BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – July 29, 2026 – The 2026 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 2026 Baltimore Comic-Con on the evening of Saturday, September 26, 2026.
Voting on the 2026 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 26, 2026. We now present the 2026 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards Final Ballot.
Fan and Pro Nomination Categories
* Best Cartoonist (Writer and Artist)
Caroline Cash
Scott Chantler
Anders Nilsen
Ben Passmore
Tiffany Petitt
Mimi Pond
Craig Thompson
Paige Walshe
Ben Wickey
* Best Writer
Deniz Camp
Joseph Schmalke
James Tynion IV
Robert Venditti
Mark Waid
* Best Artist or Penciller/Inker Team
Becky Cloonan
Werther Dell’Eera
Jay Fosgitt
Javier Rodriguez
Liam Sharp
Hayden Sherman
Stefan Tosheff
* Best Letterer
Taylor Esposito
Rob Leigh
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Troy Peteri
Nate Piekos
Ben Wickey
* Best Colorist
Jordie Bellaire
John Kalisz
Javier Rodriguez
Alejandro Sanchez
Stefano Simeone
Dave Stewart
* Best Cover Artist
Gabriele Dell’Otto
Colm Griffin
Tula Lotay
Daniel Parent
Javier Rodriguez
Riley Rossmo
* Best Series
Absolute Batman, DC Comics
Absolute Martian Manhunter, DC Comics
Coexistence, self-published
FML, Dark Horse Comics
Granite State Punk, Orange Cone Productions
Murder Podcast, Ignition Press
* Best Short Story
Chest Face, self-published
“Pied Piper” in Cthulhu Invades Fairy Tales, Orange Cone Productions
“The Knife and Gun Club” in Detective Comics #1100, DC Comics
The Fire Breathing Duckling, Astra Books for Young Readers
“Red Snapper in the Rea” in Milk White Steed, Drawn & Quarterly
Model Five Murder, Silver Sprocket
* Best Original Graphic Novel
Black Arms To Hold You Up, Pantheon Books
The Corus Wave, Avery Hill Publishing
David Dastmachian’s Through, Z2 Comics
Do Admit: The Mitford Sisters and Me, Drawn & Quarterly
Drome, Macmillan – First Second and 23rd Street
The Ephemerata: Shaping the Exquisite Nature of Grief, Fantagraphics
Gamemasters: The Comic Book History of Roleplaying Games, Clover Press
Herobear and the Kid Vol. 1 – The Inheritance, Papercutz
* Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel – Ages 11 and Under
Brume Vol. 1, Astra Books for Young Readers
The Fire Breathing Duckling, Astra Books for Young Readers,
The Lost Sunday, Oni Press
Magda, Intergalactic Chef: The Big Tournament, Lerner Publishing Group
Max, A Little Axolotl, Scholastics Inc.
The Mighty Bite #3: Hog Rocket Ruckus, ABRAMS
The Patchwork Girl of Oz Volume 1, Image Comics
Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse and the Amazing Lost Ocean, Fantagraphics
* Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel – Ages 12 and Up
Angelica and the Bear Prince, Penguin Random House/Random House Children’s Books
Dracula’s Brunch Club, Oni Press
Hello Sunshine, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Hunger’s Bite, Union Square & Co.
Raised by Ghosts, Fantagraphics
Wynd Book Four: The Power of the Blood, BOOM! Studios
* Best Anthology
Bowling with Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown, Dark Horse Comics
