DC’s Absolute line had a big night in Baltimore. Absolute Batman won Best Series at the 2026 Ringo Awards, and the Absolute Martian Manhunter team of Deniz Camp and Javier Rodríguez went home with three individual trophies between them: Best Writer for Camp, and both Best Artist and Best Cover Artist for Rodríguez. Jim Lee received the Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award.
The 10th annual Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards were handed out Saturday night, September 26, during Baltimore Comic-Con. Baltimore Comic-Con’s official results release was published Sunday by First Comics News, and the Ringo Awards site now marks every category winner on its 2026 ballot. Graphic Policy and File 770 posted the same full list of winners.
Absolute Batman beats its own stablemate
Best Series came down to a DC Absolute showdown. Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta’s Absolute Batman won over a field that included Absolute Martian Manhunter, plus Coexistence (self-published), FML (Dark Horse), Granite State Punk (Orange Cone Productions) and Murder Podcast (Ignition Press). Batman also picked up Favorite Hero in the Fan Favorites categories.
Absolute Martian Manhunter’s creators made up for it on the individual side. Rodríguez won two of the three categories he was nominated in, losing Best Colorist to Dave Stewart. Camp beat James Tynion IV, Mark Waid, Robert Venditti and Joseph Schmalke for Best Writer. Bleeding Cool summed it up as “multiple wins for Absolute Martian Manhunter by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez.”
Jim Lee, Jeffrey Brown and Jim Calafiore honored
Three industry names took the night’s special honors. Jim Lee received the Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award, and Jeffrey Brown was named the Hero Initiative’s Dick Giordano Humanitarian of the Year. Jim Calafiore received the Brogan Fidelity Award.
The Mike Wieringo Spirit Award went to The Avengers in the Veracity Trap from Abrams ComicArts.
Terry Moore gives the keynote
Strangers in Paradise creator Terry Moore gave this year’s keynote. Baltimore Comic-Con’s release also points to what’s next for him: starting in October 2026, Moore is teaming with Dark Horse Comics to reissue his catalog of legacy series. Presenters included Colleen Doran and Carla Speed McNeil, Gene Ha, James Robinson and Jim Lee, Todd Dezago, Craig Rousseau and Matt Wieringo, and David Dastmalchian and Leah Kilpatrick.
One small-press story stood out. Bleeding Cool reports that English creator and publisher Matt Garvey went to Baltimore “on a wing and a prayer” as a nominee for his book Making Your First Comic. He came home with Best Comics-Related Publication.
2026 Ringo Awards: full winners list
Craft and publication awards
- Best Cartoonist (Writer and Artist): Craig Thompson
- Best Writer: Deniz Camp
- Best Artist or Penciller/Inker Team: Javier Rodríguez
- Best Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
- Best Colorist: Dave Stewart
- Best Cover Artist: Javier Rodríguez
- Best Series: Absolute Batman (DC)
- Best Short Story: Chest Face (self-published)
- Best Original Graphic Novel: Herobear and the Kid Vol. 1: The Inheritance (Papercutz)
- Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel, Ages 11 and Under: Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse and the Amazing Lost Ocean (Fantagraphics)
- Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel, Ages 12 and Up: Raised by Ghosts (Fantagraphics)
- Best Anthology: Bowling with Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown (Dark Horse)
- Best Humor Comic: The Goon: Them That Don’t Stay Dead (Albatross Funnybooks/Dark Horse)
- Best Webcomic: Neon Pantheon (neonpantheoncomic.com)
- Best Humor Webcomic: Nothing Butt Nightwing (DC / DC Go!)
- Best Non-fiction Comic Work: Surrounded: America’s First School for Black Girls, 1832 (Ablaze Publishing/NBM Graphic Novels)
- Best Comics-Related Publication: Making Your First Comic (self-published)
- Best Presentation in Design: Lone Wolf and Cub Deluxe Edition Volume 1 (Dark Horse)
Fan Favorites
- Favorite Hero: Batman (DC)
- Favorite Villain: Doctor Doom (Marvel)
- Favorite New Series: Excavator (D4K Studios)
- Favorite New Talent: Reese Hannigan
- Favorite Publisher: Etan Comics
Special awards
- Mike Wieringo Spirit Award: The Avengers in the Veracity Trap (Abrams ComicArts)
- Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award: Jim Lee
- Hero Initiative Dick Giordano Humanitarian of the Year: Jeffrey Brown
- Brogan Fidelity Award: Jim Calafiore
Publishers on the board
DC and Dark Horse each came away with three wins. DC took Best Series and Best Humor Webcomic, plus Batman’s fan award. Dark Horse won Best Anthology and Best Presentation in Design, and shares Best Humor Comic for The Goon with Albatross Funnybooks. Fantagraphics swept both kids’ categories, and self-published books won two: Chest Face and Making Your First Comic. Marvel’s lone trophy came from the fans, with Doctor Doom named Favorite Villain.
The Ringos are named for the late artist Mike Wieringo, best known for The Flash, Fantastic Four and his co-creation Tellos. Fans and professionals both help shape the nomination ballot. Next year’s awards, the 11th, are set for September 25, 2027, at the 27th annual Baltimore Comic-Con.
