The 2020 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Colorist

Welcome back to the annual ComicBook.com Golden Issue Awards. Every year, the staff at ComicBook […]

January 13, 2021, 3:00pm

Welcome back to the annual ComicBook.com Golden Issue Awards. Every year, the staff at ComicBook takes a look back at the year, and selects the best of what comics, movies, television, anime, games, and the rest of pop culture had to offer. At this juncture, we’re specifically highlighting an often overlooked aspect of the comic book development process with our recognition this year of the best comic colorist for 2020! Nominees for this year’s award included 2017 & 2018 winner Tamra Bonvillain and 2019 winner Matt Wilson, plus fellow superstars Dave Stewart, Marte Gracia, and Jordie Bellaire.

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And the winner of the 2020 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Colorist is…

Dave Stewart!

A long time staple of the medium and frequent Eisner Award winner, this marks the first victory for Stewart in ComicBook.com’s Golden Issues. Stewart’s credits from throughout 2020 included monthly comics Gideon Falls and Post Americana from Image Comics; Rorschach, Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn, and Batman Giant from DC Comics; Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: Her Fatal Hour & The Return of Effie Kolb and Norse Mythology from Dark Horse Comics; Fearless Dawn Meets Hellboy from Albatross Funnybooks; and Spider-Man: Bloodline from Marvel Comics.

In a year where the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has halted publishing and seen a smaller than usual amount of comics be released, Stewart has maintained his place as a steadfast and reliable creator whose work remains unparalleled but has cemented his ability to be consistent in his output.

Perhaps the biggest thing from Stewart’s catalog that landed him the award was his work with writer Jeff Lemire and artist Andrea Sorrentino on Gideon Falls. The acclaimed horror series came to its conclusion this year with Stewart’s work on the series elevating Sorrentino’s tremendous artwork by infusing it with atmosphere and depth. Gideon Falls remains a must-read and now with all 27 issues released we can appreciate Stewart’s work throughout the series in whole.

Stewart has also long been a cornerstone of creator Mike Mignola’s Hellboy comics for Dark Horse and though a smaller sampling of comics from that series were released in 2020, Stewart was still there. Both Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: Her Fatal Hour & Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The Return of Effie Kolb marked strong returns to form for both Stewart and the other creators involved, bringing new chapters to this world. Furthermore, Stewart worked with Mignola and Steve Mannion for their Fearless Dawn/Hellboy crossover series published by Eric Powell’s Albatross Funnybooks.

In addition to these titles Stewart made his mark on major titles from the big two as well, bringing a pulpy layer to Jorge Fornes’ pencils in the Watchmen spin-off Rorschach in addition to contributing to Sean Gordon Murphy’s Batman: White Knight, and the final chapters of the J.J. Abrams penned Spider-Man: Bloodline for Marvel.

Congratulations to Dave for winning and to all the other victors in this year’s Gold Issue Awards!

Nominees: