The Eisner Award for Best Cover Artist is an award for creative achievement in American comic books, given to an artist of comics cover art.
Winners and nominees Year Nominee Titles 1990s 1992 (DC) (DC), Doom Patrol (DC) (Dark Horse), Star Wars (Dark Horse) (DC Comics) 1993 (DC), Wonder Woman (DC) (Dark Horse), The Terminator: Enemy Within (Dark Horse), Doom Patrol (DC) (DC), The Spectre (DC) (Aardvark-Vanaheim) (DC Comics) (Tundra), The Sandman (DC) trade paperback (DC), Nexus: The Origin (Dark Horse) Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (DC) 1994 (DC), Wonder Woman (DC), Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #50 (DC) (Dark Horse) (DC/Vertigo), Vertigo Jam (DC/Vertigo) (Marvel) (Aardvark-Vanaheim) 1995 (DC/Vertigo) (DC) (Abstract Studio) (Gladstone) (King Hell) (DC/Vertigo) 1996 (Jukebox Productions/Image) #18-21 (Dark Horse), Sin City: The Big Fat Kill (Dark Horse), Silent Night (Dark Horse) (DC/Vertigo), Ice Age on the World of Magic the Gathering (Acclaim/Armada), The Book of Ballads and Sagas #1 (Green Man Press) (Fantagraphics), BLAB! #8 (Kitchen Sink) (DC/Vertigo), Vamps: Hollywood & Vein (DC/Vertigo) (Fantagraphics), Jim Special (Fantagraphics) 1997 , (DC), Kurt Busiek's Astro City (Jukebox Productions/Homage) (DC/Vertigo) (DC) (DC/Vertigo), Vermillion (Helix) (DC) (Dark Horse), Nexus Meets Madman (Dark Horse) 1998 , (Jukebox Productions/Homage), Uncle Sam (DC/Vertigo) (Dark Horse) (Sirius) (DC/Vertigo), Preacher Specials (DC/Vertigo) (DC) (Dark Horse), Nexus: God Con (Dark Horse) (DC) 1999 (DC/Vertigo) (DC/Vertigo), Hellblazer (DC/Vertigo), Aliens vs. Predator: Eternal (Dark Horse) (DC/Vertigo) and Lynn Varley (Dark Horse) /Jimmy Palmiotti (Marvel), Painkiller Jane/DarkChylde (Event), Painkiller Jane/Hellboy (Event) 2000s 2000 (DC), Batman: Harley Quinn (DC), Batman: War on Crime (DC), Kurt Busiek's Astro City (Homage/DC/WildStorm), ABC alternate #1 covers (ABC) (DC/WildStorm) (Insight Studios) (DC/Vertigo) (DC/Vertigo) 2001 (DC), The Flash (DC), The Invisibles (Vertigo/DC) (Vertigo/DC) (Vertigo/DC), Vertigo Secret Files (Vertigo/DC), Flinch #11 (Vertigo/DC) (DC), 100 Bullets (Vertigo/DC) (Fantagraphics), Jimmy Corrigan (Pantheon), Drawn & Quarterly vol. 3 (Drawn & Quarterly) 2002 (DC), 100 Bullets (Vertigo/DC) (DC/Vertigo) (DC/Vertigo), Transmetropolitan (DC/Vertigo) specials (DC), Fantastic Four: 1234 (Marvel) (Dark Horse Maverick) 2003 (DC) (Marvel) (DC), 100 Bullets (DC/Vertigo) (Abstract Studio) (ABC) 2004 (DC), Fables (Vertigo/DC) # 620-622 (DC), 100 Bullets (DC/Vertigo) (Marvel) (Marvel), X-Men Unlimited (Marvel), New Mutants (Marvel) (WildStorm/DC) (WildStorm/DC) 2005 (Vertigo/DC), Green Arrow (DC), Batgirl (DC) (IDW) (Image) (Vertigo/DC), We3 (Vertigo/DC) (DC) 2006 (Vertigo/DC), Runaways (Marvel) (Speakeasy) (WildStorm/DC) (Vertigo/DC) (Dark Horse), Universal Monsters: Cavalcade of Horror (Dark Horse) 2007 (Vertigo/DC), Jack of Fables (Vertigo/DC), 1001 Nights of Snowfall (Vertigo/DC) (Marvel), Conan (Dark Horse), The Lone Ranger (Dynamite) (Dark Horse), Ex Machina (WildStorm/DC) (DC/Vertigo), Zombie Tales (Boom!), Cthulhu Tales (Boom!), The Black Plague (Boom!) (DC) 2008 (Vertigo/DC), The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse), Process Recess 2 (AdHouse), Superior Showcase 2 (AdHouse) (Marvel), The Lone Ranger (Dynamite) (DC) (Marvel) (DC), World of Warcraft (WildStorm/DC) 2009 (Vertigo/DC), The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse) (Image), The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse) (Dark Horse) (DC/Vertigo) (Dynamite) 2010s 2010 (DC) (Boom!), The Lone Ranger (Dynamite) (Marvel) (Marvel/Icon), Incognito (Marvel/Icon), 28 Days Later (Boom!) (WildStorm), Project Superpowers (Dynamite) 2011 (Dark Horse), Baltimore: The Plague Ships (Dark Horse) (Shadowline/Image) (Dark Horse), Unknown Soldier (Vertigo/DC), Punisher Max (Marvel), Deadpool (Marvel) (Archaia) (Vertigo/DC) 2012 (Marvel), The Lone Ranger (Dynamite), Lone Ranger/Zorro (Dynamite), Dark Shadows (Dynamite), Warlord of Mars (Dynamite), Archie Meets Kiss (Archie) (Vertigo/DC) (Image) (Marvel), The Amazing Spider-Man (Marvel) (Marvel/Icon) (Vertigo/DC) 2013 (Marvel) (Image), Multiple Warheads (Image), Elephantmen #43 (Image) (Image) (Vertigo/DC) (DC) 2014 (Marvel) (Marvel) (DC/Vertigo) (Image) (Marvel) (Image) 2015 (DC) (Marvel), X-Men: Legacy (Marvel), A+X (Marvel), Dexter (Marvel), Dexter Down Under (Marvel) (Archie), Grindhouse: Doors Open at Midnight (Dark Horse), The Twilight Zone (Dynamite), Django/Zorro (Dynamite); X-Files (IDW) (Image), Ms. Marvel (Marvel) (Marvel) (Vertigo/DC), Batman '66: The Lost Episode, Batman '66 Meets Green Hornet (DC/Dynamite) 2016 (Marvel), Karnak (Marvel), Scarlet Witch (Marvel) (Dark Horse), Huck (Image) (DC) (Dark Horse), Brides of Helheim (Oni) (Fantagraphics) 2017 (Image) (Marvel), Carnage (Marvel), Mosaic (Marvel), The Vision (Marvel) (Dark Horse), B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth (Dark Horse), Fight Club 2 (Dark Horse), Hellboy and the BPRD 1953 (Dark Horse) (Image), Kill or Be Killed (Image) (Image) 2018 (Image) (Image) (DC), Doom Patrol (DC/Young Animal) (Marvel) (Marvel) 2019 (Image), Submerged (Vault) (DC) (Image) variants (DC), Aquaman variants (DC) (Marvel), Life of Captain Marvel (Marvel) 2020s 2020 (Image) (Image) (Archie), Archie 1955 (Archie), Archie vs. Predator II (Archie), Cosmo (Archie) (Dark Horse), Fight Club 3 (Dark Horse), Cover (DC) (Marvel) (Dark Horse), Invisible Kingdom (Berger Books/Dark Horse) 2021 #19 (Boom! Studios), Mighty Morphin #2 (Boom! Studios), Something Is Killing the Children #12 (Boom! Studios), Power Rangers #1 (Boom! Studios); Die!namite (Dynamite Entertainment); The Crow: Lethe (IDW Publishing); Marvel Variants (Marvel Comics) (Boom! Studios); Far Sector (DC Comics) (Boom! Studios) (Image Comics) (Dark Horse Comics) (Image Comics/Skybound Entertainment) 2022 #1&2 (DC), Wonder Woman Black & Gold #1 (DC), Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary (DC), Women’s History Month variant covers (Marvel Comics) (Dark Horse Comics) (DC Comics) , Captain America, Captain America/Iron Man #2, Immortal Hulk, Iron Man, The U.S. of The Marvels (Marvel Comics) (Boom! Studios/KaBoom!); Dune: House Atreides (Boom! Studios); Action Comics (DC Comics); The Walking Dead Deluxe (Image Skybound) (DC Comics); The Blue Flame, Giga, Witchblood (Vault Comics) 2023 Nightwing (DC) She-Hulk (Marvel) Astro City: That Was Then... Image, Fantastic Four, Black Panther (Marvel) Monstress (Image) Joe's Hill's Rain (Syzygy/Image) 2024 Demon Wars: Scarlet Sin (Marvel) DC Pride 2023, Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville #1 (DC); Captain Marvel: Dark Tempest #1, Demon Wars: Scarlet Sin #1, Scarlet Witch #9, Sensational She-Hulk (Marvel) Detective Comics (DC) Alice Never After #1, BRZRKR: Fallen Empire #1 (BOOM! Studios); Knight Terrors: Harley Quinn #1–2, Poison Ivy #8, #12 (DC) Expanse Dragon Tooth #1, Something Is Killing the Children #28 & #34, Wild’s End, vol 2 #4 (BOOM! Studios); Amazing Spider-Man #23, Doctor Aphra #36, Moon Knight #3, Nightcrawlers #1, Wolverine #38 (Marvel) Coda #3, Damn Them All #4, MMPR 30th Anniversary Special #1, Rare Flavours #3 (BOOM! Studios); Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Outsiders #1, Poison Ivy #9, Shazam!, Titans #1 (DC) 2025 Helen of Wyndhorn #1, Count Crowley: Mediocre Midnight Monster Hunter #3, Dawnrunner #1, Barnstormers TPB (Dark Horse); Somna and other titles (DSTLRY); The Horizon Experiment (Image) The Boy Wonder (DC); Godzilla Skate or Die, TMNT Nightwatcher and others (IDW) Dawnrunner (Dark Horse); New Gods (Detective Comics) Animal Pound (BOOM!); Helen of Wyndhorn (Dark Horse) Absolute Wonder Woman, Batman: Dark Patterns, Superman, Ape-ril, Batman: The Brave and the Bold (DC)2026Javier RodriguezAbsolute Martian Manhunter, Batman & Robin: Year One #7, The New Gods #8 (DC)Juni BaThe Boy Wonder (DC); The Fable of Erkling Woods (Goats Flying Press); TMNT Nightwatcher, TMNT Godzilla (IDW); Monkey Meat Summer Batch (Image)Nick DragottaAbsolute Batman, Absolute Batman 2025 Annual, Batman #1, Batman/Deadpool (DC)Francesco FrancavillaCyberpunk 2077, Star Wars: Tales from the Nightlands (Dark Horse); Absolute Batman, Absolute Martian Manhunter, Batman: Full Moon, Nightwing variants (DC); Green Hornet/Miss Fury (Dynamite); Star Trek: The Last Starship, Twilight Zone (IDW); Dick Tracy (Mad Cave)Mateus ManhaniniAbsolute Superman, Absolute Wonder Woman, Mr. Terrific: Year One variants (DC); Doctor Strange, Ironheart: Bad Chemistry, Miles Morales: Spider-Man, Phases of the Moon Knight, Star Wars: The High Republic, Storm, The Ultimates (Marvel)Hayden ShermanAbsolute Wonder Woman, Batman: Dark Patterns #3-12 (DC)
Multiple awards and nominations
The following individuals have won Best Cover Artist one or more times:
Cover Artist Wins Nominations James Jean 6 6 Brian Bolland 5 5 Alex Ross 4 8 David Aja 3 3 Jen Bartel 2 3 Dave Johnson 1 7 Glenn Fabry 1 6 J.H. Williams III 1 3 Francesco Francavilla 1 3 Mike Mignola 1 2 Fiona Staples 1 2 Sana Takeda 1 2 Emma Ríos 1 2 Darwyn Cooke 1 1 Adam Hughes 1 1
The following individuals have received two or more nominations but never won Best Cover Artist:
Cover Artist Nominations Sean Phillips 5 Tony Harris 4 John Cassaday 4 Julian Totino Tedesco 4 Dave McKean 3 Steve Rude 3 J. G. Jones 3 Yuko Shimizu 3 Mike del Mundo 3 David Mack 3 Simon Bisley 2 Brendan McCarthy 2 Dave Sim/Gerhard 2 Matt Wagner 2 Terry Moore 2 Charles Vess 2 Chris Ware 2 Jerry Ordway 2 Jae Lee 2 Nick Derington 2
See also Eisner Award for Best Publication for Early Readers Eisner Award for Best Academic/Scholarly Work Eisner Award for Best Writer Eisner Award for Best Coloring Eisner Award for Best Lettering
References