The Japanese edition of Lat’s iconic Kampung Boy comic book won second place in Japan’s Gaiman Awards for the overseas comic category.
The comic book by Lat, or Mohd Nor Khalid, originally published in 1979, beat out 14 other comics from around the world, including those by publishers in the UK, Spain, South Korea, and China.
The first place went to Marvel Comics’ Hawkeye: My Life As A Weapon by Matt Fraction and David Aja, while Jolies Tenebres by Marie Pommepuy came in third.
Don’t get it twisted – the Gaiman Award is not named after famed Sandman scribe Neil Gaiman, but is a shortening of the Japanese term gaikoku no manga (foreign manga).
A statement from the Gaiman committee had this to say about Kampung Boy being the recipient of one of their highest honours:
“Generally, overseas readers love reading Kampung Boy and choose the book because it portrays the culture, harmony and unity of Malaysian society in the eye of a local village boy.
“The illustrations of real characters in a village setting draw readers close to the characters and make the comic book an easy read.”
Lat’s work has been translated and published in 12 foreign languages, including English, Japanese, Arabic, Mandarin, Tamil, French, German, Bahasa Indonesia, and Korean.
