Publishers Group West to Distribute Archaia Entertainment Graphic Novels

ARCHAIA ENTERTAINMENT SIGNS WITH PGW

Rising Graphic Novel Publishing Star Finds New Home for Book Trade Market and Beyond

Berkeley, CA (May 23, 2011) –Archaia Entertainment, LLC and Publishers Group West (“PGW”), a Perseus Books Group company, announced today that PGW will begin distributing Archaia titles in the US and Canada beginning June 20, 2011. The deal encompasses all of Archaia’s backlist titles, which include fan-favorites: Mouse Guard, Return of the Dapper Men, and The Killer, plus over 40 frontlist titles for the second half of 2011. Included are two major media tie-in releases: the illustrated prose edition of The Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes in July and an original graphic novel anthology to Relativity Media’s Immortals in September.

PJ Bickett, Archaia’s CEO, said, “We are forging powerful partnerships with industry leaders in all aspects of our business, underscoring Archaia’s arrival as a substantial player within the publishing world. PGW will be a key partner in our success, and with their world-class distribution they will allow Archaia to continue to expand our presence across the book trade, as well as in educational, library and international markets.”

“Archaia is a publisher to be reckoned with. They are consistently developing some of the most beautifully illustrated and wonderfully written titles across genres,” said Kevin Votel, PGW’s Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. “In a short time, they’ve become a leading brand and we’re thrilled to be working with their list.”


About Archaia Entertainment
Archaia is a multi-award-winning graphic novel publisher with more than 50 renowned publishing brands, including such domestic and international hits as Mouse Guard, Return of the Dapper Men, Gunnerkrigg Court, Awakening, The Killer, Days Missing, Tumor, Syndrome, Artesia, Engineer, and an entire line of The Jim Henson Company graphic novels. Archaia has built an unparalleled reputation for producing meaningful content that perpetually transforms minds, building one of the industry’s most visually stunning and eclectic slates of graphic novels. Archaia was named Graphic Novel Publisher of the Year according to Ain’t it Cool News, Graphic Policy, and Comic Related, and was honored with nine 2011 Eisner Awards nominations. Archaia has also successfully emerged as a prolific storyteller in all facets of the entertainment industry, extending their popular brands into film, television, gaming, and branded digital media.

About PGW
PGW, a member of the Perseus Books Group, is a one-stop solution for world English language sales and marketing for independent publishers. Established in 1976, PGW is headquartered in Berkeley, CA, with a national sales office in New York City and a distribution center located in Jackson, TN.

One of the top ten book vendors in the country, PGW represents more than 100 independent publishers, who together are publishing some of the most topical, innovative, literary, and award-winning books available today. Major national and international bestsellers from PGW client publishers include Matterhorn (Atlantic Monthly Press), The Power of Now (New World Library), Strengthsfinder 2.0 (Gallup Press), and the Rick Steves Guidebooks series (Avalon Travel Publishing).

About the Perseus Books Group
The Perseus Books Group is an independent company committed to enabling independent publishers to reach their potential whether those publishers are Perseus-owned, joint ventures or owned by third parties. Member publishing programs include Avalon Travel, Basic Books, Basic Civitas, Da Capo Press, Da Capo Lifelong Books, Running Press, Seal Press, Vanguard Press and Westview Press, as well as partnerships with PublicAffairs and with Nation Books. Through Consortium, Perseus Distribution and Publishers Group West, the Perseus Books Group is the leading provider of sales, marketing, distribution, and digital services to independent publishers. For more information, visit our websites at http://www.perseusbooks.com/, www.perseusdigital.com/constellation.

We Were There: The Return of Yano

I read We Were There, Vol. 12 (See all Manga)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).

Image Comics to Publish New Sarkar/Gastonny Joint, The Vault

UNLOCK THE VAULT

Image Comics Reunites Sarkar and Gastonny In New Series

Image Comics is pleased to announce that writer Sam Sarkar and artist Garrie Gastonny (Warren Ellis’ Supergod), the team behind Caliber: First Canon of Justice, have reunited to unlock the horror and action within their new miniseries THE VAULT.

THE VAULT is about a small team of treasure hunters, struggling to excavate a dangerous and legendary treasure pit before a massive storm hits Sable Island, the "Graveyard of the North Atlantic." Equipped with all the latest technology, the scientists believe they are prepared against all of nature's fury, but nothing can prepare them for what they are about to unleash.

"THE VAULT is kind of a contemporary Pandora’s Box story," explained creator and writer, Sam Sarkar. "Though it appears on the surface to be a pretty straightforward story, it has most of its mythology buried deeply. It gets uncovered both literally and figuratively as the pit gets excavated."

When asked how THE VAULT found its home at Image, Sarkar replied: "Well, I’m incredibly fortunate that most of the lasting gifts of Caliber were the relationships it helped to cement. Chief among them, David Elliott. Dave and I have soldiered through quite a few storms personally and professionally, and when I asked him to edit THE VAULT, he didn’t hesitate. There are few people I trust as much. I asked Dave what he thought the best way to release THE VAULT would be and Image was at the top of his list of publishers to approach. I’ve always been a fan of Image, not just because of their model, but because of the quality of titles they have represented and continue to represent."

THE VAULT #1 (1 of 3), a 32-page full color comic book, will be on sale in stores July 27th for $3.50 and is available to order in the June 2011 edition of Diamond Previews (Diamond Order Code: JUN110501).


ABOUT SAM SARKAR
Born in , Sam Sarkar is a 23-year veteran of the entertainment industry. He began his career as an actor and was one of the leads on the long-running, syndicated television series Neon Rider. Following the series, Sam decided to pursue writing and worked for the hit television series Beverly Hills 90210. Stemming from his work on the show, he also co-wrote a television pilot for Spelling Entertainment under the direct guidance of TV legend Aaron Spelling. Deciding then to embark on feature films, Sam took some chances, following a varied path of writing screenplays and working as a sound technician. In 2004, after working on several films with actor Johnny Depp, Sam was asked to help run Depp's production company, Infinitum Nihil, headed by Christi Dembrowski. As Senior VP at the company, he continues to serve the varied needs of as an executive, producer and writer.

ABOUT GARRIE GASTONNY
Having worked as a comic book artist and illustration lecturer, Garrie Gastonny now mainly focuses on illustration to avoid getting beaten up. Garrie also serves as Senior Artist at Imaginary Friends Studios. His credits include Warren Ellis' Supergod, Caliber: First Canon of Justice and Lady Death. For more information about the artist, please visit http://thegerjoos.deviantart.com/.

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the . Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of four major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit http://www.imagecomics.com/.

De-Otomen Potion

I read Otomen, Vol. 10 (See all Manga)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).

I Reads You Review: THE SPEED ABATER (OGN)

Creator: Christophe Blain (cartoonist) with Joe Johnson (translator)

Publishing Information: NBM/ComicsLit, paperback, Color, 80 pages, $13.95 (US)

Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 1-56163-349-6 (ISBN-10)

Originally published in 1999 by the French publishing house, Dupuis, The Speed Abater is a graphic novel from Christophe Blain. NBM published an English language edition of The Speed Abater in 2003, with translation by Joe Johnson. A French cartoonist who once studied economics, Blain has worked with David B. and Lewis Trondheim and is the creator of the Isaac the Pirate graphic novel series.

The Speed Abater is set during wartime (World War II?) aboard a destroyer, a battleship named the Bellicose. The story primarily focuses on George Guilbert, a young helmsman, who has difficulty adjusting to life on the high seas due to his extreme seasickness. He befriends Louis Bleno, another novice helmsman, and Sam Nordiz, a coxswain with a penchant for claiming to be more well-connected than he really is.

Trying to find a place to get a way from the noise and also the constant motion that causes their seasickness, George and Louis follow Sam deep into the bowels of the Bellicose. An accident causes problems with the Bellicose’ sensitive reduction gears. Catastrophe follows and the men find themselves trapped, while an enemy submarine stalks the Bellicose.

On the surface, The Speed Abater seems like a character drama, and in many ways, it is also a suspense thriller. At its core, however, Christophe Blain’s graphic novel is about the struggle between man and the enormous, complex, and bureaucratic machine that is life on this planet. The Bellicose is this giant, self-contained world and, perhaps, a stand-in for our own world.

For all its immensity and power, the Bellicose is susceptible breakdowns, even those sometimes caused by the most insignificant objects. The Bellicose has a seemingly unending supply of sailors/operators and also parts that keep it operating. With so much that can go wrong, it is a wonder that the ship operates at all. When it comes to the crew members, Blain’s narrative gives the impression that they work at cross purposes. The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing, indeed.

George Guilbert and, to a lesser extent, Louis Bleno and Sam Nordiz, are tiny souls trapped in this world that is the belly of the beast. The goal is to survive the Bellicose and life – by hook, by crook, or by luck and circumstance. The colorful, odd assortment that is this story’s cast and the riveting storyline that is the story’s driving force are all engaging. Why? The answer is in how this deeply human story unveils George’s path to victory and survival.

The Speed Abater

Fantagraphics Books Brings Floyd Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse Back to Life

Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse by Floyd Gottfredson
“Race to Death Valley”
Edited by David Gerstein & Gary Groth

Designed by Jacob Covey
Featuring essays by Warren Spector, Floyd Norman, Thomas Andrae and David Gerstein
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS, SEATTLE, WA
$29.99 Hardcover • 260 pages, color and black-and-white • 10 1/2” x 8 1/2” • ISBN 978-1-60699-441-2
HUMOR / Comic Strips • PUBLICATION DATE: Late May 2011

• Produced in full cooperation with The Walt Disney Company
• Great gift idea
• Featuring the #1 character franchise in the world
• Fantagraphics’ most anticipated release since the first volume of The Complete Peanuts, which has sold over 150,000 copies

Today everyone knows Mickey Mouse as the cheerful ambassador of all things Disney, and the #1 character franchise in the world. But back in the 1930s, Mickey gained fame as a rough-and-tumble, two-fisted epic hero — an adventurous, underdog scrapper matching wits with mobsters, kidnappers, spies, and even (gulp!) city slickers! And Mickey’s greatest feats of derring-do took place in his daily comic strip, written and drawn by one of the greatest cartoonists of the 20th century — Floyd Gottfredson.

Gottfredson’s vibrant visual storytelling has never been more beautifully reproduced, with each daily lovingly restored from Disney’s original negatives and proof sheets.

Walt Disney often said that his studio’s success “all started with a Mouse,” and today Mickey is among the world’s most recognizable icons. Now it’s time to rediscover the wild, unforgettable personality behind the icon!

Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: "Race to Death Valley" (Vol. 1) (Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse)

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