The 2018 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Artist

As the calendar flipped further and further into the year, awards season crept ever closer. Every December, the ComicBook.com crew puts their heads together to determine some of their favorite moments across movies, television, games, and comics from the past year. After whittling down all of our choices to five nominees, each staff member was able to say their piece as the final winners were determined.

Though writers deserve credit where it's due, comics are largely a visual medium where a single poorly drawn panel can throw off an entire comic book. As a whole, the quality of comic book art has grown significantly since the industry's humble beginnings, and this year features some of the best artists across the spectrum — regardless if they work for the Big Two or are pushing self-published, creator-owned books.

With Hollywood chomping at the bit to swallow up any superhero property they can get their hands on, comic book artists arguably have the biggest influence of anybody on how characters will eventually get displayed in live-action. This year, artists certainly stepped up creating visual spectacles of their own on paper.

And the winner of Best Artist is...

David Marquez... again!

This is Marquez's second straight Golden Issue Awards win for Best Artist after winning the same award last year, largely for his work on The Punisher. Marquez continues to consistently release astonishing artwork month after month, no matter what title he's on. In addition to work on both Hunt for Wolverine and X-Men: Gold, Marquez's best work of the year has come on the Jason Aaron-written Avengers title.

Though some artists may tend to bend the character designs to their style, Marquez has been able to take an Avengers crew from all walks of life — from Ghost Rider and Captain Marvel to Captain America and Namor — and draw them as meant to be.

Marquez's work on Avengers #9 was particularly stunning as the artist led a complete redesign of Namor, bringing the character into the 21st century. With an issue largely based on a water-dwelling character, Marquez's ability to draw the sea life makes readers feel like they're right there fighting battles on the ocean floor.

Be sure to make your way back to ComicBook.com in the upcoming days as we continue rolling out the winners of our 2018 Golden Issue Awards! Who was your favorite artist of the past 12 months? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

List of Nominees

• David Marquez (Avengers) [WINNER]
• Fiona Staples (Saga)
• Joe Bennett (The Immortal Hulk)
• Joelle Jones (Catwoman)
• Mitch Gerads (Mister Miracle)