DC’s Absolute Universe Dominates the 2026 Eisner Award Nominations
The 2026 Eisner Award nominations have been announced, recognizing the best comic book releases from 2025. The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, often referred to as the “Oscars” of comics, celebrate exceptional achievements across numerous categories in the medium, honoring the industry’s most noteworthy and acclaimed works.
DC Comics leads publisher representation with 16 dedicated nominations (plus an additional 10 shared with other publishers), demonstrating dominant industry presence. This strong showing is primarily driven by DC’s Absolute Universe line, a series of reimagined versions of classic DC characters. Within this initiative, Absolute Martian Manhunter received 6 nominations, while Absolute Batman secured 5 nominations, establishing these titles as among the most recognized works in this year’s awards cycle.
Other publishers also achieved substantial recognition in the awards. Fantagraphics earned 14 nominations, while Image Comics received 12 nominations (plus 9 shared nominations with other publishers). Abrams rounded out the major publishers with 9 nominations, demonstrating industry diversity beyond DC’s leading position.
The Eisner Awards ceremony will take place during San Diego Comic-Con on July 24, 2026, where the winners across all categories will be officially announced and celebrated by the comic book community.