NEW DELHI: Veteran satirical cartoonist RK Laxman received the first-ever Comic Con India Lifetime Achievement award on the eve of the Second Comic Con India Convention which began in the capital today.

The award was received by his daughter-in-law Usha Laxman who had flown in from Mumbai for the occasion.

This is the first time that awards have been instituted by any organisation in the field of comics, cartoons and animation. The Convention, organised by Twenty Onwards Media, will last for three days from 17 to 19 February.

Suhas Sunder received the award for best writer for the first issue of ?Odayan?, while Lalit Kumar Sharma received the best artist award for ?Jungle Book?.

?Nelson Mandela? by Campfire Graphic Novels received the Comic Book of the Year award, while ?Tinkle? Holiday Special received the Best Publication of the year award.

?Best Legion? received the award for best web comic, and Vimanika Comics received the Best Cover award for ?I am Kalki?.

The website flipkart.com was named best retailer and Variety Book Depot the best distributor for comics.

In addition, an unpublished work, ?Satya Police? by Gagandeep, was awarded a grant of Rs 50,000 and a publishing deal with Comic Con.

Comic Con India Founder Jatin Varma said the aim was to felicitate the best Indian Comics and Comics Creators, and give them the recognition they deserve, among their peers.

There are no awards for the Indian comics industry and he hopes these will serve as a catalyst to push more people into the industry.

The Awards aim to recognise the work that the professionals in India‘s Comics Industry do. It?s an attempt to bring into focus the novelty of this art form and acknowledge the efforts of numerous writers, artists and publishers in this field.

The jury consisted of Orijit Sen (Graphic Artist and Designer), Vaibhav Kumaresh (Animation Filmmaker) and the Comic Con India Core team.

Meanwhile, the Comic Con opened with presentations by several renowned artists and publishers. There are around 50 stalls including those by Animation schools from Vancouver in Canada and San Francisco in the United States. Around 80 participants from India and overseas are attending the three-day event, and the first day saw huge crowds around the stalls.

In addition, there were a large number of persons dressed as their favourite comic characters who moved around the Comic Con venue.

NEW DELHI: The first ever Comic Con India awards in categories like writer, artist, political cartoonist and graphic novel will be presented in Delhi on 16 February on the eve of the second annual Comics Convention in the capital.

The Convention will be held in Delhi Haat and will last for three days from 17 to 19 February.

The first Comic Con had been held in Delhi last year, followed by the Comic Con Express ? its traveling version ? in Mumbai in October.

Comic Con India Founder Jatin Varma told indiantelevision.com that aim would be to felicitate the best Indian comics and comics creators, and give them the recognition they deserve, among their peers. There are no awards for the Indian comics Industry and he hopes these will serve as a catalyst to push more people into the industry.

The awards aim to recognise the work that the professionals in India‘s comics industry do. It?s an attempt to bring into focus the novelty of this art form and acknowledging the efforts of numerous writers, artists and publishers in this field.

The jury will consist of Orijit Sen (Graphic Artist and Designer), Vaibhav Kumaresh (Animation Filmmaker) and the Comic Con India core team.

Awards will be presented in the following categories: best graphic novel/comic book of the year - (For Comic Book Series Only One Issue Is Eligible To Enter); best publication for children of the year; best webcomic; best writer - (Includes Adaptations); best artist, best cover - (Includes Illustrated Published Covers Of Publications Of Any Genre), and best political cartoon of the year.

In addition, there is a Lifetime Achievement award and a Comic Con India grant for best unpublished work - eligible for artists and artist-writer teams. Winners will receives a Rs 50,000 grant towards completion of the project and a publishing dealing with Comic Con India.

Entries have to be submitted by 10 January and details are available on www.comicconindia.com