Harvey Awards Nominees You Should Be Reading

In July, the Harvey Awards announced its 2026 nominees, spotlighting some great books. The Harvey Awards distinguish themselves from other industry honors by focusing on a small handful of categories. Those awards can greatly impact creators and their future projects, potentially elevating the medium.

Since it's our first time voting in the Harveys as members of the comics press, we're offering a rundown with our thoughts on a handful of this year's nominees. Some of these we've also done deeper dives into, which we've link to for your convenience in case you missed them. Enjoy!

More Weight: A Salem Story Puts the Weight of History on All of Us

"More Weight’s title is most clearly a reference to what Giles Corey is said to have shouted in defiance of his executors as they piled stones upon his body to crush him to death for refusing to be put on trial, but it’s more than that. It’s about the weight of history, the weight of guilt, the weight of the past and the future, on both the most intimate levels and the grandest historical stages. That weight motivates each individual and how we think about the entire episode. It’s a lot to take, and arguably more challenging than Miller’s beloved fable of McCarthyism, but it’s a rich, rewarding text that will leave you feeling all too appropriately haunted."

Billy Bat, A Missing Manga Masterpiece, Finally Makes It Stateside

"Billy Bat is a tense thriller, not unlike Urasawa’s other works. The story starts in 1949 and follows Kevin Yamagata, a Japanese-American comic book artist whose star is on the rise thanks to his hit character, Billy Bat. However, after learning that another character that looks just like Billy Bat has been appearing in Japan for years, Kevin returns to post-War Japan, where he previously served as a translator for the United States armed forces stationed there, to learn whether he subconsciously stole Billy Bat from a Japanese artist."

Cannon Is A Comic Book Pressure Cooker

"The first thing that strikes me about Cannon, Lee Lai’s follow-up to the award-winning 2022 graphic novel Stone Fruit, is its rhythmic pacing. Aside from a handful of pointed exceptions, every page of Cannon has four panels of equal size, arranged in a 2×2 orientation. A box of boxes in which the title character is trapped. A steady heartbeat that they cannot escape. The protagonist of Cannon is called Lucy by her family, but to everyone else she's Cannon. The perception among her friends, co-workers, and loved ones is that she’s incredibly put together, stoic, unflappable, and in control. She’s the rock they can all depend on. But what they don't see is that it also makes her the sin-eater, absorbing all their negative energy, their shortcomings, and the small slights they don’t even recognize as such..."

Absolute Batman, Martian Manhunter (via Absolute Roundup)

"The Absolute titles tell quality stories from talented creators like Scott Snyder, Jeff Lemire, Kelly Thompson, Deniz Camp, and Nick Dragotta. That's not just one person's opinion: The Harvey Awards, which typically skew toward independent and small press comics, have nominated two DC Absolute series for 2026 Book of the Year [...] With Absolute Batman, Snyder and Dragotta stripped Bruce Wayne down to his core, kicked him out of his comfortable mansion and cave, and rebuilt Batman as a self-made, blue-collar vigilante [...] When it comes to Absolute Martian Manhunter, the Harvey nomination makes more sense..."

Other Nominees You Should Read...

The Once and Future Riot Is a Phenomenal Piece of Journalism

What can be said about this great work that hasn't already been covered in all the other outlets? It's a phenomenal piece of journalism from living legend Joe Sacco, which also happens to be told in graphic novel form.