Brad Guigar's weekly comic about life in Philadelphia, Phables, has been awarded Best Local Column by the Greater Philadelphia Society of Prefessional Journalists.

"This is a really big step in broadening the acceptance of the comics as more than just 'kids' stuff,'" said Guigar. "Seeing Phables honored as a newspaper column is a significant achievement for me."

Phables tells stories about ordinary Philadelphians living their extraordinary lives. Readers often submit stories to Guigar, who then interviews them and creates a full-page comic based on the results. Sometimes Guigar tells his own stories or shares opinions about city life from a first-person perspective.

Earlier in the year, Phables was nominated for an Eisner Award, which is considered the highest honor in the comic-book industry. That award will be announced in July.