We’re deep into the summer’s award season for comics and pop culture literature, with The Eisner Awards bestowing their honours over many disciplines at last months San Diego Comic-Con, you’ve got the Hugos glittering presentation this coming weekend… And now we’ve got the shortlisted nominees revealed for the 2025 edition of The Harvey Awards.
The Harvey Awards are one of the comic industries oldest and most beloved honours, names after the much-revered MAD Magazine cartoonist Harvey Kurtzman and running since 1988, with the official website reminding us that the Awards ‘shines a spotlight… across the brightest and the best’, covering everything from ‘…comic books to manga’ [still comics] ‘…to graphic novels’ [yup, also still comics].
The differing element of the Harveys, however, is they have maintained a streamlined catagory list from the get-go and they don’t drill down into the numerous sub-classes other awards may have done over the years, presenting in just seven categories: Book Of The Year, Digital Book Of The Year, Best Children’s Book, Best Young Adult Book, Best Adaptation from Comic Book/Graphic Novel, Best Manga and Best Internatiional Book. Keeps the presentation – held this year at New York Comic Con on Friday 10th October – nice and tight. More time to hit the bar and the celebratory cocktails after.
Selected by a curated committee of industry voices including creators, publishers, retailers, educators, and librarians, administered by an esteemed panel (Alex Rae, Camilla Di Persia, and Chris D’Lando of ReedPop) and voted for by professionals in the comics industry, here are the runners and riders of this years Harvey Awards 2025…
HARVEY AWARDS UNVEIL 2025 NOMINEES
Annual Harvey Awards Celebration to Honor Outstanding Work in Comics During This Year’s New York Comic Con
The Harvey Awards today announced the nominations and opened voting for the 2025 awards across the following categories: Book of the Year, Digital Book of the Year, Best Children’s Book, Best Young Adult Book, Best Manga, Best International Book, and Best Adaptation from Comic Book/Graphic Novel. The nominees for the 2025 Harvey Awards are:
BOOK OF THE YEAR
- BENEATH THE TREES WHERE NOBODY SEES by Patrick Horvath (IDW Publishing)
- FINAL CUT by Charles Burns (Pantheon)
- HELEN OF WYNDHORN by Tom King & Bilquis Evely (Dark Horse)
- PRECIOUS METAL: FROM THE WORLD OF LITTLE BIRD by Darcy Van Poelgeest & Ian Bertram (Image Comics)
- ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN, VOL. 1 by Jonathan Hickman & Marco Checchetto (Marvel Comics)
DIGITAL BOOK OF THE YEAR
- CASTLE SWIMMER by Wendy Lian Martin (Webtoon)
- MORGANA AND OZ by Miyuli (Webtoon)
- THE MAFIA NANNY by SH00 & Violet Matter (Webtoon)
- RESENTER by Gigi Murakami (VIZ Manga)
- SARAH’S SCRIBBLES by Sarah Anderson (Go Comics)
BEST CHILDREN’S BOOK
- THE CARTOONISTS CLUB by Raina Telgemeier & Scott McCloud (Graphix)
- CHICKENPOX by Remy Lai (Allen & Unwin)
- FREE PIANO (NOT HAUNTED) by Whitney Gardner (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
- MIXED-UP by Kami Garcia & Brittney Williams (First Second)
- SONG FOR YOU AND I by Kay O’Neil (RH Graphic)
- WEIRDO by Tony Weaver Jr, Jess Wibowo & Cin Wibowo (First Second)
BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOK
- ASH’S CABIN by Jen Wang (First Second)
- HOW IT ALL ENDS by Emma Hunsinger (Greenwillow Books)
- NAVIGATIONG WITH YOU by Jeremy Whitley, Cassio Ribeiro & Nikki Foxrobot (Maverick/Mad Cave)
- RAISED BY GHOSTS by Briana Loewinsohn (Fantagraphics)
- STRANGE BEDFELLOWS by Ariel Slamet Ries (HarperAlley)
BEST MANGA
- THE GUY SHE WAS INTERESTED IN WASN’T A GUY AT ALL by Sumiko Arai; translated by Ajani Oloye (Yen Press)
- THE SUMMER HIKARU DIED by Mokumokuren; translated by Ajani Oloye (Yen Press)
- TOKYO THESE DAYS by Taiyo Matsumoto; translated by Michael Arias (Viz Media)
- WIND BREAKER by Satoru Nii; translated by Jacqueline Fung (Kodansha Comics)
- WITCH HAT ATELIER by Kamome Shirahama; translated by Stephen Kohler (Kodansha Comics)
BEST INTERNATIONAL BOOK
- BLACKSAD: THEY ALL FALL DOWN, PART 2 by Juan Díaz Canales & Juanjo Guarnido; translated by Diana Schutz & Brandon Kaner (Dark Horse Books)
- MOTHBALLS by Sole Otero; translated by Andrea Rosenberg (Fantagraphics)
- MUYBRIDGE by Guy Delisle; translated by Helge Dascher & Rob Aspinall (Drawn & Quarterly)
- SUNDAY by Olivier Schrauwen (Fantagraphics)
- THE ROAD: A GRAPHIC NOVEL ADAPTATION by Manu Larcenet; from the novel by Cormac McCarthy (Abrams)
BEST ADAPTATION FROM COMIC BOOK / GRAPHIC NOVEL
- AGATHA ALL ALONG (Disney+), showrun by Jac Schaeffer. Based on Agatha Harkness (Marvel Comics), created by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
- BERLIN: THE PLAY (Court Theatre), adapted by Mickle Maher & directed by Charles Newell. Based on Berlin by Jason Lutes (Drawn & Quarterly)
- BOOP!: THE MUSICAL with music by David Foster, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, and book by Bob Martin. Based on Betty Boop created by Max Fleischer & Grim Natwick
- CAT KID COMIC CLUB: THE MUSICAL with music by Brad Alexander, book and lyrics by Kevin Del Aguila. Based on Cat Kid Comic Club by Dav Pilkey (Graphix)
- DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN (Disney+), showrun by Dario Scardapane. Inspired by Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli. Daredevil created by Stan Lee & Bill Everett
- THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS (Marvel Studios), directed by Matt Shakman. Based on The Fantastic Four (Marvel Comics), created by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
- PAYING FOR IT, directed by Sook-Yin Lee. Based on Paying For It by Chester Brown (Drawn & Quarterly)
- THE PENGUIN, SEASON 1 (Max Original), showrun by Lauren LeFranc. Based on The Penguin (DC Comics), created by Bob Kane & Bill Finger
- SUPERMAN (DC Studios), directed by James Gunn. Based on Superman (DC Comics), created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Schuster
- THUNDERBOLTS* (Marvel Studios), directed by Jake Schreier. Based on Thunderbolts (Marvel Comics), created by Kurt Busiek & Mark Bagley
“With the new Harvey Awards at NYCC, our goal is to bring the year’s best graphic works to the fore,” said Nellie Kurtzman, chair of the Harvey Awards Executive Committee. “As a reader, seeing a book acknowledged by the Harvey Awards should ensure you’re picking up the best our industry has to offer. As a librarian, educator or retailer – the Harvey Awards should help guide you towards quality material. With the help of the new nomination and voting procedures, our goal is to help new and old fans alike find the best work the comics medium has to offer.”
There’s three more catagories – Comics Industry Pioneer Award, International Spotlight Award and the Harvey Hall Of Fame Award, selected by the Harvey Awards Executive Committee (aka, the Stonecutters) (I’m kidding!) and those recipients will be announced on the night. Cash bribes and fruit baskets to be forwarded to the usual addresses.
