The 2021 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Awards Nominees for Comics

By Chase Magnett

Welcome to the 2021 Golden Issue Awards, an annual occasion in which the many writers at ComicBook.com gather to reflect upon the best comic books (and related media) of the prior year and vote to select the best of the best for recognition. For this section of the awards, we are focused entirely on the medium of comics in 8 categories highlighting specific publications and creative positions.

2021 represented a year of recovery across comics as projects delayed by the pandemic were brought back into production and the weekly rhythms of new releases returned. This year's nominees, publications and creators alike, represent the resiliency and creativity that continues to fuel exciting new ideas in this site's titular medium. In the world of "big two" superhero comics, new creations and reimagined classic characters alike revealed exciting new stories and aesthetics for readers of all stripes. Superheroes were far from the only highlights this year with instant-classics appearing in fantasy, science-fiction, horror, and crime comics, as well. All of these vividly imagined and depicted tales were brought to readers by one of the most diverse collection of Golden Issue nominees in comics ever – individuals who represent a wide array of perspectives and styles which ensure comics are for everyone. All of this is to say, 2021 presented a very impressive collection of comics and creators represented by our nominees.

The staff of ComicBook.com considered a wide array of comics, both from the direct market and bookshelves, in order to develop lists of notable nominees all displayed in the slides to follow. Take a look to see who made the cut for our 2021 Golden Issue nominations and stick around to learn who won in the weeks to come!

Best Ongoing Comic Series

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Serialized stories are the lifeblood of the American direct market and many of the most popular comics shared and adapted today. These ongoing adventures told across across years present readers with new sagas and continuations for classic concepts, alike. This year's nominees present new and familiar characters in ongoing series that will have readers returning for more each and every month.

  • Black Widow (Marvel Comics)
  • Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters (Oni Press)
  • Moon Knight (Moon Comics)
  • Nightwing (DC Comics)
  • Wonder Girl (DC Comics)
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Best Limited Comic Series

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Specific concepts require a specific space to present their narrative with a definitive arc and conclusion. Limited series offer readers invitations to wondrous new settings and concepts never previously imagined. These concentrated comics are consistent in their presentation and planning making for some of the most exciting new arrivals on comic book store shelves throughout 2021.

  • Far Sector (DC Comics)
  • The Many Deaths of Laila Starr (Boom Studios)
  • The Other History of the DC Universe (DC Comics)
  • Soul Plumber (DC Comics)
  • Stray Dogs (Image Comics)
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Best Graphic Novel

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Graphic novel is more a term of commerce than art, but the arrival of a complete comic book beautifully bound in a single volume provides some of the most engaging and inviting new stories from the past year. These publications include story collections from iconic cartoonists, pulp serials presented like airport paperbacks, and novelistic volumes with contemplative depths. They define the medium of comics in all its possibilities.

  • Friend of the Devil: A Reckless Book (Image Comics)
  • Heaven No Hell (Drawn & Quarterly)
  • Monsters (Fantagraphics)
  • Teen Titans: Beast Boy Loves Raven (DC Comics)
  • Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons (DC Comics)
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Best Writer

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Writers are tasked with imagining the thrilling twists, dramatic moments, and larger-than-life characters that comics readers seek out, as well as all of the dialogue and captions detailing those events. They act as playwrights and engineers, envisioning how creative teams with skillful collaborators might best deliver their collective narrative. While any person can write, but very few can bring a comic book to life.

  • Christopher Cantwell (The United States of Captain America)
  • Al Ewing (The Immortal Hulk)
  • N.K. Jemisin (Far Sector)
  • Mariko Tamaki (Detective Comics)
  • Tom Taylor (Nightwing)
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Best Artist

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Without an artist there can be no comic. They are the essential element of any collaborative endeavor in the field – bringing a writer's plot to vivid life, creating grand mindscapes to be filled with color, and presenting characters awaiting the breath of lettering. Artists as the indispensable comics creator offer readers their style, perspective, design, and storytelling skills to craft impossible and impossibly human stories unlike any other.

  • Dani (Arkham City: Order of the World)
  • Daniel Warren Johnson (Beta Ray Bill)
  • Joelle Jones (Wonder Girl)
  • Bruno Redondo (Nightwing)
  • Chris Samnee (Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters)
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Best Colorist

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Colorists bring the imagined settings, characters, and action of a story to vivid life. Not only do they select the palette for a comic book, they carefully integrate their own style into the aesthetics of the artist and story to ensure the varied pieces become a single, cohesive vision. Whether they are evoking a potent mood in the midst of light and shadows or designing thematic cues within costumes and backgrounds, colorists provide an essential perspective in comics.

  • Jordie Bellaire (Black Widow)
  • Tamra Bonvillain (Crush & Lobo)
  • Marte Gracia (X-Men)
  • Mat Lopes (Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow)
  • Matt Wilson (Eternals)
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Best Letterer

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Letterers are given to the most subtle work in all of comics. Oftentimes their presentation of word balloons and narrative captions is intended to go unnoticed altogether as it seeks to deliver words without distracting from the artwork. This subtlety is essential and also serves to highlight the moments when lettering takes on a special power in capturing a character's voice or explosive piece of onomatopoeia as all of these letterers have.

  • Aditya Bidikar (Home Sick Pilots)
  • Joe Caramagna (The Amazing Spider-Man)
  • Clayton Cowles (Batman)
  • Ariana Maher (Crush & Lobo)
  • Cory Petit (Moon Knight)
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Best Cartoonist

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While the strict definition of a cartoonist may be debated, comics readers know these creators as visionaries capable of bringing every aspect of their work to life. They imagine stories, script the words, and summon wondrous visions from their heads and onto the page. Cartoonists are the complete comics package and each of this year's nominees presents a unique voice reverberating within the world of comics today.

  • Cliff Chiang (Catwoman: Lonely City)
  • James Harren (Ultramega)
  • Daniel Warren Johnson (Beta Ray Bill)
  • Joelle Jones (Wonder Girl)
  • Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo)
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