Will Eisner Comic Industry Award is probably the highest level honor that a comic book or creator can receive for their work. Not only is it an exciting event for comic book lovers globally, but it also introduces some lesser-known yet brilliant works of art to the world.
An award traditionally dominated by artists in the West is now seeing a revolution. This year, we have a lot of Asian representation in the nominations in various categories!
Junji Ito, who wrote the brilliant horror comic Remina (Jigokusei Remina), got nominated for the Will Eisner Award category of The Best Writer/Artist.
His first-rate horror and thriller manga became immensely popular in the West and got the recognition it deserves.
Other than this, six manga were nominated for the ‘Best US Edition of International Material- Asia’ category of the Eisner Awards. The nominations are as follows:
- A Journal of My Father (Jiro Taniguchi)
- Spy x Family (Tatsuya Endou)
- Remina (Junji Ito)
- I had that same dream again (Yoru Sumino, Idumi Kirihara)
- Ping Pong (Taiyo Matsumoto)
- I Wish I could say Thank You (Yukari Takinami)
In addition, mangaka Ayami Kazama’s autobiographical comic essay called I Don’t Know How To Give Birth was nominated in the ‘Best Graphic Memoir’ category.
The comic is about a woman’s journey through childbirth and pregnancy. It is clear that Kazama did a great job on the comic. It tells us what motherhood is about with some occasional comedy!
It makes me really happy to see Western media finally recognizing and giving credit to Asian artists and their work where it’s due. For a long time, manga, anime, and other Asian media types have been underrated, but not anymore.
The sudden popularity and craze of things like anime, manga, K-dramas, K-pop, etc., have helped acknowledge the untapped potential of artists worldwide.
Things like these motivate all kinds of artists to come forward with their work, and it also breeds creativity in others.
After all, the artists kept us from going out of our minds during the whole pandemic situation anyway!
Source: Comic-Con International: San Diego Website
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