The 2026 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards will be presented at the Ringo Awards Banquet and Ceremony in conjunction with the 2026 Baltimore Comic-Con. The Banquet and Award Ceremony are a fun way to spend an 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.
The Ringo Awards Committee has announced the addition of cartoonist and publisher Terry Moore to the 2026 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards ceremony as the Keynote Address speaker!
Indy powerhouse Terry Moore began his career in comics with the critically acclaimed epic series, Strangers in Paradise, the compelling love story between three unlikely friends who find themselves bound together by their pasts. The long-running series garnered many awards, including the coveted Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story and the National Cartoonists Society Comic Book Division Reuben Award. Strangers in Paradise has been translated into twenty-one languages and is as popular today as when it was first published in 1993.
Moore has created many award winning series, including Motor Girl, the story of a wounded warrior and her imaginary best friend, Rachel Rising, a horror comic with a ten-year-old serial killer named Zoe, ECHO, a science fiction thriller, FIVE YEARS, the series that brings together characters from all of his series in one heart stopping story, and Parker Girls, the Tambi story you’ve been waiting for. Terry has also published a How to Draw book detailing techniques and tools to create comics which he updated and expanded in 2026.
Terry’s work has won numerous international awards and continues to entertain readers worldwide. In addition to publishing work under his own label, Abstract Studio, Moore has worked with major publishers on titles including Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, Birds of Prey, Fables, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Star Wars Tales throughout his thirty three year career. Beginning in October 2026, Terry will team with Dark Horse Comics to reissue his catalog of legacy series.
The Ringo Awards have announced the 2026 nominees! The 2026 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awardsare to be presented on the evening of Saturday, September 26, 2026 as part of The Baltimore Comic-Con.
The nomination process was completed with the participation of our esteemed 2026 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 2026 Final Ballot is restricted to comic book industry creative community — anyone involved in and credited with creating comics professionally. We now present the 2026 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards Final Ballot.
The Blues Brothers – The Escape of Joliet Jake, Z2 Comics
Everything Sucks: Kings of Nothing, Silver Sprocket
The Goon: Them That Don’t Stay Dead, Albatross Funnybooks/Dark Horse Comics
How to Survive an Affair, self-published
Physics for Cats, Drawn & Quarterly
Best Webcomic
Battle Mage Farmer. Tapas Entertainment Inc.
Before We Sail, Aces Weekly
Daughter of a Thousand Faces. Tapas Entertainment Inc.
The Mafia Nanny, WEBTOON Entertainment
Marionetta, WEBTOON Entertainment
Neon Pantheon, neonpantheoncomic.com
Best Humor Webcomic
The Bathroom Ghost, WEBTOON Entertainment
Evil Inc., evil-inc.com
Harley Quinn in Paradise, DC Comics / DC Go!
I Am the Chief, iamthechiefcat.com
My Little Warlord, DC Comics / DC Go!
Nothing Butt Nightwing, DC Comics / DC Go!
Taste of Justice, DC Comics / DC Go!
Best Non-fiction Comic Work
Fela: Music is the Weapon, Amistad
Ginseng Roots, Pantheon Books
Love Letters Every Day, Background Noise
Lucas Wars, Macmillan – First Second and 23rd Street
Muybridge, Drawn & Quarterly
Surrounded: America’s First School for Black Girls, 1832, Ablaze Publishing/NBM Graphic Novels
Best Comics-Related Publication
Becoming Frazetta – The Early Years of a Fantasy Art Master, Thrilling Nostalgia Comics
COMICS! The Magazine #0, Prana Publishers
Facing Feelings: Inside the World of Raina Telgemeier, Scholastic Inc.
Graphic Samurai: The Art of Denys Cowan, Gizmoe Press
Making Your First Comic, self-published
Messiahs, Meshugganahs, Misanthropes, and Mysteries, Fantagraphics
Best Presentation in Design
Beasts of the Four Nations: Creatures From Avatar: The Last Airbender, Dark Horse Comics
Becoming Frazetta – The Early Years of a Fantasy Art Master, Thrilling Nostalgia Comics
Cry Wolf Girl, Silver Sprocket
Ginseng Roots, Pantheon Books
The Hero Trade: Hero for Sale TPB, Bad Idea
Land of Mirrors, Drawn & Quarterly
Lone Wolf and Cub Deluxe Edition Volume 1, Dark Horse Comics
The Smurfs Archives Vol. 1, Papercutz
Tongues, Vol. 1, Pantheon Books
In addition to Final Ballot categories, both Fan-Only Favorites from the nomination ballot and Hero Initiative Awards (The Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award and The Dick Giordano Humanitarian Award) will be presented at the Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards ceremony the evening of September 26, 2026.
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 26, 2026 as part of The Baltimore Comic-Con. The Ringo Awards is currently in the midst of the 2026 nomination process, which is inclusive of fans and comic book professionals alike. Submit your nominations before voting closes at midnight on May 28, 2026.
The Jury
An esteemed jury of comics professionals will participate in the nomination process, selecting favorite works across 18 categories. The 2026 jury was chosen as a representative cross-section of the comic book industry, with members representing seasoned and venerated retailers, distributors, and creators across numerous genres.
Cliff Chiang’s artwork has been hailed for its “fluid and confident storytelling” and “sweeping linework and nuanced style.” Graduating from Harvard University with a joint degree in English Literature and Visual Arts, he worked in editorial at Disney Adventures Magazine and Vertigo/DC Comics before making the leap into freelance illustration. Best known as the artist of the New York Times best-selling Wonder Woman (with writer Brian Azzarello) and Eisner Award-winning Paper Girls (with writer Brian K. Vaughan), his most recent work is the acclaimed Catwoman: Lonely City which he both wrote and drew.
Colleen Doran is a New York Times bestselling cartoonist. From her first work with on The Sandman, she also adapted the short stories Troll Bridge, Snow Glass Apples, and Chivalry, winning two Eisners, The Bram Stoker, Locus, and Ringo Awards, and nominations for Best Penciler/Inker Eisners, Reubens, the Excelsior, Rondo, and Tripwire Awards.
Other works include American Gods, Norse Mythology, and the adaptation of Good Omens with Terry Pratchett, at that time, the most successful comics crowdfund in Kickstarter history at over $3.1 million.
She taught Syrian refugees for the US Embassy and the Athens, Greece National Library, and contributed to Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds to benefit Ukrainian refugees. The project is an Eisner winner.
She’s illustrated works by Alan Moore, Margaret Atwood, Anne Rice, J Michael Straczynski, Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, Amazing Fantastic Incredible Stan Lee, and graphic novels for The Doors, Blondie, Melissa Etheridge, and Tori Amos. In Balmain Dreams 10R, she created an original story for the French fashion house Balmain for designer Oliver Rousteing.
She’s had multiple solo shows at the Society of Illustrators, The Museum of Cartoon Art, and the San Diego Comic Con Museum. She’s also exhibited at shows in Milan, Rome, Portugal, and Germany.
Other credits: Action Comics, Conan, Detective Comics, Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America, Guardians of the Galaxy, Jessica Jones for Netflix, Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Vampire Diaries, and Wonder Woman.
Zander Fajertag is the Comic Department Purchaser and Customer Service Representative at Universal Distribution. With eight years of experience, they have worked in every stage of the distribution process, from picking comics to managing purchasing and claims. Zander also supports the gaming purchasing side of the business and has contributed to booth designs for past conventions, bringing a well-rounded perspective and deep industry knowledge to their role.
Sarahti Gassmalla has about a decade of working in comics retail. Starting as an intern, she is now a part owner and co-manager at Fantom Comics. She is involved in inventory ordering, event coordination, and representing the store at events such as Baltimore Comic-Con, ComicsPro, New York Comic-Con, and Small Press Expo. She runs the Fantom Comics’ recurring Queer Book Club, occasionally interviews creators for author events, and manages the weekly Final Order Cutoff.
Her relationship with sequential art began at a young age as a regular reader of Pearls Before Swine, Mutts, and other Washington Post Sunday comic strips. These days, reading the “Sunday comics” means reading the newest chapter updates of her favorite Shonen Jump titles — Akane Banashi, Blue Box, Ichi The Witch, and One Piece to name just a few. Her western comics journey started with reading the original Runaways at the library and borrowing a friend’s copy of Young Avengers. Visiting Fantom Comics the first time before she worked there is what introduced her to single issue comics, collecting titles like 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank, Joyride, and Monstress. If she is not reading, she’s doodling, finding new ways to get at least ten friends in a room together, or binging crime thriller TV. Sarahti was born and raised in Washington, DC where she still resides.
Award-winning cartoonist, writer, and illustrator Bill Morrison began his career in Detroit, Michigan as a technical illustrator, but his dream was to be a cartoonist. When Bill decided that he had rendered his last diesel fuel pump, he moved to Southern California with his wife, Kayre. He began working immediately in motion picture advertising where he painted dozens of movie posters, including many for Walt Disney Pictures such as The Little Mermaid, Bambi, Peter Pan, Cinderella, and The Jungle Book. For several years, Bill spent most of his waking hours on various projects related to The Simpsons. For that iconic property, he has created thousands of drawings for t-shirts, video games, posters, toy packaging, books, calendars, limited edition prints, etc. When The Simpsons creator Matt Groening founded Bongo Comics, Bill was hired on as art director and realized his cartoonist dreams when he drew the very first Simpsons comic. He quickly took on the role of Creative Director, editing Bongo’s entire output, and writing and drawing stories and covers as time permitted. Bill also worked with Groening on early character designs for the TV show Futurama and served as the series art director. He also recently served as Artist and Designer on Groening’s Netflix series, Disenchantment. In addition to his work on The Simpsons and Futurama comics, Bill has written and drawn his own comic book series, the four-time Eisner Award-nominated Roswell, Little Green Man, and co-created three other comic book series: Heroes Anonymous, Dead Vengeance, and Lady Robotika (the latter with Jane Wiedlin of the legendary all-girl rock band, The Go-Go’s). Morrison also created a 96-page graphic novel adaptation of The Beatles Yellow Submarine for Titan Comics. Most recently, Bill was the Executive Editor of the relaunched MAD Magazine, and also served as Art Director for Seriously’s “Best Fiends” animated shorts.
Fan and Pro Nomination Categories
Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist)
Best Writer
Best Artist or Penciller/Inker Team
Best Letterer
Best Colorist
Best Cover Artist
Best Series
Best Short Story
Best Original Graphic Novel
Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel — Ages 11 and Under
Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel — Ages 12 and Up
Best Anthology
Best Humor Comic
Best Webcomic
Best Humor Webcomic
Best Non-fiction Comic Work
Best Comics-Related Publication
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 ninth year on Saturday, September 26, 2026 as part of the fan- and pro-favorite convention, 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 March 13, 2026 and May 28, 2026.
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 29, 2026 and will be due by August 26, 2026 for final tallying. Presentation of the winners will occur at the Baltimore Comic-Con on the evening of Saturday, September 26, 2026.
Nomination Eligibility
Eligibility for creators and creative works is determined by publication in the preceding calendar year (January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025) – 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.
Updated Categories
New in 2026, we have mad a number of updates based on juror, publisher, and voter submissions:
Best Single Issue or Story is renamed Best Short Story
Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel is now divided into subcategories for Ages 11 and Under and Ages 12 and Up
Added the Best Comics-Related Publication category, recognizing outstanding non-comic works that explore, analyze, or document the art, history, and/or culture of comics
These updates reflect clarity of category intent, rationalizes the dichotomy between early reader and young adult titles within the kids’ category, and supports publications found at your local comic shop or bookseller about comics but not presented as a comic.
Fan and Pro Nomination Categories
Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist)
Best Writer
Best Artist or Penciller/Inker Team
Best Letterer
Best Colorist
Best Cover Artist
Best Series
Best Short Story
Best Original Graphic Novel
Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel — Ages 11 and Under
Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel — Ages 12 and Up
Best Anthology
Best Humor Comic
Best Webcomic
Best Humor Webcomic
Best Non-fiction Comic Work
Best Comics-Related Publication
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 Ringo Awards nomination features the participation a 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 2025 Final Ballot was restricted to comic book industry creative community — anyone involved in and credited with creating comics professionally.
Stan Sakai was recipient of this year’s Dick Giordano Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Spirit Award was awarded to Welcome to Maynard by written by James Robinson, art by J. Bone, color by Ian Herring, lettering by Jim Campbell, and published by Dark Horse.
Kevin Nowlan received the The Lifetime Achievement Award.
The winners below are marked in bold with “winner” noted and you can watch the event. Congrats to everyone!
Fan and Pro Nomination Categories
Best Cartoonist (Writer and Artist)
Arechan
Megan Grey
Patrick Horvath
Mikaël
Eric Powell – WINNER
Best Writer
Jason Douglas
Tom King
Oscar Osorio
Scott Snyder
Kelly Thompson – WINNER
James Tynion IV
David F. Walker
Best Artist or Penciller/Inker Team
Bilquis Evely
Kate Flynn
Daniel HDR
Eduardo Risso
Chris Samnee – WINNER
Best Letterer
Aditya Bidikar
Clayton Cowles
Amal Desai
DC Hopkins
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Richard Starkings – WINNER
Best Colorist
Michael Adams
Jordie Bellaire – WINNER
Lee Loughridge
Sabine Rich
Dave Stewart
Best Cover Artist
Oliver Barrett
Evan Cagle
Francine Delgado
Bilquis Evely – WINNER
Francesca Fantini
Greg Smallwood
Best Series
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, IDW Publishing
The Blood Brothers Mother, DSTLRY
Helen of Wyndhorn, Dark Horse Comics
Masters of the Universe: Revolution, Dark Horse Comics
The Pedestrian, Magma Comix – WINNER
Best Single Issue or Story
Batman and Robin Year One #1, DC Comics – WINNER
“A Blue Flame” in Second Hand Love, Drawn & Quarterly
The Crying Boy, Keenspot Entertainment
Death Ratio’d, AWA Studios
FML #1, Dark Horse Comics
Helen of Wyndhorn, Dark Horse Comics
Navigating with You, Maverick
A Never-Ending Adventure, Oscar Osorio
Trinity Special: World’s Finest #1, DC Comics
Best Original Graphic Novel
Big Jim and the White Boy, Ten Speed Graphic
The Deep Dark, Scholastic/Graphix
ERASED: An Actor of Color’s Journey Through the Heyday of Hollywood, NBM Grpahic Novels
Homestead, Source Point Press
Jane American, self-published – WINNER
Best Anthology
DC Power 2024, DC Comics
EC Cruel Universe, Oni Press
Hello Darkness, BOOM! Studios
The Savage Sword of Conan, Titan Comics
Tales from the New World, Oscar Osorio
Transphoria, Lifeline Comics – WINNER
Best Humor Comic
Action Philosophers: Omnipotence for Dummies, Rocketship Entertainment
Archie: The Decision, Archie Comics
Forces of Nature, Drawn & Quarterly
Kids Are Still Weird: And More Observations from Parenthood, NBM Graphic Novels
Smut #1, self-published – WINNER
Space Circus, Dark Horse Comics
Best Webcomic
The Croaking, WEBTOON Entertainment
Daughter of a Thousand Faces, Tapas Entertainment
The Mafia Nanny, WEBTOON Entertainment
Novae, WEBTOON Entertainment
Renaissance of Raven, DC Go!/DC Comics – WINNER
Under the Oak Tree, Manta
Vampire Family, WEBTOON Entertainment
Best Humor Webcomic
Dealing with Demons, Manta
Harley Quinn in Paradise, DC Go!/DC Comics
High Class Homos, WEBTOON Entertainment
Nothing Butt Nightwing, DC Go!/DC Comics – WINNER
Rosebuds, Comics Kingdom
Wanna Be Friends?, WEBTOON Entertainment
Best Non-fiction Comic Work
Adrift on a Painted Sea, Avery Hill
Brittle Joints, Street Noise Books
Djuna, Street Noise Books
Feeding Ghosts, MCD
In the Shadows of Stalin: The Story of Mr. Jones, Oni Press – WINNER
Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel
Double Booking, Papercutz/Mad Cave Studios
Dudley Datson and the Forever Machine, Dark Horse Comics
Hilda and Twig Hide from the Rain, Flying Eye Books – WINNER
The Legend of Tiger and Tail-Flower, Levine Querido
The New Girl, Scholastic/Graphix
Night Stories, Astra Books for Young Readers
ZOR, Keenspot Entertainment
Best Presentation in Design
Coins of Judas, Orange Cone Productions/Band of Bards
David Mazzucchelli’s Batman Year One Artist’s Edition, IDW Publishing – WINNER
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff and Bram Stoker’s Dracula starring Bela Lugosi Casket Edition, Rocketship Entertainment
One Bite at a Time: The First 20 Years of Elephant Eater Comics, Elephant Eater Comics
Scott Pilgrim 20th Anniversary Hardcover Box Set, Oni Press
Warm Fusion, DSTLRY
Fan Favorite Awards
Fan Favorite Villain – Mister Barnaby – Warn Fusion (DSTLRY)
Fan Favorite Hero – Alex – Senorita Cometa (Webtoons Entertainment)
Fan Favorite New Series – The Pedestrian (Magma Comix)
Fan Favorite New Talent – Annie Wright – Jane American
The 2025 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards will be presented at the Ringo Awards Banquet and Ceremony in conjunction with the 2025 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 $154.48. You can purchase a ticket now.
The Ringo Awards Committee has announced the addition of industry veteran executive Mike Pellerito to the 2025 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards ceremony as the Keynote Address speaker!
Mike Pellerito is currently the President and Editor in Chief of Archie Comics. During his tenure at Archie, he has held several varied roles across the company, including expanding Archie’s distribution in the direct, bookstore, newsstand, and digital markets. His most notable achievement is leading the editorial team in a bold revitalization of the Archie universe. The massive project boasted Archie by Mark Waid and Fiona Staples, Betty & Veronica by Adam Hughes, and Jughead by Chip Zdarsky and Erica Henderson, Ryan North, and Derek Charm. Pellerito was also a producer of the live-action movie The Archies from Netflix and instrumental in the deal for the upcoming live-action Archie movie from Universal, written by Tom King with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directing. Additionally, he is a co-owner of Aw Yeah Comics in Harrison, New York, chosen as “Best Comic Shop” by the prestigious Best of Westchester magazine.
The Ringo Awards are thrilled to announce the 2025 nominees. The nomination process was completed with the participation of our esteemed 2025 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 2025 Final Ballot is restricted to comic book industry creative community — anyone involved in and credited with creating comics professionally.
We now present the 2025 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)
Arechan
Megan Grey
Patrick Horvath
Mikaël
Eric Powell
Best Writer
Jason Douglas
Tom King
Oscar Osorio
Scott Snyder
Kelly Thompson
James Tynion IV
David F. Walker
Best Artist or Penciller/Inker Team
Bilquis Evely
Kate Flynn
Daniel HDR
Eduardo Risso
Chris Samnee
Best Letterer
Aditya Bidikar
Clayton Cowles
Amal Desai
DC Hopkins
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Richard Starkings
Best Colorist
Michael Adams
Jordie Bellaire
Lee Loughridge
Sabine Rich
Dave Stewart
Best Cover Artist
Oliver Barrett
Evan Cagle
Francine Delgado
Bilquis Evely
Francesca Fantini
Greg Smallwood
Best Series
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, IDW Publishing
The Blood Brothers Mother, DSTLRY
Helen of Wyndhorn, Dark Horse Comics
Masters of the Universe: Revolution, Dark Horse Comics
The Pedestrian, Magma Comix
Best Single Issue or Story
Batman and Robin Year One #1, DC Comics
“A Blue Flame” in Second Hand Love, Drawn & Quarterly
The Crying Boy, Keenspot Entertainment
Death Ratio’d, AWA Studios
FML #1, Dark Horse Comics
Helen of Wyndhorn, Dark Horse Comics
Navigating with You, Maverick
A Never-Ending Adventure, Oscar Osorio
Trinity Special: World’s Finest #1, DC Comics
Best Original Graphic Novel
Big Jim and the White Boy, Ten Speed Graphic
The Deep Dark, Scholastic/Graphix
ERASED: An Actor of Color’s Journey Through the Heyday of Hollywood, NBM Grpahic Novels
Homestead, Source Point Press
Jane American, self-published
Best Anthology
DC Power 2024, DC Comics
EC Cruel Universe, Oni Press
Hello Darkness, BOOM! Studios
The Savage Sword of Conan, Titan Comics
Tales from the New World, Oscar Osorio
Transphoria, Lifeline Comics
Best Humor Comic
Action Philosophers: Omnipotence for Dummies, Rocketship Entertainment
Archie: The Decision, Archie Comics
Forces of Nature, Drawn & Quarterly
Kids Are Still Weird: And More Observations from Parenthood, NBM Graphic Novels
Smut #1, self-published
Space Circus, Dark Horse Comics
Best Webcomic
The Croaking, WEBTOON Entertainment
Daughter of a Thousand Faces, Tapas Entertainment
The Mafia Nanny, WEBTOON Entertainment
Novae, WEBTOON Entertainment
Renaissance of Raven, DC Go!/DC Comics
Under the Oak Tree, Manta
Vampire Family, WEBTOON Entertainment
Best Humor Webcomic
Dealing with Demons, Manta
Harley Quinn in Paradise, DC Go!/DC Comics
High Class Homos, WEBTOON Entertainment
Nothing Butt Nightwing, DC Go!/DC Comics
Rosebuds, Comics Kingdom
Wanna Be Friends?, WEBTOON Entertainment
Best Non-fiction Comic Work
Adrift on a Painted Sea, Avery Hill
Brittle Joints, Street Noise Books
Djuna, Street Noise Books
Feeding Ghosts, MCD
In the Shadows of Stalin: The Story of Mr. Jones, Oni Press
Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel
Double Booking, Papercutz/Mad Cave Studios
Dudley Datson and the Forever Machine, Dark Horse Comics
Hilda and Twig Hide from the Rain, Flying Eye Books
The Legend of Tiger and Tail-Flower, Levine Querido
The New Girl, Scholastic/Graphix
Night Stories, Astra Books for Young Readers
ZOR, Keenspot Entertainment
Best Presentation in Design
Coins of Judas, Orange Cone Productions/Band of Bards
David Mazzucchelli’s Batman Year One Artist’s Edition, IDW Publishing
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff and Bram Stoker’s Dracula starring Bela Lugosi Casket Edition, Rocketship Entertainment
One Bite at a Time: The First 20 Years of Elephant Eater Comics, Elephant Eater Comics
Scott Pilgrim 20th Anniversary Hardcover Box Set, Oni Press
Warm Fusion, DSTLRY
In addition to Final Ballot categories, both Fan-Only Favorites from the nomination ballot and Hero Initiative Awards (The Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award and The Dick Giordano Humanitarian Award) will be presented at the Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards ceremony the evening of October 18, 2025.
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 18, 2025 as part of the fan- and pro-favorite convention, The Baltimore Comic-Con. The Ringo Awards is currently in the midst of the 2025 nomination process, which is inclusive of fans and comic book professionals alike. Submit your nominations before voting closes at midnight on June 19, 2025.
An esteemed jury of comics professionals will participate in the nomination process, selecting favorite works in over 20 categories. The 2025 jury was chosen as a representative cross-section of the comic book industry, with members representing seasoned and venerated retailers, educators, and creators across numerous genres.
Becky Cloonan began her career making minicomics as part of the Meathaus collective. Since then, she’s gone on to write and draw on titles like Dark Agnes, Conan the Barbarian, The Punisher, True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, Gotham Academy, Detective Comics, and Batman, and working on creator-owned books like Southern Cross and the critically acclaimed collection of short stories, By Chance or Providence. When she’s not making comics, she illustrates album art, and gig and movie posters for My Chemical Romance, Black Sabbath, Adult Swim, and Mondo. She enjoys old movies, true crime podcasts, and still tries to self-publish new minicomics when she can. Becky currently lives in Portland with her partner Michael, two weird cats, and a couple dozen plants.
Steve Leaf started reading comics in 1959 with his first comic book, Adventure Comics #264, along with his first movie, Hercules Unchained.
Influenced by Jack Davis having attended the University of Georgia and being a Dawgs fan, he attended the school for an art degree, eventually getting a Bachelor of Visual Art from Georgia State University. While he never had the opportunity to attend, he did get to interview and was accepted for the inaugural class of the Joe Kubert School.
Steve was part of the local Atlanta comics club that put together the first Atlanta Comics and Fantasy Fair, bringing in Stan Lee as a guest for their first convention in 1974, which had dealers like Steve Geppi and Chuck Rozanski among the local comic collection dealers. In those early days, he helped bring the direct market to the area, selling new comics from Phil Seuling’s Seagate Distribution at The Book Nook in Atlanta. He continued working on conventions with The Atlanta Mini Comic Con in 1977 and then expanded shows, including creators during the run of the show like Mike Grell, Bill Sienkiewicz, Mike Kaluta, Paul Gulacy, Bob McCloud, John Beatty, Steve Oliff, Dave Sim, and George Perez (who became a good friend and attended his son Scott’s bar mitzvah and did drawings for everyone).
After years at the Book Nook, Steve became the buyer for comics and pop culture product for a regional distributor, Southern Fantasies, that became CIB and Associates and, in 1995, was purchased by Diamond Comic Distributors. As an opening in their purchasing department was not available, Steve was in the customer service department in those days, which included the Heroes World purchase by Marvel and the subsequent exclusive arrangements between distributors and publishers. This led to warehouse consolidation and moved CS to the home office where he ran the southeastern CS team as he moved to Baltimore. When the opportunity arose, he became part of the purchasing team and eventually the assistant manager working with publishers like Dark Horse, IDW (their first brand manager), Wizard Magazine, Archie Comics, Crossgen, Slave Labor Graphics, AC Comics, Abstract Studios, Zenescope Entertainment, and numerous publishers from small indie to Premiere over his 30+ years with Diamond.
Having been an Eisner judge, he is looking forward to seeing all the items up for consideration this year.
A longtime comics pro, Mark Morales has worked for many companies, including Image, Dark Horse, Chaos, DC Comics, and Marvel Comics, mostly as an inker. Past projects from Mark include Thor, Daredevil, Batman, X-Men, Avengers vs. X-Men, Spider-Man/Deadpool, and Astonishing X-Men. Currently, he is working on Weapon X-Men from Marvel Comics.
Whether it’s creating new characters or reinventing older ones, Amy Reeder is here to remind us that great characters are what keep us hooked on comics. Her cover work spans many of the DC and Marvel characters we all love, but she’s especially known for her interior work on titles like Madame Xanadu, Batwoman, Amethyst, and Wonder Woman. Amy co-created Rocket Girl through Image Comics, as well as Moon Girl from Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur–who now stars in her own cartoon on Disney! These days, Amy tends to write what she draws, which includes her recent work on DC’s Amethyst. Currently, she’s working on an unannounced romance graphic novel, while balancing cover gigs for the Big Two.
Born in Rockford, Illinois, raised in Memphis, Tennessee, matriculated in Tacoma, Washington, and broadcasting live from Los Angeles, California, Hannibal Tabu is a writer, a brother, a misanthrope, a son, an emcee, an uncle, a poet, a father, a designer, a nephew, a romantic, a storyteller, and by God, a fan.
He spent more than twenty years doing the journalist thing for Vibe, Slave Trade, MTV Online, The Los Angeles Wave Newspaper, Rap Pages, America Online, the Los Angeles Sentinel, the now-defunct Spinner Rack website, Speak, and The Source.
Hannibal has worked as a web designer/producer and graphic artist for American Honda, eHobbies.com, Quicken.com, L.A. Care Health Plan, the now-defunct DVD Express, the California Association of REALTORS, Disney Channel, NextPlanetOver.com, Toyota Motor Sales, Kaiser Permanente, California Bank & Trust, and many more.
As a poet, Hannibal has been published in The Drumming Between Us, (sic) Vice Verse, Drumvoices Review, Voices From Leimert Park, and other anthologies, as well as being author of the collection Born Beneath an Angry Star and co-author of Flight Manual.
In terms of prose fiction, he’s written short stories for Stranger Comics and The Operative Network and the novels The Crown: Ascension and Faraway (both available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, & Smashwords), plus the upcoming sci-fi political thriller Rogue Nation.
From 2003 to 2022, Hannibal did comic book reviews under the banner The Buy Pile, which was also syndicated on the iHeartRadio podcast Nerd-O-Rama with Mo and Tawala. Hannibal was also the Head Comics Reviewer at one of the comics’ industries leading online outlets, Bleeding Cool, and is still a regular panelist and moderator at comics conventions, including multiple appearances in multiple years at San Diego’s Comic-Con International.
Hannibal was the winner of the 2012 Top Cow Talent Hunt, writer of New Money for Canon Comics, Waso: Will To Power for Stranger Comics, four issues of Project: Wildfire for Legends Press, three issues of Menthu for Hometown Studios, and co-writer of an issue of Watson & Holmes (alongside 2 Guns writer Steven Grant) for New Paradigm Studios. In 2015, he wrote the Aspen Sourcebooks for the makers of Fathom, Soulfire, and Executive Assistant Iris.
Hannibal was the winner of the 2018-2019 Cultural Trailblazer award from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.
For six years, he was the editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Herald-Dispatch group of newspapers, is currently the co-owner and editor-in-chief of the Black geek channel Komplicated at the Good Men Project.
In 2023, Hannibal entered the world of table top role playing games (TTRPG) with The Sundering: The Nation Beneath Our Feet, a book created with actor Damion Poitier that achieved 453% funding on Kickstarter to the tune of over $54,000. He has since been running paid Dungeons & Dragons games set in his fictional world and working on a sequel. With accolades from Eberron creator Keith Baker, legendary actor Phil LaMarr, and Critical Role cast member Taliesin Jaffe, the DND community has embraced Hannibal’s efforts in this regard.
Hannibal uses this website to publish his poetry, market what he’s doing, rant at the world, and emit strangled cries for help.
In addition to all that, Hannibal collects comic books, has scores of action figures, DJs private parties, is a Mac OS zealot, sings and sometimes even hosts karaoke, practices a form of spirituality based on ancient Egyptian belief, and goes to bed every day secretly hoping that half the world will commit suicide in his honor.
Fan and Pro Nomination Categories
Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist)
Best Writer
Best Artist or Penciller/Inker Team
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 ninth year on Saturday, October 18, 2025 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 April 4, 2025 and June 19, 2025.
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 August 20, 2025 and will be due by September 17, 2025 for final tallying. Presentation of the winners will occur at the Baltimore Comic-Con on the evening of Saturday, October 18, 2025.
Nomination Eligibility
Eligibility for creators and creative works is determined by publication in the preceding calendar year (January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024) – 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/Inker Team
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.
During the Baltimore Comic Con, taking place this weekend, the winners of the the 2024 Ringo awards was announced. The ceremony took place Saturday night. The Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards is an annual celebration of the creativity, skill and fun of comics.
Congrats to all of the nominees and winners of this year’s awards. The winners are marked in bold with “winner” next to their entry.
