Cybil Awards Announced
In a field that included some very excellent nominees, winners of this year's Cybils are truly wonderful standouts. The awards celebrate books with both kid appeal and literary achievement, and are given in a number of categories, both prose and graphic.
-- John HoganOn Comics, Prose, and Print Runs
The New York Times has an article on prose authors moving into graphic novels, most notably with the huge announcement of Twilight coming from Yen Press and its staggering print run (350,000 copies). Janet Evanovich is also the focus here, as Dark Horse has just announced it will print 100,000 copies of her Motor Mouth graphic-novel series.
-- John HoganComics in (and on) The New Yorker
When the latest issue of The New Yorker (dated February 15 & 22) arrived in the mailbox, I thought the cover artistry looked a little familiar. Turns out it has a nice tie to the comics world: It's by graphic novelist Dan Clowes. This issue commemorates the magazine's 85th anniversary, and Clowes' work was one of the four winners chosen from this year's anniversary-cover contest. But that's not all.
An Award for James Sturm's Adventure
Just got news that James Sturm's Adventures in Cartooning has won the 2010 Gryphon Award, awarded to outstanding books written for kids in kindergarten through fourth grade and administered by the Center for Children's Books. We're big fans of Sturm's work, and he very much deserves this recognition. Congratulations, James!
-- John HoganA Good Joe
I heard a little piece of news today that really made me smile...and brought back lots of memories. Writer Charles Santino passed on the news that he had found an artist for his newest project, a graphic adaptation of Ayn Rand's Anthem, to be released by NAL sometime in 2011. The artist in question? Joe Staton, one of my absolute favorites in comics and one who made a huge impression on me growing up. He was the Green Lantern artist in the early '80s, and before that, he had defined the Justice Society and helped create the Huntress.
-- John HoganLibrary Journal's Best of 2009
The venerable Library Journal enewsletter Book Smack recently sent out word about their best of 2009 list. Some familiar (and well-deserving) faces show up there (yes, that means The Book of Genesis Illustrated, Asterios Polyp, The Photographer, and Logicomix), but some not-so-expected ones make an appearance as well (that includes Sandman: The Dream Hunters, Pluto, and Ooku). Check out the list here.
-- John HoganWelcome to the Boomtown
BOOM! Studios just sent out a release this week announcing that it's going to start a new imprint called BOOM! Town to focus on "high-quality, lit-oriented comix." The rest of the press release simply said, "We're going to do some cool stuff." I admire and like their brevity.
-- John HoganNew YALSA List Announced
The American Library Association just announced its 2010 Great Graphic Novels for Teens list. It’s a huge list: 73 titles, to be exact! And it’s a very good list.
-- John HoganSneak Preview: Smile
Read the first eight pages of Raina Telgemeier's new book Smile here!
Justice Served Soon
Those of us who have followed Smallville for nine seasons know that the series has had its share of ups and downs. But that said, this current season has been one of its best (and perhaps the best). It's creatively reinvigorated, the storylines are wild yet tight, and while it really doesn't align all that much with current DC Comics continuity, it quite often pays tribute to the rich comic-book source material it springs from.
