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STARRED REVIEW FOR THE SHADOW HERO

4/29/2014

 
THE SHADOW HERO, illustrated by Sonny Liew, just received a starred PW Review. The full review is below or you can follow the link here! 
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The Shadow Hero
Gene Luen Yang, illus. by Sonny Liew. First Second, $17.99 paper (176p) ISBN 978-1-59643-6978

Yang further establishes himself as one of YA’s leading voices on the Chinese-American experience by inventing a backstory for a forgotten comic-book character who was arguably the first Asian superhero. As explained in a postscript, the Green Turtle blinked into and quickly disappeared from publication during the 1940s superhero boom; he would likely be condemned to obscurity if not for rumors suggesting that creator Chu Hing masked the character’s ethnicity so that he could be read as a Chinese superhero (the face of the original Green Turtle is almost always obscured). Yang and Liew run with this theory and cast the Green Turtle as 19-year-old Hank Chu, a second-generation Chinese American who (at his mother’s urging) takes up crime fighting, aided by an ancient shadow spirit that gives him limited superpowers and provides some hilarious banter. Racism, romance, humor, and identity all play important roles in Yang and Liew’s evocation of Hank’s life in pre-WWII San Francisco as they create an origin story that blends classic comics conventions (at one point, Hank’s mother pushes him into a toxic spill in an attempt to give him superpowers) with a distinctly Chinese perspective.


AN EPIC COLLABORATION

2/14/2014

 
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I am so excited that we can finally announce that Faith Erin Hicks and Rainbow Rowell are collaborating on a graphic novel for First Second Books. Prepare for a kick ass book, you guys. The combined talent here is mighty.This is going to be amazing. Read the exclusive story on EW HERE.

You can also read a wonderful Q&A with these two HERE

EXCLUSIVE COVER REVEAL

1/22/2014

 
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Check out the EXCLUSIVE cover reveal for THE WRENCHIES by Farel Dalrymple on LATIMES.com. This book is mind-melting and brilliant. 

GOOD COMICS FOR KIDS

1/21/2014

 
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EXCLUSIVE: School Library Journal Cover Reveal for STRATFORD ZOO, the wonderful forthcoming graphic novel from First Second, written by Ian Lendler, with illustrations by Zack Giallongo. If you love Muppets, you will love this book. 

A Starred Review Kicks Off the New Year! 

1/2/2014

 
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What a wonderful way to Kick off 2014, with a STARRED REVIEW from PW. Congratulations, Ava Lavender and Leslye Walton. Well deserved! 

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

Walton debuts with an entrancing and sumptuously written multigenerational novel wrapped in the language of fable, magical realism, and local legend. Ostensibly about a 16-year-old born with wings, the novel is also a rich retelling of Ava Lavender's family history, including her stalwart grandmother Emilienne's journey from adolescence in rural France and 1920s Manhattan to a hardscrabble life as a widowed baker in Seattle; and Ava's mother Viviane's unrequited obsession with a childhood love and the rearing of her children. Halfway in, Ava's story moves front and center, as she longs to leave the safety of her home, sneaks out with her friend Cardigan, and begins to fall for Cardigan's brother, Rowe. Flirting with fairytalelike occurrences throughout—Viviane has a supernatural sense of smell, one of Emilienne's siblings transforms into a bird, ghosts are everywhere—Walton's novel builds to a brutal but triumphant conclusion. It's a story that adults and teenagers can appreciate equally, one that's less about love than about the way love can be thwarted and denied. Or, as Walton puts it, "the scars love's victims carry." Ages 14–up. Agent: Bernadette Baker-Baughman, Victoria Sanders & Associates. (Mar.) See the original review by clicking here. 

**Note** We were just informed that SLJ has given AVA a star, too!! Way to go, AVA!!!!


Starred Reviews and Best Book Picks

11/15/2013

 
This has been such an exciting week! First, we received news that DELILAH DIRK by Tony Cliff was a Publisher’s Weekly “Best Books of 2013” pick. Now, in the children’s holiday roundup,  NOTHING CAN POSSIBLY GO WRONG by Faith Erin Hicks is included in the PW Starred Review Roundup. Way to go comics!

DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

11/6/2013

 
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CONGRATULATIONS are in order, to the highly talented Faith Erin Hicks. We just announced a three book deal with First Second Books for her NAMELESS CITY trilogy. Here is the short overview:

First Second will be publishing THE NAMELESS CITY, a groundbreaking new trilogy from rising star Faith Erin Hicks in the tradition of Jeff Smith’s Bone and Avatar: The Last Airbender. An unlikely friendship forms between Nameless City native Rat, and Kai, whose country has recently conquered her city.  The two of them must find common ground between their cultures and foil a sinister conspiracy.  Hicks has created a beautiful and intricate world inspired by Central Asia and the Silk Road in which the besieged inhabitants of an ancient city are desperate to learn the secrets of the perished civilization which carved the city out of living rock.

We are incredibly excited about this news, everyone. For fans of Faith, I am absolutely certain that this new series will BLOW YOU AWAY. And for those of you who aren’t familiar with Faith’s work, now is the time to bone up. You can see all of her books here. 


A SMASH! IS BORN

9/10/2013

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Happy Pub Day, SMASH!: TRIAL BY FIRE. This book has been in development for a long time so this is an extra exciting book birthday. I send a big congratulations to Chris A. Bolton (writer) and Kyle Bolton (illustrator), aka The Brothers Bolton. Also a big congrats to Candlewick Press, who did an incredible job of bringing this book to life.

If you are in Portland, Oregon you can go to the launch tonight at Powell’s Bookstore, one of my all-time favorite book places. And if you can’t attend in person you can still support the event by purchasing your very own copy of SMASH! from Powells.com. Read more about how SMASH! was transformed from a web comic to a book by following this link.

 


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Count 'em-TWO NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLERS

9/9/2013

 
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I am HUGELY excited to report that Maris Wicks' PRIMATES and Tony Cliff's, DELILAH DIRK are both New York Times Best Sellers this week. Help me to congratulate these two huge talents!! 

DELILAH DIRK 2.0

9/4/2013

 
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I am thrilled to announce that the second graphic novel in the series, Delilah Dirk and the Blades of England by Tony Cliff, has been sold to Calista Brill at First Second books. For all of you DD fans, there is more to come! Read about it in THE BEAT. 


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