Comic-Con International has announced the 2019 nominees for the Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award.

The Manning Award is presented to a comics artist who, early in his or her career, shows a superior knowledge and ability in the art of creating comics. It is named for Russ Manning, the artist best known for his work on the Tarzan and Star Wars newspaper strips and the Magnus, Robot Fighter comic book. Russ was a popular guest at the San Diego convention in the 1970s.

The 2019 nominees are:

• Lorena Alvarez, writer/artist of Hicotea and Nightlights (Nobrow)
• Ellen T. Crenshaw, artist of Kiss Number 8 (First Second)
• M. J. Kim, artist of Faith: Dreamside (Valiant)
• Sumit Kumar, artist of These Savage Shores (Vault Comics) and Ruin of Thieves (Action Lab)
• Kieran McKeown, artist of Halo: Lone Wolf (Dark Horse)

The nominees were chosen by a panel consisting of board and committee members of Comic-Con International and a San Diego comics retailer. The winner will be chosen by past Manning award winners and Russ Manning assistants. The recipient will be announced during the Eisner Awards ceremony on July 19.