Korean graphic novel wins Eisner Award for first time

Sanho's 'Purgatory Funeral Cakes' is a fantasy graphic novel set in a bakery that makes cakes for the dead, told through an omnibus of stories about the customers who come to order them. Photo: Dark Horse

A South Korean graphic novel has won a prestigious US comic industry award for the first time, marking a milestone for the country's comics.

Purgatory Funeral Cakes by Korean cartoonist Sanho took the Best US Edition of International Material-Asia prize at the 38th Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, often dubbed the "Oscars of comics," the book's Korean publisher Munhakdongnae said on Friday.

The awards ceremony was held on July 24 (US time) at the Hilton Bayfront in San Diego, during Comic-Con International.

The series began with its first volume in 2021 and concluded with a third volume in 2025. Photo: Dark Horse

The award recognises the best English-language translation of an Asian comic published in North America. While Korean titles, such as The Story Of Life On The Golden Fields by Kim Dong-hwa, Grass by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, and Hellbound by Yeon Sang-ho and Choi Kyu-seok, had been nominated in the past, this marks the first time a Korean work has won.

Originally published in Korea, the fantasy graphic novel centres on a mysterious shop that bakes cakes for the dead so they can reach the gate of reincarnation after traversing the purgatory plains for 49 days.

The English edition was released in 2025 by US publisher Dark Horse Comics, with the translation by Danny Lim.

The Eisner Awards are regarded as one of the "big three" international comics prizes, alongside France's Angouleme International Comics Festival and the US Harvey Awards. – The Korea Herald/Asia News Network