One of Top Shelf's most beloved authors, Jeffrey Brown, makes his feature film debut today in U.S. Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival, with SAVE THE DATE!

This year marks the ten-year anniversary of Jeffrey Brown’s groundbreaking graphic novel CLUMSY, and what better way to celebrate than with the premiere of a film he co-wrote!

Filmmaker Michael Mohan (One Too Many Mornings) returns to Sundance with a bittersweet screenplay he wrote with famed graphic novelist Jeffrey Brown and co-writer Egan Reich. At turns funny, sad, and sweet, SAVE THE DATE is a sincere story about the familial and romantic bonds that form us all.

An intense new video trailer for Nate Powell's graphic novel Any Empire has just been posted to YouTube! It features music by the bands Tracker (who were responsible for the Blankets soundtrack album) and Universe (featuring Nate Powell himself), and is a real treat for both those who've read the book and those who haven't yet. Check it out here: Any Empire video trailer!

You've never seen anything quite like this. In March 2012, Top Shelf will release the debut graphic novel from super-talented Australian cartoonist Pat Grant, entitled BLUE.

It's a fascinating blend of autobiography and fiction with a sci-fi twist: in a seaside Australian town struggling with alien tentacle-creature immigration, a trio of aimless teenagers skip school to go surfing, chase rumors of a dead body, and avoid dealing with their own fears.

Here's what Craig Thompson, author of Blankets, Carnet de Voyage, and Habibi, had to say about BLUE: "This book rekindles my earliest enthusiasm for the comics medium. Pat Grant is the Australian Mark Twain, trading Huck's raft for a waxed-up surfboard and an inked-up sable brush. Vast themes of racism and immigration unravel in sprawling murals and a single day in the life of some reckless teens in this sea-polished, perfect nugget of a book."

Still not convinced? Check out Pat's great SHAMELESS PUBLICITY DOCUMENT, and the free preview of BLUE at Pat’s website!

Be sure to pre-order this lush, lovable, complex book from your favorite comic shop, or directly from Top Shelf!

BLUE by Pat Grant
--96-page hardcover graphic novel with 2-color interiors
--9.4" x 6.6" (landscape format)
--Older teens (16+) and adults
--ISBN: 978-1-60309-153-4
--Diamond order code: JAN12-1268
--$14.95 (US)

"Pat Grant is serious about comics." -- Scott McCloud, author of Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics, and Making Comics

"BLUE is everything a good comics can be." -- Shaun Tan, author of The Arrival and Tales from Outer Suburbia

Enjoy this greeting from James Kochalka, and thanks for supporting us through another year of amazing comics!

2011's not over yet, but we're already knee-deep in preparations for 2012 -- including one of our most fun projects of the year, the FREE all-ages comic book for Free Comic Book Day (May 5, 2012)!

Check out this amazing cover by Pirate Penguin vs Ninja Chicken creator Ray Friesen! The interior will feature SIX new stories by the dream team of Top Shelf Kids Club authors: Owly by Andy Runton, Johnny Boo by James Kochalka, Korgi by Christian Slade, Okie Dokie Donuts by Chris Eliopoulos, Pirate Penguin vs Ninja Chicken by Ray Friesen, and Upside Down by Jess Smart Smiley.

Wow, May 5th can't come soon enough! In the meantime, don't forget to check out the official Top Shelf Kids Club app for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, where you can read the 2011 FCBD book and buy digital versions of all our great all-ages titles!