Comic creative professionals, publishers, retailers, and fans came together (virtually) Saturday night, October 23, 2021 to experience the comic book industry celebrating recognition of their peers, co-workers, and competitors at the 2021 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards.
This year’s Ringo Awards was sponsored by Cards, Comics & Collectibles, the Baltimore Comic-Con, as well as BOOM! Studios, GeekELove, Geppi Family Enterprises, Graphix, Heavy Metal, Rocketship Entertainment, Source Point Press, Tapas Media, Valiant Entertainment, and WEBTOON.
The Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards is an annual celebration of the creativity, skill, and fun of comics. The nomination ballot is determined by fans and pros alike.
Steve Rotterdam, Senior Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for AfterShock Comics, honored the Ringo Awards as the 2021 keynote presenter at the event. Steve’s career in marketing and creative leadership spans just over 40 years, having worked independently and as part of teams on behalf of numerous entertainment, publishing, toy, and consumer packaged goods brands – everything from Universal Pictures and DC Comics to Hasbro Games and Nabisco Brands. Steve currently oversees the implementation of all direct market and book trade activities, as well as strategic management and consumer promotion at AfterShock. Leveraging the publisher’s marketplace dominance in horror, science fiction, crime noir, fantasy, and historical fiction, Steve developed and continues to manage AfterShock’s “Read Dangerously” campaign, a rallying cry not just for the company, but for the industry as a whole. Prior to joining AfterShock, Steve led Bonfire Agency, a marketing and communications agency he founded that remains devoted to helping consumer brands establish and deepen connections to consumers of comic culture. At DC Comics, under the leadership of Paul Levitz, he served as SVP of Sales & Marketing, and was responsible for the strategic planning, program development, and sales of all integrated advertising, custom publishing, promotion and sponsorship initiatives across all imprints, both print and digital.
A very special thanks go to the sponsors who donated items to the 2021 Ringo Awards Gift Bags, including Abrams, BOOM! Studios, Diamond Select Toys, Gemstone Publishing, Geppi Family Enterprises, Graphix, Heavy Metal, Image Comics, Rocketship Entertainment, Source Point Press, and Valiant Entertainment.
Fan Favorites:
- Sponsored by Rocketship Entertainment:
- Favorite Hero: Persephone from Lore Olympus (WEBTOON)
- Favorite Villain: Emma from My Deepest Secret (WEBTOON)
- Favorite New Series: Midnight Poppy Land
- Favorite New Talent: Lilydusk
- Favorite Publisher: Rocketship Entertainment
Jury and Fan Winners:
- Sponsored by GeekElove:
- Best Non-fiction Comic Work: Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio, Abrams Books
- Sponsored by Source Point Press:
- Best Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
- Sponsored by BOOM! Studios:
- Best Writer: James Tynion IV
- Best Cover Artist: Peach Momoko
- Best Single Issue or Story: The O.Z., self-published
- Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist): Stan Sakai
Hero Initiative Awards:
- Sponsored by Tapas Media:
- Best Webcomic: Fangs (tapas.io/series/fangscomic/)
- Best Humor Webcomic: Sarah’s Scribbles (tapas.io/series/Doodle-Time/)
- Best Anthology: Be Gay, Do Comics, IDW Publishing
- Best Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
- Sponsored by Graphix:
- Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel: Twins, Scholastic Graphix
- Sponsored by Heavy Metal:
- Best Original Graphic Novel: Pulp, Image Comics
- Sponsored by Valiant Entertainment:
- Best Presentation in Design: Dave Cockrum’s X-Men Artifact Edition, IDW Publishing
- Sponsored by WEBTOON:
- Best Artist or Penciller: Jamal Campbell
- Best Humor Comic: Metalshark Bro 2: Assault on Hamzig Island, Scout Comics
- Best Inker: Sanford Greene
- Best Series: Usagi Yojimbo, IDW Publishing
- Mike Wieringo Spirit Award: Folklords, BOOM! Studios
Hero Initiative Awards:
- Dick Giordano Humanitarian of the Year Award: Gene Ha
- Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award: Joe Quesada
In addition, the Baltimore Comic-Con would like to thank those individuals who presented at this year’s award ceremony, including: Keynote speaker Steve Rotterdam; Jason Douglas and Steenz, Christopher Priest, John Gallagher and Jamar Nicholas, Todd Dezago, Craig Rousseau, Matt Wieringo, Dean Haspiel and Leeanne Krecic, Amy Reeder and Michael Son, Art Baltazar, and Mitch Gerads and Tom King. We would also like to thank John Gallagher for his contributions to our awards ceremony program and presentation, as well as Comic Corps and Word Balloon for producing.
Please join us next year for the sixth annual Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards taking place at the 23rd annual Baltimore Comic-Con on October 29, 2022, and keep an eye on our website and social media accounts below for 2022 ballot information.
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