This Month STOP-@-SPAM Top Shelf & Moore

Posted: Tuesday, January 8, 2002
By: Darren Schroeder

INCLUDED IN THIS MONTH'S "TOP SHELF" UPDATE:

-- CURRENT SOLICITATIONS FROM ALAN MOORE AND JAMES KOCHALKA
-- OUR WINTER RELEASES TO WATCH OUT FOR
-- RECENT TOP SHELF SIGNINGS
-- WIZARD & TIME.COM NAME PISTOLWHIP & MEPHISTO "TOP 10" BOOKS
-- FROM HELL UPDATE
-- LOST GIRLS UPDATE
-- NEXT MONTH STOP-@-SPAM TOP SHELF

*********************************************************************
CURRENT SOLICITATIONS
*********************************************************************

The following two releases are being solicited in the current Diamond PREVIEWS Catalog (Jan 2001, for products shipping in March), and are also available from our other distributors listed below. Ask your local retailer to place an order for them today!

THE SKETCHBOOK DIARIES: VOLUME 2
by James Kochalka
Following the incredible success of James' (still in print) first diary sketchbook, Top Shelf is proud to announce YEAR 2 of the JAMES KOCHALKA SKETCHBOOK DIARY. Since October 1998, James Kochalka has kept a daily diary, drawn in comic strip form in his sketchbook. Drawn with relaxed and beautiful brushwork, these charming and addictive strips perfectly capture the rhythm of daily life. From the hilarious to the sad, from the poetic to the drunken, these strips offer a direct and intimate portrait of the life of one of America's most important alternative cartoonists. This ambitious volume collects the second full year of Kochalka's diary, including his infamous rock tour of Scandinavia. --
$7.95 (US), 96 pages, Comic Book

ANGEL PASSAGE CD
by Alan Moore & Tim Perkins
(on Steven Severin's RE: label)
Top Shelf Productions is proud to present Alan Moore's all-new performance CD from the Steven Severin's RE: label. Following on from the critical acclaim of his last CD release, THE HIGHBURY WORKING, Alan Moore turns his psychogeographic eye to the life and works of William Blake. Originally performed at London's Purcell Rooms as part of this year's William Blake retrospective, ANGEL PASSAGE is a hallucinatory whirl through Blake's mystical world, told in the magickal words of Moore and set to the mesmeric musical moods of Tim Perkins. ANGEL PASSAGE is proof positive of Moore's position as a storyteller of enchanting proportions. Alan Moore collectors won't want to miss the opportunity to pick up this rare Alan Moore import.
-- $20.00 (US), Special Limited Import Music CD

*********************************************************************
OUR WINTER RELEASES TO WATCH OUT FOR
*********************************************************************

ABE: WRONG FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS
by Glenn Dakin
In stores now! Sporting a glowing introduction by the master of "veiled autobiography," Eddie Campbell, this graphic novel features all of Glenn Dakin's ABE stories from the British comix scene. If you're not familiar with Dakin's work, Glenn has, for the last nineteen years, been one of England's best alternative comics creators. ABE is not only regarded as a milestone in the world of fanciful autobiography, but it's a must read for fans of ALEC or anyone who's interested in astute, witty, and profound observations of life and living. -- $14.95 (US), 176 pages,
Graphic Novel, ISBN 1-891830-22-8

CICADA
by Josué Menjivar
In stores now! Josué Menjivar is back (!) with a moving and emotional graphic novel entitled, CICADA. Examining the emotional scars that infidelity can produce, this graphic novel intelligently relates the guilt that one man carries to the hibernation cycle of the cicada. Fans of BROKEN FENDER know how Josué is a master of combining streetwise urgency with a real sense of heart, and CICADA is the first showcase of this extraordinary ability in a full-length story. -- $12.95 (US), 112 pages, Graphic Novel, ISBN 1-891830-21-X

HEY, MISTER: THE FALL COLLECTION
by Pete Sickman-Garner
Shipping in January! The newest Hey, Mister trade paperback collects issues #5-#8 of the four-time Eisner and Ignatz award nominated series. It includes "Behind The Green Door," "The Trouble With Jesus," "Eyes On The Prize," & "Dial 'M' for Mister," and as a bonus, also includes Sickman-Garner's cartoon account of who he is and why he does what he does. Join Mister, Young Tim, Aunt Mary and the beloved Hideous Mutants as they hurtle headlong out of Eden and try to find redemption in a world where love is a four-letter word and even God gets lonely sometimes. As icomics.com's Greg McElhatton says: "If you like dark and cynical humor, you should ... no, need, to be reading Hey, Mister." --
$12.95 (US), 176 pages, Trade Paperback, ISBN 1-891830-25-2

HAPPY
by Josh Simmons
Shipping in January! Not for the weak of heart, Josh's incredibly drawn comics are a disturbing exposé on the dark side of the American Dream, pointing out the sometimes ludicrous underbelly of Democracy and Prosperity. His delicious art and unusual concepts are simply mind-boggling. Fans of Ivan Brunetti's SCHIZO, Pete Sickman-Garner's HEY, MISTER and Johnny Ryan's ANGRY YOUTH COMIX will definitely want to "get Happy." Mature Readers. -- $3.50 (US), 32 pages, Comic Book,
January 2002.

Special 3rd Printing of
GOOD-BYE, CHUNKY RICE
by Craig Thompson
Shipping in January! Top Shelf Productions is celebrating the 10,000th copy of GOOD-BYE CHUNKY RICE (and the selling out of two print runs) with a completely redesigned graphic novel. If you haven't jumped onto this speeding bandwagon, now's the time to do so. Alan Moore says: "Both funny and genuinely touching in turn, Craig Thompson's Good-bye, Chunky Rice is an affecting meditation upon friendship, loneliness and loss, all delivered with a real feel for the musicality of the comic strip form. " Highly recommended." Spin Magazine says: "This one-shot graphic novel is the comics debut of the year; every one of its 128 pages is beautifully composed, sparkling with invention and life." Publishers Weekly says: "Thompson has crafted an enduring fable that will charm anyone separated from a dear and loving friend." Good-bye, Chunky Rice is an absolutely essential tome for every graphic novel reader. A quite picture novella of a journey to find one's self, and the deeper meaning of life. Special 3rd printing. -- $14.95 (US), 128 pages, Graphic Novel, ISBN 1-891830-09-0, January 2002.

BAJA
by Steve Lafler
Shipping in February! Bones the bass player, youngest member of premier jazz band Bughouse, is on the lam from the law! Framed by gangster Johnny Muggles, Bones heads south to Mexico while things cool off in Bugtown. Intrigue, romance and some very funky rockin' blues ensue as our man Bones hooks up with a group of Mexican musicians. Throw in a spooky local legend about a seductive sorceress, and you have an edgy and illuminating coming of age story for Bones the bass player. Baja: A Bughouse Book -- $9.95 (US), 96 pages, Graphic Novel,
ISBN 1-891830-27-9, February 2002.

*********************************************************************
RECENT SIGNINGS
*********************************************************************

Top Shelf is proud to announce the signing of the following exciting projects:

The Next Graphic Novel [TITLE PENDING]
by Alex Robinson
Alex's new graphic novel (as of yet, untitled) follows the lives of six people -- a reclusive rock legend, a heartbroken waitress, a counterfeiter, an obsessive crank, a lost daughter and a backstabbing lover -- whose lives are unconnected until an act of violence affects them all in different ways. A truly amazing sophomore effort from the cartoonist behind the critically acclaimed BOX OFFICE POISON. Slated for release in 2003.

DOUBLECROSS
by Tony Consiglio
Doublecross has been one of the funniest and longest running minicomics in the biz, and finally, there's going to be a mass edition of one of the best parts of the Doublecross saga. Telling a complete story, this hilarious excerpt has us heading to Queens, New York to get a glimpse of Tony's family life, odd jobs, and soon-to-be girlfriends. You'll never look at Klenex the same way again! Slated for release in 2002.

SOLOMON FIX
by Doug TenNapel
Top Shelf is proud to announce the signing of Doug TenNapel's newest graphic novel, SOLOMON FIX. Reknown for his video game and animation designs in Hollywood, Doug has also previously published a full-length graphic novel entitled GEAR. SOLOMON FIX, his first graphic novel with Top Shelf, follows a "carefree" creature whose greatest challenges in life are throwing big snooty parties. His world is turned upside down when his handicapped cousin is sent to Solomon for rehabilitation. A whimsical and beautifully rendered story about finding out what's truly important in life. Slated for release in 2003.

THE MASTERPLAN
by Scott Mills
(with pencils by Todd Webb)
Scott Mills, the critically-acclaimed cartoonist behind CELLS, BIG CLAY POT, and TRENCHES, does it again! In the grand tradition of the works of Arthur C Clarke, Stephen Baxter, and Stephen Hawking comes a 300(+) page graphic novel that bends the very concept of sci-fi to its limits. Carter Zacharias is a man with a mission, a scientist who will stop at nothing to save the universe itself from its unrelenting expansion...and God help any man, woman, or planet that gets in his way. When stars shatter and worlds collide, just remember...it's all part of THE MASTERPLAN." Slated for release in 2003.

*********************************************************************
WIZARD MAGAZINE & TIME.COM NAME
PISTOLWHIP & MEPHISTO "TOP 10 BOOKS OF THE YEAR"
*********************************************************************

Brett and I would like to congratulate Matt Kindt and Jason Hall, as both Wizard Magazine and Time.com have named PISTOLWHIP & MEPHISTO "TOP 10" Books of the Year.

Wizard Magazine named both PISTOLWHIP and MEPHISTO AND THE EMPTY BOX as the #1 (!) Independent Comic Book Release of 2001 in their Year End Review. The "Top Ten" list appearing on page 123 of issue #124 of Wizard. And Time.com named PISTOLWHIP a "Top 10" book of the year in their Best of 2001 year-end review.

If you haven't tried PISTOLWHIP or MEPHISTO yet, you might think about doing so. Check out the previews below and ask your retailer to order them for you today:

PISTOLWHIP (preview)
http://www.pistolwhipcomics.com/preview/pstlwhp/intro.htm

MEPHISTO AND THE EMPTY BOX (preview)
http://www.pistolwhipcomics.com/preview/mephisto/intro.htm

ALSO, JUST IN! THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE EXCITING SEQUEL TO PISTOLWHIP!

PISTOLWHIP: THE YELLOW MENACE
by Jason Hall & Matt Kindt
The Pistolwhip boys are back with the highly anticipated and thrilling new narrative that's really going to make your Pistolwhip machine hum! Jack Peril is the beloved hero of radio, comics, and the silver-screen, but is his existence merely fictional? What does a series of grisly murders and a new lecture series condemning the pulse-pounding parables of said Mr. Peril have to do with it all? And just who is The Yellow Menace? Mitch and Charlie, along with Ray (the luckless cop) and Isla (the inquisitive maid), plan to find out! Slated for release in the winter of 2002/2003.

*********************************************************************
"FROM HELL" UPDATE
*********************************************************************

Since the film's release, FROM HELL (the graphic novel) has hit a few really cool milestones that we thought you should know about. First of all, the film itself was the #1 grossing movie in the country the week of its release, and subsequently, the graphic novel became the #1 selling graphic novel in the book trade as well as hit #200 on Amazon.com's list of over two-million available products for sale on that website. The graphic novel has now sold over 110,000 copies worldwide, been translated into 10 different languages, and represents cash-register sales of almost four-million dollars to date. Not too shabby for a comic book! In other cool news, the FROM HELL DVD will have a 10-minute segment on how the movie was based on the graphic novel.

*********************************************************************
LOST GIRLS UPDATE
*********************************************************************

Top Shelf, Alan Moore, and Melinda Gebbie have now decided to put out the entire three volumes of LOST GIRLS at the same time. This way everyone will get the completed version all at once. Melinda's about 20 pages from completing the entire project, and then the massive production effort can get underway. It still looks to be a year out or so, but it'll definitely be worth the wait. LOST GIRLS: In 1913, at a hotel not far from Lake Constance, a liaison occurs between three different yet strangely familiar women. Between them, they conjure up an erotic dreamworld of childhood and fantasy, vivid and colorful, rising against the dark storm clouds of European history. They are the Lost Girls, and their story attempts to reinvent pornography as something exquisite, thoughtful, and human. For women. For men. Written by Alan Moore and beautifully painted by Melinda Gebbie.

*********************************************************************
NEXT MONTH STOP-@-SPAM TOP SHELF
*********************************************************************

STRIPBUREK: COMICS FROM THE OTHER EUROPE
by Stripburger
"Stripburek is surely the best single introduction to the world of comics in Eastern Europe." -- Bart Beaty, The Comics Journal. Top Shelf Production is proud to present Stripburger's latest selection of contemporary comics from the former socialist block. With a unique perspective on world politics and issues, these Eastern European comics artists have much to offer, but rarely see print in the Western World. 216 pages of fresh sequential art, all in English, representing works from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Ukraine, and Yugoslavia. Also included is an introductory essay by Darko Macan (full of post-communist bitterness), a special feature from Kazakhstan, and a list of useful contacts. The featured artists, many of whom are already cult figures in their own countries, include: Aleksandar Zograf, Danijel Zezelj, Jakob Klemeneie, Jacek Fras, Ascold Akishin, Igor Baranko, January Misiak, Pavel Cech, Milorad Krstic, Roman Tolici, Sasa Kerkos, and many others. -- $17.95 (US), 216 pgs, Color Cover, B&W Interiors, 8" x 8", Perfect Bound, ISBN: 961-90436-7-7. Shipping in April 2002.

*********************************************************************
*********************************************************************

Chris Staros
Top Shelf Productions
PO Box 1282
Marietta, GA 30061-1282
USA

starosSTOP-@-SPAMbellsouth.net
http://www.topshelfcomix.com