I first came across Aaron Renier’s work in Spiral Bound, and with it developed an instant affection for his storytelling. I loved the readability and distinctness of his characters, the rambunctious, breathless pacing of the adventure, and the unique mix of influences that lends Renier’s work an instantly familiar mood.

When he joined First Second with The Unsinkable Walker Bean, Aaron brought all that and more to the Long John Silver genre—reinventing it in the process and producing a work that belongs in every collection of the very best perennial comics for young readers.

There are many qualities I delight in when I read Aaron’s pages. One of them is his generosity. As a writer and as an artist, he spills over with extra—extra story, extra details, extra discovery… And not just in his now famous “Waldo” spread… Click to enlarge and get lost inside this one:

Aaron Renier’s Walker Bean gives and gives and gives some more… Though he plays with all the tropes of the pirate yarn, he illuminates it with so many magic little flourishes that it becomes something uniquely his.

Renier’s panels yield their treasures over many readings, and with revisiting I especially feel the author’s exuberant, childlike pleasure at drawing, at inking, at telling his story…

Aaron Renier packs in an astonishing amount of invention into his books, and Walker Bean’s world is replete with animated objects, ancient creatures, and more devices and contraptions than you’d find in Diagon Alley… His sketchbooks alone are bewildering that way.

I’m so proud we publish Walker Bean and the next one is appearing a page at a time, and I can promise you, it’s every bit as magnificent.

Mr. Renier isn’t done giving.

Prudence Shen and Faith Erin Hick’s upcoming graphic novel Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong is now available for pre-order.  Why should you pre-order, you ask?

Because: prizes!

(The book [pictured above] is not one of the prizes, because it would be silly to give you a copy of the book as a prize for pre-ordering the book.)

Who does not want the pre-ordering prize of original art by Faith Erin Hicks?  Or — my favorite prize — a short story epilogue about the two main characters having things go terribly, terribly wrong in college (college being possibly the hub focal point of all the things that could possibly go wrong).

If you are not convinced by prizes, be convinced by the book itself!  Publishers’ Weekly and Booklist have both given it starred reviews — Booklist even called it “delightful.”  This is a quality graphic novel well worth spending your money on, O Readers.

Also, it’s a story about teenagers (who are relatively intelligent most of the time) building robots in their basement!  Who doesn’t want to have a copy of this book of their very own?

Be convinced by our suave pre-ordering logic and pre-order a copy of Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong today!

This is a photograph of my computer monitor at work.

On top of it is a rubber stamp that MK Reed gave me a few years ago. It reads,

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

–Douglas Adams

That text document is my to do list.

As you can see, my to do list is really, really long.

I fantasize frequently about getting my hands on a Time-Turner, like Hermione in Prisoner of Azkaban. Because without one, there’s basically no way I will ever, ever, ever catch up.

Ever.

So the decisions I make about what to do with my time every day depend on a sort of murky alchemy of what’s going to explode, who’s going to kill me, what’s the most fun to do, and what I’m the most scared of doing.

Today, one of the things on my to do list is: write a blog post. I try to post something every couple of weeks, and I’m probably overdue. So writing up a quick post is definitely up there on my to-do list. But it’s just one of about 100 fairly urgent things on my to do list for today, and part of the reason I’m actually executing this task right now is because I’m procrastinating.

Me writing this blog post = me doing a required task for my job = me procrastinating from other required tasks for my job. This is called “Productive Procrastination” or “Positive Procrastination” or “Structured Procrastination,” depending on who’s talking about it. In any case, I’m not the first person to have identified procrastination as a neato counter-intuitive way of Getting Shit Done. You can read more in this entertaining little piece at the Times, here.

For me, procrastination boils down to fear. I avoid doing certain tasks because I’m afraid of them.

I’m afraid of doing them wrong.

I’m afraid of being bored.

I’m afraid of feeling dumb.

I’m afraid of making people mad, or sad.

I’m afraid of making them think less of me.

So certain things get pushed back and pushed back and pushed back until the fear of not doing them becomes greater than the fear of doing them. Granted, it’s not an ideal way to work, but let me tell you: I get a LOT DONE when I’m avoiding doing things. Fear is a great motivator! Consider the mental math of the reasonably responsible human person: “I will allow myself to spinelessly shirk from task A,” says the reasonably responsible human person, bargaining with herself, “because I will make it up, karma-wise, by doing all of task B, right now.” Task B gets done. Are you ready to tackle task A now, R.R.H.P.? No? You’re so bad. Make it up to the world by kicking task C out of the park. Great job, R.R.H.P! Now, about task A… Oh, you want to take a look at task D? Why not.

Look, task A gets done eventually. I’m not a complete monster. But a couple of days of avoiding task A can work wonders when it comes to tasks B through K.

I didn’t always think about my work habits in this light. I’ve always worked this way, but it used to feel like a failure, like I was a weakling for not tackling the scary things first. But every attempt to reform was a bust. So I guess I’ve sort of learned to lean into it – to embrace it. And if you’re like me – if you get a lot of stuff done by procrastinating – I recommend that you stop beating yourself up about it, and start managing it smartly. It really works!

Now I’m going to go find some other (presumably) useful thing to do while avoiding tasks A, L, R-U inclusive, and Z.

Oh, the dreaded Z.

Glyn Dillon’s The Nao of Brown came out last year; I didn’t pick it up immediately because I’m not a huge fan of washing machines, and I’m here today to say: that was a mistake!  Even if you do not like washing machines at all, you should check out this graphic novel.

On a more serious note: The Nao of Brown is a story about a half-English, half-Japanese girl named Nao Brown.  She’s finding her way in her life as a young, not-quite-starving artist who occasionally works retail and tries not to be an emotional mess the rest of the time, with moderate success.  Then she starts dating a guy, and things in her life start coming undone.

One of my favorite parts of this book is just how much of a mess Nao Brown is.  There are so many books where either the protagonist is actually a mess (and you’re like, ‘how have you continued to be alive for this long without people tacking warning labels to you?’) or where everyone decides the protagonist is a mess and she actually isn’t (‘you had a suicidal thought as a teenager — let’s confine you to a mental institution!’).  Nao doesn’t hit either end of this scale — she’s able to hold down an admittedly flexible job and make art and not be a terrible roommate to live with and have friends, so you are like, ‘you are not a psychopath and your head is messed up a completely reasonable amount!’  This is also nice because it means she’s not an entirely unsympathetic protagonist.

This is aided by the dialogue, which is generally great, and the art, which is lovely (and watercolor — my favorite!) — Nao looks just like how Glyn writes her — young, precariously emotional, trying really hard, and also like the huge fan of Japanese culture that she is.  It’s wonderful how this graphic novel (which is like two hundred pages long and full color and must have taken forever to do) feels very much like it must have taken place now, in the present moment of 2013 — which is so hard to do for people who are not twenty and who are writing about people who are twenty — I feel like everyone has the tendency to slip into their own pasts when writing about specific ages that they are no longer at themselves.

The ending is also wonderful, and I will not spoil it for you, but!  Just when you’re like, ‘Come on, Nao — seriously, you have to change your life because this does not seem to be a reasonably tenable situation for you,’ change is forced up on her.

In conclusion: this book!  You should read it.

We went to the MoCCA Festival this year and took photos of our doings whilst we were in the hallowed halls of the New York City Armory.  Here are they!

Set-up.  There were also balloons, but you can’t see them in this photo, as they are up in the air.

We brought lots of books (all of them excellent)!

George O’Connor (author of the New York Times Best-Selling graphic novel Poseidon) came to sign with us on Saturday morning; here he’s talking with a fan.

And here George O’Connor is drawing a sketch of Zeus (lightning bolt not included)!

Mark Siegel (author of Sailor Twain) draws mermaids in white pen.

An additional mermaid.

Nick Abadzis’ colored-pencil sketches when signing his graphic novel Laika look amazing!

Here’s a close-up on one of his sketches.

And another!

This small child came by the table to read the whole of Ben Hatke’s Legends of Zita the Spacegirl.

Sara Varon signs a copy of Robot Dreams (which takes place on a beach) for Teen Boat! co-creator John Green.  Guess what the sketch is?

It is the Robot Dreams dog traversing the sea on Teen Boat!  Perhaps he is still lonely and searching for his once-friend the robot.

Sara Varon also signs Bake Sale with cupcakes.

We debuted Lucy Knisley’s graphic novel Relish: My Life in the Kitchen at the show, and Lucy came to sign with us even though she had her own table — thanks, Lucy!

There was a line!  It looked like this.

Lucy sketched peoples’ favorite foods on the title pages of the copies of Relish that she signed.

Then we packed up and went home.  It was great to see all of our amazing authors and all you excellent book-readers!

Thanks for stopping by.

(from the National Library of Australia.  When I asked Flickr to give me a picture of the internet, this is what showed up.  Maybe it’s a metaphor?)

If you’re an aspiring writer/illustrator/graphic novelist, why should you have a website?

The answer basically boils down to: you want people to be looking you up.

When you’re starting out as a writer or artist, the best possible thing that can happen to you is that people see your work and want to see more.  In this day and age, what happens at this point is not that a reader (or editor) gets out their rolodex to call all their friends to ask if they’ve ever heard of this New Artist and get their friends’ opinion on this New Artist’s work (if they’ve seen it).  Instead, a reader or editor consults the internet.

“Internet,” they say, “show me more of this person’s work.”

If you don’t have a website (and here I note that ideally this website should have your professional portfolio and a bio), what shows up?  Various discourses on exploits you got into in college?  Stuff from your Facebook page?

Or — worst of all — nothing?

If you’re an aspiring writer/illustrator/graphic novelist and you don’t have an easily accessible online presence, you just make it that much harder for readers to be fans of your work, and for industry professionals to get in touch with you about possible work.

“Be prepared. You’re going to love it.” - Brian Selznick

“Aaron’s work makes me feel ten years old again. ” - Lane Smith

“Outrageous and wonderful!” - Jeff Smith

“Anyone who has said that pirates are an overused motif in youth literature has not yet met Walker Bean.”
Starred Review—Kirkus Reviews

At first glance, this graphic novel looks like a mishmash of time-honored seafaring fantasy-adventure tropes: ancient curses with vague hints of Atlantis and a lost treasure; pirates more loveable than rascally pitted against greedy starched-shirt colonial naval types; and of course the outwardly meek but plucky-under-fire boy hero. But while Renier certainly hits all of those notes, he isn’t content to simply let the story coast once under way”which takes only a panel or two to get cracking. Instead, he keeps throwing newer and neater elements into the fray.
Starred Review—Booklist

“Renier’s tale is a youngster’s dream: adventure with a capital A.”
Starred Review—School Library Journal

This rip-roaring tale of swashbuckling adventure from the Eisner Award winning Renier offers up a story line and art of equally intriguing depth. It is colonial times, and Walker Bean must help his grandfather, who’s been cursed by a pair of witchy undersea lobster-women named Tartessa and Remora, by returning a magical skull to the mysterious Mango Islands. Stowing away on a ship, Walker teams up with a dog named Perrogi (obviously drawn with the affection of a dog lover), a boy named Shiv, and a tough-talking girl named Genoa. Renier’s dynamic drawings are rich in detail; readers will get lost in the winding streets of colonial towns, island hideaways, natural history collections, exuberant panoramas of action. Renier lets his imagination lead the way, throwing maps and illustrated clues throughout this seafaring world, and setting up all manner of surprises and danger for Walker.
Starred Review—Publisher’s Weekly

Among the pleasures of this graphic adventure novel are the scene-stealing “evil merwitch sisters,” who appear in the first pages with snaggleteeth and glowing eyes, snipping their prey in half with lobster claws. Please, tell us more. Walker Bean, an intrepid lad on a mission from his grandfather, must outwit the merwitches, not to mention a cackling skull in a sack. The action is occasionally confusing and the cast a touch overcrowded, but this is an authentically exciting seagoing yarn in graphic form and there should be more like it.
—The New York Times

 

(from the US National Archives; in this store championing the environment, we could stock maybe one of our books?  Possibly it is not the best place to have a stock signing.  Just FYI.)

What is a stock signing?

A stock signing is when an author goes to a bookstore to sign the copies of the books the store has in stock.  It’s not an event — you aren’t sitting at a table with a line of fans eagerly awaiting your signature — you’re just stopping by so that the store can later put a sticker on all the books you signed that says ‘Signed Copy’ and have that as a shopping bonus for their regular customers.  The goal is for the store to have signed copies of your book to sell to their customers for the next few months.

Why should an author do stock signings?

Doing stock signings establishes a good relationship with the bookstores you sign for.  Having signed copies of a book that they love is a bonus for any store — it gives them an extra edge in selling the book.  If you’re willing to come by the store and sign books even without a crowd of fans waiting for you, you must really like books!  And bookstores!  And signing your signature repeatedly!

The second reason is that it gives the undecided bookstore consumer something to influence him or her towards buying your book.  Obviously, any people who are ginormous fans of your work will pick it up whether or not it’s got your signature.  But if there’s someone who has heard good things about your book, but is kind of waffling between your book and another book, having a signed copy can tip them over the edge towards picking up the book that is yours.

In summary: it’s good for community relations!  And sales!  You can’t go wrong.

How do you set up a stock signing?

It’s best to do your stock signings around when your book is coming out — in the first month or so, say.  So you shouldn’t wait years and years and then be like, ‘Hey! Stock signing today!’ unless you have just won a significant award like the Pulitzer.

The next thing to do is call or e-mail in advance.  Not every bookstore or comics store in the US may be stocking your book; they may be doing events at 10am; 95% of their staff is sick this week — you want to arrange with a bookstore that is strongly supporting your book to have you come in at a time that is convenient for them, a time when they’re not simultaneously struggling with toddler story time and the brunch rush.

If you have a publicist and/or an agent, you may even want to get them to call or e-mail the bookstore in advance for you.  If a bookstore isn’t strongly supporting your book (taking more than five copies), they may not want to have you in for a stock signing.  If you call them on the phone about this, they may end up turning you down, but feeling incredibly guilty — thus blighting your whole relationship.  Having someone else call them (or calling or e-mailing them yourself while pretending to be your assistant-who-doesn’t-really-exist), is a good way to avoid this, and also to avoid sounding super self-aggrandizing when you yourself call to explain how awesome you and your book are.

(And a side note: just because a bookstore isn’t strongly supporting your book doesn’t mean they don’t like it — they may not be sure of how it will sell, and have ordered a small quantity hoping to reorder if they can sell the first few copies.)

When you’re arranging a stock signing, you want to nail down a time, a date, and a store contact.  The store you’re working with may be happy to let you off the hook with, ‘beginning of the first week of April,’ but you want to make sure you’re showing up at a time that works well for them.  It also lets them be prepared by pulling the books off the shelves or out of the back room for you.  And it makes you feel more comfortable so that you’re not walking into the store, taking a bookseller unawares, and asking for their attention at a time when they’d started taking inventory.

Then the easy part — you show up and sign books!

(If you are a comics person and you also do a sketch as well as sign your name, that is also always appreciated.)

Stock signings are great because you can do multiples of them in a single town — while you can’t do a bookstore event at every bookstore in, say, New York City, you could sign stock in every store.  And it gives every store you sign in a motivation to sell your books better — and a personal connection with you.

Today’s the publication date of Lucy Knisley’s splendid graphic-memoir-by-way-of-cookery, Relish. If you live in Boston, New York City, the Hudson River Valley, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, or Toronto, you should attend one of her events and get yourself a signed book!

It was my great pleasure to edit Relish, and it’s the peculiar lot of the editor to accumulate all these parenthood-ish feelings about a book, when you are neither the person who wrote, nor illustrated, nor designed, nor printed the book. But here we are anyway:

I’m kvelling.

Relish is a special book for many reasons – it’s beautiful, it’s funny, it’s moving, it’s surprising, and it says a bunch of really smart, thoughtful, entertaining things about FOOD and EATING, two topics that are near and dear to all our hearts. This book is a real pleasure to read – leafing through it is one of those luxurious, indulgent acts that gets all of your senses involved in a delightful way.

I’m so happy you can read it now, too!

(Lucy Knisley, the author of the graphic novel Relish: My Life in the Kitchen [it comes out tomorrow, we're super-excited!] has been kind enough to share a day from her life last week — from the final throes of pre-publication book promotion count-down time.)

Lucy Knisley — May 28th, 2013