2018 Ringo Awards Final Ballot Nominees Announced

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - June 25, 2018 - The 2018 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards Nominees have been announced with the release of the final ballot. The awards are to be presented at the Ringo Awards Banquet and Ceremony in conjunction with the 2018 Baltimore Comic-Con on the evening of Saturday, September 29, 2018.

Voting on the 2018 Ringo Awards Final Ballot is now open, and is restricted to the comic book industry creative community -- anyone involved in and credited with creating comics professionally. Thank you to all pros who have already participated in our nomination process. Final ballots can be submitted directly or via our website, and voting will close on August 31, 2018. We now present the inaugural Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards Final Ballot.

Fan and Pro Nomination Categories

Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist)

• Guy Delisle
• Emil Ferris
• Monica Gallagher
• Joelle Jones
• Quimchee
• Jillian Tamaki

Best Writer

• Jason Aaron
• Neil Gaiman
• Matt Kindt
• Tom King
• Jeff Lemire
• Aline Brosh McKenna
• David Pepose

Best Artist or Penciller

• Gary Frank
• Mitch Gerards
• Chris Samnee
• Stjepan Sejic
• Lee Weeks

Best Inker

• Jonathan Glapion
• Mark McKenna
• Danny Miki
• Mark Morales
• Scott Williams

Best Letterer

• Colin Bell
• Justin Birch
• Todd Klein
• David Rubin
• John Workman

Best Colorist

• Dijjo Lima
• Laura Martin
• Dave McCaig
• Jasen Smith
• Dave Stewart

Best Cover Artist

• Michael Cho
• Fay Dalton
• Simon Fraser
• Joelle Jones
• David Mack
• Jorge Santiago Jr.

Best Series

• Batman, DC Comics
• Lady Killer, Dark Horse Comics
• Mister Miracle, DC Comics
• Spencer & Locke, Action Lab Entertainment
• Sunstone, Image Comics

Best Single Issue or Story

• Batman Annual #2, DC Comics
• Batman/Elmer Fudd Special, DC Comics
• Doomsday Clock #1, DC Comics
• I Am Groot, Marvel Comics
• Mister Miracle #5, DC Comics

Best Original Graphic Novel

1. The Aggregate, Split Decision Comics
2. The Best We Could Do, Abrams ComicArts
3. Hostage, Drawn & Quarterly
4. My Favorite Thing is Monsters, Fantagraphics
5. Spinning, First Second

Best Anthology

• Magic Bullet, D.C. Conspiracy
• Mine! A Celebration of Liberty and Freedom for All Benefiting Planned Parenthood, ComicMix
• Mirror, Mirror II, 2dcloud
• Overwatch: Anthology Volume 1, Dark Horse Comics
• SpongeBob Comics: Treasure Chest, Harry N. Abrams

Best Humor Comic

• Baking with Kafka, Drawn & Quarterly
• Batman/Elmer Fudd Special, DC Comics
• Boyfriend of the Dead, Line Webtoons
• Giant Days, BOOM! Studios
• My Giant Nerd Boyfriend, Line Webtoons
• Sh*t My President Says, Top Shelf Productions

Best Comic Strip or Panel

• Bloom County, Berkeley Breathed, Andrews McMeel Universal
• Mutts, Patrick McDonnell, King Features Syndicate
• Peanizles, http://www.peanizles.com/
• Pearls Before Swine, Stephan Pastis, Andrews McMeel Universal
• Sarah's Scribbles, Andrews McMeel Universal

Best Webcomic

• 1000, Sanford Green
• I Love Yoo, Quimche
• The Middle Age, Steve Conley
• Siren's Lament, instantmiso
• War Cry, Dean Haspiel

Best Non-fiction Comic Work

• The Best We Could Do, Abrams ComicArts
• Everything is Flammable, Uncivilized Books
• Going into Town: A Love Letter to New York, Bloomsbury Publishing
• My Favorite Thing is Monsters, Fantagraphics
• Poppies of Iraq, Drawn & Quarterly
• ReDistricted, redistrictedcomics.com
• Spinning, First Second

Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel

• Bolivar, Archaia/BOOM! Studios
• Cyko KO: A Comic Book Adventure You Can Color, Alterna Comics
• DC SuperHero Girls, DC Comics
• Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties, Graphix
• Home Time (Book One), Top Shelf Productions
• If Found...Please Return To Elise Gravel, Drawn & Quarterly
• Jem and the Holograms, IDW Publishing
• Pizza Tree, Arcana Comics
• Red's Planet: Friends and Foes, Harry N. Abrams

Best Presentation in Design

• Jane, BOOM! Studios
• Monograph by Chris Ware, Rizzoli
• Monsters Vol. 1: The Marvel Monsterbus, Valiant Entertainment
• My Favorite Thing is Monsters, Fantagraphics
• Saga, Image Comics
• Skybourne, BOOM! Studios
• X-Men: Grand Design Marvel Comics

The final ballot represents an aggregate of jury and fan top nominations. Congratulations to all of the nominees. Comic pros can click the button below to submit their votes.

Ringo Awards 2018 Nominations Now Open

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - March 15, 2018 - The Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards is an annual celebration of the creativity, skill, and fun of comics. The awards return for their second year on Saturday, September 29, 2018 as part of the fan- and pro-favorite convention, The Baltimore Comic-Con.

Unlike other professional industry awards, the Ringo Awards include fan participation in the nomination process along with an esteemed jury of comics professionals.

More than 20 categories will be celebrated with top honors being given at an awards ceremony.

Fan and Pro Nominations

Fan (including non-jury comic industry professionals) and pro-jury voting are tallied independently, and the combined nomination ballot is compiled by the Ringo Awards Committee. The top two fan choices become nominees, and the jury's selections fill the remaining three slots for five total nominees per category. Ties may result in more than five nominees in a single category. Nominees will be listed on the ballot alphabetically. Nomination ballot voting will be open to the public (fans and pros) between March 15, 2018 and May 30, 2018.

Publisher Submissions

New to the Ringo Awards nomination process in 2018, we are enabling publishers to submit works for consideration to the Ringo Jurors. Publishers can submit up to five submissions per "Fan and Pro Nomination" and "Jury-Only Nomination" category that they feel are worthy of consideration. To participate in this process, publishers are asked to have a single representative send an email to contact@ringoawards.com for further information.

Final Ballot Voting

After processing by the Ringo Awards Committee and Jury, the Final Ballot is targeted to be available to comic creative professionals for voting on June 25, 2018 and will be due by August 31, 2018 for final tallying. Presentation of the winners will occur at the Baltimore Comic-Con on the evening of Saturday, September 29, 2018.

Nomination Eligibility

Eligibility for creators and creative works is determined by publication in the preceding calendar year - print publication date takes precedence over electronic publication date. For electronic works, the date of publication is time-stamped with most publications and at least 3 episodes/installments of continuing works must have appeared during the eligibility period.

New Categories

New in 2018, we have added two categories based on juror feedback from our inaugural year:

Open to Fans and Pros, we are now including "Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel". This category recognizes publications that are tailored to the evolving generation of comic readers, and one that Mike Wieringo would have been behind 100%.

In Fan-Only Favorites, we have added "Favorite Publisher" to the list, allowing readers to nominate the publisher they thought created the best works in the previous year. Will it be one of the big comics houses? An online company? Perhaps a book publisher? Did an indie publisher knock it out of the park? Your vote counts!

Fan and Pro Nomination Categories

* Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist)
* Best Writer
* Best Artist or Penciller
* Best Inker
* Best Letterer
* Best Colorist
* Best Cover Artist
* Best Series
* Best Single Issue or Story
* Best Original Graphic Novel
* Best Anthology
* Best Humor Comic
* Best Comic Strip or Panel
* Best Webcomic
* Best Non-fiction Comic Work
* Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel
* Best Presentation in Design

Jury-Only Nomination (with three bonus jurors)

* The Mike Wieringo Spirit Award

Fan-Only Favorite Categories

* Favorite Hero
* Favorite Villain
* Favorite New Series
* Favorite New Talent
* Favorite Publisher

Hero Initiative Award (selected by the Hero Initiative)

* The Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award
* The Dick Giordano Humanitarian Award