THE SIMPSONS creator Matt Groening took home the Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year award at the 2003 Reuben Awards. The Reubens are presented by the National Cartoonists Society (NCS) in San Francisco over the Memorial Day Weekend, May 23-25, 2003. Glenn McCoy, who lead the nominees this year with three nods, took home awards in the Greeting Card and Magazine Gag Cartoon divisions. McCoy lost out in the Book division to BB Sams, who had also received a nod in the Advertising and Illustration division, which was subsequently awarded to Jim Hummel. Taking the newspaper prizes for the panels and comic strip divisions were SPEED BUMP's Dave Coverly and GET FUZZY's Darby Conley.
As for animation divisions, Steve Hillenburg of SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS took home the TV animation award and LILO AND & STITCH's Chris Sanders had a surprising win over SPIRITED AWAY's Hayao Miyazaki to capture the Feature Animation award. In the Comic Book division, Stan Sakai took home the prize for his work on USAGI YOJIMBO. With his editorial cartoon that have often questioned the war in Iraq, Clay Bennett was awarded the Editorial Cartoon division prize. In the growing field of online tooning, Mark Fiore took home the decoration in the New Media division. Recognizing his work on the 2002 World Cup souvenir schedule, Steve McGarry was granted the plaque in the Newspaper Illustration division. Rounding out the list of winners is C.F. Payne, who was presented this year's Magazine division prize.
The cartoonists' "Oscar" is a prestigious event held each year in a different city, which is selected by the NCS president and board. The "Cartoonist of the Year" recipient receives the Reuben statuette, which was designed by and named after the NCS' first president, Rube Goldberg. Honorees in the various categories are awarded a plaque for excellence. The awards are voted on by a combination of the general membership and specially-formed juries overseen by various NCS Regional Chapters.
