The 2020 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Writer

Believe it or not, 2020 is actually behind us! Most folks are ready to leave this ridiculous year in the past and never look back, but we first want to take some time to recognize some of the great things that 2020 brought us over the past 12 months. There are countless creators and performers that brought us joy throughout such a tumultuous year, and it wouldn’t be right to move on without lifting them up for all of their hard work. And that’s what the annual ComicBook.com Golden Issue Awards are all about!

There was a time in 2020 when we didn’t know when we would get the chance to read new comics again. Fortunately, that period was short, and we got some stellar books to read this year. So many great writers turned in work that kept us engaged and entertained, but we can only name one of them the Best Writer of the year.

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

Al Ewing, for his work on Marvel’s The Immortal Hulk!

Ever since the first issue of The Immortal Hulk was released back in 2018, the series immediately set itself apart from the rest of the crowd. Ewing established in the very first issue that this Bruce Banner story would be as harrowing as it is challenging. That was a little over two years ago, but somehow, The Immortal Hulk has only gotten better with each passing issue. That run of excellence continued into 2020.

In a year where the world around us was difficult enough, all we needed from entertainment was an escape, a place to enjoy our favorite superheroes and turn off everything else. Ewing’s Immortal Hulk went the extra mile. Bruce Banner has always been a hero tormented by his inner demons, but his strength and intelligence were more than enough to help him rise to the occasion. But what about when those aren’t enough?

This version of Banner has had to fall back on who he is, fundamentally as a person, in order to chart a new path forward. Ewing’s exploration of the damaged hero has made fans out of even Hulk’s biggest skeptics, humanizing him in a way that we haven’t seen on too many occasions, and certainly not for this kind of extended time.

While Immortal Hulk represented the best and most notable work turned in by Ewing in 2020, it was far from the only great series he worked on. Ewing delivered some great issues of Guardians of the Galaxy and S.W.O.R.D. throughout the year, as well as some Marvel event one-shots.

The Immortal Hulk is already being heralded as one of the seminal runs of the character in recent memory, due in large part to the work turned in by Ewing and artist Joe Bennett. If this book continues to be as good as it is throughout 2021, it would be surprising not to see Ewing in running for the Golden Issue once again next year.

Nominees:

• Al Ewing (The Immortal Hulk) — WINNER
• Chip Zdarsky (Daredevil)
• Kieron Gillen (DIE)
• N.K. Jemisin (Far Sector)
• Ram V (Catwoman)