BookExpo 2018 news has begun rolling in, and it seems we’ll see a number of publishers upping their commitment to publishing graphic novels aimed at younger and older readers alike. Publishers Weekly has word that Quirk Books, the publisher behind Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, is set to publish four original or translated graphic novels this year, starting with this May’s “Manfried the Man.”
“We view our audience as the bookish subset of ComicCon,” said Quirk president and publisher Brett Cohen. “We attend a lot of ComicCons and sell books there. So we feel that audience is already part of our audience.”
After “Manfried,” which tells the humorous story of a world where humans are pets and cats are the dominant species, Quirk will publish:
– “Giraffes on Horseback Salad,” a surrealist graphic novel based on a rejected screenplay by Salvador Dali, adapted by screenwriter Josh Frank and Spanish artist Manuela Pertega. “Giraffes” comes out in November.
– “Hocus & Pocus: The Legend of Grimm’s Woods” and “Knights Club: The Bands of Bravery,” French imports that fall into the “choose your own adventure” genre. “Kids’ graphic novels are big, and video games and RPGs are big, and seeing that combination in that comic quest format excited me,” said Cohen of the books. Both “Hocus & Pocus” and “Knights Club” hit stores in September.
In addition to this year’s slate, Quirk plans to publish at least four more graphic novels in 2019 with an eye toward converting 25 percent of their publishing list into graphic novels, cementing the largely traditional publisher’s entry into comics.
