The 2017 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Inker

As 2017 draws to a close it’s time to reflect on a year filled with great entertainment and recall what stood out and what will stay with us. This year everyone on the ComicBook.com team came together to nominate our favorite creators and creations in the worlds of comics, television, movies, and anime, then voted on five finalists in every category. The results are in, and they reflect some outstanding talent and a truly great year for pop culture.

The role of inker has received additional attention in 2017 as DC Comics continued its bi-weekly publication schedule and relied heavily on the traditional method of hiring separate artists to provide pencils and inks. This has highlighted the contributions of inkers and how each one artist can refine and redefine the work of their collaborators. Inkers bring depth and detail to the page enhancing line work and making hundreds of minor decisions that transform pencils into the product that readers drool over. Their contributions are absolutely essential, especially in the highly detailed pages of superhero comics.

And the winner of Best Inker is…

Jonathan Glapion!

Glapion is best known for his collaborations with Greg Capullo, and they came back into the spotlight in a big way in 2017 with the Dark Nights: Metal event. Glapion takes the detailed pencils Capullo is known for and makes every level of the panel pop and explode in blockbuster fashion. While the big moments might soak up the most attention, Glapion’s work on facial lines, enhancing the “acting” of characters, cannot be overstated. The sprawling, dystopian landscapes and multitudes of characters within Metal make it clear why Glapion is one of the best in the business today, and the surefire winner of 2017.

This win comes from the midst of a very tough crowd too, one that includes multiple peers who also worked on Batman and various Dark Nights titles, including Danny Miki and Scott Williams. The greatest connecting force between all of our nominees though was Suicide Squad—a comic that has really illustrated the versatility of pencils and inks on the comics page. As DC Comics continues to utilize more inkers and Glapion continues lining up a variety of new high profile projects, 2018 is shaping up to be an even more intense competition.

Be sure to come back and check out the rest of the winners as they are announced throughout the week, then share your own favorite picks from 2017 with us on social media.

List of Nominees:

• Jonathan Glapion [WINNER]
• Danny Miki
• Jay Leisten
• Mark Morales
• Scott Williams