Elvis Hernandez
The Alley Award was an American annual series of comic‑book fan awards, first presented in 1962 for comics published in 1961. Organized under the aegis of the Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences and closely tied to the fanzine Alter Ego, the Alleys are widely recognized as the first known comic‑book fan awards. Ballots tallied fan favorites from the prior calendar year, with results published in fanzines such as On the Drawing Board / The Comic Reader. The distinctive Alley statuette—a likeness of V. T. Hamlin’s caveman Alley Oop—was initially sculpted in redwood by Academy member Ron Foss, from which plaster duplications were cast for winners.
Quick Facts (Infobox): Alley Award
| Awarded for | Excellence in the field of comic books (fan‑voted) |
|---|---|
| Presented by | Alter Ego magazine / Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences |
| Country | United States of America |
| First award | 1962 (for 1961 comics) |
| Final award | 1970 (for 1969 comics) |
| Venues | Academy Con (1965–1967); New York Comic Art Convention (1968–1970) |
| Statuette | Alley Oop likeness; original carved by Ron Foss (redwood), cast in plaster for distribution |
| Also known as | “The Alleys” |
Origins & Naming
- October 25, 1961 — In a letter to Jerry Bails, Roy Thomas proposes that Alter Ego create awards for fandom’s favorite comics across multiple categories. The initial working name, the “Alter‑Ego Award,” soon evolves into “Alley Award,” honoring the comic‑strip caveman Alley Oop (Thomas quipped that, chronologically, a caveman would be the earliest superhero). Historian Bill Schelly later notes that no one sought formal permission from the NEA syndicate to use the character’s likeness. Building on the letter, Bails—whose editorial work on Alter Ego helped catalyze organized comics fandom—outlined a mail‑in voting system. Early ballots were mimeographed/offset and circulated via Alter Ego and newszines such as On the Drawing Board (soon retitled The Comic Reader). The tongue‑in‑cheek banner “Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences” lent a semi‑formal imprimatur as fans and pros alike warmed to the idea.
- 1962 — The first Alley Awards are issued for 1961 publications. Results and commentary ran across the fanzine network, and the nickname “the Alleys” quickly stuck. Even in the inaugural tally, patterns of the Silver Age were visible—DC mainstays like Justice League of America and seminal stories such as The Flash #123 alongside the emergent Marvel wave (Fantastic Four, the 1962 debut of Spider‑Man’s origin)—signaling how the awards would track shifting tastes year over year.
From Kitchen Table to Con Floor: The “Alley Tally” & Conventions
By the third year, ballot volume outgrew solo hand‑tabulation. In March 1964, Bails hosted a Detroit‑area fan get‑together to count votes collectively at his home. Nicknamed the “Alley Tally,” the session ran assembly‑line style—volunteers sorting ballots by category, copying nominees to tally sheets, cross‑checking totals, and resolving ties or illegible credits—while swapping fanzines and planning future projects.
The collegial work party functioned as a proto‑con: attendees networked, traded original art/clippings, and compiled contact lists that made later meet‑ups easier to organize. The Alley Tally is often cited as an immediate catalyst for the organization of comic‑book fan conventions that emerged soon afterward (and a template for later group tallies), helping standardize deadlines, ballot formats, and category definitions for the remaining years of the Alleys.
Where & How the Alleys Were Presented
- 1965–1967 — Academy Con: The awards were presented at all three Academy Cons, building a stage presence for fan‑chosen honors.
- 1968–1970 — New York Comic Art Convention: The final three Alley ceremonies moved to Phil Seuling’s influential New York show (often shortened to Comic Art Con).
- After 1970: With the Alleys dissolved, the Comic Art Convention presented the Goethe Awards / Comic Fan Art Awards from 1971 to 1974.
Balloting, Sections & Categories
- Scope: Ballots recognized professional comics (titles, creators, covers, stories) and also fan activity (fanzines, articles, fan artists/writers, projects). In later years, sections for newspaper strips and Hall of Fame/all‑time categories appeared, plus Popularity Polls and write‑in suggestions (e.g., “strip most needing improvement,” “most desired revival”).
- Timing: Votes reflected the prior publishing year. Results were compiled and published in fanzines, particularly On the Drawing Board / The Comic Reader.
- Representative categories (varied by year):
- Best Regularly Published Comic / Best Adventure Hero Comic
- Best Short Story / Best Feature Story / Best Full‑Length Story
- Best Single Issue / Best Annual / Best Giant Comic
- Best Editor / Best Writer / Best Penciler / Best Inker / Best Cover / Best Coloring
- Best Group / Best Villain / Best Supporting Character
- Strip Most Desired for Revival / Most in Need of Improvement
- Newspaper sections: Best Adventure Strip, Best Humor Strip/Panel, Human‑Interest, Miscellaneous
- Fan sections: Best Fanzine, Article, Feature/Column, Fan Artist, Fan Writer, Fan Project, One‑Shot
Statuette & Iconography
The Alley statuette embodied fandom’s playful, historical bent. Ron Foss carved the first maquette from redwood, after which fans produced plaster cast duplicates so multiple winners could be honored without risking the original. Most copies were modest, desk‑display pieces and—depending on the year—were hand‑finished (painted or metallic‑washed) and sometimes mounted on a simple wooden base with a typed or engraved label.
The practical choice of plaster kept costs low, made quick recasting possible if an item broke in transit, and allowed late‑announced winners to receive a figure by mail after the convention. Choosing Alley Oop as the icon tied the Alleys to proto‑superhero adventure, acknowledged the newspaper‑strip lineage of comics, and gave the awards a winkingly historic mascot that fans and pros immediately recognized in fanzine photos and con write‑ups.
Selected Winners & Milestones (1961–1969)
Note: The Alleys honored dozens of categories each year; the highlights below spotlight marquee results and industry trends referenced in the historical record.
1961 (Awards presented in 1962)
- Best Regularly Published Comic: Justice League of America (DC)
- Best Single Issue / Best Story / Best Cover: The Flash #123, “Flash of Two Worlds” by Gardner Fox & Carmine Infantino (DC)
- Best Artist: Carmine Infantino
- Best Adventure‑Hero Group: Justice League of America (DC)
- Supporting Character: Elongated Man (DC) | Revival: The Spectre (DC)
1962 (Awards presented in 1963)
- Best Comic Book: Fantastic Four (Marvel)
- Top creators: Julius Schwartz (Editor), Gardner Fox (Writer), Carmine Infantino (Pencils), Murphy Anderson (Inks)
- Best Short Story: “Origin of Spider‑Man” (Amazing Fantasy #15) — Stan Lee & Steve Ditko (Marvel)
- Best Book‑Length Story: “The Planet that Came to a Standstill,” Fox & Infantino (Mystery in Space #75, DC)
- Villain: Sub‑Mariner | Group: Fantastic Four | Hero: Hawkman
1963
- Pro winners: Stan Lee (Best Editor; Best Writer), Carmine Infantino (Best Artist)
- Favorites: The Amazing Spider‑Man (Adventure Hero); Uncle Scrooge (Humor); Strange Adventures (General Fantasy); Sgt. Fury (Mundane Fiction)
- Story highlights: “Human Torch Meets Captain America” (Lee & Kirby; Strange Tales #114); “Crisis on Earths 1 and 2” (Fox & Sekowsky; JLA #21–22)
1964
- Best Adventure Hero Comic: The Amazing Spider‑Man (Marvel)
- Best Editor/Writer: Stan Lee | Pencils: Carmine Infantino | Inks: Murphy Anderson
- Best Novel: “Captain America Joins the Avengers” (Lee & Kirby; Avengers #4)
- Giant/Annual: Amazing Spider‑Man Annual #1 | Humor: Herbie
1965
- Adventure Hero Comic: The Amazing Spider‑Man
- Editor/Writer: Stan Lee | Pencils: Wally Wood | Inks: Murphy Anderson
- Best Giant: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 | Best Novel: “Solomon Grundy Goes on a Rampage” (Showcase #55)
- Best New Strip/Book: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents (Len Brown & Wally Wood)
1966 — Sectionalization & Newspaper Honors
- Books/Titles: Amazing Spider‑Man; Tales of Suspense; Fantastic Four; All‑Reprint: The Spirit
- Professional: Stan Lee (Editor/Writer); Al Williamson (Pencils); Wally Wood (Inks); Flash Gordon #1 cover (Williamson)
- Stories: “How Green Was My Goblin” (ASM #39); “Return to Mongo” (Flash Gordon #1)
- Newspaper Strips: The Phantom, On Stage, Peanuts, Dennis the Menace; Hall of Fame: Flash Gordon (Alex Raymond)
1967 — Debuts & Revivals
- Editors/Writers/Artists: Stan Lee (Editor/Writer), Jack Kirby (Pencils), Joe Sinnott (Inks)
- Feature story: “Who’s Been Lying in My Grave?” (Strange Adventures #205) — Deadman
- Cover: Strange Adventures #207 (Neal Adams) | Coloring: Magnus, Robot Fighter
- Hall of Fame: The Spirit (Will Eisner)
- Popularity Poll: Heroes (Spider‑Man), Groups (Fantastic Four), Villain (Doctor Doom)
1968 — Steranko’s Moment
- Titles: Fantastic Four; Doctor Strange; Not Brand Echh (Humor); Millie the Model (Romance)
- Creators: Stan Lee (Editor/Writer); Jim Steranko (Best Pencils; Best Feature Story; Best Cover: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #6); Joe Sinnott (Inks)
- Hall of Fame: Fantastic Four (Lee & Kirby); Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Steranko)
1969 — Special Awards & New Guard
- Editors/Creators: Dick Giordano (Editor); Roy Thomas (Writer); Neal Adams (Pencils); Tom Palmer (Inks)
- Covers/Stories: Captain America #113 (Steranko cover); “…And Who Shall Mourn for Him?” (Silver Surfer #5); “At the Stroke of Midnight” (Tower of Shadows #1)
- Hall of Fame: Deadman (Neal Adams)
- Special Awards: Carmine Infantino, Joe Kubert, Neal Adams for innovation and stylistic breakthroughs
Aftermath & Legacy
The Alleys’ blend of fan balloting, professional recognition, and fanzine culture helped define early comics fandom’s institutions—index projects, critical articles, dedicated fan art and fiction, and, crucially, conventions. Concrete initiatives celebrated in the Alleys’ fan sections—such as Jerry Bails & Larry Lattanzi’s Who’s Who and Supplement and Howard Keltner & Jerry Bails’ Authoritative Index to DC Comics—modeled the bibliographic rigor later seen in reference books and publisher‑sanctioned archives. The awards also normalized creator‑credit language (separating writer, penciler, inker, editor, colorist), a taxonomy echoed by later honors. Notably, several future luminaries appeared in fan categories (e.g., Don & Maggie Thompson for Newfangles and George R. R. Martin for early fan fiction), illustrating the fan‑to‑pro pipeline the Alleys helped energize.
After the Alleys ended in 1970, the Goethe/Comic Fan Art Awards (1971–1974) continued the fan‑awards thread, while later professional honors—such as the Shazam Awards (early 1970s), the Kirby Awards (mid‑1980s), the Harvey Awards (from 1988), and the Eisner Awards (from 1988)—broadened and professionalized the awards ecosystem, often preserving categories the Alleys popularized and presenting them on convention stages. Today, the Alleys are remembered as the prototype for organized comics honors and a catalyst for the fan‑to‑pro pipeline that reshaped the industry in the Silver and Bronze Ages—bridging Midwestern living‑room tallies to New York convention podiums and helping turn informal fandom into a durable cultural infrastructure.
FAQ about Alley Award
What were the Alley Awards?
The first known fan‑voted awards for American comic books, given 1962–1970 for the prior year’s work.
Why are they called “Alley” Awards?
They take their name from Alley Oop, V. T. Hamlin’s comic‑strip caveman—chosen as a playful nod to the earliest chronological “superhero.”
Who presented the awards?
They were organized under the Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences with close participation from Alter Ego; results ran in fanzines like On the Drawing Board / The Comic Reader.
Where were the ceremonies held?
Academy Con (1965–1967) and New York Comic Art Convention (1968–1970).
What came after the Alleys?
The Goethe Awards / Comic Fan Art Awards (1971–1974), followed by later professional and fan honors that shaped today’s awards landscape.
