The 2021 Annual Watchie Awards
Every year, Comic Watch gets together to decide who the best of the best was in the comics industry for the entire year. We take a look back at everything from writers to artists, inkers, colorists, letterers and even the best series, single issue, publisher and more. 2020 was a year filled with turmoil and uncertainty to say the least, it even saw the temporary halting of comics shipments as we all struggled to deal with a raging global pandemic. But comics persevered, and despite the troubling times we were still able to enjoy many outstanding comics from so many remarkable creators and publishers.
With that, we are proud to present the nominees for the annual Watchie awards looking back at the best of what 2020 had to offer for comics and more!
WRITER OF THE YEAR
Ram V
Donny Cates
James Tynion IV
Tom Taylor
N.K. Jemisin
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Juan Jose Ryp
Nic Klein
Martin Simmonds
Jamal Campbell
Greg Capullo
INKER OF THE YEAR
Le Beau Underwood
JP Mayer
Danny Miki
Jonathan Glapion
Carmen Carnero
COLORIST OF THE YEAR
Tamra Bonvillain
Dave McCaig
Matt Wilson
Jordie Bellaire
Dave Stewart
LETTERER OF THE YEAR
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Aditya Bidikar
Joe Caramagna
Clayton Cowles
Ariana Maher
Jim Campbell
COMIC BOOK OF THE YEAR
Superman #18 – by Brian Michael Bendis, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Alex Sinclair, Dave Sharpe at DC Comics
Rai #10 – by Dan Abnett, Juan Jose Ryp, Andrew Dalhouse, Dave Sharpe at Valiant
Blue in Green – by Ram V, Anand Rk, Aditya Bidikar, Tom Muller at Image Comics
Jinny Hex Special #1 – by Magdalene Visaggio, Gleb Melnikov, Luis Guerrero, Gabriela Downie at DC Comics
Death Metal #7 – by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia, Tom Napolitano at DC Comics
COMIC SERIES OF THE YEAR
Justice League Dark – by Ram V, James Tynion IV, Kyle Hotz, Amancay Nahuelpan, Alvaro Martinez Bueno, June Chung, Raul Fernandez, Rob Leigh at DC Comics
Dark Nights: Death Metal – by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia, Tom Napolitano at DC Comics
Venom – by Donny Cates, Mark Bagley, Andy Owens, Juan Gedeon, Luke Ross, Jesus Aburtov, Frank Martin, Clayton Cowles at Marvel
Something is Killing the Children – by James Tynion IV, Werther Dell’Edera, Miquel Muerto, Andworld at BOOM! Studios
The Department of Truth – by James Tynion IV, Martin Simmonds, Aditya Bidikar at Image Comics
MARVEL SERIES OF THE YEAR
Thor – by Donny Cates, Nic Klein, Matt Wilson, Joe Sabino
Venom – by Donny Cates, Mark Bagley, Andy Owens, Juan Gedeon, Luke Ross, Jesus Aburtov, Frank Martin, Clayton Cowles
The Immortal Hulk – by Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, Matt Milla, Cory Petit
Daredevil – by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Mike Hawthorne, JP Mayer, Mattia Iacono, Marcio Menyz, Clayton Cowles,
Hellions – by Zeb Wells, Stephen Segovia, Carmen Carnero David Curiel, Cory Petit, Ariana Maher
DC COMICS SERIES OF THE YEAR
Justice League Dark – by Ram V, James Tynion IV, Kyle Hotz, Amancay Nahuelpan, Alvaro Martinez Bueno, June Chung, Raul Fernandez, Rob Leigh
Batman – by James Tynion IV, Guillem March, Carlo Pagulayan, Carlos D’anda, Bengal, Ryan Benjamin, Danny Miki, David Baron, Clayton Cowles
Dark Knights: Death Metal – by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia, Tom Napolitano
Far Sector – N.K. Jemisin, Jamal Campbell, Deron Bennett
Superman Smashes the Klan – Adapted by Gene Luen Yang, Gurihiru, Janice Chiang
INDIE SERIES OF THE YEAR
The Department of Truth – by James Tynion IV, Martin Simmonds, Aditya Bidikar at Image Comics
Something is Killing the Children – by James Tynion IV, Werther Dell’Edera, Miquel Muerto, Andworld at BOOM! Studios
BANG! – by Matt Kindt, Wilfredo Torres, Nayoung Kim, Nate Piekos of BLAMBOT at Dark Horse Comics
Seven Secrets – by Tom Taylor, Daniele di Nicuolo, Walter Baiamonte, Katia Ranalli, Ed Dukeshire
Alienated – by Simon Spurrier, Chris Wildgoose, Andre May, Jim Campbell at BOOM! Studios
MOVIE OF THE YEAR
Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn
Bloodshot
Tenet
Scoob!
Onward
TV SERIES OF THE YEAR
Locke & Key Season 1 on Netflix
The Mandalorian Season 2 on Disney+
Star Trek Discovery Season 3 on CBS All Access
Harley Quinn Season 2 – on The DC Universe/HBO Max
Tiger King – on Netflix
PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR
Valiant
Vault Comics
Image
Marvel
BOOM! Studios
Mad Cave Studios
Be sure to stay tuned to Comic Watch where we will announce the winners for each category via a LIVE show on The Comic Watchers Show currently scheduled for Thursday the 28th at 7:15pm EST on Facebook, Youtube and Twitter @ComicWatchHQ
