The 2022 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Colorist

By Jamie Lovett

Welcome back to the 2022 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Awards. Each year, the ComicBook staff look back at the year that was, choosing the best of comics, movies, television, anime, games, and the rest of pop culture. In this category, we're spotlighting an essential, though often overlooked, part of comic books, recognizing the best comic colorist in 2022. Nominees for this year include winners previous winners of the Golden Issue for Best Colorist, including Jordie Bellaire and Tamra Bonvillain, along with other top talents in their field, such as Marte Gracia, Laura Allred, and Matheus Lopes.

And the winner of the 2022 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Colorist is...

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Marte Gracia!

A veteran of the field, Gracia's profile rose to superstardom in 2019, when he colored the franchise-redefining dual miniseries House of X and Powers of X. Since then, he's remained a vital part of the X-line, coloring the first year of the relaunched X-Men ongoing series, teaming again with frequent collaborator Pepe Larraz. In 2022, he teamed with artist Valerio Schti and writer Kieron Gillen for the epic Marvel Comics event A.X.E.: Judgment Day, a crossover featuring the Avengers, the X-Men, and the Eternals which once again redefined Karkoa's place in the Marvel Universe.

Gracia helped introduce the island nation of Krakoa to the Marvel Universe and helped to define its look. While others have tried, no one has quite captured the awe-inspiring green paradise of Krakoa the way that Gracia has in his comics. His pages are saturated with color and vibrant, emphasizing how alive the X-Men's new home is. He also knows his way around an epic fight scene, as he's shown in issues of X-Men involving giant alien invaders and in A.X.E. Judgment Day, where he's managed to make pages crowded with characters clear and compelling.

We don't know what's next for Gracia now that A.X.E.: Judgment Day is done, as he's currently working on something "secret" for Marvel. You can bet we're eager to find out what it is.

Congratulations to Marte Gracia for their Golden Issue Awards win!

The nominees for Best Colorist are:

  • Laura Allred (The X-Cellent)

  • Jordie Bellaire (Ant-Man)

  • Tamra Bonvillain (Once & Future)

  • Marte Gracia (A.X.E.: Judgment Day) – WINNER

  • Matheus Lopes (Step by Bloody Step)

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