Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story or Comic
| Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story or Comic | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | The best science fiction or fantasy story told in graphic form and published in the prior calendar year |
| Presented by | World Science Fiction Society |
| First award | 2009 |
| Most recent winner | Ryan North (writer) and Chris Fenoglio (artist) (Star Trek: Lower Decks – Warp Your Own Way) |
| Website | Official website |
The Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story or Comic is given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories told in graphic form and published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. It has been awarded annually since 2009.[1] Prior to 2020, the award was known as the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story.[2] The Hugo Awards have been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction" and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing".[3][4]
In the 21 nomination years, 118 works from 76 series have been finalists, including Retro-Hugos. Works from 14 different series have won the award, including Retro-Hugos. Girl Genius, written by Kaja and Phil Foglio, drawn by Phil Foglio, and colored by Cheyenne Wright, won the first three awards. After their third straight win in 2011, the Girl Genius team announced that, in order to show the category was a "viable award", they were refusing nomination for the following year (after which the award was up for re-ratification); Girl Genius was a finalist a fourth time in 2014.[5] For the following five years, the award was taken by a different series or work every year, and included both webcomics and installments of published series. The 2017–2019 awards saw the second series to win three times, Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda's Monstress, and was followed since by different works each year until 2024, when Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples's Saga won for a second time. The three Retro Hugos were won by early comic books such as Bill Finger and Bob Kane's Batman #1, William Moulton Marston and H. G. Peter's Wonder Woman #5: "Battle for Womanhood", and Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's Superman: "The Mysterious Mr. Mxyzptlk". Saga has the most final ballot nominations at eight, followed by Monstress at seven and Howard Tayler's Schlock Mercenary at five, while Bill Willingham's Fables, Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang's Paper Girls, and Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon have been nominated four times. Nine other works have at least two nominations.
Selection
[edit]Hugo Award nominees and winners are chosen by supporting or attending members of the annual World Science Fiction Convention, or Worldcon, and the presentation evening constitutes its central event. The selection process is defined in the World Science Fiction Society Constitution as instant-runoff voting with six finalists, except in the case of a tie as happened in 2009. The graphic stories on the ballot are the six most-nominated by members that year, with no limit on the number of stories that can be nominated. Initial nominations are made by members in January through March, while voting on the ballot of six finalists is performed roughly in April through July, subject to change depending on when that year's Worldcon is held.[6] Prior to 2017, the final ballot was five works; it was changed that year to six, with each initial nominator limited to five nominations.[7] Worldcons are generally held near the start of September, and are held in a different city around the world each year.[8][9] In addition to the regular Hugo awards, between 1996 and 2025, Retrospective Hugo Awards or "Retro-Hugos" were available for works published 50, 75, or 100 years prior. Retro-Hugos could only be awarded for years after 1939 in which no awards were originally given.[10] Retro-Hugo awards were given for graphic stories only for 1941 and 1944.[11]
Winners and finalists
[edit]In the following table, the years correspond to the date of the ceremony, rather than when the story was first published. Entries with a yellow background have won the award; those with a gray background are the other finalists.
* Winners and joint winners
Retro Hugos
[edit]Between the 1996 Worldcon and 2025 Worldcon, the World Science Fiction Society had the concept of "Retro-Hugos", in which the Hugo award could be retroactively awarded for 50, 75, or 100 years prior.[10][30] Retro-Hugos could only be awarded for years after 1939 (the year of the first Worldcon) in which no Hugos were originally awarded.[10] The only times the Graphic Story category both existed and received enough nominations to support a Retro Hugo category was in 2016 for 1941, 2019 for 1944, and 2020 for 1945.[11][19]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Hugo Award Rules Changes". World Science Fiction Society. August 8, 2009. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ↑ "WSFS Business Meeting Minutes Dublin 2019" (PDF). wsfs.org. pp. 12–13. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
The question was then called and seconded, and there was no objection. By a show of hands, the change was ratified and took effect at the end of Dublin 2019
- ↑ Jordison, Sam (August 7, 2008). "An International Contest We Can Win". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 29, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
- ↑ Cleaver, Emily (April 20, 2010). "Hugo Awards Announced". Litro Magazine. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
- ↑ "Hugo Acceptance Speech #3". Girl Genius Online Comics!. Airship Entertainment. August 31, 2011. Archived from the original on September 1, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
- ↑ "The Hugo Awards: Introduction". World Science Fiction Society. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
- ↑ "Worldcon 75: 2017 Hugo report #2" (PDF). Worldcon 75. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 15, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
- ↑ "The Locus index to SF Awards: About the Hugo Awards". Locus. Archived from the original on January 3, 2010. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
- ↑ "World Science Fiction Society / Worldcon". World Science Fiction Society. Archived from the original on April 14, 2009. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
- 1 2 3 "The Hugo Awards: FAQ". World Science Fiction Society. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
- 1 2 "The Locus index to SF Awards: About the Retro Hugo Awards". Locus. Oakland, California: Locus. Archived from the original on January 3, 2010. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2009 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. August 18, 2009. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "2010 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. November 10, 2010. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "2011 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. April 25, 2011. Archived from the original on May 4, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "2012 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. April 7, 2012. Archived from the original on April 9, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "2013 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. December 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "2014 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. April 18, 2014. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "2015 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. March 31, 2015. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2016 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. December 29, 2015. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2017 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. December 31, 2016. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2018 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. March 15, 2018. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2019 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. September 18, 2019. Archived from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2020 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. April 7, 2020. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2021 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. December 18, 2021. Archived from the original on January 3, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2022 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. September 4, 2022. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2023 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. July 6, 2023. Archived from the original on July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2024 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. March 29, 2024. Archived from the original on August 12, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2025 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. August 17, 2025. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2026 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. April 21, 2026. Archived from the original on April 22, 2026.
- ↑ Glyer, Mike (July 19, 2025). "Seattle Worldcon 2025 July 19 Business Meeting Session". File 770. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "1941 Retro Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. December 29, 2015. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "1944 Retro Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. July 28, 2019. Archived from the original on October 4, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "1945 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. April 7, 2020. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
External links
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