Lifetime Achievement Winners Announced for 2026 Inkwell Awards

The Inkwell Awards, a non-profit devoted to promoting the art of comic book inking, has announced the winners of their lifetime achievement awards, The Joe Sinnott Hall Of Fame and The Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award (SASRA) at their new host show, the Hershey Comic Con’s awards ceremony on June 11. Each is chosen internally by the Inkwell Awards’ committee. The first is limited to two individuals and the second up to four, each for a career span of about 25 years for inking American comic books. Later this week, the Inkwells will present the 2026 Inkwell Ballot Winners EXPANDED EDITION.

The two winners of Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award are Jack Abel and Steve Leialoha.

Winners of the SASRA, in alphabetical order, are Sy Barry, P. Craig Russell and Joe Staton.

Joe Sinnott’s son, Mark, an artist and Inkwell special ambassador, absent this year after a serious personal matter, shared the following statement for the JOE SINNOTT HALL OF FAME:

“There have been 38 outstanding ink artists inducted into the Hall of Fame since it began in 2008. This year we will add 2 more fine inkers to this elite list, Jack Abel & Steve Leialoha. Jack and Steve are both tremendous comic book artists that have left their mark on the comic world. What a thrill it is to look through the many pages of comics that Jack and Steve had the good fortune to embellish and to see their fantastic inks bring great enjoyment to us all through their work and dedication. 

Portrait by Michael Netzer inspired by a 1977 photo taken by Greg Theakston

“Our first winner of The Joe Sinnott Hall Of Fame Award is Jack Abel. Jack was a long time comic book inker showcasing his talents at DC and Marvel Comics.  He also worked for ACG, Archie, Avon, Charlton, Gold Key, Harvey, Hillman, Prize, Skywald and Atlas/Seaboard.  His first published work was All- American Men Of War #25 for DC in 1955. While there, in the late 1950s, he would ink hundreds of other War stories as well such as GI Combat, Our Army At War, Our Fighting Forces and Star Spangled Stories.  At Atlas Comics in the 1950s, Jack was doing Sci-Fi, Romance and War and many Marvel Tales and Mystery Tales stories. In the later part of the 1960s, Jack would find himself inking Curt Swan on numerous Superman stories as well as Legion Of Superheroes. He would ink John Celerdo on the syndicated Tales Of The Green Berets from ’67-’69. At Marvel for several years Jack would be working in various positions for them. Under the name Gary Michaels, Jack would be inking Gene Colan’s Iron Man. He would also ink several Deadly Hands Of Kung Fu, Master Of Kung Fu, Defenders and Tomb Of Dracula stories, and was instrumental in inking the first appearance of Blade The Vampire Slayer in issue 10. He would also ink Herb Trimpe’s Wolverine introduction in Hulk 181. Jack was a huge baseball fan, and would organize the Continuity softball team, comprised of comic pros, that would play ballgames in Central Park. Jack and Joe Sinnott would share inking duties on Marvel Fanfare #11 penciled by George Perez that featured the Black Widow.  Jack and Joe were appropriately credited under the name “Sinnabel” for this issue.

Jack would pass away of a stroke at the Marvel offices in 1996. A Marvel staffer at the time, Steve Geiger, spoke about Jack at the podium. If the Abel family would contact Bob Almond at dmralmond@gmail.com, we will gladly ship the trophy award to them.

Steve Leialoha photo by Gage Skidmor

Mark continued: “Next is our second Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame award recipient, Steve Leialoha.  Steve has been a comic book inker for many years, from his early work in 1975 on the independent comic Star Reach #3  “Wooden Ships On The Water” based on the song by David Crosby, Paul Kantner & Steven Stills. He has had his work published in many comics. While working for Marvel, Steve, along with writer J.M. DeMatteis co-created Greenberg The Vampire, which appeared in Bizarre Adventures 27. He would also pencil and ink many issues of Spider-Woman. Steve’s inks could be seen on the comics of Howard The Duck, Uncanny X-Men, Star Wars, Firestar, Marvel Team Up, New Mutants, Secret Wars II, penciled by Inkwell HOFer, Al Milgrom and Jim Starlin’s Warlock to name a few. Steve has also done work for DC Comics on numerous comics as well, and was one of the artists on Batman #400. His inks have also graced the pages of Claypool Comics’ Soulsearchers and Company, Dark Horse, Harris, Warren, Eclipse, Paradox Press and Comico. Steve is a recipient of an Inkpot Award in 1986, and has received 4 Eisner Awards for his wonderful inking on Vertigo Comics’ Fables. He would also ink Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman: Worlds End for them. Comic legend Larry Hama would name the GI Joe character Edward Leialoha, “Torpedo”  in honor of Steve.  The Marvel/DC Superman/Spider-man story which appeared in Marvel Treasury #28, pencilled by Big John Buscema and inked by Joltin’ Joe Sinnott, had the background art embellished by several great comic inkers. Many of them are Inkwell HOF members. Included in that list of background inkers, you will also find the name Steve Leialoha.

“On behalf of The Inkwell Awards, it gives me great pleasure to present The 2026 Joe Sinnott Hall Of Fame Award for outstanding accomplishment in the field of Comic Inking to Steve Leialoha. Steve wasn’t able to appear for this event but he did send us a statement to read.

STEVE: “I was lucky enough to work with Joe Sinnott on one project: Superman Spider-Man team-up (Marvel Treasury Edition 28). Joe was busy with other work but Jim Shooter enticed him with the idea that he would ink only the figures (over John Buscema layouts). The backgrounds would be done by “all-star” artists. I was glad to be considered for this! I finished up several pages that Joe had already done his par, and even got to ink one, tiny Superman figure that Joe had missed. I was happy to help out! And I learned a lot from seeing how he handled it, but I had already been enjoying and studying his art for ages.

This is a long way of expressing how honored I am to be an Inkwell Award recipient alongside many of the best artists, and many friends, in comics.
Thank you and Aloha!”

Mark closed with “I would like to thank The Inkwell Awards for all that they have done over these past 18 years to promote the art of inking. My dad, Joltin’ Joe was very honored to be a part of this organization, and I know he would be very proud to have Jack Abel and Steve Leialoha as the 39th and 40th recipients of the Joe Sinnott Hall Of Fame Award. Congratulations to Jack and Steve on an outstanding career in comics and a job well done.”

Almond announced the STACEY ARAGON SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD/SASRA winners.

“First was SY BARRY who, at 98, couldn’t make the ceremony. Bob shared “The first SASRA recipient is Sy Barry. At 5 years old, with pencil in hand, he could not only draw well but Sy Barry knew that art would be his lifelong passion. He was born on March 12, 1928 in New York City during the depression, the 6th child in a family of 8. In 1943 Sy was accepted to the School of Industrial Art in New York City. He studied alongside contemporaries including Carmine Infantino, Alex Toth, John Romita, and others. Sy graduated from SIA in 1946 and never looked back. His early jobs with Lev Gleason, Famous Funnies, Ziff Davis, and Hillman Publications set him up for a 13-year run with National/DC, Timely/Marvel, and several other comic publishers. At DC, Sy worked in multiple genres, becoming the go-to inker for Alex Toth, Murphy Anderson, Curt Swan, Carmine Infantino, and Bob Kane. Sy holds a place in history as the illustrator of the Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story, a 16-page comic book pamphlet about Martin Luther King, Jr,  Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott published in 1957 by the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Sy eventually went on to draw the world’s most successful adventure comic strip, The Phantom, for 33 years from 1961 to 1994, succeeding Ray Moore and Wilson McCoy. Sy is credited for giving the Phantom character his modern look and he brought action and a new sense of drama to the strip. At the height of their popularity, Lee Falk and Sy Barry’s Phantom stories were read by over 100 million people every day in newspapers and comic books. In 1994, Sy stepped down from the reins of the Phantom and began another chapter in his life. Interested in taking on new projects and spending more time with friends and family, despite the recent decline of his eyesight, Sy pushes on and continues to develop his painting skills, teach watercolor and he enjoys portrait painting in a combination of oil, acrylic, and watercolor. Sy has painted the Phantom several times in oil, and his drawings continue to be used as covers for Phantom comics around the world. 

“He couldn’t make it here today and he did try to send us a video statement but he and his son realized the limitations he would have with his vision and memory and they chose to send the following acceptance statement:  “Thank you so much to the Inkwell Awards for this incredible honor. I really regret that I can’t be with you in person today. You know, receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from an organization that celebrates the art of inking is especially meaningful to me.

When I began my professional career in 1946, I never imagined that more than seven decades later I would still be talking about comic books and comic strips, let alone accepting an award like this. My career has spanned 72 wonderful years, and I have considered every one of them a privilege.

Along the way, I had the good fortune to work alongside some of the finest artists our industry has ever known—Alex Toth, Bob Kane, Carmine Infantino, Curt Swan, John Romita Sr., Murphy Anderson, Frank Giacoia, Bob Anager, and many others. Every collaboration taught me something, and I remain grateful to have shared drawing boards and deadlines with such extraordinary talent.

During the 1950s, I was thrilled to be one of the artists that both DC Comics and Marvel could rely on when they needed an inker. Inking has often been called an invisible art, but those of us who practiced it knew that every brushstroke mattered. In comic books, I always tried to honor the penciler’s work while bringing my own style and drama to the finished page.

As a creator, I may be best known for my years drawing The Phantom. From 1961 until 1994, it was my privilege to illustrate the adventures of the Ghost Who Walks. To know that my interpretation of the character became the Phantom that millions of readers around the world came to know and love is humbling. That connection with readers and wonderful fans around the world has been the greatest honor of my career.

I’m so grateful to my family, whose love and support made it possible for me to devote my life to this work and I am especially grateful to the many friends I’ve made throughout the comic industry. Those friendships have meant as much to me as any page I ever drew.

Thank you again to everyone for this recognition.”Almond then introduced JOE STATON with a summary of career highlights. “Joe Staton decided he wanted to be a cartoonist at 3 years old when he began tracing DICK TRACY from the funny papers. He has been drawing comics professionally since 1971 when he started working for Charlton Comics. There he pencilled and inked romance, horror and licensed books and co-created E-Man and Michael Mauser with Nick Cuti.

“Though the bulk of his work was pencilling for DC Comics, he also inked books at both Marvel and DC. For DC his many comics credits include Action Comics, Green Lantern, The Legion, various incarnations of Batman, and over 100 issues of Scooby Doo. He co-created two versions of The Huntress and several Green Lanterns and designed the modern Guy Gardner. He has worked for at least 30 publishers and 100 different editors.

“At First Comics he was both Art Director and artist, drawing another incarnation of E-Man and A Christmas Carol for their Classics Illustrated line. Later, he inked 2024 SASRA recipient Wendy Pini over her Elfquest series, Siege at Blue Mountain and, with his writer-wife Hilarie, produced several medical comics.

“Joe and writer Mike Curtis pencilled and inked the DICK TRACY newspaper strip for ten years. They received Harvey Awards for Best Syndicated Strip or Feature in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Joe has also received an Eisner Award in 1998 and an Inkpot Award in 1983.

“He pencilled, inked and toned the graphic novel, Family Man written by novelist Jerome Charyn. With Paul Levitz, he created Sketches on the Sidewalk, about the early comic book industry.

“Joe is currently semi-retired. More “semi” than retired, according to his wife. He can be reached at joestaton.com.”  Joe made an acceptance statement which included his relationship with and admiration for Joe Sinnott.

The third and final SASRA recipient was P. CRAIG RUSSELL!

Craig’s longtime friend and creative partner, Don McGregor introduced him. Much history and behind the scenes stories were shared.

Regrettably, this year there wasn’t a livestream or any recording made during the ceremony. The Inkwell will try to transfer any video statements from the ballot & internal awards on their YouTube account. But for the event itself and acceptance statements without typed versions sent in they unfortunately cannot offer that to those interested this year. They are committed to restore that aspect again next year for the sake of historical posterity.

The Inkwell Awards express CONGRATULATIONS to all award recipients!

The Inkwell Awards is the only official 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and educate regarding the art form of comic-book inking, as well as annually recognize the best ink artists and their work. Established in 2008, the Inkwells are overseen by a volunteer committee of industry professionals and assisted by various professional ambassadors and contributors. They sponsor the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund for the Kubert School and host the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award. As of 2024, their live awards ceremony is hosted at the Hershey Comic Con.