Despite the absence of a number of major comics publishers, this year’s BookExpo America will still manage to have a significant comics and graphic novel presence. The largest nexus of the comics scene at this year’s BEA will be the graphic novels row (4558), hosted by Diamond Book Distribution and featuring exhibitors Dark Horse, IDW, Dynamite, Paizo, Image/Top Cow, Japanime, and Marvel.
There are some notable graphic novel publisher absences and semi-absences from this year’s show floor: DC isn’t exhibiting this year, and neither are Scholastic, Drawn & Quarterly, or Top Shelf. Archaia won’t have a booth, but will be talking with book buyers about its fall and winter titles. Prior to the recent layoffs, Viz Media was planning to meet with retailers in a meeting room off the exhibition floor, focusing on such titles as Vampire Knight Fan Book, Kekkaishi, and the zombie-themed Grand Guignol Orchestra.
Dark Horse will be stirring up interest for Janet and Alex Evanovich and artist Joëlle Jones’s forthcoming Troublemaker Book One, the latest volume in Evanovich’s Alex Barnaby series and Evanovich’s first graphic novel. Dynamite’s got giveaways like signed prints by Dean Koontz and print-signing appearances by Garth Ennis, L.A. Banks, and Anne Elizabeth. Marvel has two signings Wednesday: Eric Shanower and Skottie Young for The Marvelous Land of Oz, 11 a.m.–noon, and Nancy Butler for Sense and Sensibility, 2–3 p.m. Image will have giveaways of its recent Image First comic books, and Fractured Fables’ Free Comic Book Day issue, as well as a signing by Todd McFarlane.
Abrams (4640) is displaying samples and excerpts of a handful of fall ComicArts titles, including Audrey Niffenegger’s short graphic novel, The Night Bookmobile; the Chip Kidd–designed Shazam! The Golden Age of the World's Mightiest Mortal; N.C. Christopher Couch’s biography, Jerry Robinson: Ambassador of Comics; the Michael Uslan/Stan Goldberg/Bob Smith collaboration Archie Marries...; and Krazy Kat and the Art of George Herriman, an art book edited by Craig Yoe. On the kids’ side, Abrams will have previews of Barry Deutsch’s November graphic novel Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, about an 11-year-old Orthodox Jewish troll fighter, and a signing by Diary of a Wimpy Kid’s Jeff Kinney thursday, 11 a.m.–noon.
Speaking of which, over at NBM/Papercutz’s booth (3141), Stefan Petrucha and Rick Parker will be signing copies of their Tales from the Crypt series, featuring "Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid." (Petrucha’s signing his “Nancy Drew” graphic novels, too.) NBM is displaying previews of Mark Badger and Gerard Jones’s privacy-related thriller, Networked, as well as new volumes of Miss Don't Touch Me and Dungeon; Papercutz will have a free comic book previewing its September launch of a Smurfs series.
Fantagraphics’ booth (3422) features galleys for upcoming books, including Joyce Farmer’s graphic memoir, Special Exits, and Moto Hagio’s manga collection Drunken Dream and Other Stories, as well as advance samples of a handful of its summer books. Pantheon (4341) is showing off Charles Burns’s long-awaited X’ed Out, its only fall graphic novel release. Orbit Books/Yen Press will be at the HBG booth (3748) with giveaways of Mizuki Nomura’s Book Girl, a prose novel connected to a manga series launching in July.
Bloomsbury (4051) is publishing Seymour Chwast’s adaptation of Dante's Divine Comedy (Sept.) and Martin Lemelman’s v (Oct.). Over at Feral House’s booth is Mel Gordon and Thomas Andrae’s Siegel and Shuster's Funnyman: The First Jewish Superhero, the history of a lesser-known later character from the creators of Superman. And Steerforth/Campfire, at booth 2265 in the Children’s Pavilion, is starting a line of several dozen educational graphic novel titles that will be published over the next year.
In addition, First Second will have catalogues as part of Macmillan’s display, and the imprint’s editor, Mark Siegel will participate in “Drawing the Line Between Picture Books and Graphic Novels” panel. Other BEA comics panels include “Big Name Authors with Graphic Novels: How Will This Change the Market?,” featuring PWCW coeditors Calvin Reid and Heidi MacDonald, who is also representing her comics news blog The Beat, Thursday May 27 at 9:30 a.m. in room 1E14, and “Hot Fall Graphic Novels for Libraries” in the same room tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 p.m.
