5th Manga Division Grand Prize
Efushi teki Nichijo (A Day in the Life of Mr. F)
FUKUYAMA Yoji [Japan]
Reason for Award
Taro Okamoto’s father Ippei was a greatly popular cartoonist of the Taisho (1912-1926) and early Showa (1926-1989) eras who created both panel cartoons and comics. “Mr. F” is an outstanding panel cartoon series from Yoji Fukuyama, another cartoonist in the same tradition one that unfortunately has become somewhat dated in modern day Japan. Mr. F makes use of short comics and panel cartoons to present thought-provoking, sharp satiric commentary on the complexities and bizarreness of contemporary society. It brilliantly supplies what today’s comics lack.