Industry News
February 2008
In the US the American Library Association (ALA) has released their 2008 list of the years Top Ten Graphic Novels for Teens. Amongst the list of coveted titles was Shaun Tan's The Arrival. Australians have been working in the comic and graphic novels industries for decades but few creators have achieved the kudos awarded to Tan, both within Australia and overseas. This recognition is yet another great reason to check out The Arrival, a must have book for school and public library collections. The extended list of the year's best can be found here.
January 2007
ALA Young Adult Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens
The American Library Association's Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the fastest growing division of the American Library Association (ALA), has chosen the top ten titles from its 2007 recommended list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens. Included in the top ten were Runaways, Death Jr, Pride of Baghdad, Castle Waiting and Identity Crisis. The full list for the year can be found here, which has a link to the Top Ten.
Top 100 List of Graphic Novels Sold in 2006
Diamond Comic Distribution has announced the top 100 graphic novels sold in 2006. At the top of the list was V For Vendetta due to the success of the film and DVD. Series with more than one volume in the list included: Y The Last Man, The Walking Dead, Fables and Astonishing X-Men. The highest selling junior titles were Star Wars Clone Wars Adventures and Kingdom Hearts.
September 2006
Bone One Volume Edition Reprint Sells out Immediately
The BONE: One Volume Edition (OVE) is back in print and will be in stores this week. However, the books are completely sold out at Diamond, which is the exclusive distributor of this title.
Jeff Smith, the cartoonist of BONE and co-owner of publisher Cartoon Books said, " We were surprised to get a call from Jim Kuhoric of Diamond Comic Distributors telling us that they shipped the entire print run of 20,000 copies out to stores this week. The Diamond warehouse is empty! Plans are being made to go back to press immediately."
This current printing of the BONE: One Volume Edition has a new cover and is technically the seventh printing of the 1300 page graphic novel. It retails for $39.95US.
Cartoon Books debuted the BONE: OVE in 2004 at the San Diego Comic-Con International and went out of print a year later to make way for the new color editions being put out by Bone's new publisher Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic Books, Inc.
Citing their belief that the huge success of the color books proved that there would be room for more than one version in the marketplace, a rare agreement was made earlier this Spring between Cartoon Books and Graphix/Scholastic allowing the return of the original black & white compendium.
As one of the major reasons I started Sealight Books was to get Smiley, Phone and Phoney into the hands of as many readers as possible, this news makes me very happy indeed!
April/July 2006
2006 Eisner Award Nominations/Winnners Anounced
Nominations for the 2006 Eisner Awards (named after the late Will Eisner) were announced this month. The Eisners awards represent the best in the US comic industry and are highly regarded by fans and creators alike. Series with notable nominations include Ex Machina, Fables, Y The Last Man, Age of Bronze, Astonishing X-Men, Young Avengers and All-Star Superman. Update: Winners Announced July 2006
Master List of Nominations and Winners (July 2006)
March 2006
Tamora Pierce signs exclusive deal with Marvel Comics!
Tamora Pierce, author of over twenty novels and self-proclaimed “geek”, has signed an exclusive deal with Marvel Comics.
Best known for her breaking of the male warrior fantasy mold, Pierce has made solid, action-packed adventures for young female readers a reality. Her books have captured the imagination of lovers of the fantastic across the world and rung interesting changes on the classic tales of the hero's journey.
Now, she brings her unique voice to the House of Ideas, industry leader Marvel Comics, where she will have access to one of the most finely-tuned fictional universes of all.
Tamora Pierce's Fiction novels include ALANNA: THE FIRST ADVENTURE, WILD MAGIC, LADY KNIGHT, STREET MAGIC, TRICKSTER'S QUEEN, THE WILL OF THE EMPRESS, and this fall's TERRIER.
Sealight News
September 2006
As you can see our new website is up and running-a major improvement! We will be making more changes over the next few months so please excuse us if things don't appear as they should. Rest assured comics are being left un-read so we can make this site the best it possibly can be (well that last bit was a lie but the rest is very true). Our online ordering system is also up and running so please let us know if you would like to have access to the system.
June 2006
Our latest Quarterly Brochure April-June 2006 is available online now on the Resources Page.
We have moved all our brochures to the new Resources page and included an updated Core Brochure for Primary or Junior Collections.