comics for Kids / Bandes Dessinées pour Enfants * Kean Soo, Jellaby Book 1 (Hyperion) Gene Day Award for Canadian Self-Publishers / Le Prix Gene Day pour Éditeurs Direct Canadian de Bandes Dessinées * Jesse Jacobs for Blue Winter, Shapes in the Snow. The Harry Kremer Award for Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Retailer /Le Prix Harry Kremer pour Détaillant Exceptionnel Canadien de Bandes Dessinées * Legends Comics and Books (Victoria, British Columbia) Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame / Temple de la renommée Créateur Canadien de Bandes Dessinées * George Menendez Rae (1906-1992) * Réal Godbout (1951-) * Ken Steacy (1955-) * Diana Schutz (1955-) Congratulations to all of the winners and the nominees!" The reason I published the cover of the winner of the Gene Day award: Jesse Jacobs for 'Blue Winter, Shapes in the Snow' at the top right of this blog post, is because I have blogged about Gene Day here before, of whom the award is named for. (Click this link for that story.)  I think it is great that there is a Canadian Awards Ceremony for Canadian creators and comics and related items.  Yes, there are cross-overs of Canadians working in American (USA) comics and graphic novels, but still it is important to honor local born creators in their own countries.  Matter of fact I had another Facebook Friend, (Bruce Durham), messaged me after learning I was going to blog about these awards that... "I don't think many people know that half of the creative team behind Superman was Canadian, and that the Daily Planet was named after the Daily (now Toronto) Star". So if You are aware of other countries that have 'local' awards ceremonies, feel free to email / message me about them as they come up!  I'm willing to read about them and possibly blog about those awards also! If you are on Facebook you can find out more about the Shuster Awards AND post your thoughts at their Facebook Fan Page at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6567185869   If you don't belong to Facebook... You can find out more from the Awards web site: http://joeshusterawards.com/  Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!  We do blog daily on comic book creators, comic book reviews, comic cons, and other pop culture news and events including some TV shows and theatrical films!   While You are here today... Please check out our new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale in our online eBay Featured Store that most of our blogs are based on!  It's due to sales at this online store that keep us going with the ability to post blogs like the one you have read here today! ! ~ Michael @  ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   "Hammering Out the Web For You Since May 12th, 1998!"   Note: If you breaking into or work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to us for review, send to: Make It So Marketing Inc PO Box 130653 Carlsbad, CA 92013             Thank You For Being One Of This Blog's NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently. The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768. All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners. CONVENTION PHOTOS:  I met both Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett when Tina and I attended the 2009 Comic Con International: San Diego (a.k.a SDCC).  There I was introduced to their Boilerplate Historical Society . I only have read their publicity items, not the actual publication, so have not reviewed it as of yet. They are having several events starting October 1st on this project.   You can find out more about their project at their Facebook Fan Page at:  http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=51587322755!  If you are a Facebook member and want to join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'.