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A national treasure.
Hosting Rep. John Lewis and Andrew and Nate at SPX has been one of our proudest moments.
Congratulations to the first ever graphic novel to win a National Book Award (and its awesome authors)!
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#comics #First Second Books #graphic novels #National Book AwardsMore you might like
Scott McCloud’s wonderful graphic novel The Sculptor is up for a Goodreads Choice Award (as well as some other wonderful graphic novels)! You can vote for your favorite at the link.
First Second Books: giving you fantastic graphic novels for kids since 2006.
Happy holidays!
First Second Books; giving you great new graphic novels since 2006.
Happy holidays!
Today I start drawing the final four pages of Mighty Jack vol. 2, so I thought I’d post a picture of all of my First Second books to date.
These are some amazing graphic novels!
HOW A GRAPHIC NOVEL IS ACTUALLY MADE
PART 1: BEST IDEA EVER!!!
There are a lot (ok, maybe not a lot. I actually didn’t research this at all) of writings and tutorials on how to make comics and graphic novels. I thought it might be fun - and dare I say useful? - for me to document my process and meager experience in such things. This isn’t a how-to or a tutorial, but mostly just a journey for curious, scholarly types. For the sake of efficiency, I’ll be using the word ‘comic’ as a catch-all term for floppies, graphic novels, web comics, mini-comics, all of it! Geez, can’t we just all be a happy family? Anyways, read on, graphic enthusiast!
Part 1: Best Idea Ever!!
Every comic starts with an idea. Got an idea? There. Wasn’t that fun? The thing is, ideas rarely - if ever - spring forth, fully formed, like some blazing Athena from Zeus’ brain. Ideas need time to gestate, percolate, and come to fruition. Every great idea starts with a tiny kernel that will inevitably transform and morph as it evolves.
I sure used a lot of words to explain that an idea has to grow and change, huh?
"But wait!" you might be saying. "Where does that kernel come from? I don’t understand! Help me! AAUGH!!" My response is to come over and put you out since you’re clearly on fire, and let you know that ideas come from everywhere. Literally. Everywhere.
I can’t remember who said this, but being a creative person is a bit like being followed by some mobile, sentient radio. There is a constant stream, 24/7, of creative ideas. Mostly, it’s just on in the background and you’re barely even listening. But when you need to, you can turn up the volume and focus more on the music being emitted. Other times, the radio’s volume will just magically turn up on its own. This Living Devil Radio will not be silenced! This is what accounts for creative types spacing out, having weird sleep schedules, or tossing in bed at 3am, (or sadly self-medicating, which is is a more serious topic for another time). That said, I do believe that it’s times like these in which you must go with the flow and listen to your brain. The radio beckons!
It’s important to take notes when you get ideas, otherwise, you’ll forget. I have word documents on my computer, scraps of paper with cryptic phrases, and playlists of songs that remind me of certain characters or plot elements that I want to use for something at some point. Some stories and ideas come together more quickly than others, but you have to be willing to change your ideas.
So, you’ve sat with your idea for awhile. You’ve turned your random notes into a coherent document. You and your idea have gotten to know each other. You’ve had coffee, you’ve had drinks, you’ve gone ALL THE WAY. Now, all you want is to tell people all about your amazing new idea and how perfect it is and how happy it makes you and oooh, when’s the wedding?
Sharing your idea with others is important. Essential, even. BUT! Hold tight there, Tex. There is a school of thought that says “Show your idea to everyone who will read it! Anyone’s input is valuable!”
False. My grandmother thinks I have wonderful ideas. But she doesn’t know anything about character development, plot, or whether the intended designs are derivative of a popular JRPG. I find it’s best to get feedback for your idea from people in the know - a select group of trusted colleagues and peers.
And now, here you are. Your amorphous idea has become something pretty cool. Your reviewers think it’s pretty cool, too. You’re ready to start unleashing some Amazing Ideas on an unsuspecting public. Well, what now? For me, this is where my idea gets turned into a formal pitch or proposal to be sent to my agent, and then sent to an editor. And that, my dear reader-friends, is what I’ll talk about in Part 2!
Zack Giallongo, creator of BROXO and artist of our upcoming STRATFORD ZOO MIDNIGHT REVIEW PRESENTS MACBETH, gives some great tips on how to make a comic!
The third (and concluding) installment in Ben Hatke’s ZITA THE SPACEGIRL series of graphic novels comes out this month – May 13th, to be specific. Ben and I were both part of the Flight Comics community, and I remember the Zita shorts he made for FLIGHT as well as seeing some of his early drafts for what would turn out to be the first Zita book.
Ben does a lot of things really well in all his Zita stories, but there is one thing that I love above and beyond everything else. Ben is very, very good at making charming, appealing secondary and tertiary characters. You can see a little of this in the pages I’ve posted above.
As Zita blazes through the galaxy, each of the many characters she encounters ends up being someone you want her to spend more time with. Whether benevolent, benign, or antagonistic, they’re all interesting and appealing, even when – as seen above – superficially they’re nothing more than a pile of rags and a talking skeleton.
All of the books share this quality. If you haven’t picked up books one or two yet, definitely give them a read. They’re chalk full of the best kind of world-building, and book three – THE RETURN OF ZITA THE SPACEGIRL – continues the trend. It’s a really solid trilogy jam-packed with imagination. If you have a ten-year-old that you need to buy a gift for, oh you’re welcome I’ve just revealed his/her new favourite book feel free to thank me later.
Favorite things about Ben Hatke’s Zita the Spacegirl! What’s yours?
Jimmy Gownley, Dave Roman, and Raina Telgemeier, along with some brave volunteers from the audience, gave dramatic readings of their graphic novels today, The Dumbest Idea Ever, Astronaut Acadamy: Re-Entry, and Smile. Then, during the Q&A they revealed secrets: which of their books were hardest to write, which cartoonists got them into comics (Bill Watterson and Charles Schulz, of course), who’s the favorite sibling, and more.
We hope they come back soon!
:01 author Dave Roman (Astronaut Academy) with Raina Telgemeier and Jimmy Gownley at Politics & Prose!
Check out these great spooky graphic novels for your Halloween comics reading!
Amazon has chosen its Top 20 comics + graphic novels of 2014. How many have you read?
- The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances by Matthew Inman
- Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant?: A Memoir by Roz Chast
- Saga Deluxe Edition Volume 1 HC by Bryan K Vaughan and Fiona Staples
- Seconds: A Graphic Novel by Bryan O’Malley
- Batman: A Visual History by Mattew K Manning
- The Graveyard Book Graphic Novel: Volume 2 by Neil Gaiman and P Craig Russell
- Through the Woods by Emily Carroll
- Sugar Skull by Charles Burns
- Deadpool by Joe Kelly Omnibus by Joe Kelly and Various
- Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann, Kerascoët and Helge Dascher
- The Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks And Canaan Ahite.
- Trillium by Jeff Lemire
- This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
- Alpha & Omega (Locke & Key) by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
- The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew
- Andre the Giant: Life and Legend by Box Brown
- How To Be Happy by Eleanor Davis
- The Wrenchies by Farel Dalrymple
- The Love Bunglers by Jamie Hernandez
- Ant Colony by Michael DeForge
We recommend several of these books to you!
Hey, here is my San Diego Comic-con schedule! I am very excited!!!
FRIDAY!
3:00pm – Panel
Words & Pictures
Presenting some of the most exciting voices in graphic novels today: Michael Cho (Shoplifter),Faith Erin Hicks (Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong), Lucy Knisley (Relish), Jen Wang (In Real Life), and Gene Luen Yang (The Shadow Hero). The age of the graphic novel is truly beginning in the comics industry, and these panelists will discuss their own work, their process, and the future they see for graphic novels today. Moderated by Lev Grossman (TIME).
Room 9
4:30pm – Autographing Area Signing
Gene Luen Yang (The Shadow Hero), Lucy Knisley (Relish), Jen Wang (In Real Life), Faith Erin Hicks (Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong)
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And then the Eisners in the evening!
SATURDAY!
1:00 – First Second Books Booth Signing (and yes, you can totally bring your own books or non-First Second books for me to sign, I’m happy to do it!)
SUNDAY!
11:30am – Panel
From Snidely Whiplash to Voldemort and Back: The Guys and Gals We Love to Hate
Panelists Matthew Holm (Babymouse, Squish), Talia Hurwich (Johns Hopkins University), Faith Erin Hicks (Friends With Boys, Superhero Girl, Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong), Ted Naifeh(Courtney Crumrin), Jonathan Hamel (game designer, Amazon Game Studios), and Royden Lepp(Rust) discuss what makes a fan-favorite villain and what budding creators might want to think about when hatching their own knavish ne’er-do-wells. They’ll tackle how villains of past and present have changed, how affective villains play foil to their heroes, and whether villains are becoming more believable and more likeable. Panelists will then ask the audience to help create an SDCC 2014 villain.
Room 8
1:30pm - Panel
Superheroines! Power, Responsibility and Representation
Moderated by Racebending.com, an intersectional, all-women (social) Justice League of television creators, graphic novelists, artists, and cultural commentators will explore the topic of women in the superhero world. Featured panelists include Marjorie Liu (Astonishing X-Men),Marguerite Bennett (Batman), and Faith Erin Hicks (The Adventures of Superhero Girl).
Room 23ABC
3:30pm – Panel
First Second in Conversation
First Second authors Faith Erin Hicks (Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong), Lucy Knisley (Relish),Paul Pope (The Rise of Aurora West), and Gene Luen Yang (The Shadow Hero) in conversation.
Room 26AB
YAY! Hope to see everyone there!
(PS. I will not look as cool in person as I do in the drawing above, you have been warned.)
We’re super-excited to have Faith signing at our booth at San Diego! We hope you can come by for it.