South Korean webtoon “Navillera” will be competing in the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, Kakao Entertainment announced Wednesday.

According to the company, “Navillera” has been nominated in the best webcomic category alongside “Batman: Wayne Family Adventures” by CRC Payne and StarBite, “Isle of Elsi” by Alec Longstreth, “Lore Olympus” by Rachel Smythe and “Unmasked” by Breri and Nuitt.

Named after Will Eisner, a pioneer in the American comic book industry, the Eisner Awards are regarded as the Oscars of comic books in North America.

“I have created many webtoon projects for quite a long time. But I have never imagined being nominated in the prestigious Eisner Awards,” the latest Kakao Entertainment’s press release quoted its mononymous creator Hun as saying.

“As ‘Navillera’ talks about the universal themes of family, dream and life, I wished the series to be loved by many readers regardless of their cultural differences and geographical locations. It seems like my wish has come true. I may not win the prize, but I would like to send my gratitude to all ‘Navillera’ readers,” Hun added.

Co-created by author Hun, illustrator Jimmy and translated by Kristianna Lee, “Navillera” centers on a 70-year-old man who pursues his lifelong dream of learning ballet, despite suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

The webtoon recorded cumulative views of 96 million in South Korea and came to the attention of global readers on Kakao Entertainment’s global webtoon platforms in various countries, including Japan, North America, China and in Southeast Asia.

Praised for its unusual characters and subject matter, the comic has also been adapted into a musical and Netflix series.

Winners of the 2022 Eisner Awards will be announced on July 22 at San Diego Comic-Con International, which is scheduled to start on July 21 in San Diego.

By Lee Si-jin (sj_lee@heraldcorp.com)