There is good and bad news about graphic novel publishing coming from traditional trade book publishers. Harcourt has had success with Eric Drooker's Blood Song and there are number of impressive titles coming from Pantheon, Crown, ibooks and other houses. However, Doubleday Graphic Novels, which issued its first books late last year, looks as though it is already on the verge of being shut down.
Drooker's Blood Song, a graphic novel composed entirely of pictures with no words, did "phenomenally well," according to the book's editor, Jennifer Charat, although she declined to give exact sales figures. She noted that Drooker did a very successful book tour ("big crowds, blew my socks off") and received impressive reviews as well as coverage in the New York Times, Time.com and other publications. "We're definitely on the lookout for other graphic novels to publish," said Charat.
It's a different story over at Doubleday Graphic Novels. The imprint, which was launched in late 2002 under the direction of former editor Deborah Cowell, debuted its line of graphic novels with Lance Took's Narcissa and Jason Little's Shutterbug Follies. On DGN's list this year is a graphic novel adaptation of Kate Christensen's 1999 novel In the Drink and Fagin the Jew, a new work by legendary comics creator Will Eisner, scheduled for publication this fall.
However, Cowell left Doubleday shortly after the release of her first books, and Random House officials have had little to say about the future of the line. Doubleday editor Anne Merrow inherited Cowell's titles. While she expressed excitement over Eisner's book, she acknowledged that comics are not her specialty and declined to discuss the future of the line. Doubleday publicity director Allison Rich also declined to answer questions about the future of DGN, and it appears that it won't be around much beyond the fall release of the Eisner book.
Nevertheless, other Random House divisions are offering book-format comics. Probably the most anticipated new title is Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, by Iranian-born author Marjane Satrapi, due from Pantheon Books in May. A bestseller in France, Persepolis is a memoir of Satrapi's childhood in Iran during the Islamic revolution of the 1970s and her later immigration to Europe.
In August, Crown is releasing a graphic novel adaptation of Kafka's The Metamorphosis by Peter Kuper. Crown editor Chris Jackson has also acquired two new books by Aaron McGruder, the creator of the popular and controversial daily comics strip Boondocks. This summer, Crown will release a collected edition of Boondocks strips. And in the fall, Crown will release Lyric Life, a graphic novel whose text is entirely composed of the lyrics of famous pop love tunes. Next year, the house will publish Fight the Power, a satirical graphic novel about the secession of East St. Louis from the U.S. that will be written by McGruder and Reggie Hudlin (of House Party fame) and illustrated by an as-yet-unannounced artist.
Next month, look for Vietnam Journal by Don Lomax, a new edition of a long-out-of-print fictional work about a war correspondent during the Vietnam War, based on Lomax's experiences in Vietnam. It is the first book from a new graphic novel line published by Byron Preiss's ibooks. And in the fall, Four Walls Eight Windows will publish a new printing of famed alternative comics writer Harvey Pekar's Our Cancer Year. Pekar is the subject of American Splendor, a documentary/theatrical film that won at this year's Sundance Film festival; it will be released to theaters at around the same time.
