Oakland’s Cape and Cowl Comics has landed on the 2018 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award longlist.
The nomination puts Cape and Cowl in the company of 20 outstanding comic shops from around the world who “have done an outstanding job of supporting the comics medium both in the industry at large and in their local community.” Five of those shops will be announced as finalists during the week of San Diego Comic-Con. The recipient of the Spirit Award will be announced during the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards on Friday, July 20.
Cape and Cowl had an impressive impact on the local community since opening in 2015, so it isn’t a surprise they’d be heavily nominated by the local community. The Shared Universe’s Maddie Greene was among those who added the shop’s name to the Eisner Sorting Hat. This is what she told the organization about Cape and Cowl giving back:
I don’t know of a Bay Area comic shop that does more community outreach or involvement. Once again I have to mention the local signings, which highlight local creators and stories for Oakland youth in particular. This is important work in our community. Cape and Cowl‘s book club also brings community members together to learn and discuss. But most of all, the shop turns events like their birthday and Free Comic Book Day into ways to give back. Last FCBD so much food was donated that giant barrels overspilled and huge pallets were dwarfed by the donations. An event to fight food waste in conjunction with Imperfect Produce raised 1,000 pounds of produce for the Alameda County Community Food Bank. One weekend they donated 20% of all sales to the Southern Poverty Law Center. They helped bring free Black Panther screenings to children in Oakland and Atlanta. They shared ways to help when the North Bay fires burned.
Cape and Cowl knew they were in consideration for the longlist when the judges asked for more information on the store. Cape and Cowl made the following video.
Cape and Cowl Comics Video Tour
Because a whole bunch of you fine folks took the time to say some nice things about us, the judges for the Eisner Spirit of Retailing Award (given to the best Comic Book Store in the World!) asked us to tell them a little more about the shop! Here’s what we sent them. Thank you all SO much!
Posted by Cape and Cowl Comics on Saturday, June 2, 2018
Kind of great, right?
The video perfectly reflects the spirit of Cape and Cowl. We’ll be watching to see if the shop makes the shortlist. Even if it doesn’t, hey, they received a shoutout from the Oakland A’s. Not too shabby!
Congratulations to our friends @capecowlcomics for being one of twenty shops worldwide nominated for the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award! Check out our feature on them from Small Business Saturday. #RootedInOakland pic.twitter.com/twujcbQJ0h
— Oakland Athletics 🌳🐘⚾ (@Athletics) July 1, 2018
Here are all of the excellent nominees for the 2018 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award: