Comics’ biggest night just wrapped, and the Eisner Awards 2026 winners are official. Announced at San Diego Comic-Con, the “Oscars of comics” honored the year’s best writers, artists, and publishers across more than 30 categories. And the best part for readers is that many of this year’s winning and nominated titles are available to borrow for free on Hoopla. No waitlists, no late fees, just an enormous, deep collection of digital comics ready whenever you are.
When Was San Diego Comic-Con 2026?
San Diego Comic-Con 2026 ran July 23–26 at the San Diego Convention Center. The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards ceremony, now in its 38th year, was held on Friday, July 24, at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel.
This Year’s Biggest Winners
DC Comics’ Absolute Martian Manhunter swept several categories, including Best Limited Series, Best Penciller/Inker and Best Cover Artist for Javier Rodriguez, and Best Lettering for Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.
The details: FBI agent John Jones is dealing with an alien consciousness in his head calling itself the Martian, and its view of reality is wild beyond human comprehension. Somehow he’s still got a day job to handle too. This reinvented take on the Justice League favorite is a mind-bending, psychedelic journey across dimensions.
Best Writer/Artist honor went to Jamal Campbell for Zatanna (DC)
The details: Zatanna Zatara’s comeback tour hits a snag when a ghostly new foe called the White Lady crashes the party and kidnaps her whole crew. Now the Mistress of Magic has to untangle curses, outsmart tricks, and face down magical swords.
Best New Series went to Assorted Crisis Events by Deniz Camp and Eric Zawadski (Image)
The details: This anthology drops ordinary people into a world where time’s completely unraveling. One story finds cavemen and knights mingling downtown, another has a commuter stuck in a time loop, and yet another sends a city bus straight into the Neolithic era. Every tale is a fresh, wild ride into the unknown.
Read Nominees and Winners for Free on Hoopla
Here’s the good news: you don’t have to track down every Eisner-winning or Eisner-nominated title one publisher or creator at a time.
Hoopla Loves Comics!
If you know comics, you know Hoopla. That’s because our comics collection is legendary. Browse Hoopla’s collection of 2026 Eisner Award Nominees to see the titles that made the biggest waves this year, and check out Hoopla’s collection of 2026 Eisner Award Winners to read the best of the best.
We’ve broken out some highlights below, all available on Hoopla:
Best Writer, Best Publication for Teens: Mariko Tamaki, This Place Kills Me (Abrams Fanfare)
Best New Series: Assorted Crisis Events by Deniz Camp and Eric Zawadski (Image)
Best Continuing Series: Absolute Batman by Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, and others (DC)
Best Cover Artist: Javier Rodriguez, Absolute Martian Manhunter, Batman & Robin: Year One #7, The New Gods #8 (DC)
Best Graphic Memoir: It Rhymes with Takei, by George Takei, Harmony Becker, Steven Scott, and Justin Eisinger (Top Shelf)
Best US Edition of International Material: Nocturnos by Laura Perez, translated by Andrea Rosenberg (Fantagraphics)
Best Short Story: “Blood Harvest,” in Brain Damage, by Shintaro Kago, translated by Zack Davisson (Fantagraphics)
Best Lettering: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou for titles including: Absolute Martian Manhunter, Challengers of the Unknown (DC); Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, (IDW); Author Immortal (Image); Our-Soot-Stained Heart (Mad Cave)
Best Publication for Kids: The Cartoonists Club by Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud (Scholastic Graphix)
Best US Edition of International Material – Asia: Purgatory Funeral Cakes by Sanho, translated by Danny Lim (Dark Horse)
Best Writer/Artist: Jamal Campbell, Zatanna (DC)
Best Coloring: Jordie Bellaire for titles including: Absolute Wonder Woman, The Nice House by the Sea (DC); GI Joe (Image/Skybound); The Exorcism at 1600 Penn (IDW); Exquisite Corpses, W0RLDTR33 (Image);
Best Anthology: DC Pride 2025, edited by Andrea Shea and Jillian Grant (DC)
Best Painter/Multimedia Artist: Martin Simmonds, The Department of Truth (Image)
Because Hoopla’s collection is so deep, it’s an easy way to catch up before your next comic convention (because we’re always looking forward to the next one!) or simply to see what all the buzz is about.
What Is a Graphic Novel, Anyway?
If you’re new to the format, a graphic novel is a book-length story told through sequential art and dialogue, similar to a comic book but typically published as a complete standalone volume rather than serialized issues. Graphic novels can be fiction, memoir, journalism, or history. This year’s Eisner nominees alone spanned superhero epics, translated manga, graphic memoirs, and kids’ comics. That range is exactly why the Eisners (and Hoopla’s collection) are worth exploring even if you don’t consider yourself a “comics person.”
Start Reading Today
Want to see what critics are calling the best comics of the year? Hoopla makes it simple. The collection is free, it’s enormous, and many of this year’s Eisner Award winners and nominees are already there waiting for you.
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