Ms. Marvel Wins the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics

It couldn’t have happened to a nicer comic. This year’s Long Beach Comics’ Expo included for the second annual Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics which went to none other than the exceptional Ms. Marvel, the young Muslim girl who was inspired by Captain Marvel to start her own career in world-saving.

Ms. Marvel faced some tough competition. The five finalists for the Dwayne McDuffie Award were:

• Andre the Giant: Closer to HeavenANDRE by Brandon Easton (writer), Denis Medri (artist) (IDW Publishing)
• Fresh Romance edited by Janelle Asselin (Rosy Press)
• Moon Girl and the Devil Dinosaur by Brandon Montclare and Amy Reeder (Writers), Natacha Bustos (Artist) (Marvel Entertainment)
• Ms. Marvel by Willow Wilson (writer), Adrian Alphona (artist) (Marvel Entertainment);
• Zana by Jean Barker (writer), Joey Granger (Artist) (Emet Comics)

As Charlotte McDuffie said in her speech, “The motto of this McDuffie Award is: ‘From invisible to inevitable.'” For which, three cheers. The more wonderful, diverse comic books we see, the richer and better off we will be. For today: Let’s hear it for Ms. Marvel and her creators, writer G. Willow WIlson and artist Adrian Alphona. May they continue to create comics for many years to come!

And, speaking of diversity: note the range of publishers out there. This award’s five finalists include four different publishers, a small fragment of the creative teams out there producing an array of genres and characters.

We’re thrilled for Ms. Marvel and the other candidates, but also interested in hearing about yet more books. What are some diverse comic books you have read and recommend?