Top Shelf Productions

Kodi by Jared Cullum

ISBN 978-1-60309-467-2 • Diamond: FEB200686

$14.99 (US) • 176 pages

Full-color softcover graphic novel with flaps • For ages 9+ (including adults!)

Coming in August 2020!

The gorgeous story of two friends separated by everything in the world — except love. Readers and animal-lovers of every age will want to relive this journey over and over again.

"Jared Cullum brings to Kodi a fresh watercolor style that's brimming over with personality. His characters come alive in their world, and they'll convert a casual reader into a devoted fan." — James Gurney, creator of Dinotopia

"Kodi is the perfect combination of an exciting adventure and a heartwarming tale of friendship. Jared’s exquisitely painted pages bring his characters to life and invite you to get lost in the gentle embrace of this wonderful story. Even though Kodi doesn’t say a word, Jared uses every brush stroke to delicately communicate his very real emotions. I absolutely love Kodi and you will too!" — Andy Runton, creator of Owly

Watch the video trailer on YouTube!

Nate Powell was recently featured on the PBS television show Articulate, talking about his long career as a cartoonist, musician, and caregiver — and you can watch the full segment now. Come for the artistic wizardry, stay for the goofy teen photos!

If you're craving more Nate, you can also check out his recent appearance on the podcast Make It Then Tell Everybody, talking with Dan Berry (co-author of The Three Rooms in Valerie's Head) and watch a 7-minute video of Nate inking and talking in his studio for Indiana station WTIU!

PHILADELPHIA, PA (January 27, 2020) — They Called Us Enemy, the New York Times-bestselling graphic memoir of George Takei, was announced today as the winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature by the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), an affiliate of the American Library Association.

APALA's literary awards were announced at ALA's Midwinter Meeting, marking a milestone new achievement for the acclaimed bestseller by Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker. In They Called Us Enemy, the iconic actor/author/activist revisits his haunting childhood in American concentration camps, as one of 120,000 Japanese Americans imprisoned by the U.S. government during World War II, while reflecting on how that experience shaped America and his own astonishing life. 

Published in July 2019 by Top Shelf Productions (an imprint of IDW Publishing), They Called Us Enemy immediately debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list and stayed on the list for more than 10 weeks. It has been declared one of the year's best books by such institutions as Amazon, NPR, New York Public Library, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, IGN, and Forbes.

A Spanish translation of They Called Us Enemy, entitled Nos llamaron Enemigo, will be published in June 2020. Readers can also take a deeper dive into They Called Us Enemy when a deluxe hardcover edition, packed with unseen bonus material, hits stores in July.

Two landmark Top Shelf books — Monkey Vs. Robot and From Hell — are finding new life in masterful new editions! And Pat Grant turns a sharp eye to a pair of grifters in a scorched swamp in his new must-read, The Grot. All coming soon, so now's the time to pre-order them from your favorite shop.

For over a decade, the American Library Association's teen services division, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), has published an annual list of recommended Great Graphic Novels for Teens — an important pillar in the phenomenal growth of graphic novel popularity and recognition that we've witnessed in this millennium. This year, Top Shelf is honored to have two books in the Top 10!

*Cosmoknights: Book One. By Hannah Templer. Art by the author. Top Shelf Productions, an imprint of IDW Publishing. 2019. $19.99. ISBN: 978-1603094542. Pan lives a very ordinary world on a planet called Verdian. She spends most of her time working in her father's shop and hanging out with her friend, Tara, who is a princess. But when Tara's life takes a very different turn, Pan gets a chance to bring down an archaic medieval-type jousting tradition.

*They Called Us Enemy. By George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker. Top Shelf Productions, an imprint of IDW Publishing. 2019. $19.99. ISBN: 978-1603094504. Before he was Sulu on the starship Enterprise, boldly going where no one has gone before, actor George Takei was a little boy struggling to understand why his family was packing up and going to live in a horse stable. Readers see history in a clear, concise, compelling context and follow Takei on his journey from childhood ignorance to righteous teenage anger and finally to a life of dedicated activism.

Congratulations to all the creators of the honored books, and to the lucky teens who get to read such wonderful comics!

This interpretation of the landmark Smithsonian Institution Building was drawn by Nate Powell, National Book Award-winning artist of IDW’s March trilogy.

SAN DIEGO, CA (January 8, 2020) – IDW Publishing, a division of IDW Media Holdings Inc. (OTC: IDWM), and the Smithsonian Institution are proud to announce a multi-year global publishing program, which will create an unprecedented library of graphic novels built on the cultural and scientific knowledge of the world’s largest museum, educational, and research complex.

Beginning in fall 2020, IDW and the Smithsonian will invite readers on a voyage of discovery with a comprehensive range of graphic books in a variety of formats. Among the planned product lines are: “Time Trials,” a middle-grade graphic novel series inspired by the National Museum of American History video series; original graphic novels focused on landmark events and individuals, in the tradition of IDW’s acclaimed March and They Called Us Enemy; coloring books in both the youth and adult categories; picture books for young readers; and more.

But you don't have to take our word for it! Among the very best books of 2019 are:

A spooky LGBT hard-rock rom-com by Axelle Lenoir!

Summer camp is supposed to be about finding nirvana in a rock garden…

But Elodie prefers Nirvana and Soundgarden. Can she confront rambunctious kids, confusing feelings, and supernatural horrors all at once?

Return to the astonishing world of talking peaches, magic tea, frightening wildlife, and threatening lizard tribes! The fantasy adventure too epic for one graphic novel finally reaches its conclusion.

We at Top Shelf are thrilled that two of our books, They Called Us Enemy and Red Panda & Moon Bear, will be published in Spanish next year as part of IDW Publishing's new in-house translation program. See below for details and watch for them in 2020... though you can already pre-order from your favorite retailer!

The best little ghost in the world — and his pet ghost, Squiggle — continue their award-winning adventures with a spooky story that can turn any night into Halloween!

Are you scared of the dark? Did you know that when the clock strikes twelve, that’s when the midnight monsters come out? Johnny Boo knows, but that won’t stop him from skateboarding on the back of a wild Tiger and plucking pumpkin ice cream from the gaping maw of a Spooky Tree. He does it all to impress Susie Boom, the cute little girl ghost who lives on the moon. Hopefully she’s watching everything with her telescope! “These are the kind of comics that win Eisner Awards,” says Eisner Award winner James Kochalka.

We can't wait to see you this weekend at the Small Press Expo, September 14-15 at the Bethesda North Marriott outside Washington, DC.

As usual, Top Shelf will be represented by a stunning assortment of talent, in our booth and across the festival floor...

As George Takei's graphic memoir, They Called Us Enemy, hits its fifth incredible week on the New York Times Bestseller List, fans of the the iconic actor/author/activist have even more cause to celebrate.

While supplies last, Top Shelf Productions and IDW Publishing are now offering the exclusive signed & numbered edition of They Called Us Enemy to be ordered directly from IDW's web store for shipment worldwide.

Created to commemorate the book's launch at Comic-Con 2019, this deluxe paper-over-board hardcover edition (limited to 1,000 copies worldwide) features an individually numbered, sewn-in, letterpress bookplate hand-signed by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker, plus exclusive endpapers not found in the regular softcover:

They Called Us Enemy (Signed & Numbered Hardcover)

by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker

ISBN 978-1-60309-472-6 • not available in stores

$75.00 (US) • black & white interiors • YA and up

a 208-page hardcover graphic novel • 6.5” x 9”

Available now, direct from IDW Publishing, while supplies last!

Additionally, an unsigned hardcover is available in limited quantities. This deluxe paper-over-board hardcover edition features exclusive endpapers not found in the regular softcover:

They Called Us Enemy (Hardcover)

by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker

ISBN 978-1-60309-470-2 • not available in stores

$29.99 (US) • black & white interiors • YA and up

a 208-page hardcover graphic novel • 6.5” x 9”

Available now, direct from IDW Publishing, while supplies last!

Read on for three haunting, unforgettable new books coming this fall:

It's been a big week for George Takei. To launch his graphic memoir, They Called Us Enemy, co-written with Justin Eisinger & Steven Scott and drawn by Harmony Becker, this iconic actor/author/activist:

• appeared on The TODAY Show (unprecedented for a graphic memoir!),
• flew to Comic-Con for a standing-room-only panel and two sold-out book signings,
• was honored with Comic-Con's prestigious Inkpot Award,
• held another sold-out signing at the Japanese American National Museum,
• and finally returned home... as a New York Times bestselling author.

Although the Times removed its "Graphic Books" bestseller list in 2017, comics can now reach the "mainstream" lists if they are hugely popular — so They Called Us Enemy is now an incredible #2 in ALL Paperback Nonfiction, sitting above The Mueller Report and many modern classics of prose.

Additionally, They Called Us Enemy has already become:

• an Amazon bestseller — #1 Graphic Novel, Top 10 in all books
• a Barnes & Noble College bestseller — #9 in Paperback Nonfiction

Of course, as the "King of the Internet," Takei responded on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with heartfelt words:

Just one week after its release, I am astounded and grateful to learn that my graphic memoir, THEY CALLED US ENEMY, is a New York Times Bestseller! The story of the Japanese American internment MUST reach new generations — and with your help, it will.