Eisner nominees: Frank Espinosa (Rocketo); Tony Harris (Ex Machina); James Jean (Fables, Runaways); Jock (The Losers); and Eric Powell (The Goon, Universal Monsters: Cavalcade of Horror)

Nominees have been announced for the 2006 Will Eisner Industry Awards, with Chris Ware, Warren Ellis and DC Comics and its imprints leading the list.

Ware received seven nominations for Acme Novelty Library 16, Acme Novelty Library Annual Report and Walt and Skeezix. Ellis got six nods for Desolation Jones, Ocean, Fell, Down and Planetary.

DC and its imprints received a whopping 28 full nominations, while Image Comics followed with 10.

But this being Comics, Covered, what really interests us is the Best Cover Artist category: Two-time Eisner winner James Jean was nominated for his work on Fables and Runaways, while Tony Harris was tapped for Ex Machina -- his first cover nomination since 1997. Other contenders are first-time category nominees Frank Espinosa (Rocketo), Jock (The Losers) and Eric Powell (The Goon and Universal Monsters: Cavalcade of Horror).

A complete list of nominees can be found here.