Top Shelf Productions

Hey friends,

Today we take another step into the future, as two of Top Shelf's landmark releases have gone digital, in new and very exciting ways. First, the bestselling creative team behind The Surrogates graphic novels has returned with an all-new series, The Surrogates Case Files, available exclusively in digital form. On top of that, James Kochalka's American Elf, a monument of modern cartooning, has entered the digital comic / ebook format in a new series of handy year-by-year collections.

Click here to read all about it!

The much-anticipated day is here!

In stores everywhere TODAY are two brilliant new graphic novels, the final chapter of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century trilogy by Alan Moore & Kevin O'Neill, and The Lovely Horrible Stuff by Eddie Campbell. On top of that, three more major summer releases have rolled off the printing press and will be in a store near you very soon. And finally, the new Diamond catalog opens pre-orders on the newest member of the Top Shelf Kids Club -- Upside Down: A Vampire Tale!

WELCOME ABOARD the next generation of pulp adventure! Acclaimed cartoonists Zander Cannon (The Replacement God, Top 10) and Kevin Cannon (Far Arden) have joined forces to launch a new kind of adventure comic: a digital comics magazine, serializing two massive graphic novels and packed with extras, delivered to your screen for $1.99 per month.

Two Cannons. Two comics. Two dollars. DOUBLE BARREL!

It all begins in this 122-page double-stuffed first issue. First: Zander Cannon presents HECK, the story of washed-up high school football hero Hector Hammarskjöld, who returns to his hometown for his father's funeral... only to discover a portal to the underworld! Then: following the smash success of his first graphic novel Far Arden, Kevin Cannon returns with an all-new saga of that Arctic crusty sea-dog Army Shanks, as he encounters the mysterious CRATER XV!

In a world of thin plotting, price-gouging, and trade-waiting, two cartoonists are here to fly the flag for two-fisted action and page-turning thrills! Grab DOUBLE BARREL today and load up on adventure!

AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD TODAY!

Yes, the much-anticipated new graphic novel from Jeff Lemire, The Underwater Welder, is now in the Diamond Previews catalog, and available for pre-order!

From the author of:
LOST DOGS
ESSEX COUNTY
THE NOBODY
SWEET TOOTH
ANIMAL MAN

And the winner of:
The Xeric Award
The Alex Award
The Joe Shuster Award
The Doug Wright Award
The Canada Reads "People's Choice" Award

"Jeff Lemire has created a moving, brilliant, and fiercely original work about loss, longing, and love. Full of piercing moments that will stay with you for long after you've finished reading, The Underwater Welder is a testament to the basic truth that down in the depths or up on land, there's nothing more haunting and wondrous than the human heart. A masterpiece of visual storytelling."
-- Scott Snyder (Batman, Swamp Thing, American Vampire)

"The most spectacular episode of The Twilight Zone that was never produced. I really, really care about the people in this story... And I can pretty much guarantee you will too."
-- From the introduction by Damon Lindelof (LOST, Star Trek, Prometheus)

WARNING: CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE.

As an underwater welder on an oilrig off the coast of Nova Scotia, Jack Joseph is used to the immense pressures of deep-sea work. Nothing, however, could prepare him for the pressures of impending fatherhood. As Jack dives deeper and deeper, he seems to pull further and further away from his young wife and their unborn son. Then one night, deep in the icy solitude of the ocean floor, something unexplainable happens. Jack has a mysterious and supernatural encounter that will change the course of his life forever.

Equal parts blue-collar character study and mind-bending mystery, The Underwater Welder is a graphic novel about fathers and sons, birth and death, memory and reality, and the treasures we all bury deep below the surface.

We have a very special graphic novel coming in July: Ed Piskor's WIZZYWIG, the thrill-packed tale of computer-hacking pioneer Kevin "Boingthump" Phenicle. Inspired by real events and real people but filtered through Ed's off-kilter style, it's a blast for anyone who enjoys a wild story, and packed with "Easter eggs" and references for the truly tech-savvy.

Now, with the book open for pre-orders, we're pleased to present the official Wizzywig theme song, written and performed by nerdcore rapper Adam WarRock (The Browncoats Mixtape, Parks & Rec EP, that Downton Abbey rap song) and featured in this music video / book trailer:

(Stay tuned for a remix of the song featuring Mikal kHill and Dual Core, coming to AdamWarRock.com next week!)

Share and embed the video anywhere you like, and help spread the word about this killer book! Wizzywig will be released in July, and can be pre-ordered today direct from Top Shelf or from your favorite retailer.

As we at Top Shelf prepare to release James Kochalka's massive 4th volume of American Elf, one of the key incidents from that book is quietly coming to fruition: James' hilariously foul-mouthed super-comedy book SuperF*ckers is being adapted to an animated series by Frederator Studios (producers of The Fairly Oddparents and Adventure Time)!

James is currently in California for dialogue recording, and recently shared this photo of some of the assembled cast, with the comment: "This was one of the best days of my whole life, swear to god, and I’ve had a lot of good days."

Fran Krause (showrunner); David Faustino (Jack Krak); creator James Kochalka (Grotus); Veronica Belmont (Grotessa); and Phil Morris (Ultra Richard).

It seems that James himself will take the microphone for certain roles, including Grotessa's disgusting pet slime-creature, Grotus.

For more details and amazing development art, follow the official Frederator SuperF*ckers blog!

Don't forget to pick up the SuperF*ckers graphic novel and read up before the show debuts! The newest American Elf will be out in July.

Essex County author Jeff Lemire has had a good week - he's announced the triumphant finale of Sweet Tooth and been nominated for four Shuster Awards! - and decided to celebrate today by revealing three amazing new pieces of interior art from The Underwater Welder, his highly-anticipated next graphic novel from Top Shelf!

Click over to Jeff's blog to see the stunning pages at full size. The Underwater Welder can be pre-ordered now, for release in August.

And don't forget to grab Lost Dogs, Jeff's early Xeric-winning graphic novel, now republished by Top Shelf in a lovely new edition!

Convention season is really here - no sooner do we wrap up Stumptown, MoCCA, and Calgary than we head off to Toronto for the Toronto Comics Art Festival!

It's a big crowd this year: joining our man Leigh Walton are (deep breath) Andy Runton (Owly), Brendan Leach (Pterodactyl Hunters), Jeff Lemire (Essex County, Lost Dogs), Jess Fink (Chester 5000), Kagan McLeod (Infinite Kung Fu), Matt Kindt (Super Spy), Nate Powell (Swallow Me Whole, Any Empire), and Pat Grant (Blue)!

Meanwhile, if you're not in Ontario, head to your local comic shop and grab your absolutely FREE copy of the 2012 Top Shelf Kids Club comic book, with six ALL-NEW stories featuring Owly, Korgi, Johnny Boo, and more!

Happy reading!

The new issue of Diamond Previews has arrived, so pre-orders are now open for our JULY 2012 releases... and you're not gonna want to miss these books!

WIZZYWIG is the first solo graphic novel from Ed Piskor, and it's a triumph years in the making, full of criminal thrills and retro-techno delight.

We also have the long-awaited next landmark from James Kochalka, the Cartoonist Laureate of Vermont: Book 4 of his award-winning autobiographical opus, AMERICAN ELF!

And finally: a new issue of WW3 ILLUSTRATED, on the topic of censorship!

Pre-order now to snag these great July books!

Savvy to digital comics and looking for something new to read? Curious about e-reading and hesitant to take the plunge? Look no further than the Top Shelf Action Pack, packed with 168 pages of our most thrilling comics, and yours for the price of ZERO!

Inside are full chapters from seven graphic novels: Infinite Kung Fu, The Homeland Directive, Lost Dogs, From Hell, SuperF*ckers, Bighead, and Any Empire!

It's available on Comixology and iVerse now, with more formats coming soon. Check it out!

Top Shelf's quest to be available on every digital platform continues, as we announce that our graphic novels are now available for Kobo, reaching readers and devices in over 170 countries! 40 titles are available in our Kobo catalog so far, with more coming soon!

Librarians, we're got your backs: Top Shelf is partnering with Overdrive, the leading digital distributor for libraries! Libraries can now purchase ebooks of the full Top Shelf Kids Club line -- 19 titles -- and offer them for free e-lending to patrons. So contact your local library and let them know you'd like to read OWLY, KORGI, JOHNNY BOO and more on your electronic device!

The day is here! The long-awaited posthumous graphic novel from Cleveland's beloved son, Harvey Pekar, is in stores now, including your favorite comic shop, digital retailers, and direct from Top Shelf. Order your copy today!

The Beat, which celebrates today with an exclusive preview of the book, offers a great synopsis: "The late Harvey Pekar left behind several projects in various stages of composition, but none was as close to him as CLEVELAND, a love letter to and social history of the city that was his muse—an everyman town of ordinary people and the mundane swirl of life that is nonetheless extraordinary. For Cleveland, Pekar’s script found an artist among the greatest of his collaborators: Joseph Remnant, whose dense crosshatched naturalism recalls Crumb but finds its own look with expansive staging and detail."

Hats off to everyone whose hard work made this book a reality: Harvey, his wife Joyce Brabner, artist Joseph Remnant, editor Jeff Newelt, and Zip Comics publisher Josh Frankel. Your partners at Top Shelf are honored to be playing a part.

Top Shelf offers huge congratulations to James Kochalka and Brecht Evens, who were nominated today for the Eisner Awards!

James Kochalka receives his third Eisner nomination this year, for Dragon Puncher 2: Dragon Puncher Island in the category of Best Publication for Early Readers. His earlier book Pinky & Stinky was nominated for a similar category in 2003. Dragon Puncher Island has the unique distinction of featuring both of James' sons, Eli and Oliver, as "actors" in the story, along with their cats Nooko and Spandy.

Brecht Evens makes his first appearance on the Eisner nomination list with Night Animals, in the category of Best U.S. Edition of International Material. This honor follows on the heels of three nominations for Night Animals at the Stumptown Awards! Readers continue to fall under the spell of Brecht's incredible colors and wordless storytelling.

To celebrate, we've marked down prices on both Dragon Puncher books (for all ages) and Night Animals (for mature readers). If you haven't checked them out yet, now's the time!

"A stunning return to form."
"Marvelously layered."
"Among the finest works in Moore's oevre... Fast-paced, visually dense and wildly imaginative."

These are just a few of the rave reviews Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill have received since bringing The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century trilogy to Top Shelf & Knockabout. It's also been Diamond Comics' #1 bestselling graphic novel in America, with each new book -- even hitting the New York Times Bestseller list!

Now, at last, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century trilogy reaches its apocalyptic finale!

In this third and final chapter, our narrative draws to its cataclysmic close in London 2009. The magical child whose ominous coming has been foretold for the past hundred years has now been born and has grown up to claim his dreadful heritage. His promised aeon of unending terror can commence, the world can now be ended starting with North London, and there is no League, extraordinary or otherwise, that now stands in his way. The bitter, intractable war of attrition in Q'umar crawls bloodily to its fifth year, away in Kashmir a Sikh terrorist with a now-nuclear-armed submarine wages a holy war against Islam that might push the whole world into atomic holocaust, and in a London mental institution there's a patient who insists that she has all the answers.

It's a spectacular finish that must be seen to be believed.

Pre-order your copy now in the current (April) DIAMOND PREVIEWS!

THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN (VOL III): CENTURY (#3 of 3) "2009"
by Alan Moore & Kevin O'Neill
-- 80-page softcover
-- 6.625" x 10.125", full-color graphic novel
-- For mature readers (16+)
-- ISBN 978-1-60309-007-0
-- Diamond DM code: APR12-1232
-- $9.95 (US)
-- Shipping to stores in June!
-- Co-published by Top Shelf Productions (US) and Knockabout Comics (UK)