 An excerpt from " Dogs and Water " was featured in the inaugural 2006 edition of the "Best American Comics" anthology, and the book was expanded and reissued in hardcover in 2007.In 2007, Nilsen won an Ignatz Award for his graphic memoir, "Don't Go Where I Can't Follow," and in 2012, he won an Ignatz Award for "Big Questions", a collected edition of his comic book series.Nilsen is co-founder of Autoptic, a bi-annual festival of independent comics and art culture that takes place in Minneapolis.