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by David Lucas Candlewick Press 2012 The unbeaten Skeleton Pirate who refuses to accept defeat is beaten not once but twice in this quirky picture book. The Skeleton Pirate knows one thing: that he will never be beaten, and will fight to the, uh, death to prove it. But when a band of pirates chains him up and throws him over board... he still will not accept defeat. rescued by a Mermaid he is

by Michael Rosen illustrated by Richard Holland Candlewick 2013 Harry makes great soup, or so we are told. Harry is a Bear. He work's at a cafe that bears his name. Harry's friends are birds and cats and other animals. Harry's friends love his soup so much they come running before it runs out. But on this day Matt the cat does not like the soup. Because he hasn't tried it. Because he has no

by Boaz Yakin illustrated by Joe Infurnari 2012 Some Greek guy runs from one place to another. And for this a race is named after him. Have you ever seen a movie storyboard? At its most basic, it's a collection of images with key dialog or actions described beneath the sketches to help communicate what the final film sequence should look like. It is a way for the director to communicate to

by Jonathan Maberry Simon & Schuster 2012 Benny and his friends continue on their quest to find what's left of civilization before the zombies and death cults get to them first. Third in a (seemingly) endless series. Why is it so hard for writers, agents, editors and publishers to know when a story has gone on too long and jumped the shark?  Long-time readers here at the excelsior file might

by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm  Random House 2012  Squish, an amoeba, and his single-cell friends learn life lessons in a primordial soup that looks a lot like an upper elementary school.  As a kid, one of the things I used to love about going out to a restaurant was that the family-friendly places would have comic books for us to read at the table. They were cheesy, with

The Graphic Novel by Madeleine L'Engle adaptation by Hope Larson FSG 2012 The classic middle grade book gets a solid graphic novel treatment by award winning artist Hope Larson. The weird thing about graphic novel adaptations is that they tend to be much longer than their source material, and they rarely convey all the details and explanations in their retelling. Graphic novels conceived as

by Raina Telgemeier Scholastic 2012 Romance and friendships are tried and tested during the production of a middle grade play where everything is one giant emotional... drama. Callie is crushing on Greg, and after he breaks up with his girlfriend Bonnie it looks like she might get a chance at him, but after one sweet kiss it goes south when Bonnie and Greg reunite. Good thing there's the

Chasing the Great White Whale   by Eric Kimmel illustrated by Andrew Glass  Feiwel & Friends 2012  Finally! A version of Melville's classic I can actually finish! In one sitting! With pictures even!  So, up front, I'm no fan of Moby Dick. I have tried and tried and simply cannot traverse the literary muck and mire of Melville's meandering meditation. I get about 60 or 70 pages in and I start

by Ben Hatke  First Second 2012  Out titular (and accidental) heroine returns for continuing adventures as her fame sucks her further and further from ever returning to Earth. Bad for her is good for readers...  A robot crawls out of its recalled packaging and imprints on the first being it sees: a poster of Zita advertising her tour of various planets as savior of Scriptorious. Finding a mop

Yesterday I wrote a "review" of R.J. Palacio's Wonder wherein I was trying to work out what I was thinking on the fly, on the screen, sorting out my thoughts in public. even as I was committing the post to go public I was still left with the feeling that I hadn't really scratched the surface. I've been trying to stay as close to gut-level in my reactions while at the same time shortening my

by R.J. Palacio Knopf 2012  Can a boy with a deformed face find friends, happiness, success, and acceptance when he first goes to middle school? Only in a middle grade novel.  I'm going to lean a little heavy on this book, despite the fact that I found the writing and narrative structure compelling and well crafted. Bear with me, I'm thinking aloud. There are buses and billboards and junk

A local SD foodie has provided what we all needed — a guide to good food around the con area. Topping the list: Ralphs, which also tops the list of fun places at 3 am. Seriously. You haven’t done con until you’ve gone to Ralphs at 3 am to see cartoonists, cosplayers and nerdlebrities wandering around buying carrot sticks, tequila and pie.

The post also reveals the earth-shattering, to us, news that a cheese shop has been opened at our hotel. While we mourn for our breakfast burrito, a new romance with a three cheese toasted sandwich may be beginning.

Author Darlene Horn is also debuting a new comic called The Girl With the Donut Tattoo, a collection of food-themed strips drawn by her husband, Paul Horn, who draws the webcomic Cool Jerk. They had us at the title alone. It’s available at Small Press table K10.

Just a brief guide to some publishers and creators and stuff to look out for!

ABRAMS:

First Second

:

11:15: PANEL: Kids Comics — with Jorge Aguirre, Giants Beware!
1:15: WORKSHOP: Checklist for a New Comic — with Matt Madden and Jessica Abel, Mastering Comics
2pm: SIGNING: Jorge Aguirre, Giants Beware!
4pm: SIGNING: Joe Infurnari, Mush!
5pm: SIGNING: Derek Kirk Kim, Same DifferenceSunday:
(exhibits 11am – 6pm)

11am: SIGNING: Dave Roman, Astronaut Academy
11:15: PANEL: Young Adult Graphic Novels — with Derek Kirk Kim, Same Difference, and sister-company guest-star Kevin Pyle, Take What You Can Carry
1pm: SIGNING: George O’Connor, Hades: Lord of the Dead
3pm: SIGNING: MK Reed, Americus

Fantagraphics Books

Saturday, April 28th
12:00 pm-1:00 pm       Josh Simmons / Kim Deitch / Olivier Schrauwen
1:00 pm-2:30 pm         Drew Friedman
1:30 pm-3:00 pm         Nicolas Mahler
3:00 pm-4:00 pm        Michael Kupperman
3:00 pm-4:30 pm        Jason
4:30 pm-5:30 pm        Fredrik Strömberg / Hans Rickheit

Sunday, April 29th
11:30 am-12:30 pm