The Harvey Awards are honouring the work of seven outstanding comic creators at New York Comic Con this week as they welcome Mike Mignola, Alison Bechdel, and five MAD Magazine alums to their Hall of Fame. Mignola, the co-creator of “Hellboy,” and Bechdel, the author of “Fun House,” will be inducted in person, while Jack Davis, Ben Oda, John Severin, Marie Severin and Will Elder, who all contributed outstanding work to MAD Magazine including its first issue, will be admitted posthumously.
The Harvey Awards began in 1988 and are named after Harvey Kurtzmann, the creator of MAD Magazine. It has been a permanent staple at NYCC since 2017, with this year’s awards held on October 4th at the Hudson Mercantile.
Previous Hall of Fame inductees include “Watchmen” artist Dave Gibbons and cartoonist Roz Chast. While previous years have limited Hall of Fame inductees to three per year, the induction of five MAD contributors seems especially appropriate after the de facto cancellation of the magazine earlier this year.
The Harvey Awards will also be holding their famous award ceremony, with six different categories including Book of the Year, Best Comics Adaptation, Best Manga Title and Best Children’s or Young Adult Book. Nominees have already been announced, with “Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me,” “Hey Kiddo,” and “On a Sunbeam” nominated in two different categories each.
NYCC will be held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center from October 3rd-6th and will feature the Harvey Awards and more.
