Japanese manga artist, Junji Ito, was awarded the prestigious Inkpot Award at this year’s “San Diego Comic-Con,” held from July 20-23.

The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI’s annual convention, the San Diego Comic-Con.

Moreover, Junji Ito was present at the Comic Con, where he delivered an insightful lecture, drawing a crowd of 1000 attendees. The audience was treated to live drawings and demonstrations by the author.

Junji Ito is a Japanese horror manga artist. Some of his most notable works include Tomie, a series chronicling an immortal girl who drives her stricken admirers to madness; Uzumaki, a three-volume series about a town obsessed with spirals; and Gyo, a two-volume story in which fish are controlled by a strain of sentient bacteria called “the death stench.”

His other works include The Junji Ito Horror Comic Collection, a collection of his many short stories, and Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu, a self-parody about him and his wife living in a house with two cats.

Ito’s work has developed a substantial cult following, and Ito has been called an iconic horror manga artist. His manga has been adapted to both film and anime television series, including the Tomie film series and both the Junji Ito Collection and Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre anime anthology series.

Source: Comic Natalie