Drawn & Quarterly publisher Chris Oliveros will publish What It Is, acclaimed cartoonist Lynda Barry's first new book since 2002, in early 2008. D&Q will also republish her five-volume backlist of comic strip collections in redesigned editions. The multiyear deal is for world rights and was negotiated by agent Liz Darhansoff.
Barry is best known for her long-running, influential comics strip Ernie Pook's Comeek, which has run in alternative weeklies around the country since 1979.
Oliveros said What It Is will be followed later in 2008 by the first of five redesigned volumes (one each year) collecting the entire run of Ernie Pook's Comeek. The redesigned books will restore the strip to its original format. Each volume will include an introduction by Barry. D&Q will also publish an additional volume of unpublished Barry strips and illustrations. D&Q will publish seven Barry titles through 2011.
"Lynda is one of our greatest cartoonists," said Oliveros. "We're going to reintroduce the public to her work."
