The results of the 2026 United Fanzine Organization Awards – affectionately called “The Saucers” – have been announced in recognition of work published in 2025….and….welll….
Wow. What a way to end the week! I totally forgot that today was announcement day. Here’s the full list of awards:
1.) BEST PUBLISHER: Tom Fellrath / Phoenix Productions
2.) BEST SINGLE ZINE / COMIC / BOOK: THE COLLECTED CRANIUM FRENZY BY STEVE WILLIS READER [Tom Fellrath]
3.) BEST COVER: THE IMPROBABLE GIRL AND THE WONDER KITTY #15 (JOURNEY TO THE MASTER OF THE WORLD Part 3) [Joe Ely Carrales, III] Cover art by Teri Sue Wood, based on an Alex Moore concept.
4.) BEST COMIC STORY: TALES OF THE BROKEN B #7 by Larry Johnson
5.) BEST ARTICLE / TEXT STORY: “In Defense of Team America” by Rob Imes (CAPFAN #2)
6.) BEST COMIC WRITER: Larry Johnson
7.) BEST TEXT WRITER (FICTION OR NON-FICTION): Rob Imes
8.) BEST SEQUENTIAL STORY / ARTIST (TIE): Verl Holt Bond and Larry Johnson
9.) BEST ARTIST (COVER / PIN-UP / SPOT ILLUSTRATION): Matthew “Doc Hoff” Hoffman
Anyway, a couple thoughts (because there always are thoughts):
Steve Willis was, is, and will be one of the true geniuses of the nuwave/comix/minicomics/post-underground/zine/DIY era. His work, to me, consistently is some of the best reading that I’ve seen. That a collection of his work is voted as Best Single Zine/Comic Book is both entirely unsurprising and deserved. I don’t care who publishes it…Steve is that special and warrants all the recognition that the world has to offer.
As for the Best Publisher nod, I’m eternally humbled. The UFO has some really strong publishers, both in terms of content and publishing quality, and to be considered as one of the best of that group is…well, humbling. And then for four straight years! My tiny brain explodes with what that means. It sure is a challenge to make the best comics and zines every time I step up to the plate. Not only do I have a desire to make material of which I can be proud, I also feel a reputation to live up to!
Thanks to everyone who considered Steve and me worthy for these awards. We’ll keep chugging along, and hopefully you will like our new material as much as you liked our older work!
For more on the United Fanzine Organization co-op, you can check out all of our many links at: https://linktr.ee/ufozines
