Top Shelf Productions

A few days ago, legendary actor, activist, and author George Takei visited New York to deliver the keynote address at School Library Journal's 14th annual Leadership Summit.

Speaking to a rapt audience of key figures from schools and libraries around the United States, Takei narrated his wrenching firsthand experience in childhood as one of 120,000 Japanese Americans forced into internment camps during World War II. Takei also explored the complex lessons of patriotism and civic engagement passed down by his father, the duty of all Americans to stand up for our ideals, and his hopes for They Called Us Enemy to both educate and inspire new generations with the lessons of the past.

"Next year, we will put it in your hands, you librarians, to build the future of America, to inform the young people who will become the leaders of our future that we have a glorious history... but we should also be mindful of some of the horrible mistakes that we made," he said. "As Americans, we all have a responsibility to build a better America."

They Called Us Enemy is currently in preparation for release in Summer 2019, but some retailers are already beginning to offer pre-orders — including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Hudson Booksellers, and the IndieBound network of independent bookstores.

For the full story on Takei's address to the SLJ Leadership Summit, see this article.

Calvin & Hobbes meets Call of Cthulhu as the sensationally popular heavy metal webcomic BELZEBUBS comes to your bookshelf in a grim, goofy, and gorgeous hardcover.

Belzebubs is a “trve kvlt mockumentary” focusing on the everyday challenges of family life: raising kids, running a small business, and making time for worship. Except the kids are named Lilith and Leviathan, the business is a black-metal band, and the worship… isn’t exactly aimed upstairs.

In a few short years, what started out as improvised social-media doodles has now become a wildly successful webcomic with hundreds of thousands of fans. The irresistible cartooning of JP Ahonen (Sing No Evil) combines relatable slice-of-life humor with over-the-top occult antics and references from metal music to Lovecraftian horror, making Belzebubs a devil of a good time.

See what Belzebubs' quarter-million frenzied Facebook fans have been raving about!

PLUS: watch for the official Belzebubs soundtrack album, coming in early 2019 from the world’s largest heavy metal record label, Century Media!

“A story whose pleasure lies not only in appreciating the beauty of its artwork, but in deciphering what lies hidden in its metaphors.” — Nerd Geek Feelings

“Beautiful and unique… Ye delicately portrays how difficult it is to find oneself in the world and, more importantly, how to control our insecurities.” — Conexão Comix

“Here are Eastern European cultures, medieval myths, works of fantasy, the Sandman stories of Neil Gaiman, and the drawings of Hayao Miyazaki… It’s one of the year’s most interesting works.” — O Grito

Two Latinx kids battle supernatural threats to their working-class neighborhood with the power of science, magic, and a pair of very special hoodies.

Red Panda and Moon Bear are the defenders of their community! Together, these brave siblings rescue lost cats, scold bullies, and solve mysteries, all before Mamá and Papá get home. But lately... the mysteries have been EXTRA mysterious. All of RP and MB's powers may not be enough to handle spooks, supervillains, alien invaders, and time warps! It'll take all their imagination — and some new friends — to uncover the secret cause behind all these events before the whole world goes crazy.

In his first book for young readers, Cuban-American cartoonist Jarod Roselló presents a whimsical and tender-hearted adventure, packed with Saturday-morning adventure and glowing with Caribbean sunshine.

Hispanic/Latinx kids make up about 25% of US students and growing, yet almost no comics or graphic novels focus on their experience. We are thrilled to introduce Jarod Roselló's exuberant young heroes to readers everywhere!

It's a banner week for Top Shelf new releases — available in all fine comic shops today!

Girl Town by Carolyn Nowak

$19.99 (US) • ISBN 978-1-60309-438-2 • Diamond: JUN180750

160 pages • full color • softcover graphic novel w/ flaps • 6.5” x 9”

For older teens & adults (16+) • Read an 11-page preview

You'll never want to leave these richly emotional tales of female friendship, desire, and healing.

"Spellbinding... a cerebral, spirited work of art." — Foreword Reviews (starred review

From Hell: Master Edition #1 (of 10) by Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell

$7.99 (US) • Diamond order code: JUL180935

72 pages • full-color prestige-format comic book (with spine)

For adults (18+) • Read a 5-page preview

Experience Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell's Victorian murder masterpiece as never before: fully revised and colorized for the first time by the hand of Eddie Campbell himself!

The Jekyll Island Chronicles (Book 2): A Devil's Reach

by Steve Nedvidek, Ed Crowell, Jack Lowe, Moses Nester, and S. J. Miller

$19.99 (US) • ISBN 978-1-60309-426-9 - Diamond: FEB180481

168 pages • full color • softcover graphic novel w/ flaps • 6.875” x 10.435”

For young adults & adults (13+) • Read a 4-page preview

The surprise hit diesel-powered action-thriller Jekyll Island Chronicles roar back with an even more exciting sequel, packed with mechanical adventure and fascinating historical truths!

Plus: meet Nate Powell, Liz Prince, Erin Nations, Maria Hoey, Molly Ostertag, Jennifer Hayden, Jess Fink, and more!

Brave the hurricane and join Top Shelf at Small Press Expo this weekend in Bethesda, MD! We're honored to host Carolyn Nowak and Nate Powell as Special Guests of the festival, and thrilled that Carolyn's much-anticipated Girl Town will make its world debut at the show. (Following SPX, Girl Town will reach comic shops in October and mainstream booksellers in November.)

The Top Shelf booth will also feature Liz Prince (Look Back & Laugh) and Erin Nations (Gumballs), and you won't have to look far to find Maria Hoey (Coin-Op), Molly Ostertag (Strong Female Protagonist), Jennifer Hayden (The Story of My Tits), Jess Fink (Chester 5000)...

It's a Top Shelf Two-in-One! Issue #1 of Alan Moore & Kevin O'Neill's final project (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest) sold out immediately upon release, but reprints are now back in stock… along with the brand-new issue #2! Call your favorite comic shop now to grab 'em.

“What Doth the Lord Require of Thee?” Blackmail and black magic — and one unforgettable tour of London — come to life in full color!

"My all-time favorite graphic novel … an immense, majestic work about the Jack the Ripper murders, the dark Victorian world they happened in, and the birth of the 20th century." — Warren Ellis, Entertainment Weekly

Experience FROM HELL as never before: fully restored and in color for the first time!

This volume contains Chapters 3 and 4, as well as all the original annotations.

Co-Published by Top Shelf Productions (US) and Knockabout (UK).

From Hell: Master Edition #2 (of 10)

by Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell

$7.99 (US) • 72 pages • full-color prestige-format comic book (with spine and 3" flaps)

Diamond order code: SEP180779

Check out 4 preview pages now and pre-order at your favorite comic shop for release in NOVEMBER!

“A great adventure that will delight young and old alike.” — Bande à Bulle

"Grabbing you with its action (midnight mischief, combat), its themes (teamwork, self-improvement, coming of age, friendship, love), its humor, and its freshness, Supers pleases right away…. one of the most beautiful young-fantasy comics in recent years.” — Comixtrip

ACBD Award Winner! Real life meets super-powered action when three refugee siblings start a new school year as the ultimate illegal aliens.

“Will you tell me about Mom?”

“I don’t remember much, you know.”

“You can make it up. I don’t mind.”

Mat, Lili, and Benji aren’t from around here. Abandoned on planet Earth, hiding far from their home, they can’t even use their powers in public, for fear of being discovered. Starting at a new school is hard enough already…

Supers won the first ever Youth Award from ACBD (the French Association of Comics Critics) thanks to its rich blend of family tension, super-thrills, and classroom drama, all presented in gorgeous full-color artwork. Now it’s your turn to meet these awesome immigrants. Welcome to the family!

Supers (Book One) by Frédéric Maupomé and Dawid

$14.99 (US) • ISBN 978-1-60309-439-9 • Diamond order code: AUG180832

112 pages • full-color softcover graphic novel with French flaps • 6.5" x 9”

Advance solicited for release in November 2018

Read an 11-page preview now and pre-order with your favorite retailer!

Second volume of acclaimed middle-grade graphic novel series brings supernatural new adventures for California tween sleuths

SAN DIEGO, CA (July 20, 2018) — Top Shelf Productions announced today that Surfside Girls, Kim Dwinell’s celebrated graphic novel series for middle-grade readers about friendship, fun, and lost mysteries of the local landscape, will receive a full-length sequel next summer.

Surfside Girls (Book One): The Secret of Danger Point introduced readers to best friends Sam and Jade, who put together clues ranging from suspicious beachcombers to spooky ghosts to baby dinosaurs in order to save their town from an unexpected threat. Surfside Girls (Book Two): The Mystery at the Old Rancho, scheduled for June 2019, presents even more beautiful beaches, hidden secrets, distracting cuties, and wild adventures:

When one of the ghosts from Danger Point gets… spooked, it’s time for Sam and Jade to pull out the Journal of Weird and jump into action! Trying to solve this two-hundred-year-old mystery takes the girls all over their town and beyond, all while Surfside’s Annual Surf Competition is going on. Add to the mix a cute surfer boy, a mysterious mustached man with a guitar, and a very jealous Sam — can the surfing sleuths save the day again?

“I’ve had so much fun this last year watching readers of all ages discover Sam and Jade’s world,” says author Kim Dwinell. “I packed Surfside Girls with Southern California sunshine, and I hope everyone enjoys spending time with it as much as I do. I'm absolutely stoked to show you what the girls get up to in Book Two!”

Kim Dwinell will meet fans and sign Surfside Girls at Comic-Con International today, Friday July 20th, from 10am-11am and 4pm-5pm in booth 2743 (Top Shelf / IDW Publishing).

"Kim Dwinell’s Surfside Girls has a timeless quality. With its likable characters, sunny colors, and supernatural mystery, it’s a perfect summer read." — Brigid Alverson, School Library Journal's Good Comics for Kids

"Kim Dwinell supplies a great-looking world of infinite potential... Anyone fondly remembering the tenacious and good-hearted Nancy Drew adventures from their youth can locate a spiritual successor for their own children in Surfside Girls." — Slings & Arrows

Surfside Girls (Book One): The Secret of Danger Point is now available wherever books are sold. Surfside Girls (Book Two): The Mystery at the Old Rancho will be published in June 2019 by Top Shelf Productions, an imprint of IDW Publishing. For more information, visit surfsidegirls.com.

Graphic memoir of actor/author/activist will depict his childhood in 1940s Japanese American internment camps

SAN DIEGO, CA (July 19, 2018) — As nations around the globe confront new versions of old debates about immigration, incarceration, and family separation, actor/author/activist George Takei is preparing a beautiful and powerfully resonant graphic memoir of his own direct experience with American xenophobia.

In summer 2019, Top Shelf Productions will publish Takei’s They Called Us Enemy, created in collaboration with co-writers Justin Eisinger & Steven Scott and artist Harmony Becker. George Takei 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. Readers will experience the forces that shaped an American icon — and America itself — in this gripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love.

Tomorrow at Comic-Con International, co-writers Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott will discuss They Called Us Enemy, and share early glimpses of Harmony Becker’s artwork, in the panel “The Human Condition: Connecting Humanity with Graphic Novels,” Friday at 1 pm in Room 23ABC.

San Diego Comic-Con is always huge for Top Shelf — an occasion to debut some of our year's most jaw-dropping books, assemble a massive lineup of your favorite cartoonists, and sign for you until our hands fall off! This year's show (kicking off next week) is no exception.

Come visit us and our colleagues at IDW Publishing all convention long in Booth #2743, for your opportunity to grab all the stunning books above and to meet:

Nate Powell (Come Again)

Dan Berry (The Three Rooms in Valerie’s Head)

Erin Nations (Gumballs)

Steve Nedvidek, Jack Lowe, & Ed Crowell (The Jekyll Island Chronicles)

Kim Dwinell (Surfside Girls) — Friday only

With special appearances from:

Jeff Lemire (The Underwater Welder / Essex County)

Eddie Campbell (The Goat Getters / From Hell)

Peter & Maria Hoey (Coin-Op Comics Anthology)

Rian Hughes (I Am a Number)

Bobby Curnow (Ward’s Valley)

Mark Russell & Shannon Wheeler (God Is Disappointed In You / Sh*t My President Says)

Multi-award-winning cartoonist Carolyn Nowak (Lumberjanes) uses fantasy worlds to explore profound truths about friendship and desire. Her solo debut collection celebrates the ascent of a rising literary star.

Carolyn Nowak’s Girl Town collects the Ignatz Award-winning stories “Radishes” and “Diana’s Electric Tongue” together with several other tales of young adulthood and the search for connection. Here are her most acclaimed mini-comics and anthology contributions, enhanced with new colors and joined by brand-new work.

Bold, infatuated, wounded, or lost, Nowak’s girls shine with life and longing. Their stories — depicted with remarkable charm and insight — capture the spirit of our time.

Girl Town by Carolyn Nowak (September 2018)

$19.99 (US) • ISBN 978-1-60309-438-2 • Diamond: JUN18-0750

160 pages • full color • softcover graphic novel w/ flaps • 6.5” x 9”

For older teens & adults (16+)

Read an 11-page preview excerpt now and pre-order from your favorite retailer!

Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell’s masterpiece returns as full-color “prestige” comic book series in September

Jack is back — and this time, the blood is red.

For decades, the award-winning graphic novel FROM HELL has welcomed readers into the grandeur and grime of London in the late 1800s. The New York Times-bestselling opus is an achievement the New Yorker dubs “remarkable” and Entertainment Weekly calls “an immense, majestic work about the Jack the Ripper murders, the dark Victorian world they happened in, and the birth of the 20th century.”

Beginning in September, readers old and new will experience FROM HELL as never before. The FROM HELL Master Edition presents Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s Victorian masterpiece as a ten-issue serial, thoroughly restored and revised “for color, clarity, and continuity” by Eddie Campbell himself.

“The most dramatic change is the color, of course,” says Campbell. “I prefer the term ‘colorizing’ to ‘coloring’ since I’m not simply painting within the black lines, but reconceiving every panel to suit a full-color world. But I’ve also gone through and fixed small errors and minor flaws that have haunted me for decades. Ultimately the result is my equivalent of a ‘director’s cut’ of From Hell.”

“From Hell is one of the greatest graphic novels ever made — the first comic I ever read that really opened my eyes to the possibilities of sophisticated writing and art in this format,” says Chris Staros, Editor-in-Chief of Top Shelf Productions. “It’s been one of the keystones of Top Shelf’s line for almost twenty years, and now it’s an honor to watch Eddie breathe a whole new life into this epic.”

Eddie Campbell discusses his process in greater depth and reveals an exclusive interior preview of From Hell: Master Edition in a new interview at Entertainment Weekly.

From Hell: Master Edition #1 (of 10) will be released exclusively through comic shops and digital retailers in September 2018. To find a comic shop near you, visit comicshoplocator.com or call 1-800-COMIC-BOOK.

This weekend we're off to Canada for the famous Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF)! It's our first year exhibiting on the busy first floor (#128-129), so come on by — you can't miss us!

Joining us are two award-winning legends of alt-comics, James Kochalka and Eddie Campbell, making their TCAF debuts as featured guests of the festival. It'll mark the world premiere of Kochalka's latest book Johnny Boo and the Ice Cream Computer and his first festival appearance with Mechaboys, while Campbell celebrates the launch of The Goat Getters: Jack Johnson, the Fight of the Century, and How a Bunch of Raucous Cartoonists Reinvented Comics from our friends at The Library of American Comics as well as Bizarre Romance with Audrey Niffenegger. 

We're also thrilled to have both Bobby Curnow and Brenda Hickey for their first ever joint signing of the electrifying and emotional fantasy adventure Ward's Valley!

The inimitable Carolyn Nowak will be on hand as well — stop by for a free signed poster for her upcoming short story collection Girl Town, coming this fall!

Elsewhere on the floor, you'll find Molly Ostertag with Strong Female Protagonist, Conor McCreery with Kill Shakespeare, and so much more!

We'll see you soon at TCAF table #128-129!