The finalists for the third annual Dwayne McDuffie Award have been announced by The Hollywood Reporter.

The award celebrates diversity in comics and comic creative teams, and honors the memory of Dwayne McDuffie. McDuffie was a comics writer and co-creator of Milestone Media, which featured superheroes of varying genders, sexualities, race, and ethnicity. He died in 2011, aged 49. The award is given to comics that continue his legacy of featuring diversity as well as telling a compelling story.

This year’s nominees are:

• Upgrade Soul by Ezra Claytan Daniels
• Shaft: Imitation of Life by David Walker and Dietrich Smith
• Amazing Forest by Ulises Farinas, Erick Freitas and more
• StarHammer by J. N. Monk and Harry Bogosian
• 14 Nights by Kristina Stipetic

The award jury includes Black Panther writer Don McGregor, Batgirl and Birds of Prey writer Gail Simone, Green Lantern and Iron Man artist Mark D. Bright, and Milestone Media’s Matt Wayne, among many others.

The winner of the award will be revealed on Saturday at the Long Beach Comic Expo.

[Via Tor.com.]