NEW DELHI: The legendary Mario Miranda is to receive a posthumous award for lifetime achievement at the 3rd Annual Indian Comics Convention which will commence with awarding the best Indian Comics and Comics Creators of 2012 during the 2nd Annual Comic Con India Awards in February next year.

The 3rd Annual Indian Comics Convention is to be held at Dilli Haat from 8 to 10 February. Comic Con India is the country?s only platform which gives boost to the comics and related industries in India.

Comic Con India Awards is an initiative of Comic Con India and aims to recognize the work of all professionals of India?s Comics Industry.

Jatin Varma, Founder, Comic Con India, says, ?Other than the competitive categories, there is a special Lifetime Achieve Award given by Comic Con India. Last year at the 1st CCI Awards, it was given to R K Laxman and this year we will be giving the award to the iconic Indian Cartoonist, Padma Vibhushan Mario Miranda who is no more with us for his exemplary contribution to the industry.?

The jury consists of Neelabh Banerjee (Author & Artist), Vaibhav Kumaresh (Artist Animator), and Abhishek Sharma (Writer & Filmmaker). The jury will go through the entries submitted and eventually shortlist them.

Nomination are being accepted for the best graphic novel/comic book, best penciller/inker/penciller-inker team, best cover (Includes illustrated published covers of publications of any genre), best writer (Includes Adaptations), best continuing graphic series (Minimum 2 issues of the series should have been published during the year), best graphic anthology, best children?s illustrated book (Ages 13 & below), best children?s illustrated book (Ages 13 & above), best publication for children, best web only/digital only comic, best children?s writer (Ages 13 & below) and the Comic Con India Grant for best unpublished work ? eligible for artists and artist-writer teams. The winner receives a Rs 75,000 grant towards completion of a project and a publishing deal with Comic Con India.

Entries should be sent to Comic Con India Office. The deadline for receiving the submission is 1 January 2013.