A trailblazer in more ways than one, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., has another first to add to the list: the first member of Congress to be nominated for a Will Eisner Comic Industry Award.  

The Eisner Awards, one of the industry’s highest honors, are awarded to the year’s best comics and graphic novels.  Lewis’ graphic novel “March Book  One“ was honored with two nominations this year, receiving a nod in the Best Publication for Teens and Best Reality-Based Work categories.  

The novel is the first in a three-part autobiographical series about Lewis’ participation in the civil rights movement.  The first installment explores Lewis’ childhood in Alabama and his early involvement in civil rights protests as a student at Fisk University.  

Lewis co-wrote the novel with Andrew Aydin , his telecommunications legislative assistant, along with artist Nate Powell. The first-time novelists have been extremely successful , with “March” topping The New York Times best-seller list for paperback graphic novels and The Washington Post’s nonfiction list last year.  

The winners of the Eisner Awards will be announced at Comic-Con International in San Diego this July.  

Lewis is certainly no stranger to Comic-Con, becoming the first sitting Congressman to attend the convention last year. In San Diego, Lewis was met by enthusiastic supporters as he promoted his graphic novel.  

https://youtu.be/fxQwsrv8Jqo  

Although Lewis will have to wait until this summer to see how “March” fares, a nomination certainly gives him a reason to dance .