The death of prominent and award-winning manga author Jiro Taniguchi has been announced following his passing Saturday at age 69. While the American comics industry recognized his work with nominations for the Eisner Award, the French government awarded Taniguchi the prestigious Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.

Distant Neighborhood (Ponent Mon), Guardians of the Louvre (NBM),The Ice Wanderer and Other Stories (Ponent Mon), Hotel Harbour View (Viz), Samurai Legend (CPM), The Quest for the Missing Girl (Ponent Mon), The Times of Botchan (Ponent Mon), Benkei in New York (Viz), Icaro (iBooks) and Kodoku no Gourmet (Jmanga).

Yahoo and AFP describe his work

Taniguchi's work is hailed for its delicate line drawing and intricately-constructed landscapes.

Critics have also praised his gentle subject matter for standing in stark contrast to the usual fare of high school romance or sometimes violent pornography consumed by some of Japan's manga fans.

In works such as "The Walking Man", the protagonist is occupied less by any specific action as with a fascination with aspects of everyday life -- the things he finds, the scenes he sees and the people he meets on his strolls through suburban neighbourhoods.

- 'Extraordinarily kind' -

Taniguchi's detailed landscapes populated by vaguely cartoonish characters drew comparisons in the West with some of the better-known European comic heroes, such as Tintin.











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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.