At the end of a visit to the Amadora BD festival, the Minister of Culture explained to the Lusa news agency that the objective of creating the prize “is to recognize and value this artistic expression” and that it will not be an isolated initiative.

“We already have some events in Portugal, but the State, through the Ministry of Culture, has an obligation to support areas that need greater appreciation and promotion. And there's the added circumstance that this ninth art form is very popular among younger people,” she said.

The prize will be divided into three categories: a career award for “someone who has distinguished themselves in the field of comics throughout their career”; an award for a work published in the year prior to the competition; and an award recognizing “an innovative character in comics.”

According to Margarida Balseiro Lopes, the regulations will be published “in the coming weeks,” applications will open at the beginning of 2026, and the goal is to announce the winners on October 18th, because, since 2024, this date has been celebrated as the National Day of Portuguese Comics.

Regarding this national prize, which falls under the purview of the Directorate-General for Books, Archives and Libraries (DGLAB), the minister stressed that "it is not an isolated initiative," recalling that applications are currently open for annual literary creation grants, which include comics and children's and young adult literature.

Margarida Balseiro Lopes also said that the DGLAB and the Directorate-General for the Arts are "working on a set of initiatives to promote and value comics."

Among these initiatives is the intention to "train and empower people who work in the public library network" and the creation of more comic book libraries, like the one in Amadora, "but there are many municipalities that don't have them."