Tag Archives: nate powell

Congressman Lewis has a #1 Graphic Novel

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March: Book One is good, really good, like “best of 2013” good. So, it’s no surprise that Congressman John Lewis, who along with co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell, created March have a number one best seller on their hands. The graphic novel is in the top spot of the New York Times graphic novel list which the newspaper started four years ago. This is the first time a book by Top Shelf has seen the top spot.

The graphic novel had lines waiting to buy it and meet the Congressman at San Diego Comic-Con and Top Shelf sold more copies than any other item before at the convention.

This weekend also marks the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, with thousands converging on Washington, DC to remember to momentous event.

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Promotion of the graphic novel continues this Sunday, August 25 and Wednesday, August 28, when you can catch Congressman Lewis on (deep breath) CNN’s “Newsroom,” CNN’s “State of the Union” with Candy Crowley, NBC’s “Meet the Press” with David Gregory, CBS’s “Face the Nation” with Bob Schieffer, BBC’s “World News America,” PBS’s “Charlie Rose,” and CNN’s “The Lead” with Jake Tapper!

This is an unprecedented promotion for a graphic novel, and hopefully a model that other publishers can follow.

Review: March Book One

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March-cover-100dpi.105340There’s been a media frenzy (deservedly so) over this graphic novel to be released soon by Top Shelf. March is a three volume graphic novel that tells the remarkable story of Congressman John Lewis. Cong. Lewis currently represents Georgia’s fifth district in the House of Representatives and is an American icon, one of the key figures of the civil rights movement. His commitment to justice and nonviolence has taken him from an Alabama sharecropper’s farm to the halls of Congress, from a segregated schoolroom to the 1963 March on Washington, and from receiving beatings from state troopers to receiving the Medal of Freedom from the first African-American president. Book One spans John Lewis’ youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a stunning climax on the steps of City Hall. This is an accessible, relatable, and deeply emotional, first person account of our history. A perspective and voice we don’t get enough of when we’re taught our history growing up.

March is a brilliant accounting of Cong. Lewis’ story for new generations and those with similar struggles around the world. This amazing biographical graphic novel is written by Cong. Lewis in collaboration with co-writer Andrew Aydin and New York Times best-selling artist Nate Powell. The result is one of the best graphic novels in recent memory and an amazing depiction of history that’s accessible to all.

March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis’ lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis’ personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement. While many of us have no idea of the specifics of what Lewis went through, the story is a familiar one that we’re taught in school, though not with a first hand account such as this.

What’s more fascinating is the mechanism of the storytelling, bouncing back and forth between Cong. Lewis’ life and the recent modern day of President Obama’s first inauguration (hopefully that didn’t spoil it for folks, but it lays out the date and what’s going on in the present day clearly). But, what I found interesting in it all is the narrative thread of how far the country has come, when in the back in my mind I’d argue it hasn’t. The Congressman reflects on an early time in his life when he traveled to Buffalo, New York and saw what things could be like. Modern day Buffalo (where I spent most of my life) is anything but an ideal, deeply divided by race with an underlying racism throughout the region. This kept coming back to me in the back of my mind. With two more volumes to go, I think we’d find more on the Congressman’s thoughts on where we are today, but with this first volume, that stuck out to me. And that’s an issue in releasing this in three volumes, we have to wait to see the full story and perspective.

And that’s what’s fantastic about this graphic novel. Not only is it a great depiction of history, very important history, but it also helps better open a dialogue of race in our nation, from where we were to where we are today. The ease of reading, events depicted within and the beautiful art helps foster a discussion that is free from some more sensational aspects that can derail such important discussions. Many years ago, John Lewis and other student activists drew inspiration from the 1958 comic book Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story. Today that classic comic is being used to encourage fights for justice around the world. It’s a comic that is a part of social change for the better. March shares in that tradition by reminding us where we were as a nation not that long ago. And that’s part of the reason the graphic novel is seeing the rabid positive response that it is. The Congressman has been there and part of a movement whose actions still reverberate today and whose struggles sadly continue. This is a leader telling his story for us to learn from our past.

On top of the writing is artist Nate Powell’s beautiful artwork. His style fits perfectly to the narrative, a match made in heaven. The black and white art has you linger on each page as you move slowly make your way through the book picking out details in the dialogue as well as the art.  There’s a reason he’s one of my favorite artists today and to see him get to modern times down the road and how he depicts some of the real life people, will be a treat.

Top Shelf has put together a brilliant and beautiful hard copy with a cover that has a wear about it, the look of a book that children during this age might have used. The autographed copy I purchased had a card within the front cover exactly like you’d find at a library emphasizing the look and design. It’s an amazing piece put together and one of my favorite designs of a printed book this year.

This graphic novel is a piece of history, capturing the Congressman’s experiences testifying to a movement whose echoes will be heard for generations. This isn’t just a graphic novel for folks to pick up and enjoy, it’s a work of art and history that should be in every school teaching about our country’s modern struggles. Top Shelf has worked to make that happen with a teacher’s guide to help those that might want to use it for exactly that. Hopefully this graphic novel will serve as a guide and reminder not just for us, but for the many others around the world attempting to find their own justice.

With two more volumes to go, this first release is already a modern classic and strong contender for graphic novel of the year.

Story: Cong. Lewis and Andrew Aydin Art: Nate Powell
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy

Review: Occupy Comics #2, 12 Reasons to Die #2 and Ballistic #1

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Occupy Comics #2

occThe Kickstarter phenomenon is in it’s second issue and it shows no sign of diminishing in quality. Occupy Comics #2 continues the thought provoking anthology with more strips, prose and in general contributions that actually makes you think. The second issue continues to show that comics and politics do mix. The comics boast an impressive line-up of creators like Alan Moore, David Lloyd, Charlie Adlard, Art Spiegelman, Molly Crabapple, Matt Bors, Mike Allred, Ben Templesmith, J.M. DeMatteis, Tyler Crook, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Joe Infurnari, Ales Kot, Dean Haspiel, Joshua Dysart and Matt Pizzolo.

This issue continues to impress with thought-provoking contributions. Again, it’s pretty non-partisan and numerous entries border on graphic journalism, and might be creating a whole new genre of graphic social commentary. This is a perfect marriage of comics and politics, of course I dug it. Continue to ignore that word “occupy” and don’t let it taint your willingness to give this series a chance. You’ll be surprised, though shouldn’t be considering the talent behind it.

But on top of the political message and commentary, the series continues to be entertaining. The stories contained within are smartly written and beautifully illustrated, making this a package that has depth in message as well as presentation, an awesome combination. It’s a perfect connection between emotion, facts and art. The stories have depth and are well thought out, their intelligence shows.

Despite some pretty heavy hitter names, Matt Miner’s contribution about his experience with Occupy Sandy during Hurricane Sandy is especially emotional. It really opens up your eyes as to what occurred during that storm and clean up after and the travesty that was relief efforts by the government.

I’m a political nerd. I’m a comic geek. Lets occupy some comics!

Story and art: Alan Moore, David Lloyd, Charlie Adlard, Art Spiegelman, Molly Crabapple, Matt Bors, Mike Allred, Ben Templesmith, J.M. DeMatteis, Tyler Crook, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Joe Infurnari, Ales Kot, Dean Haspiel, Joshua Dysart and Matt Pizzolo
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

12 Reasons to Die #2

APR130921_mThis horror-crime hybrid is the latest comic book from the legendary Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and Ghostface Killah. A brutal tale of gangsters, betrayal, and one vengeful soul hunting the 12 most powerful crimelords in the world.

Two issues in and I’m still pretty entertained by the series which mixes horror and crime. Overall though, this second issue isn’t quite as polished as the first and I wonder if the limited series might be better read in one sitting or as a trade paperback.

Again the comic comes off as disjointed stories, with an attempt to weave them together. That weaving isn’t quite as tight as the first one, and that might be where my issue comes into this. The stories don’t fit as quite nicely together as that first issue, jumping around in the subjects and characters and the art at times differing either too much or not much causing delineation between the chapters to be more difficult.

And that’s where I struggle with the comic. Take each of the stories by themselves and they’d be great. But, together there’s an issue for me and the flow between them is part of it. Breaking each section up, even with a page that just says “chapter 1,” etc. might have helped. It could also be the fact I’m reading it digitally, which makes that more difficult.

I’m also at the point I’d like more information about these records and the bigger picture around them. If they’re just a story device, that’s fine, but I’d like that a bit more clearer.

The series is an example of a multi-platform, transmedia concept project with a storyline that spans from the comic book to the new Ghostface Killah album released simultaneously by RZA’s Soul Temple Records. So, you have a soundtrack to check out while reading the comic.

Overall, this is an entertaining example of cross-media entertainment, but the series needs to pick up a bit for me.

Story: Adrian Younge, Ce Garcia, Matthew Rosenberg, Patrick Kindlon Art: Breno Tamura, Gus Storms, Tim Seeley, Nate Powell, Brian Level, Dave Murdoch
Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7 Recommendation: Read

Ballistic #1

Ballistic-001_600pxWelcome to Repo City State, where everyone’s an asshole… even the air conditioners.

Darick Robertson and Adam Egypt Mortimer’s madcap, psychedelic, transreal, utterly-wacko buddy adventure about Butch and his best friend Gun, a drug-addicted, genetically-modified, foul-mouthed firearm, as they attempt to elevate Butch from air conditioner repairman to master criminal in the twisted, post-eco-apocalyptic Repo City State, a reclaimed trash island built entirely from DNA-based, living technology with bad attitudes.

Ballistic marks Darick Robertson’s return to the hard sci-fi worldbuilding of his classic Transmetropolitan but mixed with The Boys’ ultra-violence and the lunacy of Happy. Mortimer’s mix of speculative science, pulpy noire, and drug-addled adventure cooks up a strange brew of Lethal Weapon by way of Cronenberg meets Dr. Who if written by Odd Future.

If you’re a fan of 80s British comics, then you need to do yourself a favor and pick up this debut issue of a series that I’m sure will be making “best of” lists at the end of the year. The story is a mad rush full of adrenaline in a world so far out there and crazy, it’s hard not to be entertained.

Though it might have that “80s British” vibe, the story also feels fresh and innovative. That package also has a main character that has the snappy banter of coolness of Ash from Army of Darkness. You can take your pick as to which character I’m referring to with that one.

On top of the fun story, there’s visuals that’ll blow you away. The world can’t be described, it can only be seen and you’ll find yourself lingering on pages to catch everything and coming back to do that some more once you’re done reading.

The comic lives up to it’s name and blew me away. This one might be a sleeper, but do yourself a favor and go grab a copy!

Story: Adam Egypt Mortimer Art: Darick Robertson
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Black Mask Studios provided Graphic Policy with FREE copies for review

Congressman John Lewis heads to SPX 2013 as a Special Guest

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The Small Press Expo announced today that civil rights icon and first-time graphic novelist Congressman John Lewis, as a special guest at SPX 2013, to be held Saturday September 14 and Sunday September 15.  Congressman Lewis will be in addition to previously announced guests Seth, Lisa Hanawalt, Gary Panter, Frank Santoro and Gene Yang.

Congressman Lewis will be promoting his first graphic novel, March (Book One), published by Top Shelf. The book was co-written with Andrew Aydin and drawn by the award-winning graphic novelist Nate Powell. This is the first book in a planned trilogy.

Congressman Lewis represents Georgia’s fifth congressional district and is a civil rights icon. Together with Hosea Williams, he led the landmark 1965 Selma–Montgomery March (known as “Bloody Sunday”), where police brutality spurred national outrage and hastened passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Despite physical attacks, serious injuries, and more than 40 arrests, John Lewis has remained a devoted advocate of the philosophy of non-violence. His subsequent career has included voter registration activism, service on the Atlanta City Council, and over 25 years in Congress. He’s one of the “big six” national leaders of the civil rights leaders alongside such figures as Martin Luther King, Jr. and A. Philip Randolph.

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Washington, DC Event: Visualizing Peace: Graphic Art & Social Change

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2013-06-05_1346This coming Tuesday, June 11, Search for Common Ground will be holding a forum, Visualizing Peace: Graphic Art & Social Change. The event will be held at the Kenney Auditorium at Johns Hopkins University SAIS from 9:30am to 11am. Visually captivating, accessible to a wide audience, and inexpensive to produce and distribute, graphic art holds its own in the age of digital media and social networking.

The event will bring together artists, activists and conflict resolution practitioners to explore the creativity with which graphic art and comic books have been used for social change around the world, and to generate ideas for expanding the potential of bridging the two fields.

Join the event to:

  • Discover a unique peacebuilding resource
  • Preview new comic books and graphic novels related to social change
  • Meet artists and panelists before and after the event
  • Take home samples of new and classic works of graphic art relevant to social change

Panelists include, Andrew Aydin: co-author with Congressman John Lewis of March, a graphic novel trilogy depicting Lewis’ lifelong struggle for civil and human rights in America, Nate Powell: Illustrator of March and creator of the acclaimed graphic novel Any Empire, a vivid examination of war and violence,and their trickle-down effects on Middle America, Dalia Ziada (via Skype): Activist, blogger, and award-winning women’s rights advocate; translator of The Montgomery Story, the 1956 comic book about Martin Luther King Jr. and nonviolent protest and the moderator is Jeanné Isler, Director of USA Programs, Search for Common Ground

In addition to support from CPRF principals, this event is made possible by a generous contribution from Fantom Comics and Comic Book Artists on Demand.

You can RSVP now.

President Bill Clinton to Provide Blurb for Top Shelf and Cong. Lewis’ March

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March-cover-100dpi.105340One of my most anticipated graphic novels of this year is Top Shelf‘s March created by Congressman John Lewis, the legendary civil rights icon. The graphic novel is co-written by Andrew Aydin with art by Nate Powell.

Along with the fact the graphic novel can now be pre-ordered, it has also been announced that March: Book One will feature a back cover blurb from none other than the 42nd President of the United States President Bill Clinton! To the best of our knowledge, this is the first graphic novel ever endorsed by an American president:

President Clinton has said:

Congressman John Lewis has been a resounding moral voice in the quest for equality for more than 50 years, and I’m so pleased that he is sharing his memories of the Civil Rights Movement with America’s young leaders. In March, he brings a whole new generation with him across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, from a past of clenched fists into a future of outstretched hands.

This graphic novel is also getting lots of coverage. Congressman Lewis will appear on The Colbert Report on its release day, August 13th. He’ll then head over to CNN to promote it as well. This is a first time guest will be on Colbert to specifically promote a graphic novel. Something we’ve been pushing for a while now.

The Congressman will also be touring to promote the graphic novel, starting before its even out.

  • BookExpo America in New York (speaker at VIP author breakfast with Chris Matthews, Diana Gabaldon, and Helen Fielding, Saturday June 1)
  • American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago (featured auditorium speaker, Saturday June 29)
  • Comic-Con International in San Diego (special guest, July 20-21)
  • National Conference of African American Librarians near Cincinnati (closing keynote speaker, August 11)

And that’s just the start.

One of Congressman Lewis’ chief goals for the March trilogy is to engage the next generation of readers, in order to keep the lessons of the civil rights movement alive. So Top Shelf is proud to present an 11-page Teacher’s Guide to March: Book One, developed by comics/education expert Peter Gutierrez, packed full of resources for using this graphic novel in the grade 6-12 classroom and beyond. It even includes correlations to national & state standards for English and Social Studies! Teachers and librarians can download this guide today, absolutely free, and get ready to teach March: Book One in the fall.

That’s a hell of a promotion for a graphic novel, sounds pretty close to what we’ve been calling for, for a long time. Hats off to Top Shelf and can’t wait to read this.

Top Shelf to Release March Co-Authored by Congressman John Lewis

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Top Shelf ProductsCongressman John Lewis is an American icon and legend. He witnessed first-hand history in the making and also made history himself as one of the key figures of the civil rights movement. His commitment to justice and nonviolence has taken him from an Alabama sharecropper’s farm to the halls of Congress, from a segregated schoolroom to the 1963 March on Washington, and from receiving beatings from state troopers to receiving the Medal of Freedom from the first African-American president.

Now Congressman Lewis is sharing his story in a new graphic novel, March, coming this August from Top Shelf. The graphic novel will be co-written by Cong. Lewis’ staffer Andrew Aydin and art will be by Nate Powell.

lewis-powell-aydin-1200.115930Aydin works in Congressman Lewis’ Washington D.C. office handling Telecommunications and Technology policy as well as New Media. But this “new media” manager is going very “old media” in the form of a graphic novel. The art is by Nate Powell, a celebrated artist who is no stranger to politics. He appeared before the United Nations in 2011, discussing his contribution to the fundraising fiction anthology What You Wish For: A Book For Darfur alongside some of the world’s foremost writers of young adult fiction.

March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis’ lifelong struggle for civil and human rights (including his key roles in the historic 1963 March on Washington and the 1965 Selma-Montgomery March), meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis’ personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.

Currently the Congressman from Georgia’s Fifth District, Lewis’ activism began early as he organized sit-in demonstrations at segregated lunch counters in Nashville, Tennessee while he was still a student at American Baptist Theological Seminary in 1959.

In 1961, he volunteered to participate in the Freedom Rides, which challenged segregation at interstate bus terminals across the South. He was beaten severely by angry mobs and arrested by police for challenging the injustice of Jim Crow segregation in the South.

From 1963 to 1966, Lewis was Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). As Chairman, John Lewis became a nationally recognized leader. Lewis was dubbed one of the Big Six leaders of the Civil Rights Movement and at the age of 23, he was an architect of and a keynote speaker at the historic March on Washington in August 1963.

In 1964, John Lewis coordinated SNCC efforts to organize voter registration drives and community action programs during the Mississippi Freedom Summer. The following year, Lewis helped spearhead one of the most seminal moments of the Civil Rights Movement. Hosea Williams, another notable Civil Rights leader, and John Lewis led over 600 peaceful, orderly protestors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965. They intended to march from Selma to Montgomery to demonstrate the need for voting rights in the state. The marchers were attacked by Alabama state troopers in a brutal confrontation that became known as “Bloody Sunday.” News broadcasts and photographs revealing the senseless cruelty of the segregated South helped hasten the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Despite more than 40 arrests, physical attacks and serious injuries, John Lewis remained a devoted advocate of the philosophy of nonviolence. After leaving SNCC in 1966, he continued his commitment to the Civil Rights Movement as Associate Director of the Field Foundation and his participation in the Southern Regional Council’s voter registration programs. Lewis went on to become the Director of the Voter Education Project (VEP). In 1977, John Lewis was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to direct more than 250,000 volunteers of ACTION, the federal volunteer agency.

In 1981, he was elected to the Atlanta City Council. He was elected to Congress in November 1986 and has served as U.S. Representative of Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District since then. In 2011 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The first volume, March (Book One), will appear in stores everywhere on August 13, 2013. Two weeks later, America will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom.

March is a historic first, both for the U.S. Congress and for comics publishing as a whole, marking the first time a sitting member of Congress has authored a graphic novel. Top Shelf Productions is the first and only graphic novel publisher to be certified by the House Committee on Standards.

March (Book One), a deluxe softcover graphic novel with french flaps and black & white interiors, 6.5″ x 9.5″, 128 pages, ISBN 978-1-60309-300

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Dive into Blue by Pat Grant!

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Official Press Release

Top Shelf ProductsDive into BLUE by Pat Grant!

You’ve never seen anything quite like this. In March 2012, Top Shelf will release the debut graphic novel from super-talented Australian cartoonist Pat Grant, entitled BLUE.

It’s a fascinating blend of autobiography and fiction with a sci-fi twist: in a seaside Australian town struggling with alien tentacle-creature immigration, a trio of aimless teenagers skip school to go surfing, chase rumors of a dead body, and avoid dealing with their own fears.

Here’s what Craig Thompson, author of Blankets, Carnet de Voyage, and Habibi, had to say about BLUE: “This book rekindles my earliest enthusiasm for the comics medium. Pat Grant is the Australian Mark Twain, trading Huck’s raft for a waxed-up surfboard and an inked-up sable brush. Vast themes of racism and immigration unravel in sprawling murals and a single day in the life of some reckless teens in this sea-polished, perfect nugget of a book.”

Still not convinced? Check out Pat’s great SHAMELESS PUBLICITY DOCUMENT, and the free preview of BLUE at Pat’s website!

Be sure to pre-order this lush, lovable, complex book from your favorite comic shop or directly from Top Shelf!

BLUE by Pat Grant
–96-page hardcover graphic novel with 2-color interiors
–9.4″ x 6.6″ (landscape format)
–Older teens (16+) and adults
–ISBN: 978-1-60309-153-4
–Diamond order code: JAN12-1268
–$14.95 (US)

“Pat Grant is serious about comics.” — Scott McCloud, author of Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics, and Making Comics

“BLUE is everything a good comics can be.” — Shaun Tan, author of The Arrival and Tales from Outer Suburbia

Nate Powell’s ANY EMPIRE explodes onto YouTube!

An intense new video trailer for ANY EMPIRE has just been posted to YouTube! It features music by the bands Tracker (who were responsible for the BLANKETS soundtrack album ) and Universe (featuring Nate Powell himself), and is a real treat for both those who’ve read the book and those who haven’t yet. Check it out!

Top Shelf books are tops on Top Ten lists!

New Year’s is not just a time for making resolutions and asking your friends to delete embarrassing party photos — it’s also an occasion for year-in-review retrospective lists! Well, the lists have been pouring in, and we’re proud to see Top Shelf titles racking up so many rankings.

In particular, Kagan McLeod’s INFINITE KUNG FU, Nate Powell’s ANY EMPIRE, and Robert Venditti & Mike Huddleston’s THE HOMELAND DIRECTIVE have been listed on “Best of 2011” lists from over a dozen top sources, spanning the gamut from CNN to Publishers Weekly to Complex to USA Today to Paste to The AV Club and many more. And other Top Shelf books are not far behind! To see all the year-end praise, check out our REVIEWS PAGE and treat yourself to one of our most acclaimed graphic novels.

Nate Powell speaks at the United Nations

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Official Press Release

Top Shelf ProductsNate Powell speaks at the United Nations

Nate Powell, the multi-award-winning graphic novelist behind Swallow Me Whole andAny Empire, appeared last week at the United Nations with an all-star team of teen-fiction writers to raise funds for young refugees from Darfur. Powell joins R. L. Stine (Goosebumps, Fear Street), Ann M. Martin (The Baby-Sitters Club), and over a dozen other top authors in the new anthology What You Wish For, published by Putnam.

Last Monday, nine of the book’s contributors shared the stage with children’s-book expert Leonard S. Marcus for a special presentation at the United Nations building in New York.

Following speeches from UN officials and Darfur experts, the authors shared insights into their creative contributions, their motives for contributing, and their hopes for the book’s success. Joining moderator Marcus were Nate Powell, Ann M. Martin, R. L. Stine, Jeanne Duprau (The Books of Ember), Karen Hesse (Out of the Dust), Marilyn Nelson (award-winning poet), Sofia Quintero (Efrain’s Secret), and via satellite, Meg Cabot (The Princess Diaries) and Cornelia Funke (Inkheart). Both halves of the session are viewable on the UN’s web site.

After the UN presentation, the authors held a signing at legendary children’s bookstore Books of Wonder, taking questions from a packed house and selling out every copy of What You Wish For in the store. Books of Wonder has a recap of the event (with photos) here.

What You Wish For is a project of The Book Wish Foundation, an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) public charity. 100% of proceeds from the book’s sales are donated to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, to build libraries for refugee camps in Chad, populated by hundreds of thousands fleeing horrific violence in neighboring Darfur. For more information, visit www.bookwish.org.

Nate Powell, the only author to contribute his piece in comics form, is the Eisner- and Ignatz-Award-winning author/artist of Swallow Me Whole (Top Shelf). His newest graphic novel, Any Empire (also Top Shelf), exploring the lasting consequences of childhood war games, earned a starred review from Booklist magazine naming him “the most prodigiously talented graphic novelist of his [generation].” He can be found online at www.seemybrotherdance.org.

Photo: (L-R) R. L. Stine, Nate Powell, and Ann M. Martin speaking at the UN.

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