The ballot includes two other graphic novels. Invisibility and Divinity Invisible Republic Gaiman expressed resentment at being on “that creepy racist’s slate,” but stressed that The Sandman: Overture was a collaborative work and, consequently, not his to withdraw. After all, Gaiman had already won four Hugo Awards, and the return of his most iconic creation was not something that Worldcon’s voting base would pass by.īut with the book nominated on the back of the Rabid Puppies campaign, some of Gaiman’s admirers expressed hope that, having previously won the award multiple times, he would withdraw the nomination and allow a non-Rabid candidate to take his place on the ballot. In Best Graphic Story, the human shield was clearly The Sandman: Overture by Neil Gaiman and J. Should they vote for these nominees, as they would have done ordinarily, and thereby, allow the Rabid slate to “win?” Or should they continue to place the Puppy picks below No Award, even if it meant depriving their favoured nominees of victory?

Such picks have been dubbed “human shields” by commentators, as Day was presumably intending to leave his opponents with a dilemma. These include Andy Weir for Best New Writer, The Martian for Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form), and File 770 for Best Fanzine. When assembling his 2016 slate, Vox Day preempted this response by including a few popular choices that would likely have been nominated anyway. In 2015, the Worldcon voters reacted to the Puppies by placing almost every slated finalist beneath the “No Award” option.

So, let’s take a look at the five works that-for better or worse-are now enshrined in comic history as Hugo nominees… Things changed this year, as Best Graphic Story is one of four Hugo categories to be dominated entirely by Vox Day’s choices. Before 2016, the Sad and Rabid slates contained just two Best Graphic Story entries between them, both webcomics: Howard Tayler’s Schlock Mercenary and Carter Reid’s The Zombie Nation. But previously, neither movement showed much interest in comics. The Rabid Puppies also affected last year’s Hugos the campaign was in turn inspired by the less extreme Sad Puppies, which began in 2013. As part of his Rabid Puppies campaign, the self-styled “national libertarian” provocateur sent his followers to vote for a slate that he himself assembled. As anyone who follows the Hugo Awards will already be aware, the 2016 ballot was decided in large part by one man: Vox Day.

Vox day hugo