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Possible Eisner Awards leak leads to concern from San Diego Comic-Con that it could overshadow Friday's awards ceremony and the winners

The 2026 Eisner Awards may have leaked early—and SDCC is investigating.

Eisner Awards logo along with SDCC logo
Image credit: Eisner Awards / Popverse

The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are scheduled to be revealed in a bespoke ceremony on the evening of Friday, July 24, in a crowded ballroom that is the largest gathering of prominent comic creators in one room. 

According to a Reddit user under the name 'beginendbegin,' the 2026 Eisner Awards winners were posted prematurely and temporarily on the Comic-Con International: San Diego website sometime in the days of July 22 and July 23. The user then posted a list of what they say are the winners. Popverse reached out to the user and will update our readers with any clarity that comes of that.

Popverse reached out to San Diego Comic-Con for comment. While they avoided verifying if the alleged winners list was in fact authentic, they said an investigation is underway and don't want this to detract from the Eisner Awards themselves.

"Whether or not this is true, we will obviously investigate what happened, but more importantly, I would hope that no one would mar the spotlight for those deserving nominees and recipients," says SDCC chief communications and strategy officer David Glanzer to Popverse. "Tomorrow evening is for them, and it would be awful if this took away from the meaningful and celebratory experience they richly deserve."

It's unclear what would need to be investigated if the alleged winners list was inaccurate.

As a former Eisner judge and longtime website manager, I can say that the list of Eisner Award winners is usually kept a closely guarded secret, with not even the judges themselves knowing the complete list of winners until the awards ceremony itself. At the same time, the organizers of the SDCC website (overseen by longtime CTO Mark Yturralde) have been one of the few to have that list early so that they may publish it upon the conclusion of the Eisner Awards event late into Friday evening (and sometimes Saturday morning). There have been instances where websites have accidentally published major news prematurely before, including over at Marvel.com, IGN.com, and others... even here at ThePopverse.com once in a while (Hey, we're not perfect).

The Eisner Awards ceremony will begin Friday, July 24 at 8 PM Pacific time.


 

About Comic-Con International: San Diego

Comic-Con is the premier event for all things comics and related popular art, including movies, television, gaming, interactive multimedia, and so much more! Enjoy cosplay galore and take part in unique programming, exclusive previews, and presentations, not to mention the expansive and diverse Exhibit Hall featuring merchandise and displays representing all fandoms.

Dates

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Location

San Diego, California
USA

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Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant: Chris Arrant is the Popverse's Editor-in-Chief. He has written about pop culture for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel, Newsarama, CBR, and more. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. (He/him)

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