Japanese animator Osamu Dezaki (b.1943) died on April 17. Dezaki was the director of Space Adventure Cobra, The Mighty Orbots, and Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light. Dezaki was known for his signature “Postcard Memory,” in which the animation would freeze and be replaced by a stylized illustration of the same image. Dezaki also worked under the pseudonym “Makura Saki.”
Japanese voice actor Takeshi Watabe (b.1936) died on December 13 of pneumonia. Watabe provided voice work for several anime series, including Doraemon, Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, and Legend of the Galactic Heroes. He also wrote a book on voice acting.
Tokyo has banned the sale of manga that depicts rape, incest, and other sexual crimes to anyone under the age of 18. Anyone caught violating this rule faces a fine of ¥300,000 ($3,570). A group of publishers has threatened to boycott the Tokyo International Anime Fair in March 2011 over what they see as an attempt at censorhip.
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Producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki (b. Hirofumi Nishizaki, 1934) died on November 7 after falling overboard off the coast of Chichijima Island. Nishizaki wrote and produced the anime series Space Cruiser Yamato, Star Blazers, and Space Battleship Yamato among others. He was wearing a wetsuit and was believed to be planning on going for a swim at the time of his accident.
Scriptwriter Takeshi Shudō (b.1949) died on October 29 from a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Shudō worked for Studio Ghibli before taking a job at the Pokémon Company, where he became the chief writer for Pokémon and worked on the company’s first three films.
Animator Satoshi Kon (b. 1963) died on August 24. Kon began drawing manga for Young magazine and eventually became an animator, working on films including Rojin Z and Memories. In 1998, he directed Perfect Blue. He was currently working on The Dream Machine.
Actor Peter Fernandez (b. 1927) died on July 15. Fernandez is best known for his involvement with the 1967 anime series Speed Racer, providing the voicework for both Speed Racer and Racer X and writing scripts. Other shows of genre interest he worked on include Captain Video and His Video Rangers, Gigantor, and Space Cruiser Yamato and the films Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster and Mothra. He had a bit role in the live-action Speed Racer film.
The Harvey Award nominations have been announced. The awards, named for Harvey Kurtzmann, recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art. The awards will be presented on August 28 at the Baltimore Comic Con.
Best Writer
- Scalped, by Jason Aaron
- Blackest Night, by Geoff Johns
- The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid #3: The Last Straw, by Jeff Kinney
- Irredeemable, by Mark Waid
Best Artist
- Book of Genesis, by Robert Crumb
- BPRD: Black Goddess, by Guy Davis
- Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?, by Brian Fies
- Mouse Guard: Winter1152, by David Petersen
- Batman and Robin, by Frank Quitely
- Detective Comics, by JH Williams III
Best Cartoonist
- Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter, by Darwyn Cooke
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid #3: The Last Straw, by Jeff Kinney
- The Muppet Show Comic Book, by Roger Langridge
- Asterios Polyp, by David Mazzucchelli
- George Sprott (1894-1975), by Seth
Best Letterer
- Franking Richards: Son of a Genius, by Chris Eliopoulos
- Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?, by Brian Fies
- Rapure, by Thomas Mauer
- Asterios Polyp, by David Mazzucchelli
- Elephantmen, by Richard Starkings
Best Inker
- Blackest Night, by Oclair Albert,
- High Moon, by Steve Ellis
- Amazing Spider-Man, by Klaus Janson
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid #3: The Last Straw, by Jeff Kinney
- Thor, by Mark Morales
Best Colorist
- Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?, by Brian Fies
- Bone: Crown of Horns, by Steve Hamaker
- The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures, by Laura Martin
- Asterios Polyp, by David Mazzucchelli
- BPRD: Black Goddess, by Dave Stewart
Best Cover Artist
- The Dreamer, by Jenny Frison
- Hellboy: The Bride of Hell, by Mike Mignola
- Mice Templar: Destiny, Part I, by Michael Avon Oeming
- Batman and Robin, by Frank Quitely
- Detective Comics, by JH Williams, III
Best New Talent
- Far Arden, by Kevin Cannon
- Chew, by Rob Guillory
- Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness, by Reinhard Kleist
- Act-i-vate: Power Out, by Nathan Schreiber
- New Brighton Archaeological Society, by Matthew Weldon
Best New Series
- Batman and Robin
- Chew
- Irredeemable
- Sweet Tooth
- Unwritten
Best Continuing or Limited Series
- Beasts Of Burden
- Diary Of A Wimpy Kid
- Ganges
- Invincible
- Scalped
- The Walking Dead
Best Original Graphic Publication for Younger Readers
- Amulet: Storekeeper’s Curse
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid #3: The Last Straw
- Grown-Ups Are Dumb
- The Muppet Show Comic Book
- New Brighton Archeological Society
- 3-2-3 Detective Agency
Best Anthology
- Act-i-vate
- Flight # 6
- Popgun # 3
- Strange Tales
- Wednesday Comics
Best Original Graphic Album
- Asterios Polyp, by David Mazucchelli
- Book of Genesis, by Robert Crumb
- George Sprott (1894-1975), by Seth
- Footnotes in Gaza, by Joe Sacco
- Stitches, by by David Small
- Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?, by Brian Fies
Best Previously Published Graphic Album
- A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge, by Josh Neufeld
- Collected Essex County, by Jeff Lemire
- Graveslinger, by Shannon Denton, Jeff Mariotte, John Cboins & Nina Sorat
- Masterpiece Comics, by R. Sikoryak
- Mice Templar Volume 1, by Bryan J.L. Glass and Michael Avon Oeming
Best Syndicated Strip or Panel
- Cul-de-Sac, by Richard Thompson
- Foxtrot, by Bill Amend
- Get Fuzzy,”by Darby Conley
- Mutts, by Patrick McDonnell
- Pearls Before Swine, by Stephan Pastis
Best Domestic Reprint Project
- The Best of Simon and Kirby, by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; edited by Steve Saffel
- Humbug, conceived and edited by Harvey Kurtzman and created by Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Davis, Will Elder, Al Jaffee and Arnold Roth; edited by Gary Groth
- Rip Kirby, by Alex Raymond; edited by Dean Mullaney
- The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures, by Dave Stevens; edited by Scott Dunbier,
- The Toon Treasury of Classic Childnre’s Comics, edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly
Best American Edition of Foreign Material
- The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga, by Helen McCarthy
- Manga Kamishibai, by Eric P. Nash
- The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert, Didier LeFevre and Frederic Lemercier
- Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka, by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki
- 20th Century Boys, by Naoki Urasawa
Best On-Line Comics Work
- Hark! A Vagrant, by Kate Beaton
- High Moon, by by Steve Ellis, David Gallaher and Scott O. Brown
- Power Out, by Nathan Schreiber
- PVP, by Scott Kurtz
- Sin Titulo, by Cameron Stewart
Special Award for Humor in Comics
- Beast of Burden, by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid #3: The Last Straw, by Jeff Kinney
- The Muppet Show Comic Book, by Roger Landridge
- Scott Pilgrim #5, by Bryan Lee O’Malley
- The Adventures of Simone & Ajax: A Christmas Caper, by Andrew Pepoy
Special Award for Excellence in Presentation
- Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics, by Denis Kitchen and Paul Buhle
- The Brinkley Girls: The Best of Nell Brinkley’s Cartoons from 1913-1940, edited by Trina Robbins
- George Sprott (1894-1975), by Seth
- The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures, by Dave Stevens, edited by
Scott Dunbier
- Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-Creator Joe Shuster, edited by Craig Yoe
- Wednesday Comics, edited by Mark Chiarello
Best Biographical, Historical or Journalistic Presentation
- Alter-Ego, edited by Roy Thomas
- Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics, by Denis Kitchen and Paul Buhle
- The Best of Simon and Kirby, by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; edited by Steve Saffel
- The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, Michael Dean and Kristy Valenti
- Underground Classics, by James Danky and Denis Kitchen
Best Single issue or Story
- Alec: The Years Have Pants, by Eddie Campbell
- Asterios Polyp, by David Mazucchelli
- Ganges #3, by Kevin Huizenga
- George Sprott (1894-1975), by Seth
- Jonah Hex #50, written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, artwork by Darwyn Cooke
- Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter, by Darwyn Cooke
- “Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?, by Brian Fies
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Carl Macek (b.1950) died on April 17 after suffering an heart attack. Macek began his career doing grassroots promotional work for films such as Star Wars and Alien. In the early 1980s, he worked with Harmony Gold to create the Robotech series. Throughout his career, he helped support the dubbing and creation of anime, helping to bring it to a wider US audience.
