The Mysterious Underground Men
The big news this week is the Eisner nominations. Here’s the list in the manga category (officially known as Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia):
The Heart of Thomas, by Moto Hagio (Fantagraphics)
The Mysterious Underground Men, by Osamu Tezuka (PictureBox)
Showa: A History of Japan, 1926–1939, by Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly)
Summit of the Gods, vol. 4, by Yemmakura Baku and Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist, by Asumiko Nakamura (Vertical)
If the choices seem pretty far from the mainstream, keep in mind that the Eisner judges have a difficult task (I was a judge in 2012 so I know this): You have to read a LOT of comics, and reading a series is a big investment of time; you’re looking for excellence, which implies literary quality; and you have to judge based on what came out in the nomination year, so even if you read a lot of series, you can’t consider the series as a whole, just a one-year slice. This biases the selection process heavily in favor of one-shots. All that said, I’d love to hear from you what you think the judges missed. I have my own opinions, which I’ll post eventually…
Attention creators! Entries are now being accepted for the Eighth International Manga Award.
Reviews
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