Via Comic Natalie: the English language versions of Kamome Shirahama’s “Witch Hat Atelier”, Taiyou Matsumoto’s “Cats of the Louvre”, and Kousuke Oono’s “Way of the Househusband” have bagged major prizes at the recent Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards.

“Witch Hat Atelier” and “Cats of the Louvre” both received the Eisner Award for the Best Asian Work, while “Way of the Househusband” bagged the Best Humour Publication award. The announcements were made during “Comic-Con@Home 2020”, the online version of Comic-Con International — which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Witch Hat Atelier” tells the story of Coco, a young girl living in a small village. She has always wanted to be a wizard, but children who cannot use magic since birth cannot become wizards, so she had given up her dream. One momentous day, a magician visited the village, and Coco becomes increasingly involved in magical affairs.

“Cats of the Louvre” is a surreal tale of the secret world of the cats who live in the Louvre, the world-renowned museum in Paris which contains with some of the most famous works of art in all of history. At night, an unseen and surreal world comes, witnessed only by the small family of cats that secretly live in museum’s attic.

“Way of the Househusband” (“Gokushufudou”) tells the story of Tatsu — a notorious former yakuza boss who gave up his life of crime to be a dedicated househusband for his career-oriented wife Miku. This often gives rise to comedic situations, given the contrast of his intimidating appearance with his domestic tasks. There is also the added complication of his former yazuka allies and enemies intruding into his new life of managing a household.