Goethe Awards

The Goethe Award, later known as the Comic Fan Art Award, was an American series of comic book fan awards, first presented in 1971 for comics published in 1970. The award originated with the fanzine Newfangles and then shared close ties with The Buyer's Guide to Comics Fandom.

Not to be confused with Goethe Prize.
Goethe Award / Comic Fan Art Award
Awarded forExcellence in comic books, as voted on by fans
VenueComic Art Convention (1972, 1974)
CountryUnited States of America
Presented byNewfangles / The Buyer's Guide to Comics Fandom
First awarded1971
Last awarded1976

The Goethe Award was named after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; Goethe was the person who encouraged Rodolphe Töpffer, "the father of comic strips," to publish his stories.[1]

The Comic Art Convention (CAC) twice hosted the presentation of the awards, at the 1972 and 1974 CACs. The format and balloting of the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards, presented by the Comics Buyer's Guide from 1982 to circa 2010, were in many ways derived from the Goethe Award/Comic Fan Art Award.

Overview

The Goethe Awards/Comic Fan Art Awards were tallied yearly for comic books produced during the previous year, and were given out in the following categories for "professional" comics:

  • Favorite Pro Artist (changed to Favorite Penciller for the 1975 awards)
  • Favorite Inker (1975 awards only)
  • Favorite Pro Writer
  • Favorite Pro Editor
  • Favorite Pro Comic Book
  • Favorite Comic-Book Story
  • Favorite Comic-Book Character

In addition, awards were given out in the following categories for the fanzine/small press world:

  • Favorite Fan Writer
  • Favorite Fan Artist
  • Favorite Underground Comic (changed to Favorite Non-Newsstand Comic for the 1973 awards, and then discontinued)
  • Favorite Fanzine

History

Don & Maggie Thompson created the Goethe Awards in 1971; the Goethe Awards for comics published in 1970 were first published in a 1971 issue of their fanzine Newfangles.[2]

Nominations for the 1972 Goethe Awards (for comics published in 1971) ballot were initially published in The Buyer's Guide to Comics Fandom (TBG),[3] The Monster Times,[4] and Graphic Story World.[5] Nominations were sent in from 335 readers. Ultimately, there were 7 categories with 4-7 nominees in each category. 700 fans voted for the final nominees.[6] The 1972 Goethe Awards were presented July 3, 1972, at the Comic Art Convention, New York City, in a ceremony emceed by Tony Isabella and Carl Gafford.[6] The award results were also published in Comic Art News & Reviews.[7]

Ballots for the 1973 awards (for comics published in 1972) were printed in TBG, Comic Crusader, The Comic Reader, the Gazette Advertiser, The Menomonee Falls Gazette, and Rocket's Blast Comicollector. 1,011 fans cast their votes.[6] The results were published in The Buyer's Guide to Comics Fandom #38 (June 15, 1973).

In 1974, the Thompsons grew frustrated with perceived ballot-stuffing[2] and passed the awards to Tony Isabella, who changed the name to the Comic Fan Art Awards.[6] The awards for comics published in 1973 were presented at the 1974 Comic Art Convention,[8] held at the Commodore Hotel, New York City. They were later published in TBG #63 (Aug. 1, 1974).[6]

The final Comic Fan Art Awards (for comics published in 1974) were co-administered by Ken Gale[9] and were not announced until TBG #123 (March 26, 1976).[6]

In 1982, the Comics Buyer's Guide (the successor to The Buyer's Guide to Comics Fandom), began presenting their Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards, in many ways modeled on the Goethe Award/Comic Fan Art Award.

Winners

People

Favorite Pro Artist/Penciller

Favorite Inker

Favorite Pro Writer

Favorite Pro Editor

Favorite Fan Writer

Favorite Fan Artist

Works

Favorite Pro Comic Book

Favorite Underground Comic/Non-Newsstand Comic

Favorite Comic-Book Story

Favorite Comic-Book Character:

Favorite Fanzine

References
  1. Thierry Groensteen and Benoît Peeters, Töpffer, l'invention de la bande dessinée, Paris: Hermann, "Savoir : sur l'art" Collection, 1994, p. 83).
  2. Thompson, Maggie. "Comics Fan Awards 1961-1970" Comics Buyer's Guide (August 19, 2005). Archived September 14, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  3. The Buyer's Guide to Comics Fandom #14 (Apr. 1972).
  4. "Comix Freex Rally! Unite! Vote for your favorite comix!", The Monster Times #7 (Apr. 26, 1972), pp. 6-8.
  5. "The 1971 Goethe Awards," Graphic Story World, v. 2, #2 (whole #6) (July 1972), p. 29.
  6. Miller, John Jackson. "GOETHE/COMIC FAN ART AWARD WINNERS, 1971-74," Comics Buyer's Guide (July 19, 2005). Archived September 20, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  7. Seiler, Rick. "Telegraphics," Comic Art News & Reviews v. 1, #1 (Sept. 1972), pp. 3-4.
  8. Bender entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Accessed Feb. 4, 2016.
  9. Gale entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Accessed Feb. 4, 2016.
  10. Adams entry, Who's Who in Comic Books: 1928–1999. Accessed Feb. 3, 2016.
  11. O'Neil entry, Who's Who in Comic Books: 1928–1999. Accessed Feb. 3, 2016.
  12. Thomas entry, Who's Who in Comic Books: 1928–1999. Accessed Feb. 3, 2016.
  13. The Comic Reader #90 (October 1972).
  14. Don Thompson entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Accessed Feb. 4, 2016.
  15. Newton entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Accessed Feb. 4, 2016.
  16. Stern, Martin. "Fans Create a Comicbook Culture," The Michigan Daily (Sept. 1972).
  17. Paul Levitz entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Accessed Feb. 4, 2016.
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