bodega cat awards

We are pleased to announce the 2026 BODEGA CAT Award Nominees!

The BODEGA Comic Arts Trophy, or the BODEGA CAT AWARD is an annual award presented to best-in-show exhibitors at the Brooklyn Expo of Comics.

Voting is now open to the public and will close at 4 pm on Saturday, November 14th.
All nominated books will be available for your perusal on the BEC show floor, so stop by and check them all out if you haven’t before casting your vote!

CLICK HERE TO CAST YOUR VOTE!

This year’s award ceremony will take place at BEC’s Mid-Con Party happening on Saturday, November 14th from 8pm-midnight at Union Pool, right around the corner from the festival venue. The party is free and open to everyone 21+.

Here are the inaugural BODEGA CAT Award Nominees:

Best Minicomic 
Any self-published or small press-published single issue, one shot, or zine under 100 pages.

  • Enframement, by K. Wroten, self-published

  • Companion, by Olivia Fredericks, self-published

  • Girl Yaoi, by Ana Two, published by Diskette Press

  • Word From the Bird, by Grayson Bear, published by Secret Room Press

  • Creamthing In His Golden Year, by Sam Hensley, self-published

  • The Future Collapses to a Single Point, by Jon Allen, self-published

  • The Old Woman Part 4, by Rebecca Mock, self-published


Best Graphic Novel
Any self-published or small press-published single work longer than 100 pages.

  • Like Swimmers, by Dash Shaw, published by The New York Review of Books

  • Identical, by Leah Hayes, published by Fantagraphics

  • Testament, by J. Marshall Smith, published by Bulgilhan Press

  • Flea, by Mara Ramirez, published by Fieldmouse Press

  • A Tale Of Two Travelers, by Madita Schwenke, published by Fieldmouse Press

  • The Weight, by Melissa Mendes, published by Drawn & Quarterly

  • Mary Pain, by Lola Lorente, published by Drawn & Quarterly


Best Anthology
Any self-published or small press-published collection of work from more than three separate creators.

  • Ex.Mag Volume 6, edited by Patrick Crotty and Wren Macdonald, published by Peow2

  • SYSTEM 01: Hot Net Hotel, edited by Orion Martin, published by Paradise Systems

  • CRAM Comics #5: Something Strong for when the Love is Gone, edited by Andrew Alexander, published by Cram Books

  • Datura Magazine No. 4, edited by Sunmi and Mar Julia, self-published

  • Witch Window, edited by Kyle Canyon, Sanika Phawde, and Sophie Page, self-published

  • Leather & Lace, edited by Kelsey Short and Bets Ochoa, published by Dark Spark Press


Best Design
Any self-published or small press-published work with outstanding production design, presentation, or physical material qualities.

  • SYSTEM 01: Hot Net Hotel, edited by Orion Martin, published by Paradise Systems

  • A Garden of Spheres, by Linnea Sterte, published by Peow2

  • Faster (Complete Edition), by Jesse Lonergan, published by Bulgilhan Press

  • The Terror of the Moldy Shore, by John F. Malta, self-published

  • Witch Window, edited by Kyle Canyon, Sanika Phawde, and Sophie Page, self-published

  • Action Baby Comics: Animal Alphabet, by AT Pratt, self-published

  • Leather & Lace, edited by Kelsey Short and Bets Ochoa, published by Dark Spark Press

  • Sikh Femmes in Sick Fashion, by Jasjyot Singh Hans, self-published


Honorary New Yorker
BEC's cartoonist of the year award! Nominees must have at least one work published in 2026 that qualifies for the previous categories, and were judged by output and by their contributions to the field beyond cartooning. 

  • Alexander Laird - Frog Farm publisher, notable works: Mobile Gang Fortress, Shnork

  • Andrew Alexander - CRAM Books publisher, notable works: Caught Lookin' #1

  • Caroline Cash - notable works: Nancy Comics, Adventure Time: Bonnie the Vampire Hunter Special #1

  • Lee Lai - notable works: Cannon

  • Lale Westvind - notable works: Void Packer 3, Void Packer 4

  • Michael DeForge - notable works: Holy Lacrimony, All The Cameras In My Room

  • Audra Stang - notable works: Confetti Girls, Valley Valley/Idella Dell