Top Shelf Productions

It's been three months since Top Shelf launched headfirst into the world of digital comics distribution -- and we've got to call it a huge success! Now to celebrate, we're announcing tons of new discounts on our digital comics. These universal prices apply to our two official iPhone/iPad apps as well as every other ebook store (Comixology, Graphicly, iVerse, Google Books, Apple iBooks, Nook, etc).

Here are some of the new amazing deals:
(prices are in US dollars but are proportional worldwide)

IT'S MIGHTY FINE AT 9.99!
Every single graphic novel is now priced under $10, across the board!

TOP SHELF HEAVYWEIGHTS: HUGE BOOKS FOR TINY PRICES!
-- Alec: The Years Have Pants by Eddie Campbell - only 9.99!
-- Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson - only 9.99!
-- Essex County by Jeff Lemire - only 9.99!
-- From Hell by Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell - only 9.99!
-- Infinite Kung Fu by Kagan McLeod - only 9.99!
-- Lucille by Ludovic Debeurme - only 9.99!

PARTY WITH THE TOP SHELF KIDS CLUB - FOR PEANUTS!
-- Owly vol 1 by Andy Runton - only .99!
-- all other Owly books by Andy Runton - only 1.99 each!
-- Korgi by Christian Slade (all 3 books) - only 2.99 each!
-- Johnny Boo by James Kochalka (all 4 books) - only 2.99 each!
-- Dragon Puncher by James Kochalka (both books) - only 2.99 each!
-- Yam by Corey Barba - only 2.99!
-- Bighead by Jeffrey Brown - only 2.99!
-- Incredible Change-Bots by Jeffrey Brown (both books) - only 6.99 each!

AND THAT'S JUST THE BEGINNING...
-- Stuff About Sex by David Mellon - only 1.99!
-- Little Paintings by James Kochalka - only .99!
-- Underwire by Jennifer Hayden - only 3.99!
-- BB Wolf and the Three LPs by JD Arnold and Rich Koslowski - only 3.99!
-- The Surrogates by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele (both volumes) - only 5.99 each!
-- Too Cool to be Forgotten by Alex Robinson - only 4.99!
...and so much more.

So download the official Top Shelf app at iTunes, or the Top Shelf Kids Club app at iTunes, or look for the "buy digital" buttons throughout our web site catalog and download books through your preferred vendor! Or check out the books available at our digital partners: Comixology, Graphicly, iVerse, Google Books, Apple iBooks, Nook, and more!

We welcome David Mellon to the Top Shelf family with a $1.99 digital exclusive comic, Stuff About Sex... For Guys Who Are Not Like, Total Idiots. In only a few short days online, it's become one of the top 20 bestselling books in the entire Comixology store -- take that, Wolverine!

Click here to learn more about David's book, and preview the first 4 pages!

Here's a bit of fun: the February issue of GQ features a guy modeling weekend casual wear in Portland's Bridge City Comics - surrounded by Top Shelf graphic novels!

We spotted:
--on the Alan Moore shelf: The Mirror of Love, From Hell
--on the Jeffrey Brown shelf: Undeleted Scenes, Unlikely, Every Girl is the End of the World for Me, Incredible Change-Bots
--Craig Thompson's Blankets
--Eddie Campbell's Alec: The Years Have Pants

Click here to see the image in full.

Those who've read Infinite Kung Fu know that Kagan McLeod is a wizard of art... but how many of you have seen him work his magic live? Now you can!

This just-released video shows Kagan drawing his favorite kung fu villain - the blind final boss from the 1976 film Master of the Flying Guillotine! Enjoy clips from the film of this dude in action, as you see him to come to life under Kagan's brush. Don't miss it!

Infinite Kung Fu is available digitally ($9.99) and physically ($24.95), wherever books & comics are sold.

With Valentine's Day approaching, the book critics at Oprah.com are naturally feeling romantic... and we're delighted to see Craig Thompson's masterpiece Blankets featured as one of "The 8 Greatest Love Stories of All Time"!

For those new to Blankets, critic Leigh Newman offers a tantalizing summary: "This graphic novel first breaks your heart with the illustrated story of Craig's lonely, isolated childhood... That is, until he meets Raina at a Christian overnight camp. Though both teenagers are struggling with issues far beyond their years (siblings with Down syndrome, divorce), their feelings for each other create a kind of magical bubble that allows them to find out who they are as people—even if, one day, inevitably, that bubble must pop."

The film adaptation of Alex Robinson's award-winning graphic novel TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN takes another step closer to reality this week, as screenwriters Rocky Russo and Jeremy Sosenko have signed on to write the script.

Red Crown Productions' Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Daniel Crown are producing with Likely Story’s Anthony Bregman. Stefanie Azpiazu and Riva Marker will be executive producers on the film.

Bregman commented "Too Cool To Be Forgotten is a story that demonstrates that comic books can be as profound and moving as they can be funny and entertaining, and that is exactly what this team hopes to replicate on the screen."

"I'm awfully proud of this book, and pleased to see it in good hands," said Alex Robinson. "There's still a long way to go yet, so we'll hold off on the champagne just yet... but I may have a candy cigarette or two! In the meantime, back to work on my new book, which I'll hopefully have wrapped up by the time of the big premiere!"

TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN, Alex Robinson's third graphic novel (following BOX OFFICE POISON and TRICKED), follows middle-aged Andy Wicks as he attempts hypnotherapy to cure his smoking addiction... and finds himself traveling back in time to his painfully awkward high school years! Is he doomed to relive the mistakes of his past, or is this is second chance to get things right?

If you've never read TOO COOL, check it out now and beat the rush!

One of Top Shelf's most beloved authors, Jeffrey Brown, makes his feature film debut today in U.S. Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival, with SAVE THE DATE!

This year marks the ten-year anniversary of Jeffrey Brown’s groundbreaking graphic novel CLUMSY, and what better way to celebrate than with the premiere of a film he co-wrote!

Filmmaker Michael Mohan (One Too Many Mornings) returns to Sundance with a bittersweet screenplay he wrote with famed graphic novelist Jeffrey Brown and co-writer Egan Reich. At turns funny, sad, and sweet, SAVE THE DATE is a sincere story about the familial and romantic bonds that form us all.

An intense new video trailer for Nate Powell's graphic novel Any Empire has just been posted to YouTube! It features music by the bands Tracker (who were responsible for the Blankets soundtrack album) and Universe (featuring Nate Powell himself), and is a real treat for both those who've read the book and those who haven't yet. Check it out here: Any Empire video trailer!

You've never seen anything quite like this. In March 2012, Top Shelf will release the debut graphic novel from super-talented Australian cartoonist Pat Grant, entitled BLUE.

It's a fascinating blend of autobiography and fiction with a sci-fi twist: in a seaside Australian town struggling with alien tentacle-creature immigration, a trio of aimless teenagers skip school to go surfing, chase rumors of a dead body, and avoid dealing with their own fears.

Here's what Craig Thompson, author of Blankets, Carnet de Voyage, and Habibi, had to say about BLUE: "This book rekindles my earliest enthusiasm for the comics medium. Pat Grant is the Australian Mark Twain, trading Huck's raft for a waxed-up surfboard and an inked-up sable brush. Vast themes of racism and immigration unravel in sprawling murals and a single day in the life of some reckless teens in this sea-polished, perfect nugget of a book."

Still not convinced? Check out Pat's great SHAMELESS PUBLICITY DOCUMENT, and the free preview of BLUE at Pat’s website!

Be sure to pre-order this lush, lovable, complex book from your favorite comic shop, or directly from Top Shelf!

BLUE by Pat Grant
--96-page hardcover graphic novel with 2-color interiors
--9.4" x 6.6" (landscape format)
--Older teens (16+) and adults
--ISBN: 978-1-60309-153-4
--Diamond order code: JAN12-1268
--$14.95 (US)

"Pat Grant is serious about comics." -- Scott McCloud, author of Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics, and Making Comics

"BLUE is everything a good comic can be." -- Shaun Tan, author of The Arrival and Tales from Outer Suburbia

Enjoy this greeting from James Kochalka, and thanks for supporting us through another year of amazing comics!

2011's not over yet, but we're already knee-deep in preparations for 2012 -- including one of our most fun projects of the year, the FREE all-ages comic book for Free Comic Book Day (May 5, 2012)!

Check out this amazing cover by Pirate Penguin vs Ninja Chicken creator Ray Friesen! The interior will feature SIX new stories by the dream team of Top Shelf Kids Club authors: Owly by Andy Runton, Johnny Boo by James Kochalka, Korgi by Christian Slade, Okie Dokie Donuts by Chris Eliopoulos, Pirate Penguin vs Ninja Chicken by Ray Friesen, and Upside Down by Jess Smart Smiley.

Wow, May 5th can't come soon enough! In the meantime, don't forget to check out the official Top Shelf Kids Club app for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, where you can read the 2011 FCBD book and buy digital versions of all our great all-ages titles!

Harvey Pekar was one of a kind -- as Alan Moore says, "a pillar of the comics medium." His work in autobiographical comics has affected millions deeply, and his influence can be seen everywhere today.

This winter, we're honored to team up with new publisher Zip Comics to release one of his final projects: Harvey Pekar's Cleveland, a heartfelt memoir as well as a bittersweet celebration of the city he loved.

This February release is now available for pre-order through your local comic shop (with code DEC11-1207), bookseller, or directly from us. Check out Joseph Remnant's amazing art in the 8-page preview here, and pre-order your copy today!

New Yorkers! Come celebrate our debut appearance at the much buzzed-about Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Festival, a FREE one-day celebration of indie/art comics, today, Saturday December 3 from noon to 9 PM.

You can meet Underwire author Jennifer Hayden, continuing her rock star Underwire signing tour, as well as Liar's Kiss author Eric Skillman, who'll have a new issue of his hard-boiled crime series Egg! And our own New Yorker, Leigh Walton, will be manning the booth and cutting deals all day long, with a full lineup of our incredible 2011 releases.

See you soon!

For the first time, British comics legend and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen co-creator Kevin O'Neill is making available almost 90 pages of original artwork from recent League graphic novels!

The selling exhibitions -- one in Brussels and one in Paris -- include the front covers and some of the greatest interior pages from The Black Dossier, Century: 1910, and Century: 1969.

Paul will be present to open the exhibitions later this month: December 15th at the Galerie Champaka in Brussels, followed by December 16th at Galerie 9eme Art in Paris!

For more details, check out exhibition consultant Paul Gravett's announcement here, or the Galerie Champaka site where the pages will be viewable and purchasable.

As announced yesterday in Fast Company, the one and only Alan Moore is coming out in a big way to support the man he calls "one of the very finest writers ever to grace the comic medium... my late great friend and inspiration, Harvey Pekar."

Less than two years after Harvey's death, Alan is throwing his efforts behind two major projects to honor his memory. First, Harvey's wife Joyce Brabner is spearheading the creation of a memorial statue in Cleveland, Ohio: a monument to Harvey, his work, his love for public libraries, and the unlimited possibilities of the comic book medium. To help raise funds for the project, Alan Moore is making a rare exception to his Internet-free lifestyle and offering an invitation-only video conference with anyone who donates $99 or more! For more details, click here or watch the video embedded after the jump.

Secondly, we're proud to announce this week that Alan Moore has written the introduction to Harvey Pekar's Cleveland, the posthumous graphic novel with art by Joseph Remnant, coming from Zip Comics and Top Shelf Productions in February 2012! It's simultaneously an autobiographical snapshot of Harvey in his busy final years and a love letter to the city where he spent his entire life. As Alan says, "Harvey inspired in me an absolute artist's confidence in the celebration of places where we live, the ordinary things of our lives, and streets that surround us as suitable subject matter of creative endeavors. He took his life in Cleveland and personal history, and turned them into beautiful comic book captures of little human moments."

Donations for the memorial statue project (and Alan's videoconference) are still open through December 4. The book, Harvey Pekar's Cleveland, is available for pre-order now, and will be released in February. We're honored to be able to help keep Harvey's legacy alive.