July 17, 2010 / More →
Two global comic-book celebrities are teaming up for a one-of-a-kind live performance at the Sydney Opera House in Australia! Our own Eddie Campbell (The Playwright, Alec, From Hell) has created a series of illustrations for a live reading of a new story by Neil Gaiman (The Graveyard Book, Coraline, Stardust, The Sandman), with live music by the electric rock & roll string quartet FourPlay. Eddie and Neil will also appear on a panel the next afternoon with Shaun Tan (The Arrival) discussing creativity and collaboration. It's all part of a weekend festival running August 7-8 called GRAPHIC, which also includes a talk by Kevin Smith, a screening of Akira, and more. For details, click here!
July 15, 2010 / More →
A couple new rave reviews have just come in, of outstanding new books that will be moving like hotcakes at next week's San Diego Comic-Con!
First, Chad Nevett at Comic Book Resources has a nice review of Eddie Campbell & Daren White's dark romantic comedy The Playwright. "There’s a great emotional impact as the book progresses, underscored by Campbell’s art. The Playwright is a touching and masterful work that is definitely one of the ‘must own’ graphic novels of 2010." We agree 100%!
Also, this week's Publishers Weekly has a coveted *starred review* praising Ax: A Collection of Alternative Manga edited by Sean Michael Wilson. "Within the pages of this greatly anticipated manga anthology are some of the most imaginative, lush, grotesque, and ridiculous comics to come out of Japan... It's an incredible selection."
Connie at PopCultureShock agrees: "There’s a little bit for every taste here, and as a look at Japanese underground comics, it’s the best we’ve had in English... it’s fascinating to browse the myriad styles that come forward when editorial restraints are cut." Her conclusion: Ax is "by far one of the best manga anthologies we’ve seen in English, and is up there with the best comic anthologies I’ve seen, period."
You can grab these books from the Top Shelf booth at Comic-Con -- and meet editor Sean Michael Wilson, who's flying out from Japan for the show! -- or order them below:
July 14, 2010 / More →
Here's a roundup of great interviews you may have missed:
First of all, get to know JD Arnold and Rich Koslowski, 'cause they're going to be appearing and signing their hot new book BB Wolf and the 3 LPs at the San Diego Comic-Con, coming up in just one week! Tim O'Shea of Robot 6 recently spoke with JD and Rich about the book, their collaboration process, and the incredible BB Wolf soundtrack CD debuting at Comic-Con! Read all about it here!
Next, that Swedish rascal Simon Gärdenfors spills his guts to Robin McConnell of Inkstuds. Listen to the interview to learn the true stories behind his hit graphic novel The 120 Days of Simon, his other comics, his opinions on American indie comics, and his surprising knowledge of Captain Marvel trivia. You'll even hear a bit of Simon's electro-hip-hop career! Don't "Panik," just listen to the interview!
Finally, the good folks at The Comics Journal have posted an incredible 2005 Dirk Deppey interview with Eddie Campbell, originally published in TCJ #273. It's available online in four parts (one two three four) and, like every conversation with Eddie, well worth your time.
July 12, 2010 / More →
The 2010 Harvey Award nominations have just been released -- and Top Shelf cartoonists are honored with nominations in four categories!
The irrepressible Kevin Cannon, called by Booklist "one of the comics world's most energetic storytellers," is up for Best New Talent for his thrilling debut graphic novel, Far Arden.
Next, rising superstar Jeff Lemire snags TWO nominations, one for Best Previously Published Graphic Album for his award-winning trilogy The Complete Essex County, praised by the New York Times as "a rich tapestry," and another nomination for his new title Sweet Tooth (DC/Vertigo) as Best New Series.
Finally, the revered Eddie Campbell, already the winner of two Harvey Awards for From Hell, is nominated in Best Single Issue or Story for "The Years Have Pants," the 40-page new story which rounds out his acclaimed collection Alec: The Years Have Pants, called by NPR "a major accomplishment in comics storytelling, and in storytelling, period."
All of these books have now been nominated for Harvey Awards as well as Eisner Awards, so if you haven't read them, you're missing out on some of the best comics in recent memory! Pick them up today, and come to the San Diego Comic-Con next weekend to meet Kevin Cannon and Jeff Lemire!
June 18, 2010 / More →
The incredible Manchester artist John Coulthart recently unveiled his positively psychedeligasmic cover to the upcoming fourth issue of the wild new underground magazine edited by Alan Moore, Dodgem Logic.
"A Kiss Can Change the World," the cover proclaims (with a same-sex focus that Alan has explored before, to great effect)... and if you stare at the colors on this wraparound cover for long enough, you'll certainly start to see the world differently!
The first three passion-packed issues of Dodgem Logic are available now from our online store (see below); the fourth will be available in July (but can be pre-ordered now). Check them out, and don't miss the absolutely mental Dodgem Logic official web site, which updates constantly.
June 17, 2010 / More →
A couple of great reviews have come in lately on our new spring/summer books! First, Isaac Butler at Parabasis has a thoughtful take on Daren White and Eddie Campbell's The Playwright: "hidden depths lurk below Daren White’s arch, detached, perhaps even cold authorial voice," he says. "You can luxuriate in Campbell’s jerky lines and watercoloring, and live in the distance between the words and the images."
Secondly, Rob Clough at The Comics Journal looks carefully at Jeffrey Brown's Undeleted Scenes, which he calls "a fantastic collection of Brown's short work" containing "some of the best work of Brown’s career. ... the way that Brown gets at the heart of small details to convey a larger emotional truth is what makes his comics so compulsively readable." He concludes with the striking observation that "Brown has been perhaps the most influential autobiographical cartoonist of his generation," which means that "Undeleted Scenes is a kind of autobio comics Ph.D program."
Prospective students (along with the rest of us) can click below to grab their copy today!
June 15, 2010 / More →
The awesome Snow Wildsmith of School Library Journal's official Good Comics for Kids blog recently met up with one of the most beloved creators of comics for kids, our own Andy Runton! They found time among the bustling crowds of Heroes Con to discuss Andy's career, what's next for Owly, and more!
Read the whole interview here, and check out all our great Andy Runton / Owly stuff!
June 9, 2010 / More →
With the just-released Moving Pictures continuing to pull in rave reviews, we're pleased as punch to announce that the Canadian comic book community has just honored Stuart Immonen with the Joe Shuster Award for Best Artist!
Since awards are retrospective, this honor officially recognizes only Stuart's 2009 work as a freelance artist for Marvel & Image Comics. But we know that his legion of fans are going to be blown away by the power and precision showcased in his brand-new book drawn from Kathryn Immonen's script, Moving Pictures, which Booklist called "elegant and evocative" in a starred review.
The Shuster Awards are selected by jury to honor the best in Canadian comics. Previously the award for Best Cartoonist went to Top Shelf star Jeff Lemire, who was nominated again this year, as was Moving Pictures writer Kathryn Immonen.
Congratulations to Stuart and all the nominees & winners!
June 6, 2010 / More →
Douglas Wolk is among the most successful comic critics in the country -- not only in appreciating great work but in communicating that appreciation to the widest of mainstream audiences. This weekend we're delighted to see that he's written on Kathryn & Stuart Immonen's new book Moving Pictures, as part of a graphic-novel roundup in the New York Times Sunday Book Review.
"Most of the story seems less drawn than peeled and chiseled away from absolute visual and moral darkness." Moving Pictures, he concludes, "suggests how art can be a lifeline to meaning at a moment when nothing seems possible but betrayal."
Wolk's write-up in the Times continues a growing mass of critical acclaim for the book, including starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly.
For more information or to order Moving Pictures (which is hot off the press and in stores nationwide), click below!
June 2, 2010 / More →
Comic Book Resources has a great new interview up with Daren White and Eddie Campbell, creators of the upcoming dry romantic comedy, The Playwright! Learn about the origins of the book (it began as a serial in Daren's anthology magazine DeeVee) and the watercolor magic that Eddie worked to create the gorgeous final product -- while never interfering with the elegant beauty of Daren's prose script. Click here to read the whole interview.
The Playwright debuts this weekend (along with BB Wolf and the 3 LPs) at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC -- so we'll see you there!
May 26, 2010 / More →
"A lot of couples who are together for a long time finish each other’s sentences... We just also happen to finish each other’s comics."
Dave Howard over at Torontoist just posted a charming and insightful interview with one of comics' great creative couples, Kathryn & Stuart Immonen. It's full of great thoughts and anecdotes about the just-released Moving Pictures, Kathryn & Stuart's amazing interpersonal drama set in a world of art smuggling and Nazi occupation.
Check out the interview here and grab your copy of Moving Pictures below!
May 25, 2010 / More →
The 2010 Bristol International Comic Expo wrapped up recently, and among the most exciting news to come out of the show are the nominees for the 2010 Eagle Awards! The Eagles, set up in 1976, focus on British and American comics but reflect fan votes from all over the world. Take a moment and add your vote!
We're proud to see the following members of the Top Shelf family honored with nominations:
Congratulations to all the nominees, and don't forget to vote (yes, you)!
May 21, 2010 / More →
If you can get cultural institutions as far apart as MTV and NPR to agree on something, it seems fair to say you've got something special on your hands. And they're both raving about The Top Shelf Swedish Invasion!
Recently the NPR home page sported this enthusiastic review by Glen Weldon of Kolbeinn Karlsson's The Troll King, by far the most wild and creative of our Swedish Invasion graphic novels. In Weldon's opinion, the book "throbs with a sort of primal, allusive, pre-verbal power," which makes it "uncannily beautiful yet defiantly unpretty." Despite the diversity of different segments that make up The Troll King, Kolbeinn's passion and creativity make the whole thing feel unified, he argues. "Karlsson's ability to tap into the mysterious and willful emotional logic of dreams ensures that everything about The Troll King feels at once unexpected and inevitable."
And now MTV's Rick Marshall follows that with a fond look at all four graphic novels in the Swedish Invasion! He has especially high praise for The 120 Days of Simon by Simon Gärdenfors, whose cartoony art is "a perfect fit for the story, taking the edge off some stories and making the whole thing seem more like a crazy adventure and less like a confessional." He also particularly liked Mats Jonsson's Hey Princess, "a great coming-of-age story that should resonate with any indie-minded readers familiar with mid-'90s culture."
Find out more about the whole wave of Swedish goodness below.
May 17, 2010 / More →
The praise continues to roll in for our upcoming book Ax (vol 1): A Collection of Alternative Manga!
Deb Aoki, the official manga guide over at About.com, got an early look and declares: "Ax goes out on a limb where most manga creators dare not go, with an undeniable energy that crackles from almost every page... it will blow your mind."
Meanwhile David Brothers at Comics Alliance has just posted his thoughts, emphasizing the vast diversity on display in the book: "Within Ax's four hundred pages are over thirty stories that explode everything you might have thought about what manga is."
Ax is currently available for pre-order below or in your local comic shop, for a July release. Don't miss it!
May 16, 2010 / More →
As graphic novels continue to find new readers, bookstores and libraries continue to launch new graphic novel collections, and they often need guidance on where to start -- which is where sites like Graphic Novel Reporter come in. They just published a "core list" of graphic novel recommendations broken down into 10 must-haves, 25 next steps, and 100 more solid picks.
Top Shelf is well represented, of course -- Craig Thompson's Blankets is one of the 10 essentials, and the following 25 include Jeff Lemire's Essex County and Kevin Cannon's Far Arden. Other picks on the GNR list include Alec: The Years Have Pants by Eddie Campbell, From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill, Lost Girls by Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie, both Surrogates graphic novels by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele, and Too Cool to Be Forgotten by Alex Robinson! Whew!
Of course, we'd argue for the inclusion of a few more -- at a minimum, to leave out indie superstars Jeffrey Brown and James Kochalka seems strange, and Nate Powell's Eisner-winning Swallow Me Whole is a must -- but in general it's a solid list, filled with great books. A great place to start for casual fans and newcomers, as well as institutional buyers.
