Diamond Comic Distributors has announced the winners of the 2018 Diamond Gem Awards, selected by comic book specialty retailers and celebrated within the comic book industry as a key annual award honoring sales success.
DC Entertainment took home six Gem Awards, including Comic Book Publisher of the Year (Over 3% Market Share); Top Dollar Comic Book with Action Comics #1000; Comic Book of the Year $3.99 or Under with Heroes In Crisis #1; Comic Book of the Year - Over $3.99 with Action Comics #1000; Reprint Trade Paperback or Hard Cover of the Year with Batman White Knight; Best All Ages Series with DC Super Hero Girls; and Best All-Ages Original/Reprint Graphic Novel with DC Super Hero Girls: Date With Disaster. DC Collectibles, the collectibles branch of DC Entertainment won Collectible Statue of the Year with the Batman Black and White: The Batman Who Laughs statue.
Marvel Comics earned five Gem Awards, including Top Dollar Market Share Publisher of the Year, Licensed Comic of the Year with Star Wars: Darth Vader Dark Lord of the Sith Volume 2; Anthology of the Year with Thanos Legacy #1; Best Free Comic Book Day Book with FCBD 2018 Avengers Captain America; and Best New Comic Book Series with Immortal Hulk.
Image Comics received two Gem Awards, taking home Backlist Publisher of the Year and Original Graphic Novel of the Year with My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies.
Dark Horse Comics also received two Gem Awards, for Licensed Comic of the Year with Stranger Things #1 and Trade Book of the Year with The Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia.
IDW Publishing took home a Gem Awards with Game Product of the Year for Batman: The Animated Series Gotham Under Siege.
Retailers also recognized BOOM! Studios as Comic Book Publisher of the Year (Under 3% Market Share), VIZ Media with two Gem Awards, including Manga Publisher of the Year; and Diamond Select Toys with two Gem Awards, including Toy Manufacturer of the Year.
A panel of Diamond product specialists selected the supplier nominees for the Diamond Gem Awards based on each entry’s overall impact on the industry, while comics and related merchandise were chosen on the merits of their sales performance and quality from 2018. Comic book specialty retailers across the United States and worldwide then selected the winners.
