San Diego Comic-Con International has announced the 2023 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 2023 nominees are:

• Soroush Barazesh, writer/artist of Kings of Nowhere (Dark Horse)
• Shof Coker, co-creator/artist of New Masters (Image)
• Ryan Lang, writer/artist of Issunboshi: A Graphic Novel (Oni)
• Tim Probert, writer/artist of the Lightfall series (HarperAlley)
• Zoe Thorogood, writer/artist of The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott (Avery Hill), writer/artist of It’s Lonely at the Center of the Earth (Image), artist of Rain (Image)

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 21 at Comic-Con in San Diego.