As 2016 kicks off, critics everywhere continue their annual exercise of looking back on 2015 to select the year's best books... and Top Shelf has been scoring big!
The bestselling civil rights saga March: Book Two received tremendous acclaim from two dozen publications, including The Washington Post, NPR, and the New York Public Library. As GQ sums up: "It is vital, gripping work, passionately rendered and meticulously researched, equal parts true story and moving graphic memoir." Congratulations to Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, & Nate Powell on these well-deserved honors.
Critics also couldn't stop talking about Jennifer Hayden and her unforgettable memoir The Story of My Tits — named one of the year's best by (among many others) Library Journal, Comic Book Resources, Forbes, and even the New York Times! In the words of Paste, "Jennifer Hayden’s funny, sad, stunning graphic novel remixes various pieces of her life centered around a mastectomy in the wake of a diagnosis that 12 percent of all women encounter... Hayden remains a relatable, charming guide throughout all 349 pages, offering a new touchstone of empathy and endurance."
Fans of Alex Robinson celebrated the year-end arrival of his newest masterwork, and promptly placed Our Expanding Universe on "Best of 2015" lists from The Comics Alternative to The Oklahoman. Grab it yourself and discover what Publishers Weekly's critic calls "a character driven portrait of friends in New York [that] deals with all the big issues of relationships, cheating, parenting. One of the most absorbing graphic novels I've read."
Eddie Campbell scored significant accolades as well, from the likes of Publishers Weekly and The AV Club. If you haven't explored his massive Bacchus Omnibus Edition yet, the Village Voice urges you to do so: "Campbell's breakneck inking and skittering Zip-a-Tone accents perfectly complement his fantasias of the god of wine and cronies wandering through the twentieth century."
All that plus critical love for Tim Ginger, The Motorcycle Samurai, and Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas... what an amazing year! Thanks for your support of independing publishing, and here's to more great stuff to come.
