Most of the Eisner Award nominees were announced back in April, but this past weekend the 20 finalists for the annual Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award were named; thanks to ComicsPRO for the list.
This year’s crop includes comic book shops from around the country, as well as Israel, England and two from Canada. The award is based on the diversity of product offered, knowledge of the field, community involvement, quality of displays and design, and, this is of course important, “adherence to standard ethical business practices.” If you’ve won before — Tate’s Comics in Ft. Lauderdale took home the trophy last year — you’re not eligible to win again. This Eisners, an annual part of Comic-Con International, take place starting 8:30 p.m. this Friday night in the Indigo Room at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, nice and close to the convention center.
Full list of nominees after the jump.
A Comic Shop
Aaron Hoaland & Jason Blanchard
Winter Park, FL
Acme Comics
Jermaine Exum & Mark Austin
Greensboro, NC
Astro-Zombies
Mike D’Elia
Albuquerque, NM
Atomic Comics
Mike Malve
Chandler, AZ
Challengers Comics and Conversions
Patrick Brower and W. Dal Bush
Chicago, IL
Comic Book Ink
John & Sarah Munn
Tacoma, WA
Comic Bug
Mike Wellman & Jun Goeku
Manhattan Beach, CA
The Comic Vault
Matthew Sardo
Chicago, IL
Comics & Vegetables
Yuval Sharon, Danny Amitai
Tel-Aviv, Israel
The Dragon
Jennifer Stewart
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy
David Wheeler
Austin, TX
Green Brain Comics
Katie & Dan Merritt
Dearborn, MI
Lightning Comics
Tim Boal
Coeur d’Alene, ID
Not Just Comix
David Easter
Park Hills, MO
Packrat Comics
Jamie and Teresa Colegrove
Hillard, OH
R-Galaxy
Rick & Maritza Keefe
Tucson, AZ
Travelling Man
Nabil Homsi
Manchester, England, UK
Up Up & Away
Kendall Swafford
Cincinnati, OH
Vault of Midnight
Curtis Sullivan & Steve Fodale
Ann Arbor, MI
Warp 1 Comics and Games
Dave Bryenton & James Steer
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
