As 2011 comes to a close, it’s safe to say that it has been a banner year for the comics industry and fans alike. Here at Comic Booked, we have always taken our comics pretty seriously, and after a stellar year of new material, we are pleased to present you with our awards for Best of 2011! For this year’s awards we asked each of our team members for their input and nominations to see who they thought were the best of the best in the comic book industry over the past year! After a few weeks of careful thought, consideration and deliberation, we’ve selected these titles as our choices for the best that 2011 had to offer! Here are our nominations for Publisher of the Year 2011!
- DC Comics. While the year started off kind of slow, DC knocked the tail end of 2011 right out of the park with their blockbuster summer Flashpoint crossover series which led into this falls reboot of the DC Universe with The New 52 (which in turn lead to record breaking sales across all titles). Throw in a few other great moments like Batman Inc, the War of the Green Lanterns and Action Comics #900 and DC Comics has had easily one of the best years in the publishers 77 year history. – Jordamus Prime
- DC. Their relaunch has proven quite successful and they have taken some interesting turns with their main titles.- James Halstead
- DC Comics, because the reboot has been so successful. You cannot take a risk like that, succeed, and not be considered top dog. – Jason Padua
- While the long-term effects are yet to be seen, for the ballsiest relaunch I’ve ever witnessed, I’m going to have to go DC on this one. Not every one of The New 52 is an outright success, critical or saleswise, but it’s invigorating to see them wrestle their way back into the spotlight, and I only hope that the success they’ve had encourages Marvel to raise their game to match.- Colin bell
- DC Comics – DC finally took a risk, and in have gotten people talking about their characters again. – The Exile
- IDW. For the first time ever I have a publisher that has given me more entertainment than Marvel Comics. I never thought it’d happen with with books like Godzilla and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I can’t deny that IDW has it’s finger on the pulse of how to make great comics!- Skott of Fables
- I have to go with Dark Horse. They continue to treat creators right, seriously push digital, and are starting to include music and FREE digital DL codes that basically give readers a free comic issue from a different title, just for buying any DH issue. They also just absolutely rocked my con here, producing an exclusive free B/W sketch issue of BPRD. I could also make a good argument for DC, who is actually (supposedly) growing the industry and had [gasp] TV commercials to draw in mainstream readers! Other publishers would be well-advised to follow suit.- Robb Orr
- Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse is, without a doubt, the geek’s publisher, taking on Buffy, BioWare games, Star Wars… It’s as though they’re giving us everything that the big publisher’s won’t, and that makes me VERY happy!- Robert LeMoyne
- Dark Horse. I am very rarely dissapointed with Dark Horse. – Jeremy Boreske
- Dark Horse. This year they outdid themselves on all fronts, even bringing to us the likes of Tom Morello’s Orchid and Guillermo Del Toro‘s The Strain. Not to mention what a success Dark Horse Presents has been! However, most importantly, they were the only one of the big three not to piss anyone off this year. I’m proud of you guys and for once not just biased. – Nicole Sixx
- Marvel– mostly because I’m a fanboy.- Rob The Wrecker
- I have to go with Marvel. Though DC did some great things with the relaunch and was able to pique my interest in a few titles, I still only find myself more interested in Marvel characters. Between Spider-Man and the X-Men, most of my monthly comic book allowance is easily eaten up.- Michael Wirth
- Image. From Severed to Infinite Vacation, to risky one-shots like Our Love Is Real and of course the continuing success of spin-off The Walking Dead, Image has finally grown up and is showing the other publishers how it should be done. Great variety of storytelling genres, some wonderful artists and a focus on original ideas. -Emmet O’Cuana
Winner, Comic Booked’s Publisher of the Year 2011-
DC Comics
The race for Comic Booked’s Publisher of the Year was very close. With The New 52, a barrage of coverage from the mainstream press, and the appearance of actual [gasp] comic book advertisements on TV, DC Comics managed to pull in the win this year! Congratulations DC Comics, you are Comic Booked’s Publisher of the Year 2011!
