Manga Category Added to Eisner Awards

In a move to acknowledge the growing influence of manga in the U.S. comics community, the Eisner Awards, the "Oscars" of American comics, added a new category, "Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Japan." The move allows five manga titles to duke it out for the title, while comics by French, Brazilian and Israeli creators give it their best shot to win the "Best U.S. Edition of International Material" award.

The nominated manga titles are:

• After School Nightmare, by Setona Mizushiro (Go! Comi)
• Antique Bakery, by Fumi Yoshinaga (Digital Manga)
• Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, by Naoki Urasawa (Viz)
• Old Boy, by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi (Dark Horse Manga)
• Walking Man, by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)

Manga titles were nominated in other categories, including:

• Best Continuing Series: Naoki Urasawa's Monster (Viz)
• Best Anthology: Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators, edited by Frédéric Boilet (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
• Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books: Abandon the Old In Tokyo, by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books: Ode to Kirihito, by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)
• Best Reality-Based Work: Project X Challengers: Cup Noodle, by Tadashi Katoh (Digital Manga Publishing)
• Special Recognition: Dramacon, by Svetlana Chmakova (TokyoPop)

Check out these notable reads, and watch for the Eisner winners announcement at the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con International on July 27 at the San Diego Convention Center.

Image: ©Comic-Con International