Yet more kids comics will be coming at us as Abrams has announced ABRAMS FANFARE, a new imprint dedicated entirely to comics for young readers. The line launches in the fall with titles for early readers, middle grade and YA.
The line will be headed up by Andrew Smith, svp and publisher of Abrams Children’s Books and associate publisher Maggie Lehrman, as reported in PW.
Fanfare will incorporate previous graphic novels for young readers publisher at Abrams, including bestseller like Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales by cartoonist Nathan Hale and El Deafo by Cece Bell, the first graphic novel to be named a Newbery Honor Book. The imprint will also partner with licensing partners including Marvel, Disney, Paramount and Universal.
Fanfare will bring kids comics from all Abram’s many imprints under one umbrella. For instance, Abrams already has an adult comics line, Abrams ComicsArts, headed by Charles Kochman; that line has occasionally produced kids books, which came out under the Amulet imprint, but one guesses they will be put under Fanfare moving forward. Based on a help wanted ad, Abrams is also starting to do more manga…where that ends up, we shall see.
“Comics an graphic novels have been hugely instrumental in how children develop a love of reading and it’s been gratifying to witness the growth of the category over the past several years,” said Smith. “We’re thrilled to announce the arrival of ABRAMS FANFARE, which unites and builds upon our successful graphic novel publishing with the mission of delivering and celebrating a wide range of engaging, groundbreaking, and visually stunning books across interests, ages, and categories.”
Initial releases include:
• The launch of the Black Lives series by award-winning author Tonya Bolden and illustrated by David Wilkerson starting with Great Minds of Science, which celebrates the lives and achievements of Black scientists throughout history [August ’24]
• The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien by acclaimed illustrator and author John Hendrix, which chronicles the friendship between the two literary legends and their lasting impact on literature [September ’24]
• Astrid & Stella: Comet Together! [January ’25] by Eunice Moyle and Sabrina Moyle [January ’25]
• A continuation of the series from the Hello! Lucky creators
• Adventuregame Comics: Samurai vs. Ninja from the Eisner- nominated creator Jason Shiga [August ’24]
•A Marvel Comics boxed set of the original early-reader graphic-novel series A Mighty Marvel Team-Up starring Spider-Man, by award-winning creator Mike Maihack [November ’24]
Future projects:
• a young adult murder mystery from Mariko Tamaki and Nicole Goux
• an adaption of Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness series
• a middle-grade fantasy from Larry Hama
• a new comic adventure for early readers from Tom Angleberger
The immensely successful Wimpy Kid books ( a hybrid of comics and prose) will remain under the Amulet imprint, PW reports.
