The winners of the third Annual Tripwire Awards were announced by publisher Joel Meadows and Convention Collective’s Leonard Sultana at the Cartoon Museum in London last night, in front of a live audience. Congratulations to all the winners – who, hang on, include us, downthetubes.net, in the category for Best Comics Related Website/ Publications. Thank you to everyone who voted for us – and thank you to everyone who contributes to the site.
Tripwire is the UK’s pre-eminent comics and genre magazine and website. Launched in 1992 as a print magazine, it switched to the web in 2015. In 2021, it brought back its print magazine as a once a year special. It has interviewed many major figures in the worlds of comics, film and TV.
The judges on this year’s Tripwire Awards, who created the shortlist voted on by comic readers around the world were Olly MacNamee, Senior Editor at Comicon.com, journalist and MCM panel host Louise Saul, Tim Cundle from the Mass Movement web site, Joseph P. Illidge, Executive Editor at Heavy Metal, and Tripwire publisher Joel Meadows.
Acknowledging a difficult year for everyone since the last Awards, Joel also reflected on the success of many comics projects through 2021, despite the Pandemic, and also teased the news that he is working on a new major comics event, coming in 2022. Co-host Leonard Sultana also noted the industry’s resilience in the face of the economic impact of the Pandemic, and that no-one really knew what might survive as its grip on creators and publishers tightened.
Fortunately, the year saw the release of many great comic projects, and although not without loss, most comic creators have, hopefully, weathered the storm.
Without further ado, here are all the nominees and winners…
Best Writer
• Ram V (Swamp Thing / Catwoman – DC Comics)
• Kelly Thompson (Captain Marvel, Marvel Comics)
• David F Walker (Bitter Root – Image Comics)
• James Tynion IV (The Department Of Truth – Image Comics)
Winner: Al Ewing (The Immortal Hulk – Marvel Comics / We Only Find Them When They’re Dead – BOOM! Studios)
Best Artist
• Martin Simmonds (The Department Of Truth – Image Comics)
• Stephanie Hans (DIE – Image Comics)
• Tommy Lee Edwards (Grendel Kentucky – AWA)
• Esad Ribic (The Eternals – Marvel Comics)
Winner: Liam Sharp (The Green Lantern – DC Comics)
Best Cover Artist
• Jen Bartel
• Olivier Coipel
• Stanley ‘Artgerm’ Lau
• Art Adams
Winner: Joelle Jones
Best Colourist
• Marte Garcia (S.W.O.R.D. – Marvel Comics)
• Matt Hollingsworth (Spider-Man Spider’s Shadow – Marvel Comics)
• Mike Spicer (Swamp Thing – DC Comics)
• Dave Stewart (Black Hammer – Dark Horse Comics)
Winner: Jordie Bellaire (Headlopper – Image Comics / Batman – DC Comics)
Best Letterer
• Clayton Cowles (Warhammer 40K – Marvel Comics)
• Todd Klein (Batman: Creature Of The Night – DC Comics)
• Ed Dukeshire (Blacking Out)
• Tom Orzechowski (Spawn, Image)
Winner: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Best New Series
• The Other History Of The DC Universe (John Ridley / Various Artists – DC Comics)
• The Swamp Thing (Ram V/ Mike Perkins – DC Comics)
• Second Coming (Mark Russell / Richard Pace – AHOY Comics)
• Space Bastards (Eric Peterson / Joe Aubrey / Darick Robertson – Humanoids)
Winner: The Department Of Truth (James Tynion IV/ Martin Simmonds – Image Comics)
Best Publisher
• Humanoids
• DC Comics
• Dark Horse Comics
• Aftershock Comics
Winner: Image Comics
Best New Talent
• Sayra Begum
• Jamal Campbell
• Jeff McComsey
• German Ponce
Winner: Stephanie Phillips – currently working on Wonder Woman Evolution
Best Original Graphic Novel
• Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History (David F. Walker / Marcus Kwame Anderson – Penguin/Random House)
• Reckless (Ed Brubaker / Sean Phillips – Image Comics)
• Infinitum (Tim Fielder – Harper Collins)
• Blue In Green (Ram V / Anand RK – Image Comics)
Winner: Monsters (Barry Windsor-Smith – Fantagraphics Books/ Vintage Books)
Best Collection
• Conan: Serpent War (Marvel)
• The Trigan Empire Volume 2 (Rebellion)
• Outer Darkness/ Chew (Image)
• Empyre (Marvel)
Winner: Black Hammer: Library Edition Volume 2 (Dark Horse)
Best Comics Related Website/ Publications
• Newsarama
• The Comics Beat
• The Comics Journal
• Comic Book Resources
Winner: DownTheTubes – yes, us! Thank you!
Best Small Press/ Independent – UK
• BHP Publishing
• Soaring Penguin Press
• Self Made Hero
• Time Bomb Comics
Winner: Titan Comics
Best Small Press/ Independent – US
• Valiant Comics
• Dynamite Editions
• Magnetic Press
• Black Mask Studios
Winner: Vault Comics
Best Editor
• Brady Webb
• Rachel Fulton
• Ben Abernathy
• Tom Peyer
Winner: Karen Berger
Best Digital Comics
• The Red Hook: Blackout by Dean Haspiel
• Hotelfred.com by Roger Langridge
• King’s Ransom by Louise Simonson and Jan Duursema
• Batman: Legends Of The Dark Knight by various
Winner: Quarantine Comix by Rachael Smith (now available as a collection, published by Icon Books)
Best Crowdfunding Campaign
• Nocterra by Scott Snyder and Tony S Daniel
• Blacking Out by Chip Mosher and Peter Krause
• Palomino by Stephan Franck
• Pop Kill by Jimmy Palmiotti, Dave Johnson and Juan Santacruz
Winner: Brzrkr by Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt and Ron Garney
Person Of The Year
• Kevin Smith
• Ross Richie
• Eric Stephenson
• John Freeman
Winner: Marie Javins
The Roll Of Honour
Winners: Grant Morrison, Bill Sienkiewicz
• Check out Tripwire online at tripwiremagazine.co.uk
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
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