The 2018 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award was won by Rafa Martinez of Norma Comics in Barcelona, Spain. The award is presented as part of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards at San Diego Comic-Con (see “'Monstress' & 'My Favorite Thing Is Monsters' Dominate the Eisners”). The Award is given out every year to retailers who have have done an outstanding job supporting comics both in the industry at large as well as in their local community. Comic fans nominate their favorite store via the Comic-Con website. This year there were 20 comic retail stores chosen as finalists from around the world: Australia, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom and United States.
“We're delighted to honor Dave's legacy and pay tribute to what mattered most to him in his work - helping comic shops improve and better themselves,” said Roger Fletcher, Diamond’s VP-Sales and Marketing. Over 75 entries were submitted, and, after careful review, the winner was selected by a committee of Diamond managers and staff. The award was presented at the Diamond Retailer Appreciation Event Lunch at San Diego Comi-Con.
The Dave Hawksworth Award is a monetary award of $5,000 that is granted by Diamond Comic Distributors to a comic shop owner to facilitate business improvements (see “Diamond Announces Annual Award in Memory of Dave Hawksworth”). Hawksworth, Diamond’s Outside Sales Manager, passed way unexpectedly earlier this year (see “R.I.P. Dave Hawksworth”).