Stories are nothing without words and without letterers, the words on the page wouldn’t pack the punch a story deserves. Each year, as part of our Golden Issue Awards, we here at ComicBook take a look back the best in entertainment for the year and a big part of that is comics. There’s a lot to celebrate this year among creators and artists bringing some of the best and most incredible stories to the page but without the letterers, those stories wouldn’t be even a fraction of what they are. We’ve said it before and we will say it again: letters are very much the backbone of the story in comics, adding depth and style to the thoughts and words of characters on the page. The details letterers add provide dimension and sometimes just that extra pop that brings everything together, so much more so than just the words alone.
Videos by ComicBook.com
This year, fans had a wealth of talented letterers to enjoy across comics, including Becca Carey, Clayton Cowles, Ariana Maher, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, and Joe Sabino as they gave us not just superheroes but creator owned comics as well. But while all of the letterers on our list are talented, we can only have one winner for our Golden Issue Ward for Best Letterer.
And the winner of the 2024 ComicBook Golden Issue Award for Best Letterer is…
Becca Carey!
While Clayton Cowles has taken home the Golden Issue for Best Letter for the past five years, this year, it’s Carey’s work that brings home the prize. Carey brought her considerable talent to titles such as Amazons Attack, Power Girl, Absolute Wonder Woman, AND Absolute Superman, and just a glance at those titles tell you why. Carey’s work is distinctive but also allows each project to have a life of its own. It’s a careful balance of being true to one’s own skills while also giving every project its own spark, its own life. This is particularly true with Carey’s work on Absolute Wonder Woman. While a newer title, Carey’s work is already bringing nuance, depth, and layers to an already explosive and fascinating story. It’s a prime example of how letterers pull everything together. And this year, Carey’s work is the best of the best.
The nominees for Best Letterer are:
- Becca Carey – Amazons Attack, Power Girl, Absolute Wonder Woman — WINNER
- Clayton Cowles – Birds of Prey, Absolute Batman, The Power Fantasy
- Ariana Maher – Superman, Justice League Unlimited, Ministry of Compliance
- Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou – Zatanna: Bring Down the House, Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees
- Joe Sabino – Immortal Thor, Exceptional X-Men, NYX
