Every couple of years, Scholastic, the biggest played in the kids book arena, releases a study on how kids read called The Kids and Family Reading Report. Jim Milliot sums up this year’s findings, which largely centered on kids and ebooks:
Trailer for Ellis’s GUN MACHINE features Wheaton and Templesmith
01/03/2013 by 2 Comments
Tweet In case you didn’t get the memo, Warren Ellis’s second novel is out tis week. It’s called Gun Machine, and it’s a dark story about a New York City detective who finds a room full of guns that proves a killer has been commiting high profile crimes for more than 20 years. It’s selling [...]
Before Watchmen and Solo get deluxe collections this summer
12/14/2012 by 5 Comments
Tweet DC also released their collection plans for the DCU for May-August, and they include FOUR deluxe editions collecting the various BEFORE WATCHMEN miniseries. Perhaps even more excitingly, a big collection rounding all of the excellent (and out of print) Solo artist spotlight books will be out in June. We seem to recall some of [...]
So what’s up at Vertigo, anyway? A Sandman Omnibus for one thing.
12/14/2012 by 9 Comments
Tweet When it was announced that executive editor Karen Berger was stepping down last week, articles on the Vertigo imprint immediately took on an elegiac tone—even though official DC press outlets insisted that the line was not going any where. Everyone seemed to be projecting their own anxieties onto the line’s fate. Now, an ICv2 [...]
More numbers: Ebook sales projection for 2012
12/13/2012 by 2 Comments
Tweet For you number-lovers out there, and we know you are out there, here’s something a bit more speculative but still interesting. Retailer Matt Blind has used his very own arcane logarithm to calculate approximate Ebook sales numbers by dollars for the last few years. And here’s his chart, clickee for biggee. (Methodology is in [...]
First Look: Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant
12/10/2012 by 7 Comments
Tweet Animator Tony Cliff makes his debut at First Second this fall with Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant, a new GN from First Second, about a globe-trotting adventuring heroine in the picturesque past. Lovable ne’er-do-well Delilah Dirk is up to her ears in trouble . . . as usual. Our story opens with Delilah, [...]
More comics make more “Best Of” lists for 2012
11/30/2012 by Leave a Comment
Tweet As year-end lists of best continue to come out at a steady clip, graphic novels continue to be represented on lists—not as a special category but as their own thing. And that’s a good thing. § Dan Kois at Slate lists his best books of 2012 and GNs are represented by the award-winning Jim [...]
Breaking: Graphic novels are DEFINITELY not just for nerds any more
11/26/2012 by 17 Comments
TweetOver the holiday weekend, I had a chance to view Ron Mann’s documntary Comic Book Confidential, about which I will have more to say at a future date, but the 1989 film serves as a nice recap of the story until the comics shop collapse of the 90s—from Wertham to Maus and Miller, a pretty [...]
Best Comics of 2012: Washington Post
11/21/2012 by 7 Comments
TweetWell, the year is winding down, and with it comes the annual “Best Of” lists from various websites and media. Publishers Weekly led the charge, issuing an actual graphic novel listing within their greater big list, with Chris Ware’s Unbuilding making the overall “Best Books” listing. Yesterday, the Washington Post released their list, and it [...]
Two graphic novels shortlisted for the Costa Award
11/21/2012 by Leave a Comment
Man this is really the year it all HAPPENS isn’t it? The Costa Awards are a prestigious literary prize in the UK, and this year two graphic novels were included in the shortlist of finalists.
Superman Earth One V. 2 and AvX make bestseller chart
11/19/2012 by Leave a Comment
Tweet Backing up what we were saying the other day, two hardcover graphic novels debuted on Publishers Weekly Bestseller list via BookScan. Superman Earth One, Volume 2 debuted at #18 with 4097 copies sold; the Avengers vs X-Men collection debuted at #21 with 3124 copies sold. Neither is likely to stick around on the charts [...]
Confused about how to be a geek? New book has answers
11/19/2012 by 13 Comments
With all the controversy about who is and is not a True Geek, and with competition for highly sought after “geek perks” at an all time high, a book on how to be a geek is definitely what we need—and with much loved Geek icon Sheldon Cooper on the cover no less. From Krause, fine publishers of guides to collecting salt shakers, coins and comics, comes The Geek Handbook, by rocketllama.com co-creator Alex Langley. And there is nothing stereotypical at all about this book’s blurbs:
Charts: Can comics be legit bestsellers? They already are!
11/08/2012 by 7 Comments
Can comics become legitimate bestsellers, the Beat’s own John Shableski has been asking in a series of publishing procedurals. But in truth…comics already ARE legit best sellers!
HarperCollins picks up webcomic Nimona
11/07/2012 by 6 Comments
Tweet After a brief flirtation during publishing webcomics in the “graphic novel boom” of the Aughts, it’s been pretty rare to see something picked up by a major publisher, but here’s just such a story: Noelle Stevenson’s fantasy webcomic
BEA gets more like Comic-Con
11/06/2012 by 4 Comments
Tweet The biggest business book show in America is inching towards a full-on consumer day, as the Comic-con-ization of trade book shows continues. BEA director Steve Rosato writes that the 2013 show—the largest b2b book show in North America— will once again include a “Power Reader” day open to the public, a program which launched [...]
To Do: Miami Book Fair features Ware, Burns, Crumb, more
11/06/2012 by Leave a Comment
Despite the host city’s rep as party central, the Miami Book Fair is one of the nation’s largest, an 8-day extravaganza of top literary figures from everywhere. This year’s line-up includes Lemony Snicket, Junot Diaz and many more, and as usual, a large comics contingent, as seen on the card above. Participants include Chris Ware, Charles Burns, Aline Komoinsky-Crumband many more. Are you going? Tell he Beat about it!
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