Top Shelf Productions

Congratulations are in order for Top Shelf's lead designer Chris Ross, along with creators Ray Fawkes, Vince Locke, Troy Little, and Jeff Lemire!

This afternoon, the Publishers Association of the West announced the winners of their 2016 PubWest Book Design Awards, featuring no less than three "Gold" awards for Top Shelf graphic novels:

Junction True by Ray Fawkes & Vince Locke

Production Managers: Chris Staros, Chris Ross, and Veronica Haas
Designer: Chris Ross
Printer: Asia Pacific Offset
Inspired by its themes of surgical body-modification and interlocking parts, Junction True features an exposed spine and a vellum "skin" (dust jacket) which can be removed, inverted, and re-attached — which not only completes the circular painting on the cover, it also reveals a secret message coded into the flaps.

Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas adapted by Troy Little

Production Managers: Chris Staros and Chris Ross
Designers: Troy Little and Chris Ross
Printer: Tri Vision Company
The cover design to Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (color-coded to the "American Dream" which animates the book's plot) pays subtle tribute to previous visual adaptations of Thompson's work, while breaking new ground with the bold energy that characterizes Troy Little's style. A shimmering spot gloss on the front cover highlights the "bats" which Mr. Duke famously hallucinates in the book's iconic opening scene — are they truly there? Or only in your head?

Essex County (Slipcase Edition) by Jeff Lemire

Production Managers: Chris Staros and Chris Ross
Designers: Chris Ross and Jeff Lemire
Printer: Tri Vision Company
The cloth-bound limited slipcase edition of Essex County is an elegant celebration of one of Top Shelf's most critically acclaimed works. Two haunting sketches by Jeff Lemire of the book's enigmatic crow were transferred to a red foil-stamp on either side of the slipcase, while the book itself bears the image of the orphaned protagonist Lester in his superhero costume.

Congratulations to all the winners — these books are not just great comics, they're truly spectacular art objects.

This August, Congressman John Lewis collaborates again with Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell for the searing conclusion of the award-winning graphic novel trilogy MARCH. Through an unforgettable literary and artistic narrative, MARCH portrays the surpassing courage, sacrifice, and revolutionary nonviolence that transformed American society in the 1960s, narrated firsthand by one of the key figures of the Civil Rights Movement.

"March is one of the most important graphic novels ever created — an extraordinary presentation of an extraordinary life, and proof that young people can change the world. I'm stunned by the power of these comics, and grateful that Congressman Lewis's story will enlighten and inspire future generations of readers and leaders."

— Raina Telgemeier

By the fall of 1963, the Civil Rights Movement has penetrated deep into the American consciousness, and as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, John Lewis is guiding the tip of the spear. Through relentless direct action, SNCC continues to force the nation to confront its own blatant injustice, but for every step forward, the danger grows more intense: Jim Crow strikes back through legal tricks, intimidation, violence, and death. The only hope for lasting change is to give voice to the millions of Americans silenced by voter suppression: “One Man, One Vote.”

To carry out their nonviolent revolution, Lewis and an army of young activists launch a series of innovative campaigns, including the Freedom Vote, Mississippi Freedom Summer, and an all-out battle for the soul of the Democratic Party waged live on national television.

With these new struggles come new allies, new opponents, and an unpredictable new president who might be both at once. But fractures within the movement are deepening ... even as 25-year-old John Lewis prepares to risk everything in a historic showdown high above the Alabama river, in a town called Selma.

March: Book Three
by Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
A 256-page graphic novel with French flaps, 6.5” x 9.5”
ISBN 978-1-60309-402-3
Diamond order code: JUN16-0408
Click here for details and an 8-page preview!
In stores August 2nd, 2016

Featured guests Jennifer Hayden and Jeff Lemire lead a terrific lineup of Top Shelf talent at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival this weekend (May 14-15 at the Toronto Reference Library). Jennifer's critically-acclaimed memoir The Story of My Tits makes its TCAF debut this weekend, along with the stunning Limited Slipcase Edition of Jeff's now-classic Essex County, and the festival is celebrating with dedicated spotlight programming around each author.

Joining them are Canada's own Troy Little (with his addictively great adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), Ray Fawkes (whose alluringly twisted Junction True makes its TCAF debut), Eric Orchard (the wild imagination that brought you Maddy Kettle), plus from the IDW extended family, Conor McCreery (Kill Shakespeare) and Brenda Hickey (My Little Pony). And last but not least, we'll have hot-off-the-press copies of the much-anticipated Cigarette Girl, featuring the groundbreaking indie manga of Masahiko Matsumoto, plus Apocrypha Now, Renée, and many other outstanding new releases.

Click below to see all the panels & programs featuring our authors, and come see us at TCAF booth #271!

NEW YORK (May 5, 2016) — When John Lewis was a college student in Nashville, Tennessee, he attended a workshop on nonviolence that changed his life. Based on the principles of Gandhi and the recent Montgomery Bus Boycott, it also included a comic book — Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story — as a take-home study aid in nonviolent resistance. “That little book became like a Bible for us,” says Lewis. Fifty years later, he teamed with co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell to adapt his own incredible life story into a series of award-winning graphic novels, entitled MARCH. The MARCH series is a #1 NYT-bestselling phenomenon, earning a Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, becoming a popular selection for university reading programs, and prompting the Washington Post to write, "There is perhaps no more important modern book to be stocked in American school libraries than MARCH."

Now, this groundbreaking graphic novel series reaches the nation’s largest public school system. Congressman Lewis and his MARCH co-creators, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell, visited New York City today to address hundreds of the city’s social studies teachers about teaching the civil rights movement and their graphic novel series, which is being added to “Passport to Social Studies,” an expansive new curriculum developed by the New York City Department of Education. Students study the civil rights movement in the 8th grade, and now, teachers may choose to utilize lessons developed by the Department of Social Studies that feature scenes from MARCH, to discuss milestones such as John Lewis's speech at the 1963 March on Washington.

In today's session, New York's teachers had a rare opportunity to hear from a seminal figure of history whose story is vitally relevant to the modern day — and who now presents that story in a powerful new format for engaging today's students.

Teachers across the country, at every grade level, have embraced MARCH as a dynamic and powerful visual testimony of the civil rights movement, narrated by one of its major figures. For example:

• "MARCH has become essential reading in my courses... From the poignancy of Lewis’ childhood sermons with the family chickens to the courage of Freedom Riders nearly trapped inside a burning bus, each panel of MARCH rewards close readers, inviting analysis and critical reflection." — Qiana Whitted, University of South Carolina
• “MARCH brings the African American freedom struggle to life as no other memoir can. Told through the lens of Lewis’s remarkable biography, MARCH encapsulates many of the most important themes of the Civil Rights Movement, and American history more generally. Students at all levels will find that the vivid illustrations and quick pace make the narrative exciting to read, while also allowing for in-depth understandings about the complicated themes of race, equality, and perseverance in twentieth-century America. Nate Powell’s lines remain true to the horrific reality of U.S. history, while somehow highlighting people’s agency and humanity in the face of American racism and violence.” — Dave Gilbert, Mars Hill University
• "I have never had to ask students to put books down before, until MARCH." — Judith Marks, Olney Charter High School, Philadelphia, PA

Can you believe it's May already? That means it's time to celebrate, because we have two gorgeous books in the new Diamond Previews catalog, ready for your pre-orders!

Lonely? There's an app for that. Welcome to LOVE ADDICT:

"Koren Shadmi's Love Addict is a romp back to the great confessional comics of the 1990's and a trip up to the moment of mind-bending modern hijinx. So few comics find the sweet spot of sensational art, pitch perfect dialogue, compelling characters and flawless storytelling. Shadmi nails all that, and much, much more." — Peter Kuper

"Skillful storytelling, an inviting cartoony style, and beautiful establishing shots all conspire to make Love Addict a deliciously compelling read." — Joe Matt

"It's shamelessly honest and beautifully rendered: a dark and engaging look at the sometimes troubling phenomena of the modern dating experience." — Joseph Remnant

LONELY? THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT.

The acclaimed author of In the Flesh and The Abaddon presents an evocative tale of modern love... in a world where even a strong signal can lead to a bad connection.

COMING IN JULY 2016!

Love Addict: Confessions of a Serial Dater by Koren Shadmi

Full-color softcover graphic novel with French flaps, 232 pages, $24.99 (US)

ISBN 978-1-60309-393-4 - Diamond: MAY16-0534

For mature readers (18+)

Now open for pre-order from your favorite store

For details and a 10-page preview, click here!

Because you demanded it:
Jeff Lemire's UNDERWATER WELDER in Hardcover!

"Beautiful, moving, wholly satisfying." — Publishers Weekly

"All kinds of wonderful. Buy it. You will wet yourself with tears, your brain will spin from masterful storytelling, and you will love it." — Entertainment Weekly

"One of the most haunting, arresting, and unforgettable books of the last ten years... An emotional and moving work of graphic literature that compels the medium forward and the reader further down into the deep." — Comics Alliance

The New York Times Bestseller returns in a stunning new hardcover edition, featuring bonus pages and new cover art by Jeff Lemire!

COMING IN JULY 2016!

The Underwater Welder (Hardcover Edition) by Jeff Lemire

Black & white hardcover graphic novel, 232 pages, $29.99 (US)

ISBN 978-1-60309-392-7 - Diamond: MAY16-0537

Now open for pre-order from your favorite store!

For details and an 11-page preview, click here!

Comic-Con International announced today the 2016 nominees for the Will Eisner Awards, widely considered among the most prestigious in the comics industry — and Top Shelf Productions is honored to see three books named in five nominations.

March: Book Two, called one of the best books of 2015 by dozens of publications, has already won multiple awards this year. Now, this acclaimed work of civil rights history by Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell joins a handful of other works in a tie for the year's most Eisner nominations, with nods in three categories: Best Publication for Teens, Best Reality-Based Work, and Best Penciller/Inker.

Jennifer Hayden scores her first Eisner nomination, as her witty and heartbreaking memoir of illness, family, and maturity, The Story of My Tits, earns a place in the Best Reality-Based Work category.

And finally, one of the strengths Troy Little brought to his adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was his wildly expressive lettering — and the Eisner committee agrees, handing him a Best Lettering nod, his third career nomination.

“Simply wrenching... Benjamin Frisch subverts the iconography of family cartooning, exposing the seedy underbelly of America’s obsession with the perfect family.” — Jessica Abel, author of La Perdida and Drawing Words & Writing Pictures

“Required reading for the coming sanity wars, this story is the stuff of my nightmares... Cute-ify this monstrosity any way you like, Mr. Frisch, I will be in the fetal position weeping, giving you a thumbs up for a job brutally done.” — Paul Hornschemeier, author of Life With Mr. Dangerous and Mother, Come Home

“Best Emerging Graphic Novelist” — The Austin Chronicle

Beloved cartoonist Robert Fun has earned a devoted following for his circle-shaped newspaper comic strip, celebrating the wholesome American family by drawing inspiration from his real home life... but the Fun Family bears some dark secrets. As their idyllic world collapses and the kids are forced to pick up the pieces, can they escape the cycle of art imitating life imitating art?

In his debut graphic novel, Benjamin Frisch presents a surreal deconstruction of childhood, adulthood, and good old American obsession.

COMING IN JUNE 2016!

The Fun Family by Benjamin Frisch
Full-color softcover graphic novel with French flaps, 240 pages, $24.99 (US)
ISBN 978-1-60309-344-6 - Diamond: APR16-0643
For mature readers (16+)
Now open for pre-order from your favorite store

For details and a 10-page preview, click here!

"Bacchus mixes air hijacks and ancient gods, gangland drama and legends, police procedural and mythic fantasy, swimming pool cleaners and classics. It shouldn't work, of course, and it works like a charm. ... Eddie Campbell is the unsung King of comic books. ... The man's a genius, and that's an end to it." — Neil Gaiman

"A story of surprising richness and gravity… Bacchus stands as one of Eddie Campbell’s crowning achievements as writer, artist, and executive creator." — The Comics Journal

"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." — The Village Voice

"Campbell is one of the premier cartoonists of his generation." — Publishers Weekly

"No one else in the medium combines emotional truth, literary intelligence, and formal daring with such adroitness and elegance." — Booklist

Eddie Campbell’s Bacchus is a true epic, spanning a decade of work, over a thousand pages, and several millennia of alcohol consumption.

In Bacchus, the visionary behind From Hell (with Alan Moore) and Alec: The Years Have Pants presents his version of “an American-style comic book,” filtered through his own brilliant, whimsical, and wide-ranging sensibility. With a fine blend of action, comedy, suspense, and an ear for a great story, Bacchus brings the gods and myths of ancient Greece to modern life, as if they had never left.

Nearly 600 pages, this deluxe volume collects the second half of the Bacchus saga (including 1001 Nights of Bacchus, Hermes vs. the Eyeball Kid, The Picture of Doreen Grey, King Bacchus, and Banged Up), with new notes and commentary by the author.

COMING IN JUNE 2016!

Mark Russell and Shannon Wheeler have brought down the house at comic-cons and book festivals all over America with their book God Is Disappointed in You and its accompanying live presentation, a rip-roaring hour of Biblical comedy.

This weekend, the duo return to Seattle for a special advance debut of their Biblically brilliant sequel, Apocrypha Now, at Emerald City Comicon! Catch their new panel on Sunday at 2:30:

God is Disappointed in You 2: Apocrypha Now
Sunday, April 10th, 2:30p.m. - 3:30p.m.
Room: T301
It's the second coming! Their first book, God Is Disappointed in You, was an irreverent-yet-faithful adaptation of the Bible that got everyone talking. Now, Mark Russell (Prez, The Flintstones) & Shannon Wheeler (The New Yorker, Too Much Coffee Man) are back with a follow-up book, Apocrypha Now, about the stories that DIDN'T make it into the Bible. Some of these stories were forgotten, some suppressed, others were just too freaking weird for the Bible (and that's saying something). In a special advance release for Emerald City, Apocrypha Now is about what the Bible DIDN'T tell you.

They'll also be signing, sketching, and telling their favorite preteen-Jesus stories at Booth #1804 (IDW Publishing) on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!

Meanwhile, check out the recent preview excerpt of Apocrypha Now that recently ran over Easter weekend at Nerdist.

Praise continues to roll in from all directions for the March trilogy, as Congressman John Lewis's first-hand account of the Civil Rights Movement is brought to stunning new life in collaboration with Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell.

First, the Street Literature Book Award Medal (SLBAM) Committee issued its 2016 awards, with March: Book Two receiving the medal for the new Graphic Novel category! The SLBAMs celebrate excellence and popular demand in contemporary street literature, in school, academic, and public libraries across the United States.

In addition, the inaugural Denver Independent Comic & Art Expo (DINK) last weekend celebrated Nate Powell as a featured guest, and Saturday night at the first annual DINKy Awards, March: Book Two was declared the winner in the Mid/Large Press category. (Another Top Shelf title, Jennifer Hayden's The Story of My Tits, was also nominated.)

Congratulations to the whole March team as their incredible work continues to reach, educate, and inspire new readers from all walks of life.

Shortlisted for the Heritage Award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival!

Welcome to the quiet, evocative urban dramas of Masahiko Matsumoto, one of the leading lights of the Japanese alternative-comics movement known as "gekiga." Originally published in 1974, these eleven stories now form the first English-language collection of Matsumoto's mature work. His shy, uncertain heroes face broken hearts, changing families, money troubles, sexual anxiety, and the pressures of tradition, but with a whimsy and lightness of touch that is Matsumoto's trademark. Edited by Sean Michael Wilson, with a new introduction by Matsumoto's well-known colleague, the late Yoshihiro Tatsumi. Also included: a biographical back section by Mitsuhiro Asakawa.

Cigarette Girl by Masahiko Matsumoto
Softcover graphic novel with French flaps, 264 pages, $24.99 (US)
Printed in Japanese format, right-to-left
ISBN 978-1-60309-382-8 - Diamond: MAR16-0496
Coming in May/June 2016!

For details and a 13-page preview, click here!

In the early 20th century, the world's wealthiest men — captains of industry like Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Morgan and Carnegie — spend their leisure on the tiny Georgia island of Jekyll. But when a terrifying new threat rises from the ashes of the Great War, it will take more than money to defend the free world — it will take a new generation of heroes.

Set in an alternate version of the age of invention, The Jekyll Island Chronicles: A Machine Age War begins a thrilling new series of graphic novels. Blending elements of historical fact, clockwork technology, and dieselpunk style, they span an age of furious mechanical advancement while exploring the span of man’s soul – whether good or evil.

The Jekyll Island Chronicles: A Machine Age War
Written by Steve Nedvidek, Ed Crowell, & Jack Lowe. Illustrated by Moses Nester, with colors by S. J. Miller.
Full-color graphic novel with French flaps, 176 pages, $19.99 (US)
ISBN 978-1-60309-388-0 - Diamond: MAR16-0501
Coming in May/June 2016!

For details and a 9-page preview, click here!

Our hats — and cricket helmets — are off to Julian Hanshaw today, as his charming and moody graphic novel Tim Ginger is announced as a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize!

Before Julian came to Top Shelf, he had already racked up considerable acclaim (and awards) in his native Britain for works such as The Art of Pho. Now, with Tim Ginger, he blends themes of childlessness and grief with a personal fascination for conspiracy theories, cricket, and the American southwest, resulting in a graphic novel that several critics have named one of the best of 2015. Broken Frontier called it "emotive subject matter tackled with grace and serenity," concluding that "Tim Ginger rewards not just a second reading but a third and a fourth – each revisit adding extra layers to its thematic core, and revealing subtle nuances to the interrelated plot threads that lead in to that final, awe-inspiring revelation."

In celebration, Julian Hanshaw will a featured guest of the LA Times Festival of Books, held April 9 -10, 2016 at the University of Southern California. Winners of the Book Prizes will be announced at the April 9 award ceremony.

In their first collaboration, God Is Disappointed in You, Mark Russell & Shannon Wheeler’s faithful-yet-irreverent approach to the Bible sparked an instant connection with readers of all backgrounds. Now, by popular demand, they turn their attention to the parts left out of the canonical Bible, including the Midrash, the Apocrypha, the Gnostic Gospels, and more.

Think of these as the DVD extras to the holy scripture: missing scenes, alternate versions of familiar stories, and long-lost strangeness from Biblical times.

This is what the Bible didn't tell you. And there's more to the story than you can imagine.

Apocrypha Now by Mark Russell & Shannon Wheeler
A 196-page, 2-color illustrated prose hardcover, 5 1/4" x 8 1/4"
with foil-stamped cover, gilded edges, and satin ribbon
$19.99 (USD) • ISBN 978-1-60309-369-9 • Diamond code: FEB16-0424

God Is Disappointed in You & Apocrypha Now — Slipcase Set
Celebrate the second coming of Mark Russell & Shannon Wheeler with this handy slipcase set, containing two hilarious must-have books at one amazing price. Perfect for gift-giving.
$34.99 (USD) • ISBN 978-1-60309-386-6 • Diamond code: FEB16-0425

Pre-order now for a Spring 2016 release!

It's here! Following his award-winning graphic novel Lucille, Ludovic Debeurme's Renée is in stores now and ready to break your heart. In a remarkable development, Debeurme balances the elegant minimalism of Lucille with stunningly detailed dreams and grotesque visions. See why Renée is being called "powerful and crushingly beautiful... Read it and be haunted."

Renee by Ludovic Debeurme
Softcover graphic novel with French flaps, 544 pages
$29.95 (US)
ISBN 978-1-60309-304-0 • Diamond order code: NOV150469

Named one of the year's 20 Essential Graphic Novels by ACBD (the French Association of Comics Critics)!

"Do you love to be unsettled and shaken up by a book? Then you'll love Renée." — Le Monde

"With detailed hatching reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch, Ludovic Debeurme crafts fantastical and poignant scenes… Debeurme has invented a unique poetry here, with intelligence and grace." — Les InRocks

"A very dark book that brilliantly depicts human misery. Many will not hesitate to rank it beside the American masters Charles Burns and Daniel Clowes." — La République