The 2018 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Awards Nominations for Comics

Welcome to the 2018 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Awards, where we here at ComicBook.com take a look back at the year that was and choose the best of the best in comics and related media.

Here, we are specifically looking at actual comic books, the medium that has birthed the superhero movie and television boom while also containing a multitude of stories unlike anything in film and television.

This year saw Marvel’s Fresh Start and DC Comics’ New Age of Heroes. There was also a resurgence in adult-aiming imprints like Vertigo Comics, Black Crown, and Berger Books.

Image Comics, IDW, BOOM! Studios, and Dark Horse comics continued to publish some of the best in serialized creator-owned and licensed comic book content, while the likes of First Second and Fantagraphics raised the bar for graphic literature with fantastic new graphic novel releases.

The staff of ComicBook.com considered titles from all of these publishers and more when breaking down the list of nominees, and our finalized list of nominees follow!

Best Comics Series

Here we recognize the best ongoing comic book series, new or continuing. These series represent the finest in serialized storytelling, unique in how the audience is able to judge the work as it is being written.

The nominees are:

• Batman (DC Comics; Tom King, Joelle Jones, Clay Mann, Lee Weeks, Mikel Janin, Tony S. Daniel)
• Fantastic Four (Marvel Comics; Dan Slott, Sara Pichelli)
• The Immortal Hulk (Marvel Comics; Al Ewing, Joe Bennett)
• Moon Knight (Marvel Comics; Max Bemis, Jacen Burrows, Ty Templeton, Paul Davidson)
• Saga (Image Comics; Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples)

Best Limited Comic Series

The Best Limited Comic Series category represents those comics intended to last only a finite number of issues. These comics keep in the serialized comics tradition but are begun with a clear ending in sight. Their limited nature allows for some of the finest artists available, those whose linework may not lend itself to the harsh monthly or bi-monthly schedule of an ongoing series, to express themselves in a less confined way.

The nominees are:

• Coda (BOOM! Studios; Si Spurrier, Matias Bergara) 
• Cosmic Ghost Rider (Marvel Comics; Donny Cates, Dylan Burnett)
• Mister Miracle (DC Comics; Tom King, Mitch Gerads)
• The Seeds (Berger Books; Ann Nocenti, David Aja)
• X-Men: Grand Design – Second Genesis (Marvel Comics; Ed Piskor)

Best Original Graphic Novel

The Best Graphic Novel category represents comics released as complete, novel-length works. You’d be just as likely to find these on the shelf of your bookstore as at your local comic shop. While there are exceptions, these graphic novels tend to take on a much wider variety of subjects than traditional serialized comics, from memoir to true crime to fantasy and more.

The nominees are:

• My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies (Image Comics; Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips)
• On a Sunbeam (First Second, Tildie Walden)
• The Prince and the Dressmaker (First Second, Jen Yang)
• Why Art? (Fantagraphics; Eleanor Davis)
• Wonder Woman: Earth One Vol. 2 (DC Comics; Grant Morrison, Yanick Paquette)

Best Indie Comic

The direct market for comic books has long been dominated by the “big two” publishers. The Best Indie Comic category is where we make sure that creator-owned and small press titles get their due. While you won’t find any superheroes or decades-old intellectual properties here, you will find great stories.

The nominees are:

• Coda (BOOM! Studios; Si Spurrier, Matias Bergara)
• Crowded (Image Comics; Christopher Sebela, Ro Stein)
• Flavor (Image Comics; Joseph Keatinge, Tamra Bonvillain, Wook Jin Clark)
• Saga (Image Comics; Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples)
• The Seeds (Berger Books; Ann Nocenti, David Aja)

Best New Comic Series

Any creative industry lives and dies by the strength of its newest ideas, and comics is no different. Without an influx of new creators and fresh takes, the comic book industry would stagnate and wither away. This category honors the series that launched in 2018 (or very late 2017) that most ignited our optimism for the future of comic books.

The nominees are:

• Border Town (Vertigo Comics; Eric M. Esquivel, Ramon Villalobos)
• Catwoman (DC Comics; Joelle Jones)
• Crowded (Image Comics; Christopher Sebela, Ro Stein)
• The Immortal Hulk (Marvel Comics; Al Ewing, Joe Bennett)
• Venom (Marvel Comics; Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman)

Best Writer

Comics is a collaborative medium, but the ideas often start with the writers. The nature of mainstream comics means that writers are often capable of working on multiple series at once, balancing different narratives, characters, and sometimes entire universes at once.

Our nominees are the writers whose imaginations fueled some of our favorite stories, in comic books or otherwise, of the past year.

The nominees are:

• Al Ewing (Immortal Hulk)
• Chip Zdarsky (Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Marvel Two-in-One)
• Donny Cates (Venom, Cosmic Ghost Rider)
• Jason Aaron (Thor, Avengers)
• Kelly Thompson (Jessica Jones, West Coast Avengers, Mr. and Mrs. X)

Best Artist

Comics is, has always been, and will always remain a visual medium above all else. A writer may pen the script, but a script it will remain until the artist puts pen to page.

Artists create characters, build worlds out of nothing, and create the illusion of time passing on a still page. All those nominated here do that and more.

The nominees are:

• David Marquez (Avengers, Defenders)
• Fiona Staples (Saga)
• Joe Bennett (Immortal Hulk)
• Joelle Jones (Batman, Catwoman)
• Mitch Gerads (Mister Miracle)

Best Cover Artist

A cover artist serves as a kind of ambassador between and comic and potential readers.

A good cover needs to be eye-catching and inviting without being misleading. These artists are masters of that art.

The nominees are:

• Alex Ross (Immortal Hulk)
• Declan Shelvey (The Punisher)
• Jenny Frison (X-Men Red)
• Mark Brooks (Extermination)
• Nick Derington (Mister Miracle)

Best Colorist

With all due respect to the many great black-and-white comics that have been created over the years, colorists are an important and too-often overlooked part of comic book creative teams.

The colors on a page create the mood, informing the reader of what the tone is meant to be and what they should be feeling at any given moment, and providing the pop that brings a static image to life.

The nominees are:

• Dave Stewart (Black Hammer: The Quantum Age)
• Justin Ponsor (Avengers)
• Marte Gracia (Extermination)
• Matt Wilson (The Wicked + The Divine)
• Tamra Bonvillain (Wayward)

Best Inker

The contributions inkers make to the final pages of art that make it into a comic can often be overlooked, but all it takes is a look at a raw pencil page to understand how much inking adds to a story.

Inkers create depth and shadow, giving comic book artwork a raw edge or smooth finish.

The nominees are:

• Danny Miki (Damage)
• Dexter Vines (The Wild Storm: Michael Cray)
• Jay Leisten (Astonishing X-Men)
• Mark Morales (Avengers)
• Scott Williams (The Immortal Men)

Best Letterer

It’s often said that the best lettering goes unnoticed because it so seamlessly integrates itself into the art, but that sells the job short.

Lettering helps define the voices not just of the characters who are speaking, but of the stories being told as well.

The nominees are:

• Clayton Cowles (The Wicked + The Divine)
• Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (Shanghai Red)
• Joe Caramagna (Captain America)
• Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo)
• Todd Klein (Books of Magic)

Favorite Comic Publisher

Comic book publishers have an unusual amount of visibility compared to their counterparts in other mediums, partly because the biggest publishers’ names are associated with a vast continuity of characters. But with this comes great responsibility as well.

These publishers can serve many different purposes. They are custodians of decades longs shared narratives to which countless creators have contributed. They also must ensure that new talent finds a place in the comics industry to flourish and that unique voices are heard. To that end, we also considered imprints with their own mission statements and editorial oversight when choosing nominees for this category.

The nominees are:

• BOOM! Studios
• DC Comics
• First Second
• Image Comics
• Marvel Comics