I’m not going to make it to this year’s New York Comic Con, but if I were there, I’d be hounding Fanfare/Ponent Mon’s Stephen Robson as much as possible. And just because I love their books, here’s Fanfare’s press release about convention plans and upcoming titles. Commence squeeing after the cut. (And if you’re going to the con, buy one of Fanfare’s books. You won’t regret it.)
Fanfare / Ponent Mon Previews 7 New Manga / Graphic Novels at NYCC
NEW YORK, NY – Award-winning international manga and graphic novel publisher Fanfare / Ponent Mon will be at New York Comic-Con April 18 – 20 at Booth 2343, Jacob K. Javits Center, New York City. Fanfare publisher Stephen Robson will be on hand to showcase recent and upcoming releases for 2008.
Seven new Fanfare publications will be previewed from Japan, France and Korea, including Jiro Taniguchi’s The Ice Wanderer, which was recently nominated for a 2008 Eisner Award by Comic-Con International.
New Fanfare / Ponent Mon titles previewing at New York Comic-Con include:
. Disappearance Diary by Hideo Azuma
. The Ice Wanderer and other stories by Jiro Taniguchi
. The Quest for the Missing Girl by Jiro Taniguchi
. The Summit of the Gods by Yumemakura Baku and Jiro Taniguchi
. My Mommy is in America and Met Buffalo Bill by Jean Regnaud and Emile Bravo
. Korea as Viewed by 12 Creators by Various
. Awabi by Kan Takahama
Disappearance Diary – Hideo Azuma
Release date: November 2008
ISBN: 978-84-96427-42-6
Trade paperback, 200 pages
Cover price: $22.99
Disappearance Diary by Hideo Azuma is a new title scheduled for a Fall 2008 release which is printed and ready for distribution. It will preview at NYCC.
This autobiographical tale follows the true adventures of a successful manga artist who decides to run away from the deadline pressures and daily responsibilities of his life to become a homeless alcoholic. Winner of the Grand Media Prize, 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival.
The Ice Wanderer and Other Stories – Jiro Taniguchi
Release date: October 2008
ISBN: 978-84-96427-33-4
Trade paperback, 240 pages
Cover price: 21.99
The Ice Wanderer and Other Stories. a collection of six short stories by Taniguchi, is printed and ready for distribution once more. The title story, The Ice Wanderer is a strong to and features Jack London as one of the characters. While not yet available in wide release due to a change in our distribution companies, The Ice Wanderer and Other Stories has already been nominated for the 2008 Eisner Awards by Comic-Con International in the Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Japan category.
The Quest for the Missing Girl – Jiro Taniguchi
Release date: November 2008
ISBN: 978-84-96427-47-1
Trade paperback, 334 pages
Cover price $25.00
When 15 year old Megumi mysteriously disappears, Shiga leaves his mountain retreat to fulfill his promise to her father following his death in the Himalayas twelve years previously. But the City can be a much more hostile and dangerous place than the mountain. Multi-award winning Taniguchi brings his detailed art and fast moving script to this agonizing tale of a missing girl.
Due Fall 2008
The Summit of the Gods – Yumemakura Baku, Jiro Taniguchi
Volume 1 release date: Spring 2009
ISBN: 978-84-96427-87-7
Trade paperback, 328 pages
Cover price: $25.00
Fanfare is continuing its commitment to publishing the award-winning graphic novels of Jiro Taniguchi with several new and notable releases. The Summit of the Gods is the latest offering from Taniguchi and is a 5-volume epic about the conquering of Mount Everest. Look for the first volume to be available in the U.S. in Spring 2009.
My Mommy is in America and Met Buffalo Bill – Jean Regnaud and Emile Bravo
Release date: December 2008
ISBN: 978-84-96427-85-3
Hardcover, 112 full color pages
Cover price: $24.00
My Mommy is in America and Met Buffalo Bill is a first-time English edition of the award-winning French graphic novel by Jean Regnaud and Emile Bravo (Eisner nominee 2008 for “Best Short Story”). Told from a young boy’s point of view, My Mommy is a slice-of-life story about a child’s remembrance of his life in the French countryside and the fanciful postcards he receives from his mother, who’s off traveling the world – or is she? Look for this touching and memorable book to arrive in better bookshops in Fall 2008.
Korea as Viewed by 12 Creators – Various
Release date: December 2008
ISBN: 978-84-96427-48-8
Trade paperback, 222 pages
Cover price: $24.00
The sequel to the critically-acclaimed Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators takes the cross-cultural comics exchange to the other Asian epicenter of graphic storytelling, Korea. French and Korean creators, including Lee Doo-Ho, Vanyda, Park Heung-yong and Igort, share their impressions of Korea as both insiders and visitors for an eye-opening examination of this fast-growing, multi-faceted society.
Awabi – Kan Takahama
Release date: Spring 2009
ISBN: 978-84-96427-34-1
Trade paperback, 144 pages
Cover price: $19.99
Awabi means “abalone” in Japanese and this second collection of short stories by Kan Takahama (author of Monokuro Kinderbook, also from Fanfare / Ponent Mon) has more of Takahama’s elegant, softly stylized artwork and wry, wistful and very grown-up storytelling. The title story of life revisited in a rest home, befriending a suicide in My Life With K and dad calling a family meeting with surprising results in My Mellow Chrostmas form the core of these six stories from much lauded Takahama.
ABOUT FANFARE / PONENT MON
Founded in 2003, Spanish publisher Ponent Mon together with UK-based Fanfare, is aiming to introduce comic book readers to the latest graphic and story telling tendencies to come out of the alternative comics scene in Japan and elsewhere.
Whilst our roots are in the “Nouvelle Manga” movement formed by Frédéric Boilet, we also publish a long list of major Japanese and European artists including new works previously unpublished anywhere.
All English language titles and many more are published in Spanish from Ponent Mon.
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