Joe Shuster Awards

in 2004, a group of individuals gathered to establish the canadian comic book creator awards association, a not-for-profit organization that would coordinate and present what would eventually become known as the joe shuster awards, canada’s national award that honours and raises the awareness of canadians that create, publish and sell comics, graphic novels and webcomics. they are named after pioneering canadian-born artist joe shuster (1914-1992), whose clear, dynamic style and inventive visual flourishes set the standard for graphic storytelling during the infancy of the north american comic book industry. it was superman, a co-creation of shuster and jerry siegel, that electrified the industry in 1938 and, almost overnight, transformed comic books into an enormous pop-cultural phenomenon. the name is used with the approval of the estate of joe shuster (michael catron, estate agent.)