Paul Gravett at MoCCA
Paul Gravett,the London-based co-founder of Escape Magazine, author, curator, director of the Comica festival and all-around comics expert, will speak on the explosion of interest in the comics medium and the impact of comics on the book publishing industry, contemporary art and popular media in general. The event will be held Monday, August 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in New York’s SoHo district; 594 Broadway, Suite 401.
Second Kinokuniya Store For NYC
Kinokuniya, the largest bookstore chain in Japan, will open a second store in New York this fall. The new bookstore will be three floors with a café overlooking Bryant Park; it will be on the Avenue of Americas between 40th and 41st St. There will be a week long grand-opening with numerous events, including artists and editors from manga publisher Viz Media and an art exhibition with works by manga master Osama Tesuka. The store will feature many Japanese products, including manga, anime, books, CDs and collectibles. More information can be found at Publishers Weekly.
Fourth Printing for D&Q’s Moomin
Drawn & Quarterly has announced a fourth printing of Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip Book One. The new printing will bring the total in-print copies of the book to 29, 000. The first volume collecting the comics strip was released last November and the second volume will be released in October 2007.
Viz Releases Tekkonkinkreet
Viz Media has announced the release of Taiyo Matsumoto’s Tekkonkinkreet: Black and White. The omnibus edition will collect all three volumes with twelve full color pages. The book will go on sale September 25, published by Viz’s Signature imprint; it is rated “M” for mature audiences. Tekkonkinkreet is about urban and social decay and disaffected youth. More information can be found at the Viz Media website.
Tokyopop Signs with William Morris
The William Morris Agency, a talent and literary agency, has signed an agreement with Tokyopop, to represent the manga publisher’s original intellectual property for film, television and digital, merchandising, and game development. Tokyopop CEO Stuart Levy said, “this partnership takes us one step closer to realizing our dream of merging the leading edge of manga entertainment with Hollywood.” Also the company’s film unit, Tokyopop Pictures, has two films in progress, Lament of the Lamb and The Ai-Land Chronicles. More information can be found at the Tokyopop website.
