Awards at the San Diego Comic-Con: These award-winning US comics are also available in German

That surreal Psycho-Horror series „Absolute Martian Manhunter“ is one of the big winners at this year’s Eisner Awards, the most important honor in the US comics industry. These honors, named after the artist Will Eisner, which are a kind of Oscar of the comic scene, were awarded on Saturday night at the San Diego Comic-Con International. It is considered the world’s largest trade fair for comics and pop culture. Here you can find an overview of all the award-winning titles.

The “Absolute Martian Manhunter” series created by author Deniz Camp and illustrator Javier Rodriguez, which visually impresses with psychedelic layouts and experimental imagery, was awarded in four categories: best non-continuous series, best illustrator, best cover photo and best lettering.

At the beginning of the year, “Absolute Martian Manhunter” was also published in German by the Stuttgart-based Panini-Verlag. The series is one of half a dozen titles that have now been honored with an Eisner Award and are already available from German publishers. Other winning works are currently only available in English, but it can be assumed that most of them will also appear in German sooner or later.

Batman as a working class hero

A new interpretation of the story of the best-selling hero Batman was named best ongoing series in San Diego – and parts of it are also available in German from Panini: „Absolute Batman“whose spin-off story “Absolute Batman 2025 Annual #1” was also named Best One-Shot/Single Issue.

The series, written by Scott Snyder and drawn by Nick Dragotta, differs greatly from the previously known story about the most commercially successful hero from the US superhero publisher DC Comics. In “Absolute Batman”, the character behind the character is not the elitist billionaire Bruce Wayne, but an ordinary worker from the crime-plagued city of Gotham, who, as an outsider, relies on his technical skills and raw physical strength.

Two scene stars are working together

The Eisner Award 2026 for the best children’s comic went to a title that was published in German by the Hamburg-based Carlsen-Verlag earlier this year: “The Comic Club” by scenarist Scott McCloud (“Making Comics”) and illustrator Raina Telgemeier (“Smile”).

The two are among the superstars of the US comic scene and each have their own long success stories. For their first joint work, they incorporated their practical experience in comic didactics into a fictional story: “The Comic Club” is about four children who set up a club to learn to draw picture stories. They develop a lot of creativity and imagination to tell their own stories.

Physics, philosophy and humorous escapades

The current book by the British illustrator Tom Gauld, which was published in German last year by the Swiss publisher Edition Modern, was honored as the best humorous comic: “Physics for the cat”.

The book is another collection of short comics that Gauld has been drawing for the popular science magazine “New Scientist” for many years. In it he combines elements from physics and philosophy with humorous escapades that are inspired by the world of science and his own life.

When conspiracy theories become reality

The Best Comic Artist Award (Best Painter/Multimedia Artist) went to the illustrator Martin Simmonds, who, together with the author James Tynion IV, created the successful series „The Department of Truth“ created. The conspiracy thriller series has been published in German by Bielefelder Splitter-Verlag since 2022, and the fifth volume of the ongoing series has just been published there.

“The Department of Truth” takes up current conspiracy myths that have fatal consequences, especially in the USA. In comics, collective belief can physically translate these theories into reality, providing the backdrop for a disturbing narrative that conveys real-world political fears with a menacing watercolor drawing style.

Masterful image sequences, subtle figure drawing

For the first time, the work of a Dutch illustrator received an Eisner Award as the best adaptation of a story from another medium: the honor went to Aimée De Jongh’s comic version of William Golding’s novel “Lord of the Flies”. It is the first adaptation of this classic in comic form, which was praised, among other things, for its masterful image sequences and subtle character drawing.

The book was published in German by Splitter-Verlag in 2024. The Rotterdam-based illustrator has been publishing comics since 2006 and has received several awards, including the Franco-Belgian Prix Saint-Michel and the International Manga Award, which is given to non-Japanese mangaka. In addition, her books had already been nominated for an Eisner Award three times before the current honor.

To date, three more comics have been published by Splitter in German: the sensitive senior drama “The Inevitable Aging of Feelings” (scenario: Zidrou), the story of self-discovery of a 60-year-old woman entitled “Sixty Times Spring in Winter” (scenario: Ingrid Chabbert), the drama “Days of Sand” researched and written by de Jongh himself. Here she gave the Tagesspiegel insights into her work last year.