Top Shelf Productions

The American Library Association's Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) recently unveiled their 2021 list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens, and Axelle Lenoir's irresistible English debut Camp Spirit made the list! Join us in celebrating this spooky LGBTeen hard-rock rom-com that’s as wild as a hot summer night.

Thank you for supporting independent publishing during perhaps the strangest year of our lifetimes! Here at year's end, we're looking back with pride on this incredible lineup of creators and their books. If you're shopping for final gifts or picking up a new treat for yourself, take a look to see what you might have missed!

Discover a bright new star of Mexican comics in this romantic and thrilling tale, stuffed with adventure and delicious food.

Coming April 2021!

Winner of Mexico’s first ever National Young Graphic Novel Award!

Rolando’s job was crushing him… and then it literally crushed his hand. Now he can barely get out of the house, binging TV and struggling to find meaning. On a rare night out with friends, he meets Nera, a woman who lives only in the moment. Dazzled by her hedonistic attitude, Rolando sees a new life opening before him. Together, these restless youths fix up an old food truck and hit the road for a wild journey. But have they truly found the spice of life? Or has Rolando bitten off more than he can chew?

Great news for kids and middle-grade readers! Two Top Shelf books — Jared Cullum's Kodi and Jarod Roselló's Red Panda & Moon Bear — have been unanimously selected for the Texas Library Association's 2021 Little Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List, dedicated to great comics for grades K-5. Remarkably, both books were recommended for the full span of kindergarten through 5th grade.

Three brilliant graphic novelists from Down Under are washing ashore in America — and around the world!

Pat Grant's The Grot, Campbell Whyte's Home Time II, and Chris Gooch's Under-Earth are in stores now.

The beloved wordless fantasy graphic novel series reaches its stunning conclusion -- with plenty of thrills, laughs, and exquisitely illustrated animal magic.

Winter has arrived in Korgi Hollow... and with it, the end of the Korgi story. As Ivy and her Korgi pup Sprout frolic in the frozen weather, an ancient power is stirring. At long last, saddle up for the conclusion of this “silent” epic fairytale told entirely through detailed pen-and-ink drawings. Fire and ice will collide in a timeless battle between good and evil. Will the residents of Korgi Hollow survive the harsh cold? One thing is for sure: nothing will ever be the same.

Praise for the Korgi series:

"If there was ever a true ‘all-ages’ book, this is it. Korgi hits every note perfectly, and can hook readers all across the spectrum with its tantalizing suspense and action.... The art is spectacular." — School Library Journal’s "Good Comics for Kids"

This weekend is the enormous New York Comic Con... virtually! To commemorate another weird milestone in this unprecedented "Year Without a Comic-Con," and to offer a piece of the convention exprience we're all missing this year, we're bringing back our Comic-Con virtual sale to offer signed bookplates from the artists of the following new & recent releases, free with purchase:

From Hell: Master Edition (Hardcover) — w/ bookplate signed by Eddie Campbell

Kodi — w/ bookplate signed by Jared Cullum

Glork Patrol on the Bad Planet — w/ bookplate signed by James Kochalka

Monkey vs. Robot: The Complete Epic — w/ bookplate signed by James Kochalka

Johnny Boo (Book 11): Johnny Boo Finds a Clue — w/ bookplate signed by James Kochalka

Red Panda & Moon Bear — w/ bookplate signed by Jarod Roselló

Red Panda & Moon Bear (Spanish Edition) — w/ bookplate signed by Jarod Roselló

Cosmoknights (Book One) — w/ bookplate signed by Hannah Templer

Starting now and running through the weekend while supplies last, you can order these exclusively from the online store of our parent publisher, IDW. Check it out today!

A triumph of graphic memoir, Parenthesis narrates the author's experience with tumor-related epilepsy — losing herself, and finding herself again.

Judith is barely out of her teens when a tumor begins pressing on her brain, ushering in a new world of seizures, memory gaps, and loss of self. Suddenly, the sentence of her normal life has been interrupted by the opening of a parenthesis that may never close.

Based on the real experiences of cartoonist Élodie Durand, Parenthesis is a gripping testament of struggle, fragility, acceptance, and transformation which was deservedly awarded the Revelation Prize of the Angoulême International Comics Festival.

Great news for fans of James Kochalka's award-winning graphic novels for young readers: He's got TWO brand-new ones that you can buy this very minute!

Glork Patrol (Book One): Glork Patrol on the Bad Planet
by James Kochalka

Exploding from the beloved Glorkian Warrior video game and graphic novels: a hilarious new outer-space adventure, from the creator of the Eisner-Award-winning series Johnny Boo and Dragon Puncher!

Johnny Boo (Book 11): Johnny Boo Finds a Clue?
by James Kochalka

Johnny Boo and Squiggle team up with old friends in a jaw-dropping new adventure--to solve a very silly mystery!

They Called Us Enemy, the New York Times bestselling graphic memoir depicting actor, author, and activist George Takei’s childhood imprisonment within an American internment camp during World War II, continues to garner critical acclaim for co-authors Takei, Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott, and artist Harmony Becker.

Today the Small Press Expo (SPX) announced its nominees for the 2020 Ignatz Awards, and we're proud to announce two great Top Shelf books are honored!

Cosmoknights by Hannah Templer is up for Outstanding Comic. For this ragtag band of space gays, liberation means beating the patriarchy at its own game.

The Lab by Allison Conway is up for Outstanding Story. This “silent” graphic novel follows a nameless subject trapped in a nightmarish test facility, raising unsettling questions of exploitation and oppression.

Congratulations to all the great nominees! Voting is open to the public and runs from now though September 8, so head on over and cast your ballots now!

Over the weekend, the prestigious community reading program One Book, One San Diego announced their selections for the 2020 region-wide read: the bestselling They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott and Harmony Becker is the official selection for adult readers, readers of Spanish, and young adult readers, along with Write to Me: Letters from Japanese American Children to the Librarian They Left Behind by Cynthia Grady and Amiko Hirao for children.

George Takei's incredible graphic memoir continues to resonate with readers of all ages!

• Watch George Takei introduce the book and read a powerful scene out loud, especially for young people — complete with animated visuals — in "Story Time with Uncle George"! This ten-minute video can be a perennial resource for teachers, parents, and families, especially while schools are closed due to COVID. A Teacher's Guide is also available.

• The Expanded Hardcover Edition, complete with a 16-page bonus section of behind-the-scenes images and commentary, has just been released! Check your favorite store and look for Harmony Becker's recolored cover art with its hauntingly beautiful sunset sky.

• On Friday, the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association held their award ceremony, in which They Called Us Enemy received the Young Adult Literature award. The virtual program, which included an acceptance speech from George Takei, was followed by a live conversation between APALA committee members and authors, including Justin, Steven, and Harmony talking about their creative process with George.

What If We Were... by Axelle Lenoir
Pre-order this LGBT YA gem today for December release.

Finalist for two Youth Awards from Les Libraires du Québec and the Québec Comics Festival!

"Lenoir's fantastic humor and expressive drawing show us a great time and make us fall in love with her charismatic heroes. We miss them as soon as we close the book." — Les Libraires

"Axelle Lenoir has a remarkable talent for capturing adolescence... her female characters, here as in Camp Spirit, are completely credible, and avoid the usual clichés. They're both fragile and strong, shy and extroverted, made of paradoxes." — Sophie Lit