The Daily Cartoonist

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Pastis, Piraro, Thompson nominated for Reuben Award (UPDATED)

Alan Gardner102 mins

I’ve got confirmation that Stephen Pastis, Dan Piraro, and Richard Thompson have been nominated for this year’s Reuben Award For Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year. The nominees are selected by a secret ballot from the members of the National Cartoonists Society. Both Stephan and Dan were nominated last year for the award (Dave Coverly took the award).

Reactions to their nominations will be posted as I get them.

UPDATE #1:
I was able to get a hold of Richard and Stephan to get their reactions to the news. I could tell Richard was still in a bit of shock. He got his call last Friday with the news. In his words he was “gob-stopped.”

Stephan said, “What really matters about the Reuben is that, unless you do political cartoons, this is the biggest award you can get. It’s the same award that Larson, Schulz and Watterson had. And it’s your own peers that judge your work, that alone makes a nomination worth something.”

10 thoughts on “Pastis, Piraro, Thompson nominated for Reuben Award (UPDATED)”

  1. Unless I searched wrong, I could have sworn Pastis won once…stunned that he hasn’t yet.

    Paul Gilligan and Darby Conley deserve a shot, too.

  2. All deserving nominees, but I’d be surprised if Richard didn’t get it, considering what he has done for the artform in such a short time in syndication.

  3. Personally I think Dan Piraro should have won this years ago (and he gets re-nominated each year), but there are apparently some people who just don’t care for him and won’t vote for him.

  8. Has an editorial cartoonist ever won?

    Also wondering: are alt weekly comics like This Modern World eligible? I don’t recall seeing one nominated.

  9. “Has an editorial cartoonist ever won?”

    2005 MIKE LUCKOVICH
    1993 JIM BORGMAN
    1991 MIKE PETERS (don’t know if it was for editorials or “Mother Goose and Grimm” or both.)
    1978 JEFF MacNELLY (also won the following year for “Shoe”)
    1972 PAT OLIPHANT
    1968 OLIPHANT again (tied with Johnny Hart)
    and so forth…

    The list is at:
    http://www.reuben.org/reuben.html

  10. About ten years ago (give or take a couple), the Reuben rules were modified so that previous winners are no longer eligible for nomination. I’m not an NCS member, so my opinion is meaningless, but it seems to me that the Reuben is slightly less impressive when it’s no longer for the best cartoonist of the year, but for the best cartoonist who hasn’t won one yet.

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