News
Viz Titles nominated for Eisners
posted on by Christopher Macdonald
Viz's has sent out a press release about Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President by Kaiji Kawaguchi and Uzumaki by Junji Ito which have both been nominated for Eisner's
Viz's Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President by Kaiji Kawaguchi and Uzumaki by Junji Ito have both been nominated for Eisner awards in the same category, "Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Materia." Last year the category award was won by the Lone Wolf and Cub manga, by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, published by Dark Horse.
For a full list of Manga nominees, see our April 9th article.
Excerpts from Press Release:
Viz Communications, Inc. today announced the nomination of two of its titles for the 2002 Eisner Awards. Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President by Kaiji Kawaguchi, whose concluding volume was released in mid-April and Uzumaki by Junji Ito, whose second volume will be released in May, have both been nominated for “Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material,” making Viz the only publisher this year to be nominated twice in this category.
Official ballots will be distributed in May and the winners will be announced on August 2, 2002 in San Diego as part of Comic-Con International: San Diego, the largest convention highlighting comics and pop-culture in the U.S. Awarded annually, the Eisner Awards acknowledge the best titles, storylines and artists in the comics business, and are considered the most prestigious awards in the industry.
“Viz is honored to be recognized alongside such talented artists and innovative publishers,” said Sales & Marketing Director, Dallas Middaugh, noting that in May, Viz will be releasing Phoenix: A Tale of the Future by Osamu Tezuka, who will be inducted into the Eisner Awards Hall of Fame this year. “We are committed to publishing outstanding, entertaining titles and are excited that the immense creativity of Mr. Kawaguchi and Mr. Ito is being recognized throughout the industry.”
Released to critical acclaim, both titles have been praised for their gripping storylines and fantastical artwork. Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President has been nominated for Eisners in more categories than any other manga in history, earning four previous nominations in 2000. Praised by industry critics and mainstream press alike, everyone from the Los Angeles Times and U.S. News & World Report to the dedicated fan press has acclaimed Eagle, calling it “a canny political thriller” (U.S. News & World Report) and “the perfect comic book to tempt someone who wouldn't ordinarily dream of reading a comic book, let alone a Japanese comic book" (Comic's Buyer's Guide).
Featured in PULP: The Manga Magazine before its graphic novel release, Uzumaki was named to several Best of 2001 lists, and praised as “the book no horror fan should be without” (NinthArt.com, Ninth Art Lighthouse Awards 2001) one of the most horrifying books ever: “From a simple, almost funny idea, UZUMAKI achieves moments that are seriously disturbing. Tell me the last time any book disturbed you. When you give up, buy UZUMAKI” (Warren Ellis, ArtBomb.net).
About Eagle
In the real Campaign 2000, the fight for the Democratic nomination was all over in seven weeks, but in Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President, Kaiji Kawaguchi tells the story of the 2000 election that should have been, combining an insider's detail with an outsider's perspective on the race for the Presidency.
The darkest of dark horses is Democrat Kenneth Yamaoka. Tall, handsome and telegenic, Kenneth is the ideal Presidential candidate of any party. A Yale graduate, a decorated hero of the Vietnam War and a dynamic two-term U.S. Senator in the prime of life, Kenneth has the brains and bravery to take on the nation's top job. There are just two complications: Kenneth Yamaoka is Japanese-American, and the young Japanese journalist, Takashi Jo, that Kenneth invited to Washington to cover his campaign is his illegitimate son. Will the American people change history by standing behind a non-white presidential candidate? Can Kenneth win their loyalty without revealing his secret past?
Over the past ten years, author and artist Kaiji Kawaguchi has built a reputation as a solid storyteller with concepts that inspire national debate. With his 1989 epic, The Silent Service, Kawaguchi took the “rogue nuclear submarine” premise and used it as a proposal for a path the world could take in the post-Cold War era. Kawaguchi's provocative tone was presented in such a matter-of-fact manner that The Silent Service became a bestseller discussed on the floor of the Japanese Diet and covered by the Los Angeles Times. With Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President, Kawaguchi provides a perspective on the American political system and those who control it.
About Uzumaki
Kurôzu-cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan, is cursed. According to Shuichi Saito, the withdrawn boyfriend of teenager Kirie Goshima, their town is haunted not by a person or being, but by a pattern: Uzumaki, the spiral, the hypnotic secret shape of the world. It manifests itself in small ways—seashells, ferns, whirlpools in water, whirlwinds in air—and in large ways—the spiral marks on people's bodies, the insane obsessions of Shuichi's father, the voice from the cochlea in your inner ear. As the madness spreads, the inhabitants of Kurôzu-cho are pulled even deeper, as if into a whirlpool from which there is no return…
Born July 31, 1963 in Gifu-ken, Junji Ito is Japan's leading contemporary horror comics artist. In 1987, while still working as a dental technician, Ito published his first work, a short story called Tomie, which won Ito an honorable mention for the Kazuo Umezu Award (named after Japan's greatest horror comics artist). Ito went on to develop a strong following in horror manga magazines and has seen his manga adapted into live-action feature films, including Uzumaki, which will be released in the U.S. by Viz Films and Tidepoint Pictures in late 2002.
For a full list of Manga nominees, see our April 9th article.
Excerpts from Press Release:
Viz Communications, Inc. today announced the nomination of two of its titles for the 2002 Eisner Awards. Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President by Kaiji Kawaguchi, whose concluding volume was released in mid-April and Uzumaki by Junji Ito, whose second volume will be released in May, have both been nominated for “Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material,” making Viz the only publisher this year to be nominated twice in this category.
Official ballots will be distributed in May and the winners will be announced on August 2, 2002 in San Diego as part of Comic-Con International: San Diego, the largest convention highlighting comics and pop-culture in the U.S. Awarded annually, the Eisner Awards acknowledge the best titles, storylines and artists in the comics business, and are considered the most prestigious awards in the industry.
“Viz is honored to be recognized alongside such talented artists and innovative publishers,” said Sales & Marketing Director, Dallas Middaugh, noting that in May, Viz will be releasing Phoenix: A Tale of the Future by Osamu Tezuka, who will be inducted into the Eisner Awards Hall of Fame this year. “We are committed to publishing outstanding, entertaining titles and are excited that the immense creativity of Mr. Kawaguchi and Mr. Ito is being recognized throughout the industry.”
Released to critical acclaim, both titles have been praised for their gripping storylines and fantastical artwork. Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President has been nominated for Eisners in more categories than any other manga in history, earning four previous nominations in 2000. Praised by industry critics and mainstream press alike, everyone from the Los Angeles Times and U.S. News & World Report to the dedicated fan press has acclaimed Eagle, calling it “a canny political thriller” (U.S. News & World Report) and “the perfect comic book to tempt someone who wouldn't ordinarily dream of reading a comic book, let alone a Japanese comic book" (Comic's Buyer's Guide).
Featured in PULP: The Manga Magazine before its graphic novel release, Uzumaki was named to several Best of 2001 lists, and praised as “the book no horror fan should be without” (NinthArt.com, Ninth Art Lighthouse Awards 2001) one of the most horrifying books ever: “From a simple, almost funny idea, UZUMAKI achieves moments that are seriously disturbing. Tell me the last time any book disturbed you. When you give up, buy UZUMAKI” (Warren Ellis, ArtBomb.net).
About Eagle
In the real Campaign 2000, the fight for the Democratic nomination was all over in seven weeks, but in Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President, Kaiji Kawaguchi tells the story of the 2000 election that should have been, combining an insider's detail with an outsider's perspective on the race for the Presidency.
The darkest of dark horses is Democrat Kenneth Yamaoka. Tall, handsome and telegenic, Kenneth is the ideal Presidential candidate of any party. A Yale graduate, a decorated hero of the Vietnam War and a dynamic two-term U.S. Senator in the prime of life, Kenneth has the brains and bravery to take on the nation's top job. There are just two complications: Kenneth Yamaoka is Japanese-American, and the young Japanese journalist, Takashi Jo, that Kenneth invited to Washington to cover his campaign is his illegitimate son. Will the American people change history by standing behind a non-white presidential candidate? Can Kenneth win their loyalty without revealing his secret past?
Over the past ten years, author and artist Kaiji Kawaguchi has built a reputation as a solid storyteller with concepts that inspire national debate. With his 1989 epic, The Silent Service, Kawaguchi took the “rogue nuclear submarine” premise and used it as a proposal for a path the world could take in the post-Cold War era. Kawaguchi's provocative tone was presented in such a matter-of-fact manner that The Silent Service became a bestseller discussed on the floor of the Japanese Diet and covered by the Los Angeles Times. With Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President, Kawaguchi provides a perspective on the American political system and those who control it.
About Uzumaki
Kurôzu-cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan, is cursed. According to Shuichi Saito, the withdrawn boyfriend of teenager Kirie Goshima, their town is haunted not by a person or being, but by a pattern: Uzumaki, the spiral, the hypnotic secret shape of the world. It manifests itself in small ways—seashells, ferns, whirlpools in water, whirlwinds in air—and in large ways—the spiral marks on people's bodies, the insane obsessions of Shuichi's father, the voice from the cochlea in your inner ear. As the madness spreads, the inhabitants of Kurôzu-cho are pulled even deeper, as if into a whirlpool from which there is no return…
Born July 31, 1963 in Gifu-ken, Junji Ito is Japan's leading contemporary horror comics artist. In 1987, while still working as a dental technician, Ito published his first work, a short story called Tomie, which won Ito an honorable mention for the Kazuo Umezu Award (named after Japan's greatest horror comics artist). Ito went on to develop a strong following in horror manga magazines and has seen his manga adapted into live-action feature films, including Uzumaki, which will be released in the U.S. by Viz Films and Tidepoint Pictures in late 2002.
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