Junji Ito wins two Eisner Awards

Horror manga creator Junji Ito has won two Eisner Awards in this year’s ceremony.

Ito won the “Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Asia” category, the only category solely devoted to manga, Korean manhwa etc. for his sci-fi horror Remina (published by Viz Media). Also nominated were I Had That Same Dream Again, I Wish I Could Say “Thank You”, A Journal Of My Father, Ping Pong and Spy x Family.

Ito also came out on top in the category: “Best Writer/Artist” for both Remina and Venus in the Blind Spot (also released by Viz Media), beating Pascal Jousselin (Mister Invisible: Local Hero), Trung Le Nguyen (The Magic Fish), Craig Thompson (Ginseng Roots), Adrian Tomine (The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist) and Gene Luen Yang (Dragon Hoops).

Ito was the only person from the world of manga to win on the night. Ayami Kazama’s I Don’t Know How to Give Birth! (Yen Press) lost in the “Best Graphic Memoir” to The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist, while Deron Bennett, who was up for “Best Lettering” for his work on, among other titles, Ping Pong, lost to Stan Sakai, creator of long-running furry samurai comic Usagi Yojimbo and the big winner on the night as he also won “Best Continuing Series” and “Best Graphic Album – Reprint”.

There is still some manga interest left in the awards, as Moto Hagio is one of the nominees for the Eisner Award Hall of Fame.

Ian Wolf

Ian works as an anime and manga critic for Anime UK News, and was also the manga critic for MyM Magazine. His debut book, CLAMPdown, about the manga collective CLAMP, is available now. Outside of anime, he is data specialist for the British Comedy Guide, is QI's most pedantic viewer, has written questions for both The Wall and Richard Osman's House of Games, and has been a contestant on Mastermind.

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