Announced back in October of 2025, comics has a new award: The Jack and Roz Kirby Awards, aka The Kirbys.
Created by CAF, The Estate of Jack Kirby (Kirby Estate) as represented by The Rosalind Kirby Family Trust, and The Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center (Kirby Museum), The Kirbys are, per PR, “an annual award recognizing innovation, excellence, and humanity in narrative communication.” That opens them up beyond comics, and in fact there are six awards categories: New Voices, Independent Spirit, Innovator, Visionary, Storyteller, and Teacher.
“The first Jack & Roz Kirby Awards was a wonderful and meaningful event due in large part to the incredible contributions and goodwill of all involved,” said Kasra Ghanbari, CEO of CNHP and Creator of the Jack & Roz Kirby Awards via press release. “I want to especially thank both Tracy Kirby and Jeremy Kirby, who were in attendance with their family members along with Tom Kraft and Rand Hoppe of the Kirby Museum. Looking forward, the 2027 Kirby Awards will have an expanded Advisory Board and Voting Committee, which will be announced by June with the 2027 award process starting in July and ending by October.”
In order to win a Kirby, works needs to be English only (original or translated), you must be alive at the time of the nomination, and after winning, you’re ineligible of being nominated again for five years. There are also no geographic limits to who can be nominated.
…But you don’t care about any of that, you just want to know who won. As announced at OAX (Orlando Art Expo) on February 21 in Florida, here are the full awards winners:
Core Awards
The five Core Awards reflect attributes of Jack Kirby and of dedicated, lifelong creators. Voting Committee members have the exclusive responsibility to provide up to two nominations per category and are the sole voters for these categories.
INDEPENDENCE: Winner – Nate Powell
“one who remains steadfast and fierce”
The nominee has demonstrated the ability to operate outside the confines of established systems and control structures to freely create works that express deeply personal beliefs, themes, and values without censorship and commercial pressure.
INNOVATOR: Winner – Bill Sienkiewicz
“one distinguished by new methods, approaches, and ideas”
The nominee has demonstrated clear innovation in methods, techniques, styles, storytelling, solutions, and/or packaging, and in so doing, has challenged the status quo and expanded the possibilities for all.
VISIONARY: Winner – Kevin Nowlan
“one distinguished by vital originality”
The nominee has demonstrated the ability to display and communicate worlds, characters, ideas, symbols, and realities beyond our current norms and understanding in contributing to our general comprehension and evolution.
NEWCOMER: Winner – Zoe Thorogood
“one to support in all ways”
The nominee has demonstrated early in their artistic life unique capabilities, viewpoints, perspectives, dedication, and perseverance that invites the possibility of consistently unique and impactful works being created.
STORYTELLER: Winner – John Romita, Jr.
“one adept at shared human connection”
The nominee has demonstrated the ability to synthesize the complex and varied components of storytelling to powerfully connect with, engage, and impact others.
Legacy Awards
The two Legacy Awards are a type of career achievement award, one of which is rooted in a fundamental character trait of a distinguished creator, and the other recognizing the underlying quality, innovation, importance, and distinction of a creator’s body of work. Nominations are electively provided by all Oversight Council, Advisory Board, and Voting Committee members and then voted on by the Oversight Council and Voting Committee.
CREATOR: Winner – John Byrne
“one whose life’s work is exemplar for those to come”
The nominee has demonstrated the desire, ability, and commitment to time and again reenter the creative process and engage the often unpredictable and arduous creative journey towards conveying to us new stories, characters, themes, symbols, and possibilities.
TEACHER: Winner – Walter Simonson
“one who suspends self and readily bestows experience and guidance”
The nominee has demonstrated the rare and critical ability to take that which they’ve experienced and learned and in a natural and discerning manner communicate their knowledge to others in a way that’s timely, uplifting, and impactful.
Comic Book Club Live Info:
Share this:
Discover more from Comic Book Club
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.