People interested in the Silver Age may appreciate this.
A list of best of the year awards from the 60s.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alley_Award
Check out the books comics geeks loved then.
One surprise...
The origin of Spider-Man (Amazing Fantasy #15) won best short story in 1962. It deserved it (still one of the best comic book stories ever), but that's still impressive for the last issue of a magazine cancelled for low sales.
The best covers are also worth looking up.