36 Manga Missed By Eisner Awards, Plus 7 Nominees Worth Voting For

The voting is now open for the 2009 Eisner Awards, and it's never too early to put in a plug to eligible Eisner voters to vote for some of the worthwhile Japanese comics on the ballot. Here's a gallery featuring a sampling of the 7 noteworthy Eisner nominees who deserve your vote.

But as I was chatting about the Eisner nominations a week or so ago, a question arose: Do the Eisners, one of the top awards for American comics professionals, not give manga its due? That depends who you ask. Essentially, The Eisners are for the American comic publishing industry. While manga is popular enough to warrant its own New York Times Bestseller list, it's still just a guest in the comics shop. Manga never will and never should dominate the Eisners, but part of me wondered, is its past years' weak performance at the polls just because not enough great manga got in front of the nominating committee, or heck, comic book readers in general?

So I put a question out to a few manga bloggers, critics, fans and creators on Twitter: which manga deserved a nod from the Eisners this year? I posted my initial picks earlier, but wanted to get a little more critical mass and consensus from other tastemakers. The result is this list of 36 Great Manga Missed By The Eisners.

While it's not a scientific survey, a few leading candidates quickly emerged. Here's the top four of the best of the rest:

• Disappearance Diary by Hideo Azuma (Fanfare-Ponent Mon)
• Real by Takehiko Inoue (VIZ Signature / VIZ Media)
• Emma by Kaoru Mori (CMX Manga)
• Sand Chronicles by Hinako Ashihara (Shojo Beat / VIZ Media)

Check out this list of 36 Great Manga Missed by the Eisner Awards, and see what manga bloggers and critics including Jason Thompson, Scott Green, Ryan Sands, Eva Volin, Robin Brenner and much more had to say about their picks for last year's most award-worthy manga, and maybe discover a few new finds to add to your must-buy list.

It's not too late to add your recommendations! Tweet me your picks for Eisner-worthy manga that were released in 2008, or add your comments below. And if you're an eligible Eisner voter? Check out some of the 7 nominees, and hopefully you'll be thinking about voting for some more manga on your ballot this year.

Image credit: © Hideo Azuma