Text and art by Animo Chen
Locus Publishing, Taiwan, 2019
What the jury said:
“The judges were unanimous in awarding the prize to this beautiful and singular book. Chen is Taiwanese, but this is a comic that may be enjoyed by anyone, from anywhere, whatever language they speak. A collection of stories that centre around loss of various kinds, Chen’s wordless, sequential images are the visual equivalent of poems: exquisitely spare, yet multi-textured. In one, a young boy encounters death for the first time. In another, a woman mourns the loss of her son. The judges hope that by awarding Animo the prize, his book – and Taiwanese comics in general, of which many brilliant ones were submitted – will find a new and wider audience."
Text and art by Joonas Sildre
Arvo Pärdi Keskus, Estonia, 2018
What the jury said:
“This is an Estonian graphic biography of the composer Arvo Part. The judges loved the sheer confidence here: the idea that an esoteric creative life (albeit one of a national hero in Estonia) could be turned into a comic book. And it has a more serious, underlying theme in the Estonians struggle under Soviet occupation. It is beautifully drawn. Astonishingly, the artist has found a way to convey creativity, and all the difficulties it involves."
Text by Mariko Tamaki
Art by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
First Second Books, USA, 2019
What the jury said:
“Tamaki’s tale of a frustrating teen romance between Frederica, a love sick good girl, and a popular but unreliable heart-throb, captured the jury with a clever same-sex twist: In this story the good girl’s dreamboat is the most popular girl in school, Laura Dean, who keeps dumping her. Freddy surrounded and supported by her friends—they aren’t thrilled the way Laura treats her—an irresistible community of high school classmates depicted with flair, diversity and comic skills in the artwork of Valero-O’Connell, in a classic tale of teen love reset for new generation."
Text and art by Nassim Honaryar
Rizzoli Lizard, Italy, 2019
What the jury said:
“This first work is to be applauded for its ability to deal with a social problem without jeopardising narrative effect or subtlety. A graphic novel, it tells the story of the harsh life of a group of street children in Teheran forced by adults to beg or exploited for a few pence. The expert use of comic book language paints a vivid, very realistic picture of the Iranian capital, conveying all the chaos and confusion of this aspect of the city. Alleviated by moments from the realm of fantasy, the story exposes the fate of street children and young girls in Teheran without, however, tipping over into self-righteous condemnation, but telling a compelling story of a series of well-delineated characters."
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