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{{Short description|American award honoring achievement in comic books}}
{{Infobox award
| name           = Harvey Awards
| current_awards =
| image          =
| imagesize      =
| caption        =
| awarded_for    = Achievement in [[comic books]]
| presenter      = Harvey Awards Executive Committee
| country        = [[United States]]
| location       = [[Chicago Comicon]] (1988)<br />[[Dallas Fantasy Fair]] (1989–1995)<br />[[WonderCon]] (1997–1999)<br />[[Pittsburgh Comicon]] (2000–2002)<br />[[MoCCA Festival]] (2004–2005)<br />[[Baltimore Comic-Con]] (2006–2016)<br/>[[New York Comic Con]] (2017–present)
| year           = {{Start date and age|1988}}
| year2          =
| previous = [[Kirby Awards]]
}}
The '''Harvey Awards''' are given for achievement in [[comic books]]. Named for writer-artist [[Harvey Kurtzman]], the Harvey Awards were founded by [[Gary Groth]] in 1988, president of the publisher [[Fantagraphics]], to be a successor to the [[Kirby Award]]s, which were discontinued in 1987.<ref>"Newswatch: Kirby Awards End In Controversy", ''The Comics Journal'' #122 (June 1988), pp. 19-20.</ref>

The Harvey Awards are now nominated by the Harvey Awards Nomination Committee.<ref name=2018change>{{Cite web |last1=MacDonald |first1=Heidi |author-link1=Heidi MacDonald |url=http://www.comicsbeat.com/details-of-the-2018-harvey-awards-announced-and-its-a-big-change/|title=Details of the 2018 Harvey Awards announced and it's a big change|date=2018-06-27|work=The Beat|access-date=2018-10-23|language=en-US}}</ref> The winners are selected by an open vote among comic-book professionals. The Harveys are no longer affiliated with Fantagraphics.{{when|date=January 2020}} The Harvey Awards Executive Committee is made up of unpaid volunteers, and the Awards are financed through sponsorships.<ref>[http://www.harveyawards.com/category/sponsors/ "Sponsors"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507103158/http://www.harveyawards.org/category/sponsors/ |date=2013-05-07 }} Harvey Awards official site. Retrieved May 3, 2013.</ref>

Since their inception, the awards have been hosted at a string of [[comic book conventions]], starting at the [[Chicago Comicon]], and subsequently moving to the [[Dallas Fantasy Fair]], [[Wondercon]], the [[Pittsburgh Comicon]], the [[MoCCA Festival]], the [[Baltimore Comic-Con]], and currently the [[New York Comic Con]].

== History ==
The Harvey Awards were created as an industry award voted on entirely by comics professionals (as opposed to awards such as the [[Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards]] and the [[Eagle Award (comics)|Eagle Awards]], which were also voted on by fans). The new awards established several categories that were new from their predecessor the [[Kirby Awards]], including awards for inking, lettering, coloring, and production design.<ref name=tcj>C. M. "Behind the Harveys," ''The Comics Journal'' #122 (June 1988), p. 19.</ref>

The Harvey Awards were initially sponsored by [[Fantagraphics]], the Texas-based retailer [[Lone Star Comics]], and the [[Eastern Region Comic Book Retailers Association]] (ERCBRA). Fantagraphics established the relationship with [[Harvey Kurtzman]], designed the ballots, and compiled a mailing list of more than 1,000 comics professionals. Employees at Lone Star Comics were in charge of tabulating the ballots.<ref name=tcj/>

The nominations for the first Harvey Awards were announced in May 1988,<ref name=tcj/> and the awards were presented at the [[Chicago Comicon]] in July 1988.<ref>Drevets, Tricia. "From Archie to Space Ghost," ''Chicago Tribune'' (01 July 1988), p. 15.</ref>

The [[Dallas Fantasy Fair]] hosted the awards from 1989 until the Fair's demise in 1996. The 1993 Awards presentation took place shortly after Kurtzman's death; weekend events at the convention were geared toward raising money to keep the awards going.<ref>Price, Michael H. "Harvey Kurtzman, Founder Of 'Mad', Remembered As A Comic-industry Giant," ''Ft. Worth Star-Telegram'' (March 06, 1993).</ref> Because the Dallas Fantasy Fair was cancelled at the last minute in July 1996,<ref>"People Watch," ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' (July 26, 1996), p. 7.</ref> the awards banquet/presentation was also cancelled. The awards were later mailed out to the recipients.<ref name=TCJ244>Dean, Michael. "Newswatch: 2002 Harvey Awards: Motivations and Mathematics," ''The Comics Journal'' #244 (June 2002), pp. 16–21.</ref>

[[WonderCon]] hosted the awards from 1997 to 1999.<ref name=CBR>George, Michael; George, Renee (January 24, 2003). [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=1745 "2003 Harvey Awards Banquet Cancelled, Awards Unaffected]. CBR.com.</ref> The 2000–2002 awards were presented at the [[Pittsburgh Comicon]],<ref name=Mervis>Mervis, Scott (April 27, 2001). "Heroic comeback," ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. p. 22.</ref> with [[Evan Dorkin]] serving as master of ceremonies. [[Jeff Smith (cartoonist)|Jeff Smith]] was the keynote speaker of the 2000 awards.<ref name=CBR/> [[Frank Miller (comics)|Frank Miller]] gave the keynote speech at the 2001 award ceremony, in which he vilified the [[Comic book collecting|comic book speculating]] industry, in particular [[Wizard (magazine)|''Wizard'' magazine]]. He ended his speech by tearing up a copy of ''Wizard''.<ref>Silvie, Matt. "Wizard Ripped as Pittsburgh Comicon Gains Prominence," ''The Comics Journal'' #234 (June 2001), pp. 16-17.</ref><ref name=Brady>Brady, Matt (Sept. 27, 2008). [http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090827-2008Harveys.html "Baltimore Comic Con '08: 2008 Harvey Awards Announced"]. Newsarama.</ref> [[Tony Millionaire]] gave the keynote speech at the 2002 awards ceremony. In 2003, due to a cancellation by scheduled keynote speaker [[Neil Gaiman]], funding shortages forced the cancellation of that year's ceremony and banquet (which had been scheduled for the Pittsburgh Comicon). The award winners were announced at the convention.<ref name=CBR/>

In 2004 and 2005, the presentation was held at the [[Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art]] [[MoCCA Festival]] in [[New York, New York|New York City]].<ref>[http://www.harveyawards.org/news_03.html HarveyAwards.org: "Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Announces 2004 Harveys Nominees"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719113251/http://www.harveyawards.org/news_03.html |date=2008-07-19 }}</ref><ref>Press release (May 13, 2005): [http://www.moccany.org/press.html "18th Annual Harvey Awards Winners to Be Announced in June 11 Ceremony in NYC"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024023347/http://moccany.org/press.html |date=2007-10-24 }}</ref>

In 2006<ref>[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=7200 "2006 Harvey Award Nominees Announced"]. CBR.com (June 1, 2006).</ref> the awards' presentation was moved to [[Baltimore Comic-Con]],<ref>Greenberger, Robert July 5, 2011. [http://l.wbx.me/l/?p=1&instId=31475212-8b66-4de5-93cd-d30be501a8e2&token=8e37c6bf750e496a74ca3be67c98263eb8a0044600000130fdb234d5&u=http://www.comicmix.com/news/2011/07/05/here-are-your-2011-harvey-award-nominees/ "Here are your 2011 Harvey Award nominees"]{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. [[ComicMix]].</ref> where it was subsequently held annually through 2016. During this era, Paul McSpadden served as the Harvey Awards administrator.<ref>Draper Carlson, Johanna. [http://comicsworthreading.com/2016/10/14/harvey-awards-leaving-baltimore-new-home-not-disclosed/ "Harvey Awards Leaving Baltimore, New Home Not Disclosed"] Comics Worth Reading (October 14, 2016).</ref>

Beginning on October 7, 2017, the Harvey Award ceremony was moved to the [[New York Comic Con]]. The first year, only a small reception honoring the legacy of Harvey Kurtzman was held, and no nominations or voting took place.<ref>Arrant, Chris (August 2, 2017). [https://www.newsarama.com/35779-harvey-awards-moves-to-new-york-comic-con.html "HARVEY AWARDS Reboots, Skips 2017, Moves to NEW YORK COMIC CON"]. August 2, 2017</ref> Darwyn Cooke was posthumously awarded Harvey Awards Hall of Fame induction, presented by Adam Kubert and accepted by Cooke's widow Marsha.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/harvey-awards-hall-of-fame-inducts-darwyn-cooke-at-nycc-0|title=Harvey Awards Hall of Fame inducts Darwyn Cooke at NYCC|last=Siegel|first=Lucas|date=2017-09-30|website=SYFY WIRE|language=en|access-date=2020-01-30|archive-date=2020-01-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128222311/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/harvey-awards-hall-of-fame-inducts-darwyn-cooke-at-nycc-0|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2018, the 30th anniversary of the awards was celebrated with a full ceremony held during the convention.<ref>Swapna, Krishna (August 2, 2017). [http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/the-harvey-awards-are-moving-to-new-york-comic-con "The Harvey Awards are Moving to New York Comic Con"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304060043/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/the-harvey-awards-are-moving-to-new-york-comic-con |date=2021-03-04 }}. [[SyFy]].</ref> Beginning that year, the Harvey Awards were revised to six new categories for the main awards and three possible Special Awards. The main award nominations go to works instead of individuals. The nomination process was also revamped to be done by a selection committee instead of an open vote.  Final selection for the main awards was still done by an open vote by industry professionals.<ref name=2018change />

In 2019, the Harvey Awards gala was held on October 4, at an invite only gala in New York City during New York Comic Con. In addition to announcing the winners in the individual nominated categories, seven creators were inducting into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame including [[Mike Mignola]] and [[Alison Bechdel]]. The inclusion of an additional five creators inducted posthumously, [[Will Elder]], [[Jack Davis (cartoonist)|Jack Davis]], [[Marie Severin]], [[John Severin]], and [[Ben Oda]], served to correct past omissions. In regards to these additional inductees, the ''[[New York Times]]'' quoted Harvey Awards co-chair John Lind as explaining “We decided to balance the induction class with some of the past creators who may have been overlooked.”<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/25/arts/harvey-awards-comic-books.html|title=Harvey Awards Hall of Fame to Induct New Members|last=Gustines|first=George Gene|date=2019-09-25|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-01-30|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In October 2020, the Harvey Awards were presented during a virtual ceremony broadcast "as part of [[New York Comic Con]] and [[MCM Comic Con]]’s Metaverse, hosted by [[Vivek Tiwary]] and featuring appearances from [[Gene Luen Yang]], [[Neil Gaiman]], [[Jill Thompson]] and [[Damon Lindelof]]".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=McMillan|first=Graeme|date=October 5, 2020|title=2020 Harvey Award Winners Revealed|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/2020-harvey-award-winners-revealed|access-date=2020-10-05|website=Hollywood Reporter}}</ref>

==Categories==
The [[List of Harvey Award winners|Harvey Awards]] are awarded in the following categories:

===Current awards===
As of 2020, awards are presented in six main categories:<ref name=2018change /><ref>{{cite web |last1=MacDonald |first1=Heidi |author-link1=Heidi MacDonald |title=2018 Harvey Award Winners Announced|url=https://www.comicsbeat.com/2018-harvey-award-winners-announced/|work=Comics Beat|date=October 6, 2018}}</ref><ref name=":0" />
*Book of the Year
*Digital Book of the Year
*Best Children's or Young Adult Book
*Best Adaptation From a Comic
*Best Manga Title
*Best International Book

Special Awards chosen by the Harvey Awards Executive Committee:
*Harvey Hall of Fame Award
*International Spotlight Award
*Comics Industry Pioneer Award

===Previous awards===
*Best European Book
*Best Writer
*Best Artist or Penciller
*Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist)
*Best Inker
*Best Letterer
*Best Colorist
*Best Cover Artist
*Best New Series
*Best Continuing or Limited Series
*Best Single Issue or Story
*Best Graphic Album ''(discontinued after 1990)''
*Best Graphic Album of Original Work
*Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work
*Best Anthology
*Best Syndicated Strip or Panel
*Best Biographical, Historical, or Journalistic Presentation
*Best American Edition of Foreign Material
*Best Domestic Reprint Project
*Best New Talent
*Best Online Comics Work
*Special Award for Humor
*Special Award for Excellence in Production/Presentation
*The Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award
*The Jack Kirby Hall of Fame

== Ceremonies, winners, nominees ==

* [[1988 Harvey Award nominees and winners]]

==Winners==
{{main|List of Harvey Award winners}}
{{See also|:Category:Harvey Award winners}}

==See also==
*[[Alley Award]]
*[[Bill Finger Award]]
*[[Eagle Awards|Eagle Award]]
*[[Eisner Award]]
*[[Inkpot Awards|Inkpot Award]]
*[[Kirby Award]]
*[[National Comics Awards|National Comics Award]]
*[[Russ Manning Award]]
*[[Shazam Award]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite web |url=http://www.harveyawards.org/ |title=Harvey Awards official website |access-date=August 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150818170308/http://www.harveyawards.org/ |archive-date=August 18, 2015 |url-status=dead }}Later from March 21, 2017.
*[http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/harvey.php Harvey Kurtzman Awards] 1988–2007, Comic Book Awards Almanac. [https://web.archive.org/web/20180313093953/http://www.hahnlibrary.net:80/comics/awards/harvey.php Archived] from the original on March 12, 2018.

{{Fantagraphics-sponsored awards}}
{{Harvey Kurtzman navbox}}
{{American Comic Book Industry Awards}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Comics awards]]
[[Category:Harvey Kurtzman]]
[[Category:Awards established in 1988]]
[[Category:1988 establishments in the United States]]