The Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards, alternatively known as the Ringo Awards, is an annual celebration of the creativity, skill, and fun of comics. The ceremony is named for the late artist Mike Wieringo, whose work was featured in Adventures of Superman, Batman, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Sensation, Rogue, and Tellos.
The Ringo Awards recognize outstanding achievements in over 20 categories, and serves as the only industry awards nominated by fans and pros alike, with final voting by the comic professional community. The 2017 Ringo Awards is taking place on September 23 at The Baltimore Comic-Con. Nominations are currently taking place, so be sure to submit your nominations before voting closes on July 18.
An esteemed jury of comics professionals will participate in the nomination process, selecting favorite works across the categories. The 2017 jury was chosen as a cross-section of the comic book industry, with members representing seasoned and venerated educators, retailers, press, and creators across numerous genres.
They include John Haines, a comic historian specializing in Timely, Atlas, and Centaur comics from the Golden Age. Haines also contributed to various small fanzines and eventually became an advisor to the Overstreet Price Guide in the late 1990s. In 2008, he opened his first shop, Comics and Fiends, before beginning the annual Lake Effect Comic Book Convention – which just celebrated its 8th anniversary.
Hanna Means-Shannon, who holds a Ph.D. in Medieval Languages and Literature from Oxford University, is also on the jury. Means-Shannon got her start writing about comics on TripCity.net before becoming contributing editor at The Comics Beat. She later served as the editor-in-chief for Bleeding Cool, before pursuing other opportunities as an associate editor for Dark Horse Comics. Currently, Means-Shannon is executive editor for comicon.com, while also editing creator-owned comics.
Jamar Nicholas, a multi-time GLYPHS Comic Award-winning cartoonist and educator, is on the jury panel. He has lectured on the topic of comic creation at numerous institutions, dedicating his career to empowering young people to create their own cartoons and comics. Some of his works include Fist Stick Knife Gun, Detective Boogaloo: Hip-Hop Cop, and his upcoming original graphic novel Leon: Protector of the Playground. Nicholas is also a writer and columnist for DRAW! Magazine, and was a host of the Comic Book Diner podcast.
Another jury member is Chris Powell, who serves as vice president of retailer services at Diamond Comic Distributors. Powell spearheaded Diamond’s rollout of publisher-supported incentive programs and was instrumental in the launch of Diamond Digital. He previously held the held the general manager and chief relationship officer position at Lone Star Comics and mycomicshop.com. Powell also served as a founding board member of ComicsPro, and is a board member and past president of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
José Villarrubia, who is best known for his collaborations with author Alan Moore, rounds out the jury group. He is also known for his illustrations in Voice of the Fire, The Mirror of Love, and his graphic novel Promethea. He has worked extensively for Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image, Wildstorm, Vertigo, Valiant, Archie, Legendary, and many others. Villarrubia has been nominated several times for the Eisner Award, and won the Harvey Award for Cuba: My Revolution.
