The Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards is an annual celebration of the comics industry with winners chosen by fans and pros alike. The awards will return to Baltimore Comic-Con for their ninth year on Saturday, October 18, 2025.

Winners will be chosen from over 20 categories. The top two fan choices will become nominees, and a pro-jury will select the other three nominees for each category. Nomination ballot voting is open to both fans and pros now through June 19. The final ballots are expected to be available for comic pros for voting on August 20, and will be due by September 17. Eligibility for creators and books is based on publication from the preceding calendar year.

The fan and pro categories are Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist), Best Writer, Best Artist or Penciller/Inker Team, Best Letterer, Best Colorist, Best Cover Artist, Best Series, Best Single Issue or Story, Best Original Graphic Novel, Best Anthology, Best Humor Comic, Best Webcomic, Best Humor Webcomic, Best Non-Fiction Comic Work, Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel, and Best Presentation in Design.

The perennial jury-only nomination will be for the Mike Wieringo Spirit Award. The fan-only favorite categories are Favorite Hero, Favorite Villain, Favorite New Series, Favorite New Talent, and Favorite Publisher. The awards will also include the Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award and the Dick Giordano Humanitarian Award (both selected by the Hero Initiative).

Publishers can submit up to five works for review by the Ringo Jurors for the “Fan and Pro Nomination” category by emailing contact@ringoawards.com.

“Every spring, we are excited to see what the readers felt was the best of last year’s comics and creators,” Baltimore Comic-Con promoter Marc Nathan said. “With an amazing array of new content available, it’ll be tough to single out favorites! Our jury is already hard at work reviewing publisher submissions that have arrived, and we hope everyone helps to spread the word that the Ringos nomination phase is open to all comics readers – submit your vote today!”