About the Award:

Named in honour of Eddy and Zorka Smet for establishing London’s first permanent comic book store, Comic Book Collector, and the beginning of the rise of nerd culture in London. We hope to make this an annual tradition at Forest City Comicon, to honour an individual or group that contributes to nerd culture in London.

2016: Bill Paul

In 2016, the award was presented to Bill Paul for establishing one of the earliest London fan-zine Media 5, that celebrated and featured local comic talent and science fiction, host of Stratight Talk on Fanshawe’s Radio station for decades, London’s unofficial Town Crier, and owner of Bill Paul’s Laffguards.

2015: Diana Tamblyn

In 2015, the award was presented Diana Tamblyn, local comic artist, who established the Ting Festival in 2014 named after Earl Tingley, who was a popular editorial cartoonist for the London Free Press for many decades. The festival showcases current local and regional comic artists and cartoonists.

2014: Eddie & Zorka Smet

Our first award was presented to Eddy Smet, a math professor at Huron College and his wife Zorka Smet. They established London’s first permanent comicbook store in 1979. Eddy and Zorka sold their store in 1986 and eventually Eddy donated his extensive personal comic collection to the Western Archives.