Star Wars series Doctor Aphra wins GLAAD outstanding comic book award

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For fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBTQ community

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

The winner of the GLAAD Media Awards for 2019's "Outstanding Comic Book" is Marvel Comics' Star Wars ongoing series Doctor Aphra, announced Thursday afternoon via GLAAD's Twitter account.

The 31st edition of the annual awards aims to "recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community and the issues that affect their lives."

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

GLAAD credits the following creators as contributors to the series: Simon Spurrier, Emilio Laiso, Andrea Broccardo, Wilton Santos, Caspar Wijngaard, Marc Deering, Don Ho, Walden Wong, Chris Bolson, Scott Hanna, Elsa Charretier, Rachelle Rosenberg, Chris O'Halloran, Stephane Paitreau, Lee Loughridge, Edgar Delgado, Jim Campbell, Joe Caramagna.

The awards were originally scheduled to announced at a ceremony on March 19 in New York City.

Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra is an original character created by Marvel Comics but is considered canon in the Star Wars universe. 

Created in 2016 by Kieron Gillen, Aphra is a morally ambiguous archaeologist who once was in the employ of Darth Vadar. She's become a fan-favorite character who is often named as a top choice to translate to film at some point.

The character recently got her second solo series that launched earlier this year written by Alyssa Wong, set in the era between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

Here are the other nominees in the 2019 "Outstanding Comic Book" category: 

  • The Avant-Guards, by Carly Usdin, Noah Hayes, Tasha Neva, Jenna Ayoub, Rebecca Nalty, Kieran Quigley, Eleonora Bruni, Ed Dukeshire (Boom! Studios)
  • Bloom, by Kevin Panetta, Savanna Ganucheau (First Second)
  • Crowded, by Christopher Sebela, Ro Stein, Ted Brandt, Triona Farrell, Cardinal Rae (Image Comics)
  • Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass, by Mariko Tamaki, Steve Pugh, Carlos M. Mangual (DC)
  • Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, by Mariko Tamaki, Rosemary Valero-O'Connell (First Second)
  • Liebestrasse, by Greg Lockard, Tim Fish, Héctor Barros, Lucas Gattoni (ComiXology Originals)
  • Lumberjanes, by Shannon Watters, Kat Leyh, AnneMarie Rogers, Kanesha C. Bryant, Maarta Laiho, Aubrey Aiese (Boom! Studios)
  • Runaways, by Rainbow Rowell, Kris Anka, Andrés Genolet, Walden Wong, Matthew Wilson, Triona Farrell, Chris O'Halloran, Michael Garland, Niko Henrichon, Federico Blee, Dee Cunniffe, Jim Campbell, Joe Caramagna (Marvel Comics)
  • The Wicked + Divine, by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matthew Wilson, Clayton Cowles (Image Comics)



Michael Doran

I'm not just the Newsarama founder and editor-in-chief, I'm also a reader. And that reference is just a little bit older than the beginning of my Newsarama journey. I founded what would become the comic book news site in 1996, and except for a brief sojourn at Marvel Comics as its marketing and communications manager in 2003, I've been writing about new comic book titles, creative changes, and occasionally offering my perspective on important industry events and developments for the 25 years since. Despite many changes to Newsarama, my passion for the medium of comic books and the characters makes the last quarter-century (it's crazy to see that in writing) time spent doing what I love most.