Only a few minutes to post a few tidbits…as usual, compared to even a few years ago, everyone in the book biz knows what graphic novels are, and even if they aren’t publishing them outright, nearly everyone has a book that’s “sort of” like a GN with words and pictures.
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Workman has just rereleased two of B. Kliban’s classic cartoon books, including CAT, one of the most successful cartoon books of all time. The books have been out of print for a while, but “everyone is still so fond of the originals,” said a Workman spokesperson.

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Sam Hiti has a kids book coming out from Lerner called WAGA’S BIG SCARE. WE flipped through it and unsurprisingly, it’s gorgeous.

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This book will sell a million copies.

Not too much other comics news, new title-wise. Over at Papercutz, marketing’s Jesse Post told us that Ninjago Graphic Novels #4: Tomb of the Fangpyre , the latest in a series of Lego-tie-in GNs, has sold over 425,000 copies, via libraries, book fairs, Wal-Mart, and, of course, bookstores.

The message we’re hearing overall is that comics aimed at young readers (children and teens) and nonfiction memoir comics (Persepolis) are definitely on the upswing.

1 COMMENT

  1. It was cool to see the various iterations of comics/gn/text. The category has seriously exploded across the traditional publishing segment and there is a lot more work for comics folks-if they know where to look. HOWEVER, the biggest issue facing a lot of the material is in how much support the publishers are giving it. Creators will need to work hard to self-promote and not assume anyone is doing this for them. Pricing for a lot of stuff is still unrealistic and needs to reflect the reality of the economy. For the publishers, if youre pushing the price past the 15.00 mark it will seriously choke your ability to sell. If the book really is worth more than 15 bucks, you need to spend money and advertise the damned thing. The more people you tell about your books, the more books you sell. That also applies to the creators…
    A cool small moment at BEA? Lerner had Monkey King mini-action figures! Congrats too to Carol Burrell, Editor for the graphic novel imprint at Lerner. She’s doing fantastic work!