The 2026 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, held at San Diego Comic-Con, saw DC emerge as the most decorated publisher, securing ten awards. The publisher's success was largely driven by its "Absolute Universe" line, with both Absolute Batman and Absolute Martian Manhunter earning significant accolades.
Absolute Batman was recognized with awards for Best Continuing Series and Best One-Shot/Single Issue. Similarly, Absolute Martian Manhunter claimed wins in the Best Limited Series and Best One-Shot/Single Issue categories. DC's strong performance extended to other titles, including Absolute Wonder Woman for Best Continuing Series and Batman Vol. 4 for Best New Series.
Image Comics followed DC with four awards. Other publishers also received recognition across various categories. Best Short Story was awarded to "Blood Harvest" in Brain Damage, and Best Humor Publication went to John Allison and Max Sarin for "The Great British Bump-Off: Kill or Be Quilt."
Across other categories, winners included "A Garden of Spheres" by Linnea Sterte for Best Graphic Album–New and "Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen: The Deluxe Edition" for Best Graphic Album–Reprint. The Best Adaptation from Another Medium award went to "Lord of the Flies: The Graphic Novel," adapted by Aimée De Jongh. In the realm of international material, "Nocturnos" by Laura Perez took home the award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material.
Creative talent was also celebrated, with Deniz Camp earning the award for Best Writer for his work on Absolute Martian Manhunter, Assorted Crisis Events, and The Ultimates. Juni Ba was honored as Best Writer/Artist for multiple projects, including "The Fable of Erkling Woods." Javier Rodriguez received accolades for his work as Penciller/Inker on Absolute Martian Manhunter and as a Colorist for the same title. Jordie Bellaire was recognized for Best Coloring for her contributions to several DC and Image Comics titles.
Notable wins in archival and academic categories included "The George Herriman Library: Krazy & Ignatz 1928–1930" for Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips and "Manga's First Century: How Creators and Fans Made Japanese Comics, 1905–1989" for Best Academic/Scholarly Work. The award for Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism was presented to SOLRAD: The Online Literary Magazine for Comics. For Best Comics-Related Book, "Making Nonfiction Comics: A Guide to Graphic Narrative" by Eleri Harris and Shay Mirk received the honor.