Top Shelf Productions

Following the award-winning bestseller They Called Us Enemy, the iconic George Takei has returned to the field of graphic memoir with an even more personal story, crafted with the same creative team. It Rhymes With Takei explores the complexities of George Takei's life as a gay man, his decades in the closet, his decision to come out at age 68, and how that moment changed everything.

To celebrate the book's launch, yesterday Takei visited Good Morning America to discuss his journey through LGBTQ+ history. Now you can watch the full clip here!

In celebration of Pride Month and his much-anticipated new graphic memoir It Rhymes With Takei (a reunion with artist Harmony Becker and the rest of the team behind They Called Us Enemy), the iconic George Takei is making a series of appearances throughout June in New York and California. See below for details about each event and to reserve your spot!

• Wed, Jun 11 — Midtown Comics Grand Central (New York City)
• Sat, Jun 14 — Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles)
• Sun, Jun 15 — Barnes & Noble at The Grove (Los Angeles)
• Fri, Jun 20 — Vroman's Bookstore (Pasadena)
• Sun, Jun 22 — Japan Society (New York City)
• Wed, Jun 25 — Barnes & Noble at Union Square (New York City)

Join us this wekeend in Ontario for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF), now held in a new location: Toronto Metropolitan University’s Mattamy Athletic Centre! This means that our official booth number is, yes, "Hockey Rink #243-244"!

Only in Canada.

Dani Diaz (Dreamover) and James Albon (Love Languages) are featured guests of the show, and they'll be joined by the great Jon Allen (The Well) and senior editor Leigh Walton, as well as more terrific Top Shelf authors at their own tables, like Ricky Lima (Undergrowth) and Steven Scott (It Rhymes With Takei)! Come see us, eh?

A kaleidoscopic portrait of one iconic American
navigating the tides of LGBTQ+ history

George Takei has shown the world many faces: actor, author, outspoken activist, helmsman of the starship Enterprise, living witness to the internment of Japanese Americans, and king of social media. But until October 27, 2005, there was always one piece missing—one face he did not show the world. There was one very intimate fact about George that he never shared… and it rhymes with Takei.

If you're in the New York area, come out to see us at the 2025 MoCCA Fest this weekend, March 15-16, 2025 at the Metropolitan Pavilion! At the Top Shelf booth (tables 140-141), we'll be featuring four outstanding new members of the Top Shelf crew with brand-new books: Dani Diaz (Dreamover), W. Bradford Gambles (Shred or Dead), Kazimir Lee (Low Orbit), and Jon Allen (The Well)! And that's not all... around the floor you'll find Allison Conway, Maria Hoey, and other Top Shelf talents. Don't miss Manhattan's greatest indie-comics assemblage — we'll see you there!

One of the delights of Alan Moore & Steve Moore's monumental Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic is the introduction to a wider audience of the extraordinary artist Ben Wickey. Ben has spent many years working in animation (both traditional and stop-motion) as well as illustration and comics, and his artwork brings to life one of the key features of the Bumper Book, "Old Moores' Lives of the Great Enchanters."

What's more, Ben is preparing his solo graphic novel debut, a huge 480-page opus about Giles Corey and the Salem Witch Trials, entitled More Weight: A Salem Story.

Ben recently spoke with Alan Moore World about his experience working on the Moon and Serpent Bumper Book, his creative relationship with Alan, and what awaits us in More Weight — with plenty of behind-the-scenes photos and art. Check it out!

Anticipation is heating up for our first two books of 2025. In fact, both of these books have multi-talented creators who not only wrote and drew these graphic novels, but also created gorgeous animated trailers for them!

Although the candy-colored early-teen dramedy of Dani Diaz's Dreamover is miles apart from over-the-top older-teen gothic horror of Sam Fonseca's Shadowplay, both are terrific at using imaginative visuals to capture the deep emotions of the growing-up process. Check them out below!

Dani Diaz's video trailer for Dreamover (coming in January):

Sam Fonseca's video trailer for Shadowplay: Midnight School (coming in February):

Award-winning team reunites to depict the astounding personal journey of a gay icon

Top Shelf Productions is proud to announce It Rhymes With Takei — a new full-color graphic memoir from the team behind George Takei’s award-winning bestseller They Called Us Enemy, telling the untold story of his journey from closeted actor to international gay icon. Scheduled for publication in June 2025, It Rhymes With Takei will offer an unprecedented view into the heart of this beloved star and a celebration of the warp-speed changes he has witnessed in one lifetime.

Pre-orders are already live at:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Bookshop.org | Hudson Booksellers | Indigo | Target
or speak to your local comic shop or bookstore!

George Takei has shown the world many faces: actor, author, outspoken activist, helmsman of the starship Enterprise, living witness to the internment of Japanese Americans, and king of social media. But until October 27, 2005, there was always one piece missing—one face he did not show the world. There was one very intimate fact about George that he never shared…and it rhymes with Takei.

November and December will bring two new middle-grade gems — including the mile-a-minute wacky antics of Dennis Messner's The Unpetables and the sunny, spooky, mystery fun of Kim Dwinell's Surfside Girls!

To celebrate the long-awaited launch of The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic next week, the iconic Alan Moore granted a rare interview to Rob Salkowitz for Publishers Weekly! It's full of gems like this:

"...The Bumper Book is certainly intended as a means to unlock the freedoms of the mind, wherever or whenever the freedoms of the flesh and of the street are being locked down. Just as with the age-old purpose of magic itself, our book is meant as an irresistible and sumptuously decorated mental cake, that has a mental file concealed inside it. This might prove useful for sawing through what William Blake called 'mind-forged manacles' two hundred years ago, which are clearly still around today."

Head to PW for the full interview!

To celebrate Chris Gooch's fastest-selling and most acclaimed graphic novel to date, In Utero, Chris is not only an international Special Guest of the SPX, he's also sticking around our continent afterwards for two appearances in New York City!

• Wednesday, September 18th from 5-7pm: Chris will be signing at Forbidden Planet NYC! Details on Instagram, RSVP at this Facebook event.
• Friday, September 20th from 6:15-8pm: Chris will be featured in conversation with Top Shelf's own Leigh Walton at the 53rd Street branch of the New York Public Library, folllowed by a book signing! Details at NYPL.

Come get to know the brilliant mind behind Bottled, Deep Breaths, Under-Earth, and now In Utero! Our thanks to Creative Australia for making Chris's trip possible.

We're approaching that most special of weekends, the Small Press Expo (SPX)! Join us September 14-15, 2024, at the Marriott in North Bethesda, Maryland, for a glimpse into the beating heart of the indie comics & graphic novel community. across the US and beyond. 

First, visit SPX Special Guest Chris Gooch (In Utero, Under-Earth, Deep Breaths, Bottled) who’s traveled all the way from Australia to meet you at table M10B!

Visit the Top Shelf booth (W56-W59) to meet three more outstanding creators:

• Julian Hanshaw (debuting Space Junk) from the UK!
• Ricky Lima (debuting Undergrowth) from Canada!
• Lisa Naffziger (debuting Deja Ross Speaks to Freaks) from the USA!

In the shattered remnants of a doomed planet, the last shuttles are leaving soon… So why do these misfits want to stay behind?

Faith has a metallic mystery bolted to her head. Hoshi keeps his rage in check with an emotional support chicken. On a dying world where most adults have already left and the remaining kids are training for their turn, these two are starting to wonder: what’s the point? Gradually, a cluster of lonely souls who’ve spent their lives emotionally adrift are pulled into each other’s orbit as they try stay in place in a universe that is moving all too quickly.

“These are broken people in a broken world... but so are we. The tenderness that Julian Hanshaw finds for his characters will touch you as deeply as his dystopian sci-fi visuals will haunt your dreams.” — Moby

Space Junk by Julian Hanshaw
ISBN 978-1-60309-543-3 | Diamond Code: JUN241249
$19.99 (US) | 176 pages | Full color paperback | 8.25" x 10"
Browse preview pages | In Stores Now!