Asian American comic book creators have been nominated in multiple categories for this year's Eisner Awards. Click here to see all the nominees; see below for a list of the Asian American nominees. (Full disclosure: Ann Marie Fleming is Asian Canadian and Shaun Tan is Asian Australian, but we'll take 'em!)

Congrats to all!

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
Johnny Hiro #1, by Fred Chao (AdHouse)

Best New Series
Johnny Hiro, by Fred Chao (AdHouse)

Best Humor Publication
Johnny Hiro, by Fred Chao (AdHouse)

Best Reality-Based Work
The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam, by Ann Marie Fleming (Riverhead Books/Penguin Group)

Best Graphic Album-New
The Arrival, by Shaun Tan (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic)
Bookhunter, by Jason Shiga (Sparkplug Books)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material
The Arrival, by Shaun Tan (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic)

Best Writer/Artist
Shaun Tan, The Arrival (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic)

Best Writer/Artist-Humor
Fred Chao, Johnny Hiro (AdHouse)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
Jae Lee, Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (Marvel)

Best Painter or Multimedia Artist (interior art)
Ann-Marie Fleming, The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam (Riverhead Books/Penguin Group)

Best Cover Artist
James Jean, Fables (Vertigo/DC); The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse); Process Recess 2; Superior Showcase 2 (AdHouse)
Jae Lee, Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (Marvel)
Jim Lee, All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder (DC); World of Warcraft (WildStorm/DC)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
Comic Foundry, edited by Tim Leong (Comic Foundry)

Best Publication Design
Process Recess 2, designed by James Jean and Chris Pitzer (AdHouse)

Two Asian Canadians, an Asian American, and an Asian Australian dominate the "Best of 2007" lists posted by last year's Eisner judges at Bookslut.com.

Shaun Tan's "The Arrival" makes two lists -- here's an excerpt from Chris Reilly's blurb:

Sublime and visually stunning, this book tells the wordless story of an immigrants "arrival." The imagery is abstract and beautiful and refreshingly not Photoshopped. The images are alien and so perfectly depict how frightening it is to be a stranger in a strange land, with little more than the clothes on his back and lint in your pockets.... The landscapes, language (there is an unreadable alphabet) and even animals/monster/creatures here are so strange that you really become this guy.

For more about Tan, who grew up in Australia and won the World Fantasy Award for Best Artist, visit www.shauntan.net.

Anne Marie Fleming's "Magical Life of Long Tack Sam" makes Robin Brenner's list. Here's a bit of the blurb:

This book shines for its sense of humor and the way it conveys the grand adventure of digging through your ancestors pasts and discovering how learning a little bit here and a little bit there may uncover a treasure trove of history.

Brenner also cites Jason Shiga's "Bookhunter":

This book is fantastic in the way it takes a look at crimes very close to reality (the most famous book thieves are intriguingly odd characters, and often quite genius in how they commit their crimes) and then cranks it up into a great procedural drama everyone can enjoy. And... there's a climactic chase scene with book carts!

And James Sime cites Bryan Lee O'Malley's "Scott Pilgrim Vol. 4":

If you like rock and roll, half-ninjas, battling ex-boyfriends, rail-slides, failed job interviews, leveling up, and the endless laughs that boy-meets-girl creates, this is a must-read series for you to sink your teeth into.

As an extra bonus, former Eisner judge Whitney Matheson cites both "Magical Life of Long Tack Sam" and Adrian Tomine's "Shortcomings" on her Best of 2007 list at usatoday.com.

Via ComicMix.com.

This week's installment of Greg Pak's "Pak Talks Comics" column at BrokenFrontier.com features an interview with Ann Marie Fleming, a filmmaker who recently turned her documentary, "The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam," into a graphic novel. Here's an excerpt from the interview:

GP: The book uses photographs, archival material, your own cartoons, and sequential art by Julian Lawrence. Tell us about the challenges in adapting this particular story to comics and how you made your decisions about how to tell the story.

AMF: I was really intimidated, and didn't know how to begin to make this into a comic. I am a huge fan of indie comics, graphic novels and have such respect for the artistry of people in the field. It was like, I was stuck. I took a page (sic) out of the world of 'zines... which said "collage is okay".

After all, it had worked for the film, and I think was a good parallel expression to the nature of Long Tack Sam's act and life. I used so many different media and techniques because I did not have any film of Long Tack Sam's act, and it turned out that the scrapbook nature was perfect for my subject... which really is finding a life.

Click here to read the whole column.