PEARLS BEFORE SWINE, created by Stephan Pastis, has been named Best Newspaper Comic Strip of the year, while FOXTROT creator Bill Amend took home the coveted prize of Cartoonist of the Year, as the NCS announced all category winners at its 61st Annual Reuben Awards Banquet on May 26, 2007, in Orlando.
Carter Goodrich won in the Feature animation category for his character design in OPEN SEASON (Sony), beating out nominees Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick, directors for OVER THE HEDGE (DreamWorks) and Peter De Seve, character designer for ICE AGE 2: THE MELTDOWN (Fox).
In Television Animation, the winner was Craig McCracken, FOSTER'S HOME FOR IMAGINARY FRIENDS, edging out nominees David Hulin for GEICO GECKO and Steve Loter for KIM POSSIBLE.
The Gold Key Award, signifying induction into the NCS Hall of Fame, went to legendary cartoonist Mort Walker, creator of BEETLE BAILEY, HI AND LOIS and seven other cartoon strips. The Silver T-Square, for recognition of service to the NCS, was presented to brothers Joe and Luke McGarry, the youngest ever recipients of this award.
The National Cartoonists Society (www.reuben.org) is the world's largest and most prestigious organization of professional cartoonists. Founded in 1946 by a small group of cartoonists while entertaining the troops at military bases, the NCS now has a membership of more than 650 of the world's major cartoonists. Members work in many branches of the profession, including comic strips, comic books, editorial cartoons, animation, greeting cards and magazine and book illustration. For a complete list of winners, please visit the NCS Web site at www.reuben.org.
