According to publisher promotional materials, Ghosts, the new graphic novel by Raina Telgemeier will have a 500,000 copy first printing. I believe this is the biggest first printing ever for a pure graphic novel. (not counting Wimpy Kid this time.) In other words, Raina rules! We finally have a legit home grown best selling cartoonist […]
5 Comments on Raina Telgemeier’s ‘Ghosts’ has a 500,000 copy first printing, last added: 7/4/2016
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I’ve been reviewing Telgemeier’s comics for years, and that lack of wider recognition is why I did this long review/feature on Sisters for The Comics Journal:
http://www.tcj.com/reviews/sisters/
My gut says that for SQUIRREL GIRL BEATS…. the $25 for 120 pages in HC format is going to do very mediocre — at ~20 cents a page that’s not a fraction of the value of GHOSTS $10.99 for 256, which is about 1/5 of the cost at ~4 cents/page,
My bigger question might be what is Raina getting for a 500k print run? She’s not getting less than $2/copy, right? Right?!?!?
-B
If you think that Raina T. is lacking for recognition you must be defining that recognition pretty narrowly. Or, to be specific: you’re probably not seeing that attention because the only places you’re looking are niche comics sites that exclusively cover the weird, insular world of the direct market–sites which by definition won’t be covering Telgemier’s work because it exists almost entirely outside that world.
There’s no shortage of (well deserved) recognition, awards, and horors for Raina coming from arenas focused on libraries and general kid lit.
The fact that so much of that AV Club article is referencing Marvel/DC/Squirrel Girl/whatever–as if an incredibly popular kids’ comic is just some kind of weird anomaly whose only real take away is as some helpful suggestion for DM publishers–shows a lack of knowledge of the breadth, depth, and popularity of kids’ comics right now.
Largest American graphic novel initial print run. Impressive.
One Piece makes 500k look small.
http://mangapanda.info/one-piece-manga-77-gets-3-8-million-print-run/
What Ben said.