The Garlicks by Lea Hernandez got a lot of attention when it was on Kickstarter and then Indiegogo. The all-ages vampire tale was unquestionably great looking, but the release date has been up in the air. but now it seems Action Lab is picking it up. Still no release date, but it definitely fits in with Action Labs publishing plans:
Action Lab is already well-known for its stable of all-ages books, starting with Jeremy Whitley’s Eisner-nominatedPrinceless and continuing through the upcoming Molly Danger from Jamal Igle and Skyward from Jeremy Dale. Action Lab’s mission is to bring great comics for kids to the market, and have been actively seeing to expand its offerings to meet that goal.
From the start, Hernandez’s The Garlicks has been gathering heaps of praise: Neil Gaiman has called her work “terrific” and Astro City writer Kurt Busiek called it “…funny, human, silly, gorgeous, sweet, and smart.” Brian Truitt ofUSA Today wrote an extended article praising the book and profiling the amazing work Hernandez was putting into it.
The Garlicks is told from the point of view of the young graphic novelist and vampire Pandora Garlick, who describes herself as a “fail vampire” and is looking for a way to stand out in a supernaturally talented family.
While The Garlicks found a home in the hearts of many readers, it needed the right publisher. Hernandez, a pioneer in webcomics and American manga, says, “Pandora is a character who is near and dear to me and I wanted a smart publisher like Action Lab to get her in front of an adoring legion of readers. I could give minutes of press-friendly rah-rah talk, but here’s what’s important: Coffee and cookies. I’m laying in mountainous supplies of both so I can make the best damn graphic novel about the worst vampire girl you’ve ever seen!”
Action Lab President, Kevin Freman, when asked about the project, said, “We are excited about bringing Garlicks under the Action Lab umbrella, and we think it is a perfect fit for the types of books that we offer. Lea Hernandez is a fabulous talent, and all of us look forward to working with her.”
Great to hear!
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