The 2023 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Ongoing Comic
Immortal X-Men takes home the crown for Best Ongoing Comic in the 2023 Golden Issue Awards.
The category for Best Ongoing Comic Book is always a competitive space come awards season, and 2023 is no exception. Ask any "Wednesday Warrior," and they will give you a long list of their favorite comics to pick up each week, whether they be from the Big 2 of Marvel and DC, or the independent scene featuring the likes of Image Comics, BOOM! Studios, IDW, and many, many more. But don't worry loyal comic book readers, ComicBook.com has you covered by doing the heavy lifting with our Golden Issue Awards. On the comic book side of the awards, we've honored the Best Ongoing Comic of the year.
And the winner of the 2023 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Ongoing Comic is...
The X-Men title by the tag team duo of Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck may be the winner of a Golden Issue Award, but that doesn't mean it's been a banner year for the members of the X-Men's Quiet Council. Immortal X-Men puts the spotlight on the ruling body of Krakoa, who were tasked with governing over the sovereign nation. But as with most political groups, there was a lot of scheming and backstabbing taking place. The biggest example of this came from Mister Sinister and his genetic tampering, resulting in the Sins of Sinister event series. Immortal X-Men's creative team masterfully laid the groundwork for Sins of Sinister, focusing on a different member of the Quiet Council in each issue while also progressing the main story arcs.
Artist Lucas Werneck jumped to another level while illustrating Immortal X-Men. Werneck masterfully balanced emotional beats with hard-hitting action set pieces, with writer Kieron Gillen also creating some of his most impactful work at Marvel. It's not easy following Jonathan Hickman and everything he set up during his time on the X-Men franchise, but Gillen more than held his own and took a lot of Hickman's ideas and both utilized them and added his own special flare to Marvel's merry mutants. It can be hard working on an ensemble book, juggling and dedicating page time to each character. Luckily, this has never been a problem in Immortal X-Men. Each X-Man's time in the spotlight has felt warranted and earned, which is all you can ask for when dealing with a cast this large.
Immortal X-Men shifted gears in the back half of 2023 following the events of the Hellfire Gala. Krakoa is no longer a safe haven for mutants, and the Quiet Council has all but shattered. Charles Xavier has starred as a broken man looking for answers, Hope Summers and Exodus are tasked with guiding refugees to safety, Sebastian Shaw and Selene continue making moves, and more twists and turns take place to keep readers' eyes locked for the next issue. The Fall of X was a reminder that no franchise deals with being the underdog quite like the X-Men, and even though 2024 will most likely see the end of Immortal X-Men as Marvel transitions to the next evolution of the X-Men, the comic will leave a lasting legacy as one of the standout books of 2023.
The nominees for Best Ongoing Comic are:
Batman/Superman: World's Finest
Birds of Prey
Immortal Thor
Immortal X-Men — WINNER
Local Man