Though I talk a lot about Awards Shows over on “The Chronicles Of Piercing Ken”, when the particular celebration is focused on the comic book industry, I will speak about it here. Just the other day the annual Mike Wierengo Comic Book Industry Awards were doled out and here is the winning list and some information about the awards themselves. enjoy.

The Press Release:
Comic creative professionals, publishers, retailers, and fans came together Saturday night, October 19, 2019 to socialize, dine, and experience the comic book industry celebrating recognition of their peers, co-workers, and competitors at the 2019 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards.

This year’s Ringo Awards was sponsored by Presenting Sponsors Cards, Comics & Collectibles and the Baltimore Comic-Con; Gold Sponsors BOOM! Studios, WEBTOON; and Silver Sponsors Fantastic Forum, Graphite, Source Point Press, and Valiant Entertainment. The banquet and awards ceremony honoring nominees and winners in professional and fan categories was hosted by the Baltimore Comic-Con and Cards, Comics & Collectibles.

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.

Bob Wayne, comics industry luminary whose resume includes stints as a retailer, comics writer for DC and Charlton Comics, DC Comics executive, and CBLDF advisory board member, honored the Ringo Awards as the 2019 keynote presenter at the event.

A very special thanks go to the sponsors who donated items to the 2019 Ringo Awards Gift Bags, including Abrams ComicArts, Action Lab Entertainment, Archie Comic Publications, BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse Comics, Diamond Comic Distributors, Dynamite Entertainment, IDW Publishing, Lerner Publishing Group, New York Review Books, Source Point Press, TokyoPop, Valiant Entertainment, and WEBTOON.

To see a catalog of all the Diamond Book Publisher winners, click here.

Winners of the 2019 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards are:

Fan Favorites:
Favorite Hero: Toaster Dude
Favorite Villain: Lance Cordrey from Aberrant (Action Lab Entertainment)
Favorite New Series: Luff
Favorite New Talent: Enjelicious
Favorite Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

Jury and Fan Winners:
Best Cover Artist: Fiona Staples
Best Series (tie): Black Hammer: Age of Doom, Dark Horse Comics and The Immortal Hulk, Marvel Comics
Best Letterer: Todd Klein
Best Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Best Humor Comic: MAD, DC Comics
Best Original Graphic Novel: My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies, Image Comics
Best Comic Strip or Panel: Nancy, Olivia Jaimes, Andrews McMeel Universal
Best Single Issue or Story: Swamp Thing Winter Special, DC Comics
Mike Wieringo Spirit Award: Isola, Image Comics
Best Anthology: Where We Live, A Benefit for the Survivors in Las Vegas, Image Comics
Best Non-fiction Comic Work: Where We Live, A Benefit for the Survivors in Las Vegas, Image Comics
Best Presentation in Design: Absolute Sandman: Overture, DC Comics
Best Webcomic: The Nib (thenib.com)
Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel: Punk Taco, Adam Wallenta Entertainment
Best Inker: Fiona Staples
Best Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Best Artist or Penciller: Sean Phillips
Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist): Terry Moore

Hero Initiative Awards:
Dick Giordano Humanitarian of the Year Award: Louise Simonson
Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez

In addition, the Baltimore Comic-Con would like to thank those individuals who presented at this year’s award ceremony, including: Keynote speaker Bob Wayne; Paul McSpadden, Arely ‘Arechan’ Mancini and Dean Haspiel; Ross Richie and Filip Sablik; Fred Chamberlain; Shea Fontana and Brian K. Vaughan; Katie Cook and Afua Richardson; Walter Simonson; Mitch Gerads and Tom King; and Cully Hamner , Craig Rousseau, Mark Waid, and Matt Wieringo. We would also like to thank John Gallagher for his contributions to our program guide for the evening and awards ceremony presentation.

About Mike Wieringo:
Michael Lance “Mike” Wieringo was known to fans and friends as “Ringo”, which is how he signed his artwork. His comics artist graced the pages of DC Comics’ The Flash, Adventures of Superman, Batman, and Robin, Marvel Comics’ Fantastic Four, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Sensational Spider-Man, and Rogue, and his co-creation Tellos. He passed away on August 12, 2007 at the young age of 44 from an apparent heart attack.

About the Ringo Awards:
The Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards is an annual celebration of the creativity, skill and fun of comics. The Ringo Awards recognize outstanding achievements in over 20 categories, and are the only industry awards nominated by fans and pros alike, with final voting by the comic professional community. Launched in 2017, the awards ceremony is held annually at the Baltimore Comic-Con. Further details are available at the link below.

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PiercingMetal Thoughts: Despite my knowing about the talents of the late great Mike Wieringo as an avid collector of a number of the titles that he worked on over the years, I was completely unaware about these awards. That said I was glad to add them to our content base for all of the comic book fans that are reading this website. For those who are wondering about picking up the hobby in some fashion, its never a bad idea to choose from a list of award winning titles and creators. See you next time.

Official Website: http://www.ringoawards.com