The 2023 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards will be presented at the Ringo Awards Banquet and Ceremony in conjunction with the 2023 Baltimore Comic-Con. A limited number of tickets are available to the public to attend the Banquet and Award Ceremony and spend a fun evening, share a drink, and enjoy a meal with the comic book professional community. This is a unique opportunity to meet and network with industry creators, publishers, and professionals.
Ringo Awards tickets include a full cocktail hour (cash bar), a full service dinner (featuring a Baltimore crab cake), the awards ceremony, and a gift bag, and are now available for $149.99.
The Ringo Awards Committee has announced the addition of industry veteran writer Mark Waid to the 2023 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards ceremony as the Keynote Address speaker!
Mark Waid, a New York Times-bestselling author, bought his first comic book at age four and never stopped. Since entering the field as a professional in the mid-1980s, he has been an editor, a writer, a publisher, an artist, a colorist, a letterer, a publicist, a creative consultant, a chief creative officer, and even a comic shop owner, meaning he’s done literally everything you can do in comics outside of running the actual printing presses. As a writer, he’s worked with every major and almost every minor publisher, writing and editing over 2000 stories (and counting). Among them are his collaboration with artist Alex Ross, Kingdom Come, one of the all-time highest-selling American graphic novels, as well as long, critically acclaimed runs on Flash, Daredevil, Archie, Fantastic Four, and many, many other titles. Currently, he’s enjoying a new groundswell of success at DC Comics with World’s Finest, Teen Titans, and Shazam! while, in his “spare time,” embarking on a full-scale teaching career, presenting comics writing classes at select conventions and venues.
The Ringo Awards are thrilled to announce the 2023 nominees. The nomination process was completed with the participation of our esteemed 2023 jury as well as the voting public. Fans and comic book professionals alike showed strong support in promoting the voting process on their websites and social media feeds.
Voting on the 2023 Final Ballot is restricted to comic book industry creative community — anyone involved in and credited with creating comics professionally.
We now present the 2023 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards Final Ballot. Congrats to all of the nominees and good luck!
Fan and Pro Nomination Categories
Best Cartoonist (Writer and Artist)
Kate Beaton
Wes Craig
Alexis Deacon
Jenny Jinya
Snailords
Stan Sakai
Zoe Thorogood
Best Artist or Penciller
Fahmida Azim
Kate Flynn
Molly Mendoza
Nicola Scott
Evan “Doc” Shaner
Best Colorist
Daniela Barisone
Jordie Bellaire
Chris O’Halloran
Jacob Phillips
Dave Stewart
Ellie Wright
Best Cover Artist
Wylie Beckert
Jason Muhr
Bryan Silverbax
Greg Smallwood
JH Williams III
Best Writer
Ed Brubaker
Anthony Del Col
Drew Edwards
Scott Snyder
Brian K. Vaughan
Best Inker
Gigi Baldassini
Scott Hanna
Sandra Hope
Klaus Janson
Mark Morales
Best Letterer
Justin Birch
Jerome Gagnon
Todd Klein
Micah Myers
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Stan Sakai
Best Series
Fractured Shards, Comics2Movies
Parker Girls, Abstract Studios
Saga, Image Comics
Season of the Bruja, Oni Press
Something is Killing the Children, BOOM! Studios
Best Single Issue or Story
88 Days of Hell: One Ukrainian Man’s Experience in the Russian Filtration, Insider
A Hunter’s Tale, Elephant Eater Comics
Finding Batman, DC Comics
Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters, Oni Press
Punisher #1, Marvel Comics
Thieves, Nobrow
You Were My Joker That Night, Anatola Howard
Best Original Graphic Novel
Chivalry, Dark Horse Comics
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands, Drawn & Quarterly
It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth, Image Comics
Tokyo Rose—Zero Hour: A Japanese American Woman’s Persecution and Ultimate Redemption After World War II, Tuttle Publishing
The Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards is an annual celebration of the creativity, skill, and fun of comics. The awards will be presented on Saturday, September 9, 2023 as part of the fan- and pro-favorite convention, The Baltimore Comic-Con. The Ringo Awards is currently in the midst of the 2023 nomination process, which is inclusive of fans and comic book professionals alike. Submit your nominations before voting closes at midnight on May 11, 2023.
The Jury
An esteemed jury of comics professionals will participate in the nomination process, selecting favorite works in over 20 categories. The 2023 jury was chosen as a representative cross-section of the comic book industry, with members representing seasoned and venerated publishers, press, and creators across numerous genres.
Troy-Jeffrey Allen is the Consumer Marketing Manager for Diamond Comics Distributors, Editor of PREVIEWSworld.com, and the producer/co-host of PREVIEWSworld Weekly. His published work includes MF DOOM: All Caps, Public Enemy’s Apocalypse ’91, Bamn, Fight of the Century, the Harvey Award-nominated District Comics, and the Ringo Awards-nominated Magic Bullet.
Richard Case has been illustrating comics for more than 30 years. His run on Doom Patrol with writer Grant Morrison inspired much of the recent TV series seen on HBO Max. He has also illustrated a number of books, including Sandman, Preacher, Shade the Changing Man, Hunter: Age of Magic, Dr. Strange, Sensational Spider-Man, and Batman ’66. He is currently a Lead Concept Artist for Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment. Follow on Instagram @ richardcaseillustration
Amy Chu is a comics and animation writer, currently working on the upcoming Borderlands mini-series and Carmilla: The First Vampire through the Dark Horse Berger Books imprint. Her most recent work is the Netflix anime series DOTA: Dragon’s Blood, Rick & Morty, and Archie. For DC and Marvel, she has written popular characters such as Wonder Woman, Poison Ivy, Deadpool, Ant-Man, and Iron Man. She is also known for her run on Red Sonja, and is the first woman to write the KISS and Green Hornet series. For children, she has written the graphic novels Sea Sirens and Sky Island (Penguin Random House) and Ana & the Cosmic Race (Papercutz). Amy is a member of the faculty at the Kubert School and the School of Visual Arts and a board member of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a double bachelor’s degree in Architectural Design from MIT and East Asian Studies from Wellesley College. You can follow her on Twitter @amychu, Instagram @amy_chu and on Facebook/iwritecomics.
Abby Denson is the author of Uniquely Japan, the Kitty Sweet Tooth book series (illustrated by Utomaru), Cool Tokyo Guide, Cool Japan Guide, Dolltopia, and Tough Love. She has scripted comics for Amazing Spider-Man Family, Powerpuff Girls Comics, Simpsons Comics, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Josie and the Pussycats, Disney Adventures, and many others. Her work has garnered the International Manga Award, Moonbeam Children’s Book Award, and the IPPY Award.
John Petrie grew up in Boston and currently lives in New York City. He’s worked in the book world for almost thirty years. In addition to working and managing retail bookshops, he spent years working at Forbidden Planet NYC as a comic book retailer. He currently works at Valiant Entertainment as a Sales Manager. He also writes a monthly column at CBR about LGBTQ+ comics called Queer Comics from a Queer Perspective.
Fan and Pro Nomination Categories
Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist)
Best Writer
Best Artist or Penciller
Best Inker
Best Letterer
Best Colorist
Best Cover Artist
Best Series
Best Single Issue or Story
Best Original Graphic Novel
Best Anthology
Best Humor Comic
Best Webcomic
Best Humor Webcomic
Best Non-fiction Comic Work
Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel
Best Presentation in Design
Perennial Jury-Only Nomination
The Mike Wieringo Spirit Award
Fan-Only Favorite Categories
Favorite Hero
Favorite Villain
Favorite New Series
Favorite New Talent
Favorite Publisher
Hero Initiative Award (selected by the Hero Initiative)
The Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards is an annual celebration of the creativity, skill, and fun of comics. The awards return for their sixth year on Saturday, September 9, 2023 as part of the fan- and pro-favorite convention, The Baltimore Comic-Con.
Unlike other professional industry awards, the Ringo Awards include fan participation in the nomination process along with an esteemed jury of comics professionals.
More than 20 categories will be celebrated with top honors being given at the awards ceremony in October.
Fan and Pro Nominations
Fan and pro-jury voting are tallied independently, and the combined nomination ballot is compiled by the Ringo Awards Committee. The top two fan choices become nominees, and the jury’s selections fill the remaining three slots for five total nominees per category. Ties may result in more than five nominees in a single category. Nominees will be listed on the ballot alphabetically. Nomination ballot voting is open to the public (fans and pros) between February 24, 2023 and May 11, 2023.
Final Ballot Voting
After processing by the Ringo Awards Committee and Jury, the Final Ballots are targeted to be available to comic creative professionals for voting on July 12, 2023 and will be due by August 9, 2023 for final tallying. Presentation of the winners will occur at the Baltimore Comic-Con on the evening of Saturday, September 9, 2023.
Nomination Eligibility
Eligibility for creators and creative works is determined by publication in the preceding calendar year (January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022) – print publication date takes precedence over electronic publication date. For electronic works, the date of publication is time-stamped with most publications and at least 3 episodes/installments of continuing works must have appeared during the eligibility period.
Fan and Pro Nomination Categories
Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist)
Best Writer
Best Artist or Penciller
Best Inker
Best Letterer
Best Colorist
Best Cover Artist
Best Series
Best Single Issue or Story
Best Original Graphic Novel
Best Anthology
Best Humor Comic
Best Webcomic
Best Humor Webcomic
Best Non-fiction Comic Work
Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel
Best Presentation in Design
Perennial Jury-Only Nomination
The Mike Wieringo Spirit Award
Fan-Only Favorite Categories
Favorite Hero
Favorite Villain
Favorite New Series
Favorite New Talent
Favorite Publisher
Hero Initiative Award (selected by the Hero Initiative)
The Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award
The Dick Giordano Humanitarian Award
Publisher Submissions
Publishers wishing to submit works for review by the Ringo Jurors can submit up to five submissions per “Fan and Pro Nomination” category that they feel are worthy of consideration. To participate in this process, publishers are asked to have a single representative send an email to contact@ringoawards.com for information on how to send in your submission.
Voting on the 2022 Final Ballot was restricted to comic book industry creative community — anyone involved in and credited with creating comics professionally.
During the ceremony, Steve Geppi was presented with the 2022 Ringo Award for “Lifetime Achievement”. Jonna and the Unpossible Monstersfrom Oni Press was the 2022 “Spirit Award Winner”. Scott Dunbier was presented with the 2022 Dick Giordano Hero Humanitarian Award.
Congrats to all of the winners and nominees!
Winners are marked in bold.
Fan and Pro Nomination Categories
Best Cartoonist (Writer and Artist)
Jeff Lemire
Sas Milledge
Eric Powell
Caytlin Vilbrandt
Thomas Zahler
Best Artist or Penciller
Filipe Andrade
Juan Cavia
Tyler Crook
Jeff Edwards
Jock
PokuriMio
Gabriel Rodriguez
Best Letterer
Andworld Designs
Clayton Cowles
Crank!
Taylor Esposito
DC Hopkins
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Best Cover Artist
Simone Di Meo
Jeff Edwards
Stephanie Hans
Javan Jordan
Jeff Lemire
Peach Momoko
Sana Takeda
Best Single Issue or Story
Commander RAO #1, Scout Comics
Mamo #1, BOOM! Studios
The Many Deaths of Laila Starr #3, BOOM! Studios
Something is Killing the Children #20, BOOM! Studios
Tales of the Night Watchman: Under the Surface, So What? Press
Best Anthology
DC Pride 2021, DC
SENSORY: Life on the Spectrum, self-published
Smut Peddler Presents: Sordid Past, Iron Circus Comics
You Died: An Anthology of the Afterlife, Iron Circus Comics
Yule: Dreadful Tales for the Holiday Season, self-published
The 2022 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards will be presented at the Ringo Awards Banquet and Ceremony in conjunction with the 2022 Baltimore Comic-Con. A limited number of tickets are available to the public to attend the Banquet and Award Ceremony and spend a fun evening, share a drink, and enjoy a meal with the comic book professional community. This is a unique opportunity to meet and network with industry creators, publishers, and professionals.
Ringo Awards tickets include a full cocktail hour (cash bar), a full service dinner (featuring a Baltimore crab cake), the awards ceremony, and a gift bag, and are now available for $149.99.
The Ringo Awards Committee is proud to announce the addition of industry veteran cartoonist Jamar Nicholas to the 2022 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards ceremony as the Keynote Address speaker!
Jamar Nicholas is an award-winning, Philadelphia-based artist and educator, dedicating his career to helping young people realize the power of visual narrative.
Beginning his cartooning career in self-publishing, 1998’s The Jamar Chronicles #1 (Sweatshop Press) began Jamar’s foray into comics.
In a world before Google, Jamar and a few friends created the Indy Cred All-Stars, an online Yahoo! message board that was a community of DIY-ers trying to figure out the Riddle of Comics. This became a haven in the early years of several cartoonists that have gone on to great things in the industry.
From there, he ventured into early webcomics with The Jamar Chronicles Weekly and in 2002, created Detective Boogaloo: Hip-Hop Cop, distributed on filmmaker Kevin Smith’s Moviepoopshoot.com. During that time, he entered into the comics space with a short stint on Image/Devil’s Due’s Radiskull & Devildoll, based off of the popular web cartoon series created by Joe Sparks.
A career-altering job illustrating Annie Auerbach’s The Grosse Adventures at Tokyopop led Jamar to discover the love of creating stories for young people.
In 2010, Jamar adapted and illustrated Geoffrey Canada’s Fist Stick Knife Gun, a story about escaping inner-city violence. The Graphic Novel space was a lot different then, even if it was ONLY 12 years ago. Winning several GLYPH Awards for the project, Jamar began a strong focus on creating long-form comic work.
Everything old is new again — in 2015, Jamar brought Detective Boogaloo: Hip-Hop Cop to the newspapers, in full-color and serialized daily in the US Metro news service (Philadelphia, NYC, and Boston), where he had an estimated 3 million readers a month.
2017 brought Leon: Protector of the Playground (Kids Love Comics), which was received with critical acclaim and more accolades, including the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in 2018.
Jamar’s latest book, Leon the Extraordinary, releases on October 4th. The first in an all-new series from Scholastic Graphix, Leon the Extraordinary tells the story of an ordinary kid trying to make a difference and save the day in a world full of superheroes.
He is also a writer and columnist for DRAW! Magazine, as well as co-host of the Pencil To Pencil Podcast with industry legends Mike Manley and Steve Conley.
The Ringo Awards have announced the 2022 nominees! The nomination process was completed with the participation of our esteemed 2022 jury as well as the voting public. Fans and comic book professionals alike showed strong support in promoting the voting process on their websites, channels, and via social media. The 2022 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards are to be presented on the evening of Saturday, October 29, 2022 as part of The Baltimore Comic-Con.
Voting on the 2022 Final Ballot is restricted to comic book industry creative community — anyone involved in and credited with creating comics professionally.
Congrats to all of the nominees and good luck!
Fan and Pro Nomination Categories
Best Cartoonist (Writer and Artist)
Jeff Lemire
Sas Milledge
Eric Powell
Caytlin Vilbrandt
Thomas Zahler
Best Artist or Penciller
Filipe Andrade
Juan Cavia
Tyler Crook
Jeff Edwards
Jock
PokuriMio
Gabriel Rodriguez
Best Letterer
Andworld Designs
Clayton Cowles
Crank!
Taylor Esposito
DC Hopkins
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Best Cover Artist
Simone Di Meo
Jeff Edwards
Stephanie Hans
Javan Jordan
Jeff Lemire
Peach Momoko
Sana Takeda
Best Single Issue or Story
Commander RAO #1, Scout Comics
Mamo #1, BOOM! Studios
The Many Deaths of Laila Starr #3, BOOM! Studios
Something is Killing the Children #20, BOOM! Studios
Tales of the Night Watchman: Under the Surface, So What? Press
Best Anthology
DC Pride 2021, DC
SENSORY: Life on the Spectrum, self-published
Smut Peddler Presents: Sordid Past, Iron Circus Comics
You Died: An Anthology of the Afterlife, Iron Circus Comics
Yule: Dreadful Tales for the Holiday Season, self-published
The Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards is an annual celebration of the creativity, skill, and fun of comics. The awards will be presented on Saturday, October 29, 2022 as part of the fan- and pro-favorite convention, The Baltimore Comic-Con. The Ringo Awards is currently in the midst of the 2022 nomination process, which is inclusive of fans and comic book professionals alike. Please submit your nominations before voting closes at midnight on June 30, 2022.
An esteemed jury of comics professionals will participate in the nomination process, selecting favorite works in over 20 categories. The 2022 jury was chosen as a representative cross-section of the comic book industry, with members representing seasoned and venerated educators, retailers, and creators across numerous genres.
In 30-plus years working in comics, Jim Calafiore has worked on Peter David’s Aquaman, Judd Winnick’s Exiles, Gotham Underground with Frank Tieri, Red Lanterns with Charles Soule, various Batman books, Deadpool, and Black Panther. After a run on the critically-acclaimed Secret Six with Gail Simone, they reunited with for their creator-owned success Leaving Megalopolis. He’s currently working on his creator-owned supernatural-comedy saga, NED, Lord of the Pit.
Finder, the science fiction series Carla Speed McNeil started in 1996, was “born” in Maryland, and so were her two kids and three cats. She and her husband were born and raised in Louisiana, but we’ve lived here longer than we ever lived there, which is a funny thought sometimes. She’s won an Eisner, several Ignatzes, and the LA Times Book Prize. She teaches comics at MICA in Baltimore, and her COVID hobb-session is making teeny tiny doors.
Jarrett Melendez grew up on the mean, deer-infested streets of Bucksport, Maine. A longtime fan of food and cooking, Jarrett has spent a lot of his time in kitchens, oftentimes as a paid professional! Jarrett is a regular contributor to Bon Appetit and Food52, and is the author of The Comic Kitchen, a fully illustrated, comic-style cookbook. When not cooking and writing about food, Jarrett usually writes comic books and graphic novels, including Chef’s Kiss from Oni Press, and has contributed to the Ringo-nominated All We Ever Wanted, Full Bleed, and Murder Hobo: Chaotic Neutral. He is currently writing a graphic memoir for Oni Press. Jarrett lives in Somerville, MA, with his collection of Monokuro Boo plush pigs.
Joe Murray’s auspicious introduction to the world of comics was through the inauspicious Marvel toy tie-in comics of ROM, Micronauts, and Shogun Warriors, but they were enough to get him hooked. After earning a degree in English Literature and the job prospects that opened up (at graduation he was given a diploma and told he could never afford to turn down a free meal), he inveigled his way into a job at his Local Comic Shop, Captain Blue Hen Comics in Newark, Delaware. Within two years, he was running the place. In 2001, after picking the brains of the wisest and brightest in comic retailerdom, Joe and his wife Danielle decided to buy the business. Captain Blue Hen is a three-time Eisner Spirit of Retailing finalist, a seven-time Readers’ Choice Best Comic Shop winner, and celebrated its 40th anniversary overall and 20th anniversary under Joe and Danielle’s stewardship in 2021.
A member of ComicsPro, the only trade organization for direct-market comic book retailers, Joe was elected to the Board of Directors in 2019 and became Vice President in 2021. Joe works with a multitude of schools and libraries in several states. He has been a speaker at the Delaware and Maryland Librarians conference, a workshop speaker at Diamond Summits and New York Comic-con, and is a regular guest speaker at the University of Delaware for graduate study courses in Library Sciences.
Qiana Whitted is professor of English and African American Studies at the University of South Carolina. A graduate of Hampton University with a PhD from Yale University, her research and teaching focus on Black literary and cultural studies, and American comics and graphic novels. She is the author of the Eisner Award-winning book, EC Comics: Race, Shock, and Social Protest, and co-editor of the collection on Comics and the U.S. South. She also wrote the introductory essay for the Black Panther volume of the new Penguin Classics Marvel Collection and is currently editing a collection on blackness in early American comics. She is the editor of Inks: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society and chair of the International Comic Arts Forum.
Fan and Pro Nomination Categories
Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist)
Best Writer
Best Artist or Penciller
Best Inker
Best Letterer
Best Colorist
Best Cover Artist
Best Series
Best Single Issue or Story
Best Original Graphic Novel
Best Anthology
Best Humor Comic
Best Webcomic
Best Humor Webcomic
Best Non-fiction Comic Work
Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel
Best Presentation in Design
Perennial Jury-Only Nomination
The Mike Wieringo Spirit Award
Fan-Only Favorite Categories
Favorite Hero
Favorite Villain
Favorite New Series
Favorite New Talent
Favorite Publisher
Hero Initiative Award (selected by the Hero Initiative)
Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx, Flying Eye Books (US) / Nobrow Press
The Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement was presented to Joe Quesada, The Ringo Spirit Award was presented forFolklords by Matt Kindt and Matt Smith, and The Dick Giordano Humanitarian Awards was presented to Gene Ha.
Fan Awards included “Favorite Hero” which was Persephone from Lore Olympus on Webtoon, “Favorite Villain” which was Emma from My Deepest Secret on Webtoon, “Favorite New Series” which was Midnight Poppy Land on Webtoon, and “Favorite New Talent” presented to Lilydusk. Rocketship was named “Favorite Publisher“.
