For Your Consideration: 13 Eisner-Nominated Manga

With the voting period ending soon for the 2008 Will Eisner Awards, it's a good a time as any to make a last-minute plug for the 13 manga nominees. To nudge any undecided Eisner voters out there, here's a preview gallery of this year's noteworthy nominees, including:

• Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms by Fumiyo Kouno (Last Gasp / JA Press) - The recipient of numerous awards and a bestseller in Japan, Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms was also released to almost universal acclaim here in the States. A touching, thoughtfully-told tale of two young women whose lives are affected by the World War II bombing of Hiroshima, Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms is nominated in two categories: Best Short Story for Town of Evening Calm, and Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Japan.
• Naoki Urasawa's Monster by Naoki Urasawa (VIZ Signature / VIZ Media) - Back to try again after being nominated in 2007, Monster is nominated in two categories: Best Continuing Series and Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Japan. With the final volume of this 18-volume series due out in December '08, it's never too late to get hooked on this smartly-written, suspense-filled seinen manga series about an idealistic doctor who discovers that a child he saved from death has grown up to become a cold-blooded killer.
• Apollo's Song by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical Inc.) - One of two Tezuka tales nominated this year, Apollo's Song is a twisted and dark love story about a sociopathic teen who is sentenced to fall in love and lose his beloved again and again in scenarios set in the past, present and future. Apollo's Song is nominated in the Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books category.
• Tekkon Kinkreet: Black and White by Taiyo Matsumoto (VIZ Signature / VIZ Media) - Originally released in 1999, Tekkon Kinkreet was re-released as an oversized, deluxe omnibus in 2007. A memorable mix of surrealistic fantasy, gritty city violence done with uncommon sensitivity, Tekkon Kinkreet is a hefty graphic novel that's well worth adding to your collection, and definitely worth your consideration in the Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Japan category too.

See the rest of the Eisner manga nominees, and don't forget -- if you're an elibigle Eisner voter, you have until Friday, June 13 to submit your online ballot.