Xencelabs builds brand awareness and friendships at NCS Reuben Awards

The Hyatt Regency hotel in Jersey City, with its stunning views of the Manhattan skyline, was the location for the 77th annual National Cartoonists Society (NCS) Reuben Awards, September 6-8. The team from Xencelabs was honored to help sponsor this year’s event and spend some quality time with so many wonderfully creative cartoonists. For those not in the know, the Reuben Awards are the cartooning world’s equivalent to the Tony, Oscar, or Emmy Awards. Like those award ceremonies, the Reubens hands out awards in a variety of different categories and culminates in the Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year, won this year by Bill Griffith, creator of Zippy the Pinhead. Additionally, there were others honored, including animator Bill Plympton who received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his many creative contributions over the years. Several comic strips were also celebrating anniversaries – Beetle Bailey (75^th) and Garfield (45^th).

While celebrating fellow cartoonists and catching up socially are the main activities at the Reuben Awards, there is also a full day of presentations for NCS members to attend and learn about new trends and activities affecting the cartoon industry. Technology is always a popular subject and Hannah Imperial Cannon, Xencelabs’ director of business development, and Bill Lindsay, senior channel and enterprise sales manager, got things started with an overview of the company and its family of products. The second half of Xencelabs’ presentation featured renowned toy designer and illustrator Carlos Mendoza III conducting a live demonstration of the company’s Pen Display 24. The audience was thoroughly engaged with Carlos’ art and the Pen Display 24’s performance as evidenced by all their great questions and comments. As a thank you to the audience, the Xencelabs team raffled off a couple of Pen Tablets to two lucky winners.

NCS members were able to try out Xencelabs products outside the main meeting room throughout the day. There were a variety of luminaries - Jeff Keane (Family Circle), Mike Peters (Mother Goose and Grimm), Jim Davis (Garfield), Greg Evans (Luann) and many more - who stopped by the demo station to say hello and test the products. The feedback was wonderfully uplifting, and it is clear the cartoonist community appreciates having a new digital pen input player on the block.

A grand time was had by all, and we look forward to continuing to build brand awareness among NCS members and beyond. To the outgoing president of the NCS, Jason Chatfield, and its executive director, Latisha Moore, thank you for letting us be a part of such an inspirational event. See you next year.