The nominations for the 2011 Eisner Awards, which celebrates the best in comic books and graphic novels, were announced yesterday. The awards winners will be announced at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con International on July 22 and the nominees represent a wide selection of this year’s standout books. This will be the 23rd year for the Eisner awards, which are largely described as the Oscar’s of the comic industry, and while there are a few other awards for comics, these are the big ones of the year.

Leading the nominees is Jim McCann and Janet Lee‘s Return of the Dapper Men, which nabbed five nominations. The unique story and art earned the book nominations in Best Publication for Teens, Best Graphic Novel-New, Best Writer, Best Artist, and Best Publication Design. Just behind Dapper Men with four nominations were two Comics of Doom favorites, Morning Glories (by Nick Spencer and Joe Eisma) and Locke & Key (by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez). Also receiving multiple nominations was Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys (a personal favorite), Chew from Image Comics, Mike Mignola‘s Hellboy, and Daniel Clowes‘ Wilson.