Hugo Awards to add graphic novel category

The Hugo Award, one of the highest literary honors a work of science fiction or fantasy can achieve, will add a "graphic story" category in 2009 to accommodate graphic novels.

Past winners under special circumstances include "Watchmen" and a nomination for "Sandman: The Dream Hunters."

This category addition has not been ratified as of yet, but will likely be as convention organizers have already added a "temporary category." There are more details at ICv2.com and Newsarama.

While this award specifies "Any science fiction or fantasy story told in graphic form appearing for the first time in the previous calendar year," as reported in ICv2, I imagine this excludes collections of comics work that has come out earlier than 2008 and in monthly form before being collected.

This would leave out some fine works that are better in collection in my opinion like "Ex Machina." But the same can be said for a lot of the Marvel and DC Comics collections of individual issues.

  But there are terrific works that go straight to graphic novel. (i.e. a number of Manga, Vertigo, Oni Press and Image Comics stuff.) I hope to run through some of the ones I would consider for a Hugo and if anyone has suggestions from 2008 let's hear them.