Welcome to the 2023 Golden Issue Awards, ComicBook.com‘s annual celebration of our writers’ favorite movies, television, games, comics, and more from the past year. Here, we’re focusing on this year’s best comic releases, from ongoing series to limited miniseries to original graphic novels. This year, we are celebrating artists and creators in eight categories, with each category spotlighting different facets of the comic book medium, including 2023’s best ongoing series, limited series, graphic novels, writers, artists, colorists, letterers, and cartoonists.
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There were a variety of delights to enjoy in 2023 across the comic book medium as the industry continues to rebuild after the slowdown brought on by the pandemic. The superhero genre offered fresh starts for some of its most significant icons and the latest in big-two publisher event comics. Outside of those familiar universes, creators offered compelling sci-fi, fantasy, and horror tales, as well as more personal journeys conveyed through graphic memoirs and illuminating works of historical fiction. Comics are for everyone, and 2023 is a year that reflects that with the wide range of stories being brought to page.
ComicBook.com‘s staff have considered a wide range of comics, including direct market releases and those aimed at bookstores, to put together its list of the most notable work and creators of the year. You can keep reading to see who earned nominations for the 2023 Golden Issues and check back in the coming days as we reveal this year’s winners.
Best Ongoing Comic
The ongoing comic book series is the backbone of the direct market, enticing readers into comic book shops week after week. While the most popular of these books tells the decades-long story of iconic characters, they increasingly tell original stories that put a fresh spin on familiar tropes or develop something brand new. Here are the nominations for Best Ongoing Comic, celebrating the comics that kept us coming back for more each month in 2023.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest
Birds of Prey
Immortal Thor
Immortal X-Men
Local Man
Best Limited Series
Not every story needs to go on indefinitely. The limited series format can be deployed to make a major superhero story feel like an event in time, or to create a series of limited series released in episodic installments, or to let creators explore a concept only as much as they need. Otherwise, publishers can elevate certain works with a sense of prestige by letting readers know this story won’t last forever, so enjoy it while it’s here. These are our favorite miniseries from throughout 2023, the Best Limited Series nominees:
- Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise
- Green Arrow
- Miracleman by Gaiman & Buckingham: The Silver Age
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles / Usagi Yojimbo: WhereWhen
- Void Rivals
Best Graphic Novel
There’s something special about a good graphic novel; a complete story told in the comics medium, served in a complete volume. Even if it’s an installment of a planned series, there’s that same satisfaction of having a complete chapter right in your hands to enjoy all at once. This year’s nominees gave us that sensation. The nominees for Best Graphic Novel are:
Clementine: Book Two
Danger and Other Unknown Risks
Night Fever
Superman: The Harvest of Youth
Wonder Woman: Historia Book 3
Best Writer
Many comics are a collaborative endeavor, with the writer often the one brainstorming new takes on established characters or something fresh and new, then following through with a compelling plot and captivating narration and dialogue. A writer who doesn’t know when to step out of the way risks drowning out the contributions of their collaborators, but a strong one knows how to play to their strengths and bring out the best in those with whom they’re sharing the creative process. These writers stood out to us this year:
Eve Ewing (Black Panther)
Jed MacKay (Avengers)
Si Spurrier (Uncanny Spider-Man)
Kelly Thompson (Birds of Prey)
Mark Waid (Batman / Superman: World’s Finest)
Best Artist
The artist is the creative heart of any comic. Whether they’re executing on a collaborator’s idea or realizing their own, the artists’ work, style, and skill define what a comic book is. Here are the artists whose work we found most captivating in 2023:
Jamal Campbell (Superman)
Dan Mora (Batman / Superman: World’s Finest)
Leonardo Romero (Birds of Prey)
Elsa Charterrier (Love Everlasting)
Fiona Staples (Saga)
Best Colorist
A colorist sets a comic’s tone, establishing both mood and the atmosphere, and adding new dimensions to the penciller’s linework. They are often the creator tasked with making a collaborative work feel like a cohesive whole, while also viscerally engaging readers with colors that pop and otherwise draw the audience deeper into the story. Here are the colorists that stood out to us in 2023:
Jordie Bellaire (Birds of Prey)
Tamra Bonvillain (Batman / Superman: World’s Finest)
Matt Hollingsworth (Doctor Strange)
Rachelle Rosenberg (Moon Knight)
Matthew Wilson (Scarlet Witch)
Best Letterer
Letterers are often the unsung heroes of comics. It’s hard to attract critical attention when the prevailing logic is that good lettering shouldn’t draw attention to itself at all, and appreciating the subtleties of the crat can be tricky. Yet, the choices a letterer makes are integral to how the reader receives the story being told. Here are those we feel excelled in this field in 2023:
Aditya Bidikar (20th Century Men)
Becca Carey (New Champion of Shazam!)
Clayton Cowles (Birds of Prey)
Ariana Maher (Jean Grey)
Hassan Otsmanne-Elhaou (All Against All)
Best Cartoonist
“Cartoonist” is sometimes a malleable label. For our purposes, we intend to spotlight creators who approach comic book creation as holistic as possible. That means, at minimum, both writing and drawing the book, but often also includes coloring and lettering as well. These creators Here are those who stood out to us this year:
Peach Momoko (Demon Days: Scarlet Sin)
Tradd Moore (Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise)
Steve Skroce (Clobberin’ Time)
Tillie Walden (Clementine: Book Two)
Daniel Warren Johnson (Transformers)
Best Cover Artist
Creating great cover art is a unique skill set apart from being able to draw a comic book page. It may have a story to tell or connect to the one told within its issue, but is more often a means of attracting the readers’ eye towards the book in the first place, almost more akin to a movie poster than a movie in that respect. Yet, they are not mere advertisements, but bespoke works of art in their own right, requiring a masterful sense of competition to excel at, and the best are often sought out regardless of what story they may be attached to. These are the cover artists who kept catching our eyes in 2023:
Jen Bartel (She-Hulk)
Jenny Frison (Harley Quinn)
Haining (Spirit World)
Peach Momoko (Demon Days: Scarlet Sin)
Alex Ross (Fantastic Four)
