A new year is upon us and that means 2021 is complete and we can vote on the Artist’s Edition format books published in the past twelve months. The voting is done through internal polling, which limits votes by IP address and cookie. Voting is open from January 1 to January 31, with the winners posted on February 1.
These annual awards are named for Scott Dunbier, who at IDW created the Artist’s Edition format in 2010. They are meant to shine a spotlight on the format and the works published in the previous year. Previous winners: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.
The survey is all text-based; here is a cover gallery of all 2021 Artist’s Edition format books, three in total. To qualify, an AE format book must have been published and shipped in the calendar year. Click the name to go to the full review.
- EC Covers Artist’s Edition
- Jim Lee’s X-Men Artist’s Edition
- Nexus: The Coming of Gourmando Deluxe Edition
Purchases. Please check every AE format book you purchased in 2021.
2021 Dunbier Awards: Purchases
- EC Covers Artist's Edition (51%, 68 Votes)
- Jim Lee's X-Men Artist's Edition (40%, 53 Votes)
- Nexus: The Coming of Gourmando Deluxe Edition (10%, 13 Votes)
Total Voters: 106
Favourite material. What AE format book of 2021 was your favourite material: story, character, artist.
2021 Dunbier Awards: Favourite Material
- EC Covers Artist's Edition (58%, 55 Votes)
- Jim Lee's X-Men Artist's Edition (36%, 34 Votes)
- Nexus: The Coming of Gourmando Deluxe Edition (6%, 6 Votes)
Total Voters: 95
Best publisher. What publisher or imprint in 2021 best represented the AE format with their commitment to quality, maintaining their publishing schedule, and promoting their material in the AE format.
2021 Dunbier Awards: Best Publisher
- IDW (98%, 90 Votes)
- Rude Dude (2%, 2 Votes)
Total Voters: 92
Best overall. What AE format book in 2021 was the overall best work, in its design, presentation of material, and quality.
2021 Dunbier Awards: Best Overall
- EC Covers Artist's Edition (61%, 56 Votes)
- Jim Lee's X-Men Artist's Edition (33%, 30 Votes)
- Nexus: The Coming of Gourmando Deluxe Edition (7%, 6 Votes)
Total Voters: 92
Best design. What AE format book of 2021 had the best overall design, including its use of colour, images and text.
2021 Dunbier Awards: Best Design
- EC Covers Artist's Edition (58%, 50 Votes)
- Jim Lee's X-Men Artist's Edition (31%, 27 Votes)
- Nexus: The Coming of Gourmando Deluxe Edition (10%, 9 Votes)
Total Voters: 86
Best reproduction. What AE format book of 2021 has the best presentation of the original art in terms of clarity, scan quality, paper choice, and presenting the art in its original art format.
2021 Dunbier Awards: Best Reproduction
- EC Covers Artist's Edition (67%, 59 Votes)
- Jim Lee's X-Men Artist's Edition (32%, 28 Votes)
- Nexus: The Coming of Gourmando Deluxe Edition (1%, 1 Votes)
Total Voters: 88