What you may not know, because the direct market hasn't fully developed or yet exploited this market, is that our best-selling book is Electric Girl. We have a whole section of trade paperbacks (known internally and to select retailers as "Mimibooks") that live a life outside of the direct market and enjoy the fresh air in the Real World. Entertainment Weekly said about True Story Swear to God: 100 Stories "Tom Beland is funny, you know, for a bald guy who documents his life in comic form. His rectal exam, for example, is hilarious." and Variety said of Ursula "The art is a perfect blend of fluid storytelling and contemporary style that should help the book appeal to young readers as much as older ones...those who read it will find an instant gem well worth their time and money. A+"
The latest "Mimibook" to get national acclaim is the Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden series. The Voice of Youth Advocates magazine reviewed them, under the headline "The Girls Have It" and the subhead "Although manga — Japanese comics and their Korean and Chinese counterparts — is a great source of girl-centered stories, Western comics also contribute some great books." Here's an exerpt from what columnist (and 2005 Eisner judge) Kat Kan wrote:
"Jax Epoch is a heroine who is unstuck in time and who must deal with the magic she thought she wanted in her life. Fans of Harry Potter who aren't quite ready for the works of Charles de Lint should find much to like in these volumes. Jax is a great character — quite real but with flaws that get her into deep trouble while possessing the aplomb to get herself out. It's fine for older middle school and high school readers, and the harshest word is 'damn,' which appears infrequently."
At AiT, "all ages" doesn't mean "kid stuff;" it means all ages.
Being Beau Smith's evil twin isn't that hard a job; Beau gets all the ladies and the good looks in the family, and I get all the orneriness and the West Coast.But that doesn't stop ol' Cousin Beau from giving me a shout-out for the daily update here, and I sure do appreciate it: "Larry gives ya just enough company news and plugs without sounded like TV preacher with his hand in your pants or one of those PBS librarian types that puts ya to sleep faster than a bag full of Ambien. Larry also does a pretty good job of bein' a west coast Beau Smith. Right down to the beady eyes and ball cap. Larry tends to run with a little more liberal bunch than I do, but hey... he's west coast."
Boy, you see those two items juxtaposed and you really can tell that between Mimi and me, we have everybody covered.
