The SKTCHD AWRDS, my absolutely real, completely not fake awards show where I celebrate the year that was in comics, are here. And what a year it was, as it was a glorious slate of comics, graphic novels, manga, webtoons, web comics, zines, minicomics, and everything else you can possibly imagine from a medium that’s bursting at the seams with talent and incredible work. In short: it’s a good time to be a comic reader, and these awards will showcase that.

While next week will highlight my Comics of 2024, this piece focuses on the writers, artists, colorists, letterers, and editors who helped make this year a standout one. I’m handing out 25 awards to these folks today, with each award focusing on a specific trait, aspect, or idea that I associate with a person’s work from the year that was.

As per usual, though, this was an endeavor that was guided by rules, and those rules are the following:

• These are my favorite creators of the year rather than the “best.” As much reading as I did — and I did a lot — I didn’t read everything and I can only represent myself anyways, so “favorite” felt fairer than “best.”
• The SKTCHD AWRDS only consider work released in 2024. However, if the material was previously published in print in English or I read it in another format before this year (i.e. single issues), it wasn’t included. Apologies to most trade paperbacks released in 2024 as well as reprints of graphic novels (like E.M. Carroll’s When I Arrived at the Castle)!
• Cartoonists were omitted from this if their only work of the year makes the cut in the Comics of 2024 list that arrives next week. That is, unless they did other things that ensure they make it for reasons beyond that single work. That means some creators who would have made this list were exempted and that this list isn’t necessarily a predictive guide to my favorite comics of the year. Keep that in mind when you ask things like, “Where is (creator x) or (creator y)?”

That’s it! No more rules! It’s now time to celebrate my favorite creators of 2024. My picks are alphabetized by first name below, and they’re open to non-subscribers. However, if you enjoy my writing about these creators, consider subscribing to SKTCHD for more like it.

The Architect Award: Álvaro Martínez Bueno

2024 Work: The Nice House by the Sea

Why They Earned This Award: “Architect, David? Really?” you might be thinking. “That’s lazy.” And sure, maybe it is. Connecting the gifts of Álvaro Martínez Bueno and his work on The Nice House by the Sea to a derivative word from that title could certainly be considered that. But this is about more than Bueno’s gifts at designing nice houses, even though he’s very, very good at that.

It’s about his ability to take a complex story filled with dozens of characters (two dozen cast members plus their two minders, without factoring in any extras who show up), a bevy of environments, and a ton of timeframes and turn it into something that isn’t just decipherable but spectacular. While the idea of the story is tremendous and Bueno’s collaborators are exceptional, his ability to make the larger Nice House series not just make sense but pop while hitting readers with the big emotions we need to feel is nothing short of remarkable. He takes all those disparate parts and pieces and builds something incredible out of it.

Now, that’s what we’ve come to expect out of Bueno and his work. But you can still see him getting better with each passing issue. His character work is incrementally better. His storytelling is that much clearer. He haunts our souls slightly more each time a disturbing moment hits. He was already a master, but Bueno just keeps improving, and it’s truly a wonder to behold.

The Got Now Award: Becca Carey

2024 Work: Absolute Wonder Woman, Absolute Superman, Black Cloak, The Horizon Experiment, Universal Monsters: Frankenstein, etc.

Why They Earned This Award: If there’s an ascendant star in the lettering game, it might be Becca Carey. That’s not to say she’s new or even newly impressive. She has — and has always — crushed it on great comics. This year’s slate, which includes her exquisite work on comics like the innovative The Horizon Experiment, the character-fueled sci-fi of Black Cloak, and the haunting and emotional Universal Monsters: Frankenstein, is proof of that. Those projects are evidence that Carey’s position in the lettering game isn’t a “got next” type situation as much it is a “got now” one. She’s here, and been here, doing exceptional things on every comic she works on.

But it’s undeniable that being the letterer on two of the three launch titles for DC’s Absolute universe may have changed how she’s perceived. Those projects act as a remarkable showcase for her gifts, raising awareness in Carey and what she does to the stratosphere. And what she does is find the right answer each and every time. Take the above page from Absolute Wonder Woman #1 as just one example. That final panel is one of the most essential from the entire issue, a spoken word that needed to hit — and hit hard. Carey’s execution of the idea that it needed to be said in hushed tones was perfect. More than that, it was exactly what this comic and its readers needed to maximize the moment.

That’s what Carey does every time, and that’s what more and more readers are discovering about her work with each and every new project she takes on.

The Artist of the Year Award: Bilquis Evely

2024 Work: Helen of Wyndhorn

Why They Earned This Award: The Artist of the Year Award is a staple of The SKTCHD AWRDS, and as an art-centric reader, it’s always a favorite one to figure out. Most of the time it’s pretty easy, to be honest. There’s seemingly always a virtuoso effort that wows me to the point where I know without a doubt that this person — this one person — is the answer.

That was not the case this year. The truth is, it came down to three finalists for this spot, and there were many others considered that could have won it any other year. In short, it was a great year for art, even if it made it a difficult one for my ability to make decisions.

But when it all came down to it, Bilquis Evely was the person I landed on, and for good reason. She’s a singular voice, someone whose level of detail is beyond compare, whose character work astonishes, and whose pages and panels radiate with emotion. That’s always been true, but it was maybe even more true in 2024. Her major project this year, Helen of Wyndhorn, finds a remarkable talent at the top of her game on a series that fit her perfectly. I say this in no way to diminish her collaborators — all of whom are excellent in Tom King, Matheus Lopes, and Clayton Cowles — but in many ways, their efforts felt like they were all in service of showcasing Evely’s gifts as an artist, and it’s all the better for it.

In a year filled with incredible art, the consistent greatness of Evely throughout that run is what stood out the most. Whether it was her depiction of previously unimaginable monsters, lush environments, or tender moments between its core cast members, Bilquis Evely’s efforts were every bit as stunning to readers as the revelations of the story were to its lead in the titular Helen of Wyndhorn. And that is really saying something.

The Co-Letterer of the Year Award: Clayton Cowles

2024 Work: All of the comics, but more specifically, FML, Helen of Wyndhorn, Absolute Batman, Animal Pound, Batman and Robin: Year One, We Called Them Giants, etc. etc.

Why They Earned This Award: Clayton Cowles works on a lot of comics. That’s undeniable, and something plenty of people are aware of. But strangely, that volume occasionally obfuscates another undeniable truth about Cowles: He’s one of the best letterers in the game. He isn’t just a high volume shooter, either. It isn’t about taking on everything and giving minimal effort to simply get the job done. Cowles impeccably tailors his lettering choices to the needs of each project, whether it’s an ultra high profile superhero comic like Absolute Batman, a fantastical story like Helen of Wyndhorn, or the deeply personal and chaotic FML. He’s a gifted stylist, someone who never does the same thing on the varying projects he’s on, unless the thing you’re referring to is meshing perfectly with the work of his collaborators and only being additive, never subtractive.

Every comic he works on is proof of that, and evidence of why so many creators and publishers trust him — to the point they simply must have Cowles as the letterer on their book. He’s the ultimate glue guy, the tie that binds, the letterer that unites and elevates every project he touches. And he touches plenty, with all that adding up to someone who has an astounding impact on the world of comics every single month. That’s impressive, and enough to earn him my Co-Letterer of the Year Award.

The Midas Touch Award: Daniel Warren Johnson

2024 Work: Transformers, The Moon is Following Us

Why They Earned This Award: There’s just something about Daniel Warren Johnson, isn’t there? Whether it’s a comic he’s writing, drawing, or providing a cover for, that release is immediately injected with a magical energy, something that bursts through the walls of the tangible into the intangible. It’s obvious why people love his work, because his art is electric and thoughtful and his writing is entertaining and poignant in equal measures. It adds up to great comics. But there’s something else there, a je ne sais quoi that ensures it isn’t just good, but singular and unique.

His Image series with Riley Rossmo, The Moon is Following Us, is certainly proof of that. It’s a textbook DWJ comic in that it’s everything you’d hope for and nothing you’d expect. But even Transformers exists as proof of that impossible to quantify power he brings to comics. Did anyone ever expect a two-issue exploration of why Starscream is the way he is? Did anyone ever expect Beachcomber to surf to someone’s rescue at the apex of a story? Did anyone ever expect Transformers to become an Eisner winning comic series? I sure didn’t in any of those cases. And yet here we are, and it’s all because Johnson and his Midas touch. He turns every comic project he touches into gold, even if sometimes it’s difficult to say exactly why it works so well.

The Style and Substance Award: David López

2024 Work: FML

Why They Earned This Award: This isn’t always true, but sometimes it’s true: style and substance in comics can come into conflict. And by that, I don’t mean the natural style an artist has. I mean when their electric stylistic choices take away from the storytelling. It looks cool, but does it read well? That can be difficult to balance, and finding that line can be a challenge for some artists.

It isn’t for David López, though.

FML is a great comic in all the ways it can be great, but perhaps its greatest strength is López’s art and how he perfectly meshes style and substance into something astonishing. His incorporation of different art styles into the book and even into single images at times — see: the above introduction of Savvy, one of the core cast members of the series, from issue #1 — isn’t about doing cool things for doing cool things sake. It’s about incorporating the personality of this cast into its world, with the stylistic choices adding to the substance of the series. It amplifies the storytelling, almost acting as meta commentary from its cast that readers can pick up on or not. But for those who recognize what López is doing, it’s impossible to not be wowed by it.

Even ignoring the blending of styles, López does what he does here, and that’s telling a story perfectly while bringing characters to life in an almost unparalleled way. This is an electric read, but it’s also a deeply personal one. You need a special kind of artist to do that. You need someone like López, an artist who has always been great but has proven himself as something even more within this series.

To learn more about how López does what he does, don’t miss my art feature interview with the artist about his work on FML.

The Real Life Award: Deniz Camp

2024 Work: Ultimates

Why They Earned This Award: Making superheroes that reflect our reality is baked into the DNA of Marvel comics. It may not always seem like that, if only because sometimes entertainment needs supersede the whole “world outside your window” foundation of the House of Ideas. But when they’re at their best, they make us feel about the humanity we all share even if they’re stories about superhumans. That’s when they can really sing, even if those types of stories don’t have an exclusive on that feeling.

Perhaps oddly, the best place to find those types of Marvel stories are in the Ultimate universe right now, and the best version of that is in Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri’s Ultimates. That’s no surprise to anyone who has read Camp’s work before, though. He’s not a writer that can forget about the world he lives in, as previous efforts like 20th Century Men paired a different, non-corporate superhero story with the realities of our world. He’s carried that feeling over to this series, and why wouldn’t he? This version of the Ultimates is about a group of enhanced people who were left behind — either because their potential for greatness or because the perception that they were disposable — trying to take down the secret powers who run the world. It’s tailor-made for it.

While the original Ultimates envisioned that team as blockbuster superstars with celebrity lookalikes to match, Camp positions them as revolutionaries, ones fighting for the way the world should have been and could still be. Don’t get me wrong: It’s still an absolute blast to read. There’s high drama, there’s incendiary formalist techniques deployed like in issue #4, and there’s exceptional action sequences. This is still a superhero comic, through and through. But its heart is with humanity, and its brain is in this moment. That’s because Camp cannot help but bring that type of feeling to this type of story.

There are any number of ways this volume of Ultimates could have played out, and many of them would have succeeded at what Marvel was trying to do. But having Camp at its head ensured this isn’t just an entertaining comic, but a powerful one, one that reflects our reality and our hopes for more.

The Up and Colorer Award: Francesco Segala

2024 Work: Nights, This Land is Our Land: A Blue Beetle Story, Dawnrunner, The New Gods

Why They Earned This Award: If there was a creator that surprised me this year, it was Francesco Segala. Before this year, I had never knowingly experienced his work. But then I read Nights and saw his efforts coloring Luigi Formisano and was completely blown away. It was like a star being born in front of my very eyes, even if the truth was that this star had already existed for a long time and I had just missed it. And while Nights stands out for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is Formisano’s art itself, Segala’s gifts at giving that series its completely own feel from a coloring standpoint while elevating each and every page, panel, and issue was staggering. He didn’t just do the right thing, he found new right things to do that I hadn’t seen before.

And then he proved that once again on the latter stages of Dawnrunner. And then he proved that once again (especially) on This Land is Our Land, where his decision making caused oohs and ahhs as I saw what he did with Jacoby Salcedo’s fantastic line art. And I am certain he’ll prove that once again on The New Gods, to the point that I’m including it before the first issue even hits. Segala astonishes me in every project with his coloring choices and how he enhances not just the artist he’s working with but the comic itself. He’s a true up and comer in the field, but the truth is, Segala’s already here, and he’s quickly established himself as one of the best colorists in the business — or at least in this reader’s mind.

The Co-Letterer of the Year Award: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

2024 Work: Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, Barda, The Flash, The Whisper Queen: A Blacksand Tale, Zatanna: Bring Down the House, This Land is Our Land: A Blue Beetle Story, Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods

Why They Earned This Award: There’s an old, heavily shared idea that if a letterer does their job, you don’t notice them. They’re there to do their job, and by actively thinking of their contributions, that can mean something went wrong. I get that logic, as I did when letterer Fonografiks first told me of that idea back in the early 2010s. I’m just not sure I agree with it, or at least not anymore.

Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou is perfect proof of why I don’t. The now Eisner Award winning letterer always does his own thing, whether it’s in the word balloon tails he chooses, the shape of the balloons themselves, or the font choices he makes overall and in the moment. That’s not to say he’s some sort of lettering provocateur that just does things to do things. He does them because they are the right choices for the comic itself, electing to imbue each project he takes on with its own personality that adds to the alchemical mix rather than distracts from it.

Otsmane-Elhaou takes on a lot of projects, but more than that, he takes on a wide range of them. Single issues and graphic novels, superhero comics and horror ones, minis and ongoings, you name it. But no matter what project he takes on, he always cooks up something special and unique that amplifies its greatness and potential. It’s a rare gift, and one he’s only building on with the passage of time.

The Layout King Award: Javier Rodriguez

2024 Work: Zatanna: Bring Down the House

Why They Earned This Award: The above spread from Zatanna: Bring Down the House is incredible, right? It showcases artist Javier Rodriguez’s gifts as an artist, a colorist, a storyteller, and just a visionary of the comic form. Anyone with eyes can see that, and can see why Rodriguez is one of the best of the best thanks to that one spread. It’s undeniable.

We agree on that, right?

This is where I tell you that that spread? The one above? It’s, like, the 53rd best page or spread from that series!

Don’t hold that to me, of course. I haven’t went page by page throughout the series to confirm that number. But the point is less about the specifics and more the gist of the message. Javier Rodriguez is less an artist these days than a human highlight reel, and his greatest strength is showcased by this spread. He’s a master of layouts, someone who sees answers to storytelling that no one else seems to. Rodriguez may not have been my pick for the Artist of the Year, but he’s my favorite artist going today because of just how exceptional he is at telling a story — while telling it like no one else. He’s a virtuoso, a conductor of our minds and hearts, and he showed that on every page of Zatanna: Bring Down the House, from its first to its very final one.

The …Sure! Award: Jonathan Hickman

2024 Work: Aliens vs. Avengers, Ultimate Spider-Man, Doom, G.O.D.S., 3 Worlds/3 Moons, Wolverine: Revenge

Why They Earned This Award: It’s been an interesting year for Jonathan Hickman. Every year is interesting for him, of course, as he’s always doing big and/or different things with his comic book choices. But this year was unusual if only because his project mix represented the broadest range he’s ever taken on, including some truly unexpected efforts. A Doom one-shot with Sanford Greene? A violent Wolverine story with Greg Capullo in Wolverine: Revenge? A miniseries where The Avengers face off with the Xenomorphs from Aliens? A DAD COMIC??? Who are you, and what have you done with Jonathan Hickman? Every progressive announcement was met by me with a scrunched face and a slightly puzzled “…sure!” in response.

Almost no one else would have earned that faith from me, and that’s because, simply put, few creators — if any — have a higher superhero ceiling than Hickman. Actually, more accurately put, few creators have a higher ceiling with comics period than Hickman. And that’s evidenced particularly well by the Dad Rock vibes of Ultimate Spider-Man and the incendiary, honestly maybe peak of his powers work in Aliens vs. Avengers. The former is just a lovely read, one that blends hang out comic energy with elite early days superhero storytelling. The latter is Hickman and Esad Ribic telling what could simultaneously be the greatest media tie-in comic story ever and the greatest Marvel: The End tale in existence. Not many creators have both in their bag. It might just be Hickman, to be honest.

Not everything hit. I was out on Wolverine: Revenge. 3 Worlds/3 Moons had a peculiar 2024, even if its 2025 looks promising. But you only get hits as big as the ones Hickman delivered if you’re willing to miss, and that’s a mentality I can fully get behind seeing more of in comics.

The Whatever You Got Award: Kelly Thompson

2024 Work: Birds of Prey, Black Cloak, Absolute Wonder Woman, The Cull

Why They Earned This Award: Full disclosure: I have read Absolute Wonder Woman #3, and it is spectacular. It is also, in a lot of ways, a single-issue representation of what makes Thompson such a gifted writer. There’s a revelation in it that is so stunning that it wouldn’t work in less confident and talented hands. With Thompson at the head of the book, though, it is a stunningly impactful beat that simultaneously represents the larger idea of Wonder Woman to perfection while completely differentiating the Absolute version from her namesake. Do you know how hard that is to do? I’m asking in part because I don’t really know. But in my mind, it has to be incredibly hard to do.

But that kind of line is one Thompson has always been spectacular at walking. Staying true to character while building bigger and better is a day in the life of this writer, whether it’s on for-hire projects like Absolute Wonder Woman and Birds of Prey or her creator-owned titles in Black Cloak and The Cull. Whatever you got, Thompson likely has the answers, and if she doesn’t, I’m certain she’ll invent ones that will be better than we could possibly imagine. That’s what she always brings to the comics she takes on, and what makes her one of the best writers working in comics today.

Oh, and in case you missed it, I talked with Thompson about her work on Absolute Wonder Woman in specific on Off Panel.

The Fully Alive Award: Leonard Chemineau

2024 Work: The Library Mule of Cordoba

Why They Earned This Award: The Library Mule of Cordoba — a graphic novel about a librarian, his assistant, and his former intern (of sorts) turned thief trying to escape a crumbling empire with a slew of important books that are under threat of destruction with the world’s worst mule as their only confederate — should not be fun. In fact, it sounds rather dry. And yet, it’s a wildly entertaining book, and much of that is because of the work of artist Leonard Chemineau. The French cartoonist teamed with writer Wilfrid Lupano on this book, and while Lupano does a tremendous job blending weight and entertainment, Chemineau makes it sing in how he brings the entire cast to life.

Whether it’s the way his cartooning enlivens the cast (including the titular mule), how clear his storytelling is, or how his decisions constantly allow him to escape the confines of typical page structures (see: above), Chemineau is someone who impresses in all the ways an artist can impress. It’s just lovely work, and it makes it impossible to not immediately get immersed in the story and fall in love with its cast thanks to his fully alive cartooning. Chemineau is by no means new, as he’s worked in France’s bustling bandes dessinées scene for years. But he’s new to me, and his work in The Library Mule of Cordoba made him one of the true revelations from my year in comics.

The Feels Award: LeUyen Pham

2024 Work: Lunar New Year Love Story

Why They Earned This Award: It can be difficult to overshadow the work of a legend like Gene Luen Yang, but LeUyen Pham managed to do that in their graphic novel Lunar New Year Love Story. While it’s lovely in every way it can be, it was Pham’s cartooning that cast a spell on me. This a big comic filled with big emotions, and her gifts as a storyteller and with character acting in particular made it impossible for readers to not be constantly caught right in the feels. Without being over the top about it, every character’s face and posture and existence radiated the things we needed to know about them throughout this comic. It takes a heck of a talent to do that so well. That’s exactly what Pham did.

Even beyond that, though, can we take a second to appreciate her inking? These are gifts Pham has cultivated over the years in her illustration and comics work, but there was something spectacular about how her inks brought so much texture, life, and personality to this story. Just look at the panel above, as everything from Valentina’s grandma’s hair to the hem of the dragon costume pants her friends/love interests are wearing feel so rich and impeccably inked. There’s so much love, care, and feeling in each of those ink strokes that you can’t help but see Pham’s personality on the page. It’s tremendous work from a tremendous artist.

The Watch the Throne Award: Luigi Formisano

2024 Work: Nights

Why They Earned This Award: I mentioned earlier how Leonard Chemineau was one of the revelations of the year for me, and that’s true. He absolutely is. But if I had a “Comic Creator Revelations Power Rankings,” the #1 spot would an incredibly easy selection. It’d be artist Luigi Formisano, someone whose work I had never experienced before this year but am now convinced is on a path to becoming one of the biggest artists in comics if all’s fair and good in the world.

The reasons for that are obvious if you’ve ever read Nights, his Image Comics series with writer Wyatt Kennedy. That series is a tour de force from Formisano, with the whole series bursting from the seams with personality thanks in major part to his art. He has a lively line and a mind for maximizing scenes, whether it’s ones featuring showdowns between a vampire and monstrous wolf like creature or a person simply enjoying a quiet moment in a cozy cafe. The series is loaded with characters and ideas, and the only way it would work is if it had an artist that can turn all of that into a place we don’t just want to be but cannot resist. That’s something Formisano does, and does well.

I cannot say enough about Formisano. He’s already a singular artist, one that found a perfect project for him early on his career. And the scary thing is he’s only going to keep getting better. When that happens, you should watch out: He’s coming for the throne, and there’s not much anyone will be able to do to stop him.

The Colorist of the Year Award: Matheus Lopes

2024 Work: Batman and Robin: Year One, Animal Pound, Helen of Wyndhorn, The Boy Wonder, Damn Them All

Why They Earned This Award: The job of a comic book colorist is a lot more complex than many give it credit for. Take the above page from Helen of Wyndhorn as an example. You might look at it and think that colorist Matheus Lopes’ job was just splashing some colors on there before moving onto the next one, but it’s about so much more than that. Whether it’s the ungodly task of distinguishing all the elements of the first panel, reinforcing the emotions felt in the final one’s background, or just reminding us of the glorious power of ale in those in-between, Lopes has to do a lot more than just splashing some color here or there.

And this year, I’d say that no one has done it better than he has, something he proved on a range of projects that includes the aforementioned Helen of Wyndhorn, his collaborations with artist Chris Samnee on Batman and Robin: Year One (and a whole bunch of covers), The Boy Wonder, and more. There are few colorists who are better at controlling our emotions as readers and distinguishing slash elevating the details on a page than Lopes, and he’s proving it on each project and issue he takes on. It’s all part of his steady rise to the highest tiers of the color game, and while he has plenty of competition, it’s pages like this that act as a reminder of the impact a colorist can have on comics — and just how exceptional Lopes is at maximizing that impact.

The Doing it All Award: Ngozi Ukazu

2024 Work: Barda, Bunt!: Striking Out on Financial Aid

Why They Earned This Award: While both are aimed at similar audiences and age ranges, Barda and Bunt!: Striking Out on Financial Aid could not be much different subject matter wise. The former is the story of the titular DC New God, one that finds her negotiating the immense challenges that come with living on Apokolips and leading the Female Furies while figuring out who she truly is as a person. The latter is about a new art school student who loses her scholarship but comes up with a softball-based scheme to regain her financial aid. You’d be forgiven if you expected these two stories to come from different people. They kind of sound like they might. And yet, the person who wrote the latter was also the cartoonist behind the former: Ngozi Ukazu.

While those stories couldn’t be more different, they also reflect the gifts and mindset of Ukazu, someone who brings incredible amounts of personality to every project she takes on while creating fully realized characters and stakes in any situation. That’s true of projects she writes, and it’s also true of those she writes and draws, as these two graphic novels proved this year. And while artist Mad Rupert was crucial to making Bunt! as good as it was, the connective tissue between these two was Ukazu and just how human she can make any story feel, whether it involves literal gods or a bunch of art school students. That’s tough to do. But as she’s proven throughout her career, whatever you ask of Ukazu, she’s capable of doing it all. And 2024 was a wonderful showcase for her in that regard.

The Revisionary Award: Nick Dragotta

2024 Work: Absolute Batman

Why They Earned This Award: “How does one reinvent an icon like Batman?” That’s a question that faced writer Scott Snyder in 2023 when he was developing Absolute Batman for DC. Thankfully, he made the perfect choice to get there: he hired Nick Dragotta. The only way a series and idea like that would work is if it had an artist that existed simultaneously as a mission statement for what this series could be and as someone fearless enough to push the idea of this character into places that readers hadn’t seen before. And for a character that has existed for 85 years, that’s hard to do.

Unless you’re Nick Dragotta.

Not to discount Snyder’s great work on the series, but Absolute Batman pops because of Dragotta, an artist who brings a manga by way of 1990s comics energy to this series, delivering a look where everything is bigger and more energetic and denser and more unique than we’ve seen from the character maybe ever. To read this comic is to strap in and hold on for dear life, as you give into the power that Dragotta brings to moments both big and small. This comic is cool, and almost effortlessly so. But it takes the blood, sweat, and tears Dragotta gives to the comic medium to be as powerful of a blockbuster comic as it is. So, how does one reinvent an icon like Batman? Hire Nick Dragotta, and just let him cook.

If you’d like a little insight into how Dragotta developed the look and feel of Absolute Batman, you should read the feature I did on just that from earlier this year.

The Best of the Best Award: Niko Henrichon

2024 Work: Spectators

Why They Earned This Award: I kind of just want to say, “Look at that double page spread above” as my explanation here.

That’s cheap, but knowing that Niko Henrichon did all the art for that spread — besides Fonografiks’ lettering on it — it almost feels like it says enough. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Well, that one might be worth more.

So, instead, I’ll say this. Niko Henrichon was already one of the best artists in comics. But the work that he’s doing on Spectators — which is about to conclude on the Exploding Giraffe Substack Henrichon cohabitates with his partner-in-crime Brian K. Vaughan — is career-defining work. It’s staggering on every level it can be staggering, and you never know if he’s going to almost singlehandedly drop your jaw, make you cry, or blow your mind whenever you open your Monday email from the team. He wasn’t my pick for the Artist of the Year award, but Henrichon might be the single most talented artist working today, and he proves it every time the latest collection of pages hit from this nearly complete graphic novel. The guy’s the best of the best, and somehow arguably underrated to boot.

The No One Else Award: Peach Momoko

2024 Work: Ultimate X-Men, a whole lot of covers

Why They Earned This Award: Maybe the thing that I appreciate the most about Peach Momoko’s work, whether it’s on her endlessly beloved covers or her wild run on Ultimate X-Men, is it truly feels like no one else could have done what she did. That’s true for everyone to some degree, of course. But Momoko is such a singular voice — both from a style standpoint and a mentality one — that it is especially true for her. I don’t love her run on Ultimate X-Men, although I do like it quite a bit. But I appreciate just how audacious it is. And the thing that makes it all the more impressive is I don’t think she’s trying to be audacious; she’s just telling the story that interests her the most. There’s a conviction to her work that feels incredible to experience especially at a time when some comics feel reverse engineered rather than created. There’s no engineering here. It’s just Peach doing Peach, in all the ways she can.

That’s true of her covers and it’s true of her work on interiors as well. She’s delivering the art and stories that only she can, and isn’t that why we read a medium like comics? We’re here for the voices that practically demand us to pay attention to them, and she continues to do just that with every project she takes on.

Want to learn more about Peach Momoko and the work that she does? Consider reading my profile piece on her and her journey from earlier this year.

The Writer of the Year Award: Ryan North

2024 Work: Fantastic Four

Why They Earned This Award: Just like my Artist of the Year Award, Writer of the Year was a difficult one to pin down. That was at least in part because I couldn’t figure out what the right determinant should be. Should my focus be on quantity? Quality? Variety? Sales? General enthusiasm? Whether they elected to include Stilt-Man in their comic? Some combination of each of those? Each would result in a different answer, so that wasn’t working. For me, though, it came down to this: Only Ryan North could have brewed up with this Fantastic Four run.

It is in a lot of ways terribly unusual. It’s all one or two issue stories. Much of its conflict is less about violence and more about problem solving. There’s a stunning amount of science, even for Marvel’s preeminent science heroes. That’s a lot of atypical decisions for superhero comics. But Ryan North takes all those, puts it in a blender with exceptional character work and fascinating pairings of the cast, and then turns all that into something that isn’t just good, but essential reading for fans of superhero comics, the Fantastic Four, and comics in general.

Fantastic Four is consistently great. But more than that, it’s consistently unexpected. That makes a huge difference to me as someone who has been reading the genre for so long. That’s not to say new is good on its own. It isn’t. But when handled well, it can soar. And North has continued to deliver stories that perfectly reflect who the Fantastic Four are while putting them in completely new situations. Even while the artists around him change, both on the covers and interiors of the series, North has been a constant, breathing life into the Fantastic Four while underlining the fierce intellect of its cast and their beating hearts — which may be even more important. It’s a special run from a special writer, and an effort that’s so unique it made a difficult choice fairly easy in the end.

If you’d like to learn more about how North makes the magic happen on Fantastic Four, make sure to listen to my recent interview with him from Off Panel.

The Highlight Reel Award: Sanford Greene

2024 Work: Doom

Why They Earned This Award: When I had artist Sanford Greene on Off Panel earlier this year, one of the things I asked him was whether he considered original art sales when he’s drawing comics. I don’t remember precisely what he said, but the short version was something along the lines of, “Not really.” That’s a fair answer. He probably doesn’t. But having read Doom, the one-shot he put together with writer Jonathan Hickman and colorist Matthew Wilson, you couldn’t blame me for thinking that enters his brain a little bit. That’s because every single page seemed like it was designed to be a showcase piece that original art collectors would lose their minds over.

But that is just how Greene approaches comics. While he’s a tremendous storyteller, he’s also a human highlight reel with his art, always delivering wow moments and staggering density amidst his clearly told tales. Doom found him at his apex in that regard. No matter if it was Galactus facing off with a giant Doombot or seemingly every single Marvel hero or villain trying (and failing) to stop The Devourer of Worlds from doing what he does best, Greene was giving readers the absolute maximum. This was Peak Sanford Greene. And why shouldn’t it be? The entire project felt like it was devised for him as an artist, and he took that set up and ran with it. This one-shot had more astonishing visuals in it that some titles had in an entire year, and it was all because Greene isn’t capable of taking plays off. He’s always bringing his A game, and delivering something incredible as a result.

But with Doom, it was something else. It saw Greene ascending past greatness and into the stratosphere. It was the perfect marriage of artist, collaborator, and project, and one that helped foster one of the truly great art performances from the year in comics.

The Singular Award: VER

2024 Work: Sacred Bodies

Why They Earned This Award: The idea that comic creators do work that’s entirely their own is something I’ve talked about often in The SKTCHD AWRDS so far. That’s naturally going to happen. This endeavor is about the standout performers, and creating work that feels unique is a good way to do that. It’s a consistent point throughout these awards for a reason.

With all that said, there might not be a more singular creator these days than VER.

The cartoonist’s one published work this year was Sacred Bodies, a ShortBox Comics Fair entry they did everything for, and it felt nothing like anyone else’s efforts from the year. That’s true if you’re talking about the story itself, the way it’s told, the art, or anything else. Sacred Bodies is a great comic. But more than that, it’s absolutely gorgeous, a story that you feel as much as you read, and something that wows you with each of its cartoonist’s decisions throughout.

Sacred Bodies is the work of one of the true originals working today in comics. While their in progress graphic novel The Wildercourt is amongst my most anticipated works, every comic they craft is a treasure, and this was another reminder of just how gifted they truly are.

The Man with Answers Award: Wil Moss

2024 Work: Editing the Ultimate Marvel line

Why They Earned This Award: How does one reenvision the Marvel universe? And how does one reenvision it in a way that reminds people of a previous version of that endeavor without just doing the same thing? And finally, who are the people one would need to hire to make that kind of thing worthwhile creatively and potent commercially? Those are hard questions to answer, which is why I’m thankful they weren’t mine to find answers for.

That task came down to Marvel editor Wil Moss.

And he nailed it.

While your mileage may vary on the quartet of ongoing titles that have hit so far from the Ultimate Universe, one thing you can say with certainty is they’re all interesting to varying degrees. Ultimate X-Men is an incredibly bold swing (both in terms of casting and actual execution), Ultimates is a challenging read compared to most superhero fare and a real zig to the zag of the original title with that name, Ultimate Black Panther might be a bit outside the box for a first wave series, and Ultimate Spider-Man…well, they’re not all huge risks. That one was a layup. But Moss was smart enough to put its creative team together, and to empower them to do what they’re doing.

Editors get a bum rap, quite often, but Moss is one of the best. He’s someone who has vision when it comes to castings, and he gives creators freedom when they need it. The Ultimate Universe has been a success, both creatively and commercially. To get there, it needed someone who had answers to those aforementioned questions. They hired the right man for the job, as is always the case when you choose to hire Wil Moss.

The Virtuoso Award: Xulia Vicente

2024 Work: Clair de Lune

Why They Earned This Award: One thing I know about cartoonist Xulia Vicente is that no matter what comic they’re working on, it’s certain to feature wildly unexpected creative decisions that work — and work well. That was the case for Clair de Lune, Vicente’s ShortBox Comics Fair entry this year. It was an inventive story, one that finds Vicente playing with color and layouts to deliver a fresh and phenomenal read that stood out from the rest of the pack in that staggering month of releases.

On its own, Clair de Lune was a good idea. It’s a story about two musicians who don’t want to be paired together but ultimately need each other after they discover they share something unexpected. Like one of the musical instruments from the story, though, this concept could result in something interesting but not spectacular with the wrong person on it. To create something truly special, you need a virtuoso, someone who makes magic happen when they’re in control. That’s what Clair de Lune shows. It’s the craft and Vicente’s storytelling brain that elevate this story, and make what could have been a nice little ditty into something that sticks with you well after it concludes.

That’s it for the Creators of 2024 side of The SKTCHD AWRDS. If you enjoyed my writing about these creators, consider subscribing to SKTCHD for more like it, and make sure to come back next week as I highlight my Comics of 2024.