The shortlist has been announced for the 2014 Stan Lee Excelsior Award, whose winners will be selected by students from 77 secondary schools across the United Kingdom.

Established in 2011 by Paul Register, a school librarian in Sheffield, the awards are designed to promote comics and to encourage children and teenagers to read. The winners — first, second and third place — will be announced in July. The nominees are:

  • Indestructible Hulk: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., by Mark Waid and Leinil Yu (Marvel)
  • Quantum and Woody: The World's Worst Superhero Team, by James Asmus and Tom Fowler (Valiant)
  • The Judas Coin, by Walter Simonson (DC Comics)
  • Aliens: Inhuman Condition, by John Layman and Sam Kieth (Dark Horse)
  • Earth 2: The Gathering, by James Robinson and Nicola Scott (DC Comics)
  • Sherlock Bones, by Yuma Ando and Yuki Sato (Kodansha)
  • Captain America: Castaway in Dimension Z, by Rick Remender and John Romita Jr. (Marvel)
  • The Halloween Legion, by Martin Powell and Thomas Boatwright (Dark Horse)