| Yellow Kid Award | |
| Former Name: | Silver Plaque (1966) Golden Guinigi Tower (1967) Grand Guinigi (1969) |
| Awarded For: | Achievements in the field of comics and animation |
| Country: | Italy |
| Location: | Lucca Comics & Games (1970–1992) International Comics and Cartooning Exhibition (1994–2005) |
| Year: | 1970 |
The Yellow Kid Awards (Italian: Premio Yellow Kid) are comic book awards presented in Italy from 1970 to 1992 at Lucca Comics & Games in Lucca, then from 1994 to 2005 at the Salone Internazionale del Comics in Rome. The Yellow Kid is one of the world's first awards linked to comics. Their name refers to The Yellow Kid, a character created by the American Richard F. Outcault at the end of the 19th century, and considered one of the first comic book heroes.[1]
From 1966 to 1969, a previous set of prizes were awarded at the Lucca festival, namely the Silver Plaque (Italian: Targa d'Argento) in 1966, the Golden Guinigi Tower (Italian: Torre Guinigi d'oro) in 1967 and the Grand Guinigi in 1969 (Italian: Gran Guinigi).
In 1966, during the second edition of the festival, the monthly magazine Linus presented three Silver Plaques to Orietta Garzanti, for Best Italian Publisher (for I primi eroi), Best Foreign Publication (for Giff-Wiff) and Best Italian Critic (to Piero Canotto).[2]
The following year, 1967, the festival organized the award ceremony through an international jury.[3] These prizes, the Golden Guinigi Tower, an homage to Lucca's most famous monument, were reserved for participants of the fair and the exhibition "I comics oggi" ("Comic Strips Today"). That year, the festival also awarded six prizes to Gian Luigi Bonelli, Cesare Zavattini, Rino Albertarelli, Benito Jacovitti, Mario Gentilini, and Alpe Editions, an initiative which was not renewed in the following years.
During the following festival, held in November 1968, the awards ceremony was canceled following protests from the authors, in the context of May 68.[4]
The awarding of prizes at Lucca resumed in 1969, this time under the name Grand Guinigi.[5] An encouragement prize and a criticism prize were also introduced.
From 1970, the awards were renamed after the Yellow Kid; a statuette representing the little boy dressed in a yellow nightgown began being given to the prize winners. The Yellow Kid Awards were presented at Lucca Comics & Games through 1992.
From 1994 to 2005, the Yellow Kid Awards were presented at the Salone Internazionale del Comics (International Comics and Cartooning Exhibition), held in Rome.
In 2006, Lucca Comics & Games replaced the Yellow Kid Awards by bringing back the Gran Guinigi as a career accomplishment award.
In 2020, as the Lucca festival redubbed itself Lucca Changes amidst a shift to virtual programming during the COVID-19 pandemic,[6] the awards shifted to a new system under the umbrella term Lucca Comics Awards, consisting of 9 categories (3 Yellow Kids, five Gran Guinigis, and one Stefano Beani Award (named for a former festival director), "regardless of nationality, editorial format or distribution method".[7]
In addition to Yellow Kid awards for Italian writers, artists, and cartoonists; and similar awards for foreign creators, the festival jury also awards special Yellow Kid prizes at its convenience. For instance, the UNICEF plaque rewarding humanist works or institutions (from 1976), renamed the Hector Œsterheld Plaque in 1986; and the Caran-d'Ache Prize rewarding illustrators (from 1978). The organization also awards special guests of the festival a Yellow Kid for "A Life Devoted to Cartooning" (from 1972) and a Caran-d’Ache for "A Life Devoted to Illustration" (from 1982).
Since 1969 accredited journalists present at the festival have also presented prizes, in particular the Fantoche Prize rewarding a critical work on animation (1973-1982); the Critics Referendum Prize rewarding a work of animation (1973), the name of which evolved regularly from 1982; and category prizes rewarding various audiovisual or cinematographic works, taking the name of the Fantoche Prize (from 1984).
Prizes are also awarded by public vote (from 1974) and by a jury dedicated to academic work (Romano Calisi Prize, from 1984).
Unless otherwise specified, these prizes are called the "Yellow Kid Prize for/to...".
| Year | Winner | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Copi | Golden Guinigi Tower for Artist | |
| Guido Crepax | Golden Guinigi Tower for Writer | ||
| 1969 | Pier Carpi | Grand Guinigi for Writer | |
| Michele Gazzarri | |||
| Hugo Pratt | Grand Guinigi for Artist | ||
| 1970 | Dino Battaglia | Cartoonist | |
| Alfredo Castelli | Writer | ||
| 1971[8] | -- auto-translated from French by Module:CS1 translator --> | Gianni De Luca | Artist |
| Mino Milani | Writer | ||
| 1972[9] | Guido Crepax | Cartoonist | |
| Grazia Nidasio | Artist | ||
| 1973[10] | -- auto-translated from French by Module:CS1 translator --> | Guido Buzzelli | Cartoonist |
| Lino Landolfi | Artist | ||
| 1974[11] | -- auto-translated from French by Module:CS1 translator --> | Bonvi | Cartoonist |
| Writer | |||
| Artist | |||
| 1975[12] | -- auto-translated from French by Module:CS1 translator --> | Massimo Mattioli | Cartoonist |
| Sergio Toppi | Artist | ||
| 1976[13] | -- auto-translated from French by Module:CS1 translator --> | Altan | Cartoonist |
| Artist | |||
| 1978[14] | -- auto-translated from French by Module:CS1 translator --> | Cartoonist | |
| Milo Manara[15] | Artist | ||
| 1980[16] | -- auto-translated from French by Module:CS1 translator --> | Daniele Panebarco | Cartoonist |
| Attilio Micheluzzi | Artist | ||
| Cristina Lastrego and Francesco Testa | Caran-d'Ache for Illustration | ||
| 1982[17] | Vittorio Giardino | Cartoonist | |
| Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri | Artist | ||
| Giovanni Mulazzani | Caran-d'Ache for Illustration | ||
| 1984[18] | -- auto-translated from French by Module:CS1 translator --> | Sergio Staino | Cartoonist |
| Anna Brandoli | Artist | ||
| Alarico Gattia | Caran-d'Ache for Illustration | ||
| 1986[19] | Cartoonist | ||
| Franco Saudelli | Artist | ||
| Fabrizio del Tessa | Caran-d'Ache for Illustration | ||
| 1990[20] | Tiziano Sclavi | Cartoonist | |
| Massimo Rotundo | Artist | ||
| Flavio Costantini | Caran-d'Ache for Illustration | ||
| 1992[21] | Giorgio Cavazzano | Cartoonist | |
| Giancarlo Alessandrini | Artist | ||
| Riccardo Mannelli | Caran-d'Ache for Illustration |
| Year | Winner | Country | Reason for the Award | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Mondadori Editore |  Italy | Its publications, in particular the collection Le grandi storie | Publisher (Golden Guinigi Tower) |
| Corriere dei Piccoli | Contribution to the development of Italian comics (Golden Guinigi Tower) | |||
| Milano Libri | For having raised the interest of a new audience | Avant-garde editorial initiative (Golden Guinigi Tower) | ||
| 1969 | Orietta Garzanti | Its edition of Little Nemo | Italian publisher (Grand Guinigi) | |
| Robert Cottereau |  France | Lifetime achievement | Foreign publisher (Grand Guinigi) | |
| Claudio Bertieri | Italy | AZ Comics (EK) | Critics Prize | |
| 1970 | Mondadori | Italy | Oscar Cartoons | Italian publisher (periodical) |
| Bompiani | Mafalda | Italian publisher (book) | ||
| France | Pif Gadget | Foreign publisher | ||
| André Leborgne |  Belgium | Ran Tan Plan | Honorable mention | |
| Sansoni | Italy | Enciclopedia dei fumetti | ||
| Club Anni Trenta | Its chronological reissues | |||
| 1971 | Laterza | I fumetti di Mao | Italian book publisher | |
| Sansoni | Horror | Italian periodical publisher | ||
| Abril |  Brazil | Foreign publisher | ||
| Joël la Roche | France | Corto Maltese | Honorable mention | |
| 1972 | Mondadori | Italy | Italian book publisher | |
| Editions Lombard | France | Tintin magazine | Foreign publisher | |
| Walter Herdeg | Comics (direction) | Critics Prize | ||
| David Pascal |  United States | |||
| 1973 | Italy | Its edition of Nick Carter by Bonvi | Italian publisher | |
| Springer | Foreign publisher | |||
| 1974 | Daim Press | Italy | Its collection of « I Protagonisti » | Italian publisher |
| Pala |  Spain | All of its activities | Foreign publisher | |
| Henri Filippini | France | Their volume of tribute to Alain Saint-Ogan | Honorary Yellow Kid | |
| Maurizio Bovarini | Italy | |||
| 1975 | Cenisio | Italy | Italian publisher | |
| Glénat | France | Foreign publisher | ||
| Istituto Nazionale per la Documentazione sull'Immagine | Italy | Exhibition "No al fascismo!" | Honorable mention | |
| 1976 | Daim Press | The collection Un uomo un'avventura | Italian publisher | |
| Spain | El Papus | Foreign publisher | ||
| Alcidio da Quinta | Brazil | Simplex | UNICEF plaque for animated film | |
| André Leborgne | Belgium | Ran Tan Plan | Honorable mention | |
| 1978 | Italy | The totality of its activities | Italian publisher | |
| Casterman | Belgium | À Suivre | Foreign publisher | |
| 1980 | Editiemme | Italy | Italian publisher | |
| Epic Illustrated | United States | Foreign publisher | ||
| 1982 | Italy | Frigidaire | Italian publisher | |
| Éditions Horay | France | French publisher | ||
| Algerian Comic Strip School | UNICEF comics plaque | |||
| 1984 | L'Isole trovata | Italy | Italian publisher | |
| Strip Art Features | Foreign publisher | |||
| Editoria Basca | Spain | UNICEF comics plaque | ||
| Italy | Glamour International | Special Plaque | ||
| 1986 | Italy | Italian publisher | ||
| Aedena | France | Foreign publisher | ||
| Spain | Plaque Hector Œesterheld | |||
| 1990 | Sergio Bonelli Editore | Italy | Italian publisher | |
| El Víbora | Spain | Foreign publisher | ||
| Henri Filippini | France | Yellow Kid awarded by the jury | ||
| Carlsen | Plaque Hector Œsterheld | |||
| 1992 | Italy | Italian publisher | ||
| Tundra Publishing | United States | Foreign publisher |
| Year | Award-recipient(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Astorina (Italy), Casterman (France) | |
| 1995 | DC Comics (United States), Eura Editoriale (Italy) | |
| 1996 | Bonelli (Italy), Dargaud (France) | |
| 1997 | Oreste Del Buono (Italy), Raw (United States), Edizioni d'Arte Lo Scarabeo (Italy) | |
| 1998 | Lizard Edizioni (Italy), Dark Horse Comics (United States) | |
| 1999 | Hazard Edizioni (Italy), El Víbora (Spain) | |
| 2000 | L'Association (France), Macchia Nera (Italy), Mare Nero (Italy), Lanciostory (Italy) | |
| 2001 | Kappa Edizioni (Italy) | |
| 2002 | Coconino Press (Italy), El Jueves (Spain) | |
| 2003 | Pascal Morelli (France), Éditions Omnibus (France) | |
| 2005 | Edicions de Ponent (Spain) |
This prize, presented by accredited journalists present at the festival, rewarded an animated work produced by Italians. It was renamed the Critics' Prize in 1982. In 1984, the prize was reconfigured as the Lucca City Grand Prize, awarded by a special jury and highlighting a recent Italian cartoon.
| Year | Winner(s) | Award-winning work | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Emanuele Luzzati | Pulcinella | Critics' Referendum Prize |
| Giulio Gianini | |||
| 1974 | Bruno Bozzetto | Self-Service | |
| 1975 | NOT AWARDED | ||
| 1976 | Bruno Bozzetto | Allegro non troppo | Critics' Referendum Prize |
| 1978 | Roberto Perini, Enzo Sferra, and Alighiero Giuseppetti | Upupa | Critics' Referendum Prize Short Film division |
| Giulio Gianini | Il flauto magico | Critics' Referendum Prize Feature Film division | |
| Emanuele Luzzati | |||
| 1980 | Guido Manuli | S.O.S. | Critics' Referendum Prize |
| 1982 | La Figura | I Grandi Film in Due Minuti | Critics' Prize |
| 1984 | Ama gli animali | Lucca City Grand Prize | |
| 1986 | Vincenzo Gioanola | Russian roulette | Lucca City Grand Prize for an Emerging Artist |
| 1990 | Gianluigi Toccafondo | La Coda | |
| 1992 | Simona Mulazzani | La Pista | Lucca City Grand Prize |
This prize, presented by accredited journalists present at the festival, rewarded Italian critical work devoted to animation.
| Year | Winner | Award-winning work | Publisher | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Piero Zanotto | L'Italia di cartone and other works | Liviana | |
| 1974 | Attilio Giovannini | |||
| 1975 | Gianni Rondolino | Storia del Cinema d'Animazione | Einaudi | |
| 1976 | Sergio Michelli | Cinema di animazione in Bulgaria | Cappelli | |
| 1978 | Giannalberto Bendazzi | Topolino e poi | Il Formichiere | |
| 1980 | NOT AWARDED | |||
| 1982 | Alfio Bastiancich | L'Opera di Norman McLaren | Giappichelli |
In 1984, the Fantoche Prize was extensively renewed. Now awarded by the same jury as the Grand Prize, it rewarded audiovisual or cinematographic works and was divided into several categories.
| Year | Winner | Work | Category | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Orson Welles, genio del cinema | TV Show | ||
| Bruno Bozzetto | Sigmund | Advertising Spot | ||
| Cairoli Elementary School (Turin) | L'importante è partecipare | Educational or Documentary Film | ||
| Ama gli animali | Free Subject Movie | |||
| 1986 | San Giacomo Elementary School (Turin) | Sueno e colore | Film Produced by an Educational Institution | |
| Piero Mazzoni | Firenze-Europa | Film Trailer | ||
| Filippo Fantoni | ||||
| Enzo D'Alò | Se fumi tu, fumano tutti | Documentary or Scientific Film | ||
| Enrico Carlesi | ||||
| Rotondo, quadrato, triangolo | Feature Film | |||
| 1990 | Bruno Caccia Elementary School (Turin) and the Magic Lantern | Fumosofia | Film Produced by an Educational Institution | |
| Ernesto Paginoni | San Pellegrino Aranciat | Advertising or Promotional Film | ||
| Antonella Abbatiello | Magic Circus | Documentary or Scientific Film | ||
| Guido Manuli | + 1-1 | Feature Film | ||
| Laura Di Biagio | Race Timed Out | Video | ||
| 1992 | Students of the Istituto Europeo di Design (Milan) | Attenda, prego | Film School Film | |
| Gianluigi Toccafondo | Media Salles, Cinema d'Europa | Advertising, Promotional or Support film | ||
| NOT AWARDED | Documentary or Scientific Film | |||
| Maurizio Forestieri, Ferro Piludu, Lucilla Salimei, and Fabio Testa | Tiramolla e il cacciatore | Feature Film | ||
| Luca Prassa and Oscara Tornincasa | Creeps! | The Authorized Version 1992 | Video |
This prize, given by the festival organizers, rewards a cartoonist or animator for their career work.
| Year | Winner | Country | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Hergé | Belgium | Cartoonist |
| 1973 | Walt Disney Productions | United States | Animation studio |
| 1974 | Italy | Cartoonist | |
| 1975 | Adolfo Eisen | Brazil | Comics publisher |
| 1976 |  Argentina | Cartoonist | |
| 1978 | Milton Caniff | United States | |
| 1980 | Arturo del Castillo | Argentina | |
| 1982 | Jesús Blasco | Spain | |
| 1984 | Lee Falk | United States | |
| 1986 | Will Eisner | ||
| 1990 | Romano Scarpa | Italy | |
| 1992 | Benito Jacovitti |
Starting in 1982, the festival began also awarding a special Caran-d'Ache prize for "A Life of Illustration".
| Year | Winner | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Italy | ||
| 1984 | Burne Hogarth | United States | |
| 1986 | Jayme Cortez | Brazil | |
| 1990 | Ziraldo | ||
| 1992 | Sergio Toppi | Italy |
| Year | Winner | Country | Division | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Rino Albertarelli | Cartoonist | ||
| 1978 | Scuola del Fumetto di Lucca | Comics school | ||
| 1980 | Héctor Oesterheld | Posthumous Writing Award | ||
| 1982 | Wow Agenda Planning 1983 | Publication | ||
| 1984 | Alarico Gattia | Illustrator | ||
| 1986 | Edizioni Glamour International | Publishing house | ||
| 1990 | NOT AWARDED | |||
| 1992 | Sciuscià (Edizioni di Miceli) | Re-release |
In 1990, the festival management also presented the Max Prize for Cartoon Cinema to the Deutsches Filmmuseum in Frankfurt am Main. Two years later, this prize was awarded to the Cineteca del Friuli (it).
Awarded from 1984 to 1992, this prize recognized Italian academic work devoted to comics. It was awarded by a specific jury.
| Year | Winner | Work | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Arianna Pregagnoli | Flash Gordon: la concettualizzazione del 'diverso' attraverso il fumetto americano (1930-1940) (1982-1983) | |
| Elena Furin | I fumetti di Frigidaire (1983-1984) | ||
| 1986 | Francesca Camera | Alexandre Alexeieff e la cinègravure (1985-1986) | |
| Marco Cadioli | Tecniche di computer animation (1985-1986) | ||
| 1990 | Sonia Maria Bibe Luyten | Potere e diffusione dei fumetti giapponesi quale riflesso della società nipponica (1987-88) | |
| Alessandra Buniva | Fumetto: variazioni e varianti (1989-90) | ||
| 1992 | Gianni Albanese | L'uomo africano nei fumetti dell'Italia coloniale fascista |
United Kingdom
Mexico
Hungary
Congo, the Democratic Republic of the