The 10th Annual Ringo Awards are set to return as part of the fan- and pro-favorite convention, The Baltimore Comic-Con. with top honors to be announced Saturday, September 26, 2026.

The winners for the 2026 Ringo Awards will be announced Saturday at the awards ceremony, in honor of the late artist Mike Wieringo, who made a name for himself as the co-creator of Tellos, as well as working on DC Comics properties like  The Flash and  Marvel Comics Fantastic Four, and others.

Founded by Cards, Comics, and Collectibles in Reisterstown, Maryland, the awards celebrate creators and new works from the preceding calendar year as nominated by both industry professionals and fans, with final nominees chosen by all comic creative professionals.

Judging is done by a select jury of five professionals representing a cross-section of the comics industry who vote by ranking the seven choices in each category in order of preference.

Related:

•  Interview With Randy Tischler About The Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards-2024
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Earlier this month, this year’s nominees were announced:

The 2026 Ringo Awards Nominees…

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   – The Comic Watchers Episode 250: Dean Haspiel Unleashes The CHEST FACE
• “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 Dastmalchian’s Through, Z2 Comics  – Interview: David Dastmalchian & Leah Kilpatrick Serve Up A Hat-Trick Of Horror
• 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 –  The Comic Watchers – Episode 225: GAMEMASTERS: The Comic Book History of Roleplaying Games With Fred Van Lente
• Herobear and the Kid Vol. 1 – The Inheritance, Papercutz

Best Cartoonist (Writer and Artist)

• Caroline Cash
• Scott Chantler – Interview: Scott Chantler & Bringing Three Thieves YA OGN Series To Mad Cave’s Papercutz Imprint
• Anders Nilsen
• Ben Passmore
• Tiffany Petitt
• Mimi Pond
• Craig Thompson
• Paige Walshe
• Ben Wickey – NYCC 2025 – IDW Booth: Ben Wickey – More Weight: A Salem Story

Best Writer

• Deniz Camp
• Joseph Schmalke
• James Tynion IV
• Robert Venditti
• Mark Waid

Best Artist or Penciller/Inker Team

• Becky Cloonan
• Werther Dell’Edera
• 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 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
• Flash Gordon Adventures Vol. 2, Papercutz  – The Comic Watchers – Episode 309: Adam Tierney – Godzilla, 13 Demons Dead, and Afraid Of Everything
• Jim Henson Presents, BOOM! Studios
• Knapsack Magazine Volume 2: Butter, Lucky Pocket Press
• unSEEN/unHEARD: Disability & Neurodivergence Comic Anthology, self-published  – Shedding Light On The unSEEN/unHEARD: Disability & Neurodivergence Comic Anthology
• Young Men in Love: New Romance, A Wave Blue World   –  Joe Glass & Matt Miner Talk Young Men In Love Vol 2: New Romance

Best Humor Comic

• The Blues Brothers – The Escape of Joliet Jake, Z2 Comics  –  New York Comic Con 2025: Z2 Comics – President Josh Bernstein & Blues Brothers OGN Release Party 
• Everything Sucks: Kings of Nothing, Silver Sprocket
• The Goon: Them That Don’t Stay Dead, Albatross Funnybooks/Dark Horse Comics
• How to Survive an Affair, self-published
• Physics for Cats, Drawn & Quarterly

Best Webcomic

• Battle Mage Farmer, Tapas Entertainment Inc.
• Before We Sail, Aces Weekly  –  The Comic Watchers – Episode 274: Carlos Yacolca And Aberto Rayo Search For More In Before We Sail from ACES Weekly
• Daughter of a Thousand Faces. Tapas Entertainment Inc.
• The Mafia Nanny, WEBTOON Entertainment
• Marionetta, WEBTOON Entertainment
• Neon Pantheon, neonpantheoncomic.com

Best Humor Webcomic

• The Bathroom Ghost, WEBTOON Entertainment
• Evil Inc., evil-inc.com
• Harley Quinn in Paradise, DC Comics / DC Go!
• I Am The Chief, iamthechiefcat.com
• My Little Warlord, DC Comics / DC Go!
• Nothing Butt Nightwing, DC Comics / DC Go!
• Taste of Justice, DC Comics / DC Go!

Best Non-fiction Comic Work

• Fela: Music is the Weapon, Amistad
• Ginseng Roots, Pantheon Books
• Love Letters Every Day, Background Noise   –  Lisa Burdige and John Hazard of Background Noise Comics Talk Kickstarting Love Letters Everyday
• Lucas Wars, Macmillan – First Second and 23rd Street
• Muybridge, Drawn & Quarterly
• Surrounded: America’s First School for Black Girls, 1832, Ablaze Publishing/NBM Graphic Novels

Best Comics-Related Publication

• Becoming Frazetta – The Early Years of a Fantasy Art Master, Thrilling Nostalgia Comics
• COMICS! The Magazine #0, Prana Publishers
• Facing Feelings: Inside the World of Raina Telgemeier, Scholastic Inc.
• Graphic Samurai: The Art of Denys Cowan, Gizmoe Press
• Making Your First Comic, self-published
• Messiahs, Meshugganahs, Misanthropes, and Mysteries, Fantagraphics

Best Presentation in Design

• Beasts of the Four Nations: Creatures From Avatar: The Last Airbender, Dark Horse Comics
• Becoming Frazetta – The Early Years of a Fantasy Art Master, Thrilling Nostalgia Comics
• Cry Wolf Girl, Silver Sprocket
• Ginseng Roots, Pantheon Books
• The Hero Trade: Hero for Sale TPB, Bad Idea
• Land of Mirrors, Drawn & Quarterly
• Lone Wolf and Cub Deluxe Edition Volume 1, Dark Horse Comics
• The Smurfs Archives Vol. 1, Papercutz
• Tongues, Vol. 1, Pantheon Books

OPEN NOMINATED AND VOTED AWARDS

All the nominees and the winner of these five categories will be selected by open voting. The five top Fan-Only Favorites will be announced at the Award Ceremony at the Baltimore Comic-Con in the following categories:

• Favorite Hero:
• Favorite Villain:
• Favorite New Series:
• Favorite New Talent:
• Favorite Publisher:

Other Awards include:

THE MIKE WIERINGO SPIRIT AWARD

Nominated works will be named by perennial jurors, Todd Dezago, Craig Rousseau, Mark Waid, and Matt Wieringo

THE HERO INITIATIVE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AND DICK GIORDANO HUMANITARIAN AWARDS:

• selected by Hero Initiative

Congratulations to the nominees and stay tuned to Comic Watch for announced winners in next month