San Diego Comic-Con announced the finalists for the annual Eisner Awards, with author and cartoonist Gene Luen Yang leading the pack with five nominations.
Yang’s graphic novel Superman Smashes the Klan was nominated in the best publication for kids and the best adaptation from another medium categories. The novel, illustrated by Gurihiru, is based on a storyline from The Adventures of Superman, a 1940s radio show.
Yang earned three nominations for his graphic nonfiction book, Dragon Hoops, which scored nods in the best writer/artist, best publication for teens, and best reality-based work categories.
Adrian Tomine’s graphic memoir The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist was nominated in three categories: best graphic memoir, best publication design, and best writer/artist.
Four other authors were nominated for best writer/artist: Junji Ito for Remina, Venus in the Blind Spot, Pascal Jousselin for Mister Invincible: Local Hero, Trung Le Nguyen for The Magic Fish, and Craig Thompson for Ginseng Roots.
Ginseng Roots was also nominated in the best graphic memoir category, along with Kim Hyun Sook, Ryan Estrada, and Ko Hyung-Ju’s Banned Book Club, Vivian Chong and Georgia Webber’s Dancing After TEN, Ayami Kazama’s I Don’t Know How To Give Birth!, and Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed’s When Stars Are Scattered.
The Eisner Awards, given each year in honor of outstanding achievement in comic books, were established in 1988. This year’s winners will be announced at a virtual ceremony in July.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
