AAEC President Nick Anderson of the Houston Chronicle and WPWG said a major reason for the Ink Bottle honor was Bennett’s work as AAEC president in 2005-6. During that “tumultuous and eventful” time, recalled Anderson, Bennett worked on such things as finding a new management company for the AAEC, upgrading the organization’s Web site, diversifying the AAEC’s membership by attracting more alternative cartoonists, and responding to the eliminations of high-profile cartoonist positions at the Los Angeles Times and The Sun of Baltimore.

» Jerry Craft, creator of Mama’s Boyz, has illustrated a new children’s book called “Hillary’s Big Business Adventure” for children ages 4-8.

» Hong Kong-based cartoonist Larry Feign has had his comic strip Do Not Disturb adapted to stage and television. The comic strip, which only appears only on his website, attracted the attention of Former BBC script writer Lawrence Gray liked the premise of a work-at-home father as the basis for a live action television series.

» Tom Richmond’s MAD blog is celebrating its second anniversary. Congrats on a fine publication, Tom.

» Retail creator Norm Feuti is working on a second strip.

» Single and Looking (AKA Out of the Gene Pool) may have left newspapers, but fans can pick up a copy of Matt Janz’ book collection of the feature over at lulu.com.

» Keith Knight, creator of The Knight Life, was recently featured in the Washington Post’s “Meet the Comics Pages” online chat. Transcript has been posted.

» Ed Hall was recently honored in the first Sunshine Sunday Award for Editorial Cartoons. The award is presented by the First Amendment Foundation and is given to the best political cartoon created for Sunshine Week.

In the category of Best Online Comic, the nominees are: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Jeff Kinney), EZ Street (Robert Tinnell and Mark Wheatley), Penny Arcade (Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik), Perry Bible Fellowship (Nicholas Gurewitch), and Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo (Dwight L. Macpherson, Thomas Boatwright and Thomas Mauer).

The other categories are listed below:

BEST WRITER

Ed Brubaker, Captain America, Marvel Comics
Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Amulet Books
Grant Morrison, All Star Superman, DC Comics
William Van Horn, Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Gemstone
Brian K. Vaughan, Y: The Last Man, Vertigo/DC Comics

BEST ARTIST

Gabriel Ba, Umbrella Academy, Dark Horse Comics
John Cassaday, Astonishing X-Men, Marvel Comics
Guy Davis, BPRD, Dark Horse Comics
Frank Quitely, All Star Superman, DC Comics
William Van Horn, Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Gemstone

BEST CARTOONIST

Darwyn Cooke, The Spirit, DC Comics
Matt Kindt, Super Spy, Top Shelf
Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Amulet Books
Bryan Lee O’Malley, Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, Oni Press
Vasilis Lolos, Last Call, Oni Press
William Van Horn, Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Gemstone

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM - ORIGINAL

The Arrival, Scholastic Books
Donald Duck: The Case of the Missing Mummy, Gemstone
Exit Wounds, Drawn & Quarterly
Laika, First Second
Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, Oni Press

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM - PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED

The Annotated Northwest Passage, Oni Press
Antiques, Volume 1, Gemstone
Captain America Omnibus, Volume 1, Marvel Comics
Damned, Volume 1, Oni Press
Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born, Marvel Comics

BEST DOMESTIC REPRINT PROJECT

Complete Peanuts, Fantagraphics Books
Complete Terry and the Pirates, IDW
EC Archives, Gemstone
Popeye, Fantagraphics Books
Walt and Skeezix, Drawn & Quarterly

BEST AMERICAN EDITION OF FOREIGN MATERIAL

Eduardo Risso’s Tales of Terror, Dynamite Entertainment
Exit Wounds, Drawn & Quarterly
Manga Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, Abrams
Moomin, Volume 2, Drawn & Quarterly
Witchblade Manga, Top Cow/Image

SPECIAL AWARD FOR HUMOR

Chris Eliopoulos, Franklin Richards series, Marvel Comics
Nicholas Gurewitch, Perry Bible Fellowship, www.pbfcomics.com
Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Amulet Books
Bryan Lee O’Malley, Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, Oni Press
William Van Horn, Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Gemstone

SPECIAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRESENTATION

The Annotated Northwest Passage, Scott Chantler, Oni Press
Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney, Amulet Books
EC Archives, Various, edited by John Clark, Gemstone
Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened, edited by Jason Rodriguez, Villard
Super Spy, Matt Kindt, Top Shelf

BEST SINGLE ISSUE OR STORY

Alice in Sunderland, Dark Horse Comics
All Star Superman # 8, DC Comics
Captain America # 25, Marvel Comics
Donald Duck: The Case of the Missing Mummy, Gemstone
I Killed Adolf Hitler, Fantagraphics Books
Immortal Iron Fist # 7, Marvel Comics
Stephen Colbert’s Tek Jansen # 1, Oni Press

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL OR JOURNALISTIC PRESENTATION

Blah Blah Blog, Tom Brevoort, http://www.marvel.com/blogs/Tom%20Brevoort/
The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth and Michael Dean, Fantagraphics Books
Meanwhile…Comics!, John, Jason and Scott, http://www.meanwhilecomics.com
The Naked Artist: Comic Book Legends, Bryan Talbot and Hunt Emerson,
Moonstone Books
Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, edited by J.C. Vaughn, Gemstone
Reading Comics: How Graphic Albums Work and What They Mean, Douglas Wolk,
Da Capo Press

BEST COVER ARTIST

John Cassaday, Astonishing X-Men, Marvel Comics
Marko Djurdjevic, Daredevil, Marvel Comics
James Jean, Fables, Vertigo/DC Comics
Mike Mignola, Hellboy, Dark Horse Comics
William Van Horn, Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Gemstone

BEST LETTERER

Chris Eliopoulos, Daredevil, Marvel Comics
Jared K. Fletcher, The Spirit, DC Comics
Willie Schubert, Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Gemstone
Douglas E. Sherwood, Local, Oni Books
Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library, Acme Novelty

BEST COLORIST

Susan Daigle-Leach, Uncle Scrooge, Gemstone
Jamie Grant, All Star Superman, DC Comics
Matt Hollingsworth, Daredevil, Marvel Comics
Matt Kindt, Super Spy, Top Shelf
Laura Martin, Thor, Marvel Comics

BEST INKER

Stefano Gaudiano, Daredevil, Marvel Comics
Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Amulet Books
Steve Leialoha, Fables, DC Comics
Mark Morales, Thor, Marvel Comics
Kevin Nowlan, Witchblade, Top Cow/Image

BEST CONTINUING OR LIMITED SERIES

All Star Superman, DC Comics
Captain America, Marvel Comics
Damned, Oni Press
Daredevil, Marvel Comics
Umbrella Academy, Dark Horse Comics
Uncle Scrooge, Gemstone Comics

BEST NEW SERIES

Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Amulet Books
The Order, Marvel Comics
Resurrection, Oni Press
Thor, Marvel Comics
Umbrella Academy, Dark Horse Comics

BEST NEW TALENT

Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Amulet Books
Jeff Lemire, Essex County, Top Shelf
Vasilis Lolos, Last Call, Oni Press
Robbi Rodriguez, Maintenance, Oni Press
Christian Slade, Korgi #1: Sprouting Wings, Top Shelf

BEST ANTHOLOGY

Flight Volume 4, edited by Kazu Kibuishi, Ballantine Books
Mome Volume 8, edited by Gary Groth and Eric Reynolds, Fantagraphics Books
Popgun Volume 1, edited by Joe Keatinge and Mark Andrew Smith, Image Books
Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened, edited by Jason Rodriquez, Villard
Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, edited by John Clark, Gemstone

» The man who was fired for posting Dilbert cartoon to the bulletin board at work has been hired with the help of Dilbert creator Scott Adams and his blog readers.

» Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial cartoonist Rob Rogers lost a bet with Free Press cartoonist Mike Thompson over the Stanely Cup Finals. Rob had to wear a Pavel Datsyuk shirt at his office in Pittsburgh. See video.

» For the second year, Wiley Miller’s Non Sequitur will be featured in Franklin Covey business planner products.

» South Florida Sun-Sentinel cartoonist Chan Lowe took first and second place in this year’s Florida Society of Newspaper Editors’ journalism competition. Dana Summers, of the Orlando Sentinel, took third.

This is Tom the Dancing Bug’s fourth win of the AAN Best Cartoon Award (it also won in 2002, 2003 and 2007). Tom the Dancing Bug is the only comic to have won the award more than once, and it is the only comic to have been a finalist in every year the award has been given, starting in 2001.

Jason Chatfield, who took over the Ginger Meggs strip after James’ passing wrote this reaction on his blog after learning of James’ award,

He was a true blue Australian, with an undying and unparalleled love of cricket. He was instrumental in establishing the Bradman Museum, and the Don Bradman Foundation.

Kems was also responsible for reviving the ailing Australian Black & White Artists’ Club when it was in considerable debt, and almost dead on its back. He turned it around into the thriving Australian Cartoonists’ Association that it is today.

Kems was one of the most amazing blokes, and one of the best mates I’ve ever had. Losing him in December, after a long and brave fight with Motor Neurone Disease was the saddest and most tragic time for his friends and family. He was one year out from his 60th birthday when he passed away.

The Order of Austrailia Medal was instituted in 1975 by The Queen of England “for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service.”