Recognizing the craft behind the panels

Comics may be a universal language of imagery, but their words still need a passport — and translators are the ones stamping it. The Sophie Castille Awards for Comics in Translation, now in their 2025 edition, put the spotlight on these creative professionals who bridge cultures one speech bubble at a time. Announced on August 11, this year’s shortlist celebrates nine works that have traveled across languages without losing their voice, humor, or visual rhythm.

The 2025 nominees

The awards, presented by the Lakes International Comic Art Festival (LICAF) and named in honor of publishing visionary Sophie Castille, recognize excellence in the English translation of comics originally published in other languages. The 2025 nominees are:

• Bald (Czech → English) — Martha Kuhlman and Tereza Čechová

• Blacksad: They All Fall Down, Part Two (French → English) — Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander

• Capital & Ideology (French → English) — Margaret Morrison

• Harry Dickson – Mysterion (French → English) — Jerome Saincantin and Erica Olson Jeffrey

• Not Today: Undoing Home Repairs (Portuguese → English) — Victor Martins

• Oba Electroplating Factory (Japanese → English) — Ryan Holmberg

• Return to Eden (Spanish → English) — Andrea Rosenberg

• The Incredible Story of Cooking… (French → English) — Montana Kane

• The Jellyfish (French → English) — Robin Lang and Helge Dascher

Why it matters

For Julie Tait, LICAF’s director, translation is “a nuanced and complex aspect of making comics accessible to readers around the world — a skill that is undervalued and certainly not a matter for machines.” That statement hits at the core of why these awards resonate beyond the comics industry. Translating graphic narratives involves much more than rendering words from one language into another; it means adapting humor, cultural references, and even onomatopoeia to fit both the tone of the original work and the expectations of the target audience.

A global conversation

While the Sophie Castille Awards focus on English translations, they reflect a broader international movement to recognize the translation of graphic literature. Similar initiatives exist in Spain, Italy, Poland, Greece, and Slovenia — each reinforcing the idea that comics are not just entertainment but a vehicle for cultural exchange.

Looking ahead

Winners will be announced during LICAF 2025, taking place September 26–28. For readers, this shortlist is more than a set of recommendations; it’s a reminder that behind every translated comic lies a creative partnership between artist and translator, ensuring the story resonates far beyond its original borders