Forum - View topicNEWS: Manga, Graphic Novels to Get Hugo Award Category
|
Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3 Next Note: this is the discussion thread for this article |
| Author | Message | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Craeyst Raygal
 Posts: 1383 Location: In the garage, beneath a 1970 MGB GT. |
|
|||||||||||||
|
The shame of this is that anime and manga are getting a Hugo category so long AFTER anime's sci-fi boom era.
Let's face it, with few exceptions - series like Planetes, for instance - anime is moving further and further away from the days when "make it like Blade Runner" was status quo (Bubblegum Crisis, anyone?) Ah well, at least I can feel assured that eventually Mamoru Oshii will share the same honor as Robert A. Heinlein. |
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Shadowrun20XX
 Posts: 1935 Location: Vegas |
|
|||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Big Hed
 Posts: 1607 Location: Melbourne, Australia |
|
|||||||||||||
Agreed. As much as I love anime and manga, when I think of Hugo/Nebula award-winners, I think of Foundation, or Ringworld. |
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
Petrea Mitchell
Posts: 438 Location: Near Portland, OR |
|
|||||||||||||
It's perfectly okay to say that. The majority of sf novels, fanzines, etc. published in any given year aren't Hugo-quality either. (Remember that Sturgeon's Law was formulated by an sf writer.  )
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
DavidShallcross
 Posts: 1008 |
|
|||||||||||||
|
A tricky point for this category for the Hugos is the general rules for serials and series. An item that appears over time is eligible for the year in which the story is completed. This may be hard to determine for manga (or other comics) that keep running forever. Japanese practice seems to be to completely ignore story structure in grouping up chapters to form volumes. Perhaps for very episodic manga like Mushishi individual chapters would be considered, following the model of individual episodes of television series, but I think freestanding graphic novels will have a major advantage.
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Sariachan
 Posts: 1492 Location: Italy |
|
|||||||||||||
|
Great news, but Akira manga should have won a Hugo Award several years ago...
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
Who Is This Guy!?
Posts: 183 |
|
|||||||||||||
|
I'm sorry to say this, but there really isn't any sci-fi manga out there that tops Watchmen.
Hell, there isn't ANY sci-fi comic out there that can top Watchmen. It's in a league of it's own... |
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
Petrea Mitchell
Posts: 438 Location: Near Portland, OR |
|
|||||||||||||
I think the intent is that one volume of an ongoing serial should be a nominatable unit. Certainly if a chapter is a standalone story all to itself, it should be possible to nominate just that story. That's a good question, actually. I think I might go ask to make absolutely sure... |
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Proman
 Posts: 947 Location: USA |
|
|||||||||||||
|
As a sciene fiction fan, I'm of two minds about this. On one hand there are a ton of different Hugo categories already, so this was probably inevitable. On the other hand, I thinkt that that's exactly the problem.
Hugo (and Nebula) Award was originally established to honor writers and I think it's very regrettable that they are the ones losing the most support these days. As more and more science fiction magazines close, I think more attention should be paid to the ones who still remain. There are already plenty of industry awards honoring comics and only select view that cover the original sci-fi medium. While comics have won this award before ("Watchmen"), I'm not exactly crazy about the fact that Hugos will now have even less to do with what it all started with. There's something about sci-fi stories that make them different from any other form of sci-fi medium. Again, if it wasn't for the fact that science fiction writing is struggling, I would embrace this development. And I say all this as someone who loves manga. |
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Akukaze
 Posts: 185 Location: Stony Brook, NY |
|
|||||||||||||
I think Mushishi could give it a run for its money on an artistic level. Story-wise not so much of course, but Watchmen doesn't have quite the presence Mushishi does if you just look page to page. Watchmen's greatest strength is the sum of its parts, IMHO. But other than that, I have to agree with you. I think most of the best manga are about everyday things, rather than sci-fi or fantasy. |
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
GATSU
Posts: 15305 |
|
|||||||||||||
|
Guy:
A lot of people consider Wall-E to be the best movie this year. |
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Pirkaf
 Posts: 156 |
|
|||||||||||||
|
Eden could very well win the award for sci-fi series. It's better than Watchmen anyway.
As for fantasy, we have such gems as Berserk, so I don't think "the best manga is about everyday things"... |
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
DavidShallcross
Posts: 1008 |
|
|||||||||||||
The relevant rules read
The basic principle comes from the days when most science fiction first appeared in magazines, and longer works would be broken down into several issues. A novel appearing in three parts would be eligible only once. On the other hand, separate stories in the same universe with the same characters would be individually eligible. This rule was later applied so that the Best Dramatic Presentation category was not effectively "Best Television Series". The Hugo administrators have generally trusted the nominators and voters to apply this rule. As a result, we get such nominees as A Feast for Crows, by George R.R. Martin, which doesn't really stand alone, and the entire first season of Heroes, which allegedly tells a single story, but neither actually won. My own criteria for voting on the Hugos have included downgrading an entry if it isn't a single, standalone work, with a definite ending, but that is just me. Some of these issues arose when the new category was proposed in the WSFS business meeting, but the feeling was that the existing rules, and the wording about "any ... story", would be more flexible than more detailed rules. |
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Kevin Standlee
 Posts: 2 Location: Fremont, California |
|
|||||||||||||
Manga (and other graphic works) are also eligible right now, but only as part of the Best Related Book category. Shaun Tan's book The Arrival was nominated in this category as well.
Seriously, what's the big deal? The Hugo Award is for the best work that (generally speaking) appeared for the first time in the previous calendar year. (Works first published outside the USA get an additional year of eligibility when published in the USA. Works first published in languages other than English get an additional year of eligibility when first published in English.) The Hugo Award is not for the "Best Work in the Category For All Time." People interested in this subject should be looking at what graphic works (including manga) that first appeared this year, or first appeared in the USA or in English if they first appeared elsewhere or in other languages in past years, and be thinking about what they're going to nominate come next February.
Anyone who thinks the rules should be changed can come to me and, even if I personally disagree with the change, I will help him/her draft the proposal and submit it in the proper form. But of course the person wanting the change to happen needs to show up and advocate for his/her change. There's no Board of Directors to lobby, no WSFS Congress to which we elect representatives. Every single person represents him/herself in a "Town Meeting" style of government. That means if you want to make change happen, you have to do it yourself. And retail democracy is a whole lot of work.
The main complaint raised against previous attempts to add a category like this was that there was insufficient material published in a given year to justify the category. Just dredging up five eligible works is not sufficiently. The argument goes "It should be an honor to be nominated," and that just showing up shouldn't be sufficient. Of course, if you think the attempt to add this category is a bad thing, you certainly should come to next year's WSFS Business Meeting and vote against its ratification, and encourage like-minded people to join you. The meeting is, after all, open to every member of the Worldcon who attends the convention. Edit: Fixed city where 2009 Worldcon will be. I chaired the 2003 meeting in Toronto as well, and I certainly know the difference between them! Whoops! Last edited by Kevin Standlee on Fri Aug 22, 2008 11:35 pm; edited 1 time in total |
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
Kevin Standlee
Posts: 2 Location: Fremont, California |
|
|||||||||||||
|
Here's something that advocates for this award should be stressing: The Best Graphic Story category being added to the Hugo Award ballot next year in Montreal is a one-shot addition. Yes, there is a pending constitutional amendment that, if ratified, would add the category to the ballot permanently. However, the decision of the people who turn up at the Business Meeting in Montreal is almost certainly going to be influenced by what gets nominated in the one-shot category, and also by how many people cast nominating ballots in that category. So if you think this is important, you should be planning to nominate in next year's Hugo Awards.
Everyone who was a member of this year's Worldcon in Denver is eligible to nominate in the 2009 Hugo Awards, and also everyone who is or becomes a member of the 2009 Worldcon, Anticipation on or before January 31, 2009. You don't have to attend Anticipation in order to nominate for the Hugo Awards; you can buy a Supporting Membership that gets you the convention's publications and gives you the right to nominate and to later vote on the final ballot. There is an article on the official Hugo Awards web site about how the Hugo Awards voting system works that you may want to read if you don't already know about it. The key thing here is that there is no "them" -- no mysterious, secret group of people who control things. Everyone can join, everyone can vote, and the people who join and vote are the ones who make a difference. You do need to have an attending membership to Montreal (and attend) if you want to vote on the ratification of the change that would make this a permanent category. There is no proxy voting or other ways to participate remotely. But WSFS deliberately requires that any changes to its constitution (including the Hugo Awards) be approved at two consecutive Worldcons, since the conventions move from city to city annually, and therefore are not susceptible to short-term passions. (It's not easy to organize a flash mob in two different places in two consecutive years.) Last edited by Kevin Standlee on Fri Aug 22, 2008 6:36 pm; edited 1 time in total |
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group