Books

Once again, BookExpo America, “the leading North American publishing event” took place at the Javits Center in New York City. Just like various comic cons, attendees and journalists love to analyze the zeitgeists floating around the exhibition hall, while others prefer to ignore the elephants in the room. So, following in the grand tradition of industry analysts and bloggers (beware the Camel’s nose!), I will give you my opinions at what I experienced this year.

Nothing much goes on at the third day of the BookExpo America -- it's generally a chance just to run around and talk to the people you missed the first two days, although most people have already gone back to the office. We'll have a full write-up tomorrow both here and at PW, but in the meantime, a couple of photos.

Day 2 of BEA produced more sore feet and shoulders as books were schlepped everywhere. but also books, authors, talks, and even a few comics. The Beat's day started with an Author's Stage interview with Bill Willingham on the subject of his new YA prose novel, Down the Mysterly River. Author's Stage interviews are kind of like Inside the Actors Studio -- they take place on a stage ...in front of people...sitting in a chair. No place to hide! They are not meant to engage a sense of comfort in the interviewer! Luckily Bill is such a great raconteur and talker, I had no worries. Publisher Tor has written up the talk:

The first day of exhibits at this year's BEA kicked off with a smaller floor space, and, as opposed to years past when the Diamond booth was the place to be for comics, found comics publishers scattered all over the floor -- Archaia being the latest to move out, over to PGW. But wherever they were, comics seemed comfortable to be there.

Borders' woes continued in April as their losses mounted, PW reports.

Librarians love cartoonists who create books that people of all ages want to actually check out of the library. And cartoonists love librarians who buy their books and shelve them in high traffic GN sections. This great love affair for our times is going even further at this year's American Library Association conference in New Orleans -- organizers are making space available for an Artist Alley for the first time.

Illustrator/animator/visual storyteller Shaun Tan gets profiled in the Sunday NY Times Magazine, the traditional anointing of a major creative figure.

Has a 1000-page omnibus become the tie-in book for the Thor movie?

This year's edition of the compendium is guest-edited by Alison Bechdel, with series editors Jessica Abel and Matt Madden.

Warren Ellis has signed up for a couple more novels. His new publisher is Mulholland Books and the first novel will be something called Gun Machine.

They said it would never happen but it has: Teen Boat is being collected as a book by Clarion/Houghton Mifflin -- created by Dave Roman and John Green, Teen Boat, the story of a boy who can transform into a small yacht, has long charmed readers with a series of mini comics combining "the angst of being a teen with the thrill of being a boat." There's even a trailer, above. PR below:

And a stick figure shall lead them. The sequel WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES was the box office champion this week, knocking out Zack Snyder's snappy looking SUCKER PUNCH, $24 million to $20 million. Based on Jeff Kinney's immensely popular and charming Wimpy Kid series, the success of the film should come as no surprise. We caught a screening on Thursday as the guest of publisher Abrams, and laughed quite a bit -- it isn't as inventive as the books, but the film treats its characters with fondness, and the kid actors are all cute and funny. Plus Devon Bostick, who plays the evil older brother Rodrick, has "teen idol" written all over him in eyeliner. The humor is classic family stuff - one person we talked to compared it to "Christmas Story" and if it isn't that good it does have the same kind of classic situations -- a party out of control, a scary movie about a foot, a bathroom door without a lock.