Comicon’s Best Colorists Of 2023

Welcome to Comicon.com’s Best of the Year Awards, gathering the best comics and comics talent of the strange year that was 2021. This year we will be awarding in the following categories: Best Original Graphic Novels, Best Comic Series, Best Single Comic Issues, Best Writers, Best Artists, Best Cover Artists, Best Colorists, Best Letterers, Best Digital/Webcomics, and Most Progressive Comics.

Contributors to Comicon’s Best of the Year Awards this year include: Rachel Bellwoar, Richard Bruton, Scott Redmond, Tito James, Tom Smithyman, and Tony Thornley.

The following are Comicon’s Best Colorists of 2023.

5. Heather Moore

It’s rare when a colorist deserves top billing on a comic, even above the artist and writer. But Moore’s incredible color work on Blood Stained Teeth was the absolute high point of the entire series. She colors outside the lines, splashing reds, purples, and blacks across people’s faces to give the series a unique look. She also worked on Doctor Strange and Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise as well as variant covers for Black Panther and X-Force.

— Tom Smithyman

4. Raul Angulo

Vivid. This is something that comes to mind quickly when discussing the coloring work of Angulo. It probably stems from his work being prominently seen with franchises known for being colorful, such as the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. There is far more that he brings to the page than those vivid bright colors, though. A heaviness permeates much of the work, bringing weight to the overall artwork, and a very natural toned-down sort of appeal. Energy is siphoned from the tone of whatever setting characters find themselves within, giving each space a unique and lived-in sort of feeling. Light added or subtracted to create a realistic dimness or darkness, amongst other tricks of the trade.

— Scott Redmond

3. Tamra Bonvillain 

Bonvillain is simply and quietly one of the best color artists in comics right now. Her work is a prime example of how colors can add detail and depth to any page, whether it’s living in the world of DC’s Kingdom Come in World’s Finest, or creating new worlds in series line Once Upon A Time At The End Of The World. Any time you see her name on the cover, you know that it’s going to be elevated above and beyond anything you’d normally see.

— Tony Thornley

2. Matthew Wilson

Wilson has colored his share of heroes this year — Bruce Banner (Marvel’s Incredible Hulk), Thor (Marvel’s Immortal Thor), Owen Johnson (Image’s Fire Power). For the sake of this blurb, however, let’s talk about his work on the first arc of Marvel’s Scarlet Witch and his ability to create associations between characters and their surroundings. Starting with the Emporium (aka Scarlet Witch’s home base in this series), there’s never any question that this is Wanda’s store thanks to its rosy ambiance. Even just the choice to associate Scarlet Witch more with magentas and berry reds versus a literal scarlet – these aren’t your typical warm colors, nor are these the browns of a more austere magic shop, but they’re welcoming and flattering and perfect for the safe space Wanda is trying to create.

— Rachel Bellwoar

1. Jordie Bellaire

Not many color artists get me actively excited to see their work, but Bellaire is one of them. She takes the time to understand the story, the themes, the background with every series she colors. She matches the palette to the tone. She makes light and shadow change the warmth and depth of objects. She’s been considered one of the best in comics for years now, and I don’t see that going away any time soon.

— Tony Thornley