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Saturday was Read Comics in Public Day. (Note: For most of our staff, every day is Read Comics in Public Day. Yesterday, editorial director Michael got a box of comics shipped to him, and within seconds, half of my coworkers were huddled around his desk, paging through all the new stuff.)

To celebrate Read Comics in Public Day this weekend, Bob, one of our art directors, combined two of his passions: comics and the Minnesota State Fair.


Where do you like to read--comics or otherwise--in public? Is there a place you wouldn't read in public? Tell us!

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As you may remember, last year School Library Journal ran a "battle of the books." I posted about it using tags Battle of the Books, BoB, and SLJ.

This year, it's on again! Yay! See full details at the SLJ Battle of the (Kids) Books (BoB) blog. And a Twitter, SLJsBoB. And a new site that went up March 1.

Basically, a list of 2009 books are selected. Celebrity judges read two of those books, which are arbitrarily assigned to them. They pick a winner. All the winners from round one move up to round two, where again celebrity judges read and decide until.... well, if you've watched The Highlander, you know the drill. There can be only one.

When does this begin? March 15. Get ready! The full schedule is up at the new website.

The books:

CHARLES AND EMMA
CLAUDETTE COLVIN
THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE
FIRE
THE FROG SCIENTIST
THE LAST OLYMPIAN
LIPS TOUCH
THE LOST CONSPIRACY
MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD
MARCHING FOR FREEDOM
PEACE, LOCOMOTION
A SEASON OF GIFTS
THE STORM IN THE BARN
SWEETHEARTS OF RHYTHM
TALES FROM OUTER SUBURBIA
WHEN YOU REACH ME

The judges are:

M. T. Anderson
Christopher Paul Curtis
Nancy Farmer
Candace Fleming
Helen Frost
Shannon Hale
Angela Johnson
Cynthia Kadohata
Julius Lester
Jim Murphy
Walter Dean Myers
Katherine Paterson
Gary Schmidt
Anita Silvey
Megan Whalen Turner

The PDF to make your own predictions and have your own office, library, or classroom pool.


Me? Like last time, I'm looking forward to commenting on the decisions and comments.



Let the games begin!


Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

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It’s funny how things come full circle sometimes: When I was a kid, I was a huge sports fan (still am, actually). Maybe it was my love of the local sports teams, or certain players. Or my obsession with baseball card collecting. Or, maybe it was the simple fact that I loved to draw sports team logos in my notebooks at school (imagine that). Whatever the case, my appetite for sports was insatiable. So, it was no surprise that when my mom found out about the inception of Sports Illustrated Kids magazine, she signed me up for a subscription immediately. The premiere issue arrived in our mailbox around my birthday back in 1989, and I couldn’t have been more excited (Michael Jordan!!):



Now, 20 years later, Sports Illustrated Kids is still going strong and celebrating a big anniversary. And, though my subscription ended long ago, I happened to run into SI Kids again–at work.

For the past 6 months or so, I’ve been working with Sports Illustrated Kids to create a brand new and exciting way to deliver sports fiction to an ever-changing world of sports-hungry kids: sports graphic novels. Since Stone Arch Books specializes in graphic novels, it was no shock that SI Kids came knocking when they decided to branch out into additional markets, especially the school library market. The concept we came up with was a no-brainer: let’s create fast-paced stories about everyday kids in interesting sports situations and combine them with superhero comic-caliber artwork. Sprinkle in some character-driven “sports broadcast” narrative and some stats, and we had something that hasn’t been done before...in any market. These books are sure to appeal to the most reluctant readers, and keep them coming back for more. Six hot, new titles (with topics ranging from football to paintball) will be available soon. Check out the cover and a sample spread from Point-Blank Paintball:


As we move forward with this innovative series (more seasons are on the way), I’ve already learned something very interesting about the artists who illustrate our Sports Illustrated Kids Graphic Novels: many of them actually play the sports that they are illustrating! The best example is Gerardo Sandoval, who is currently working on our upcoming soccer title. He told me in an email that he plays soccer consistently, mostly as a goalkeeper. Even though we (Stone Arch and Sports Illustrated Kids) make extra sure that every sports detail is accurate, it’s nice to know that we can count on our illustrators to do

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...here's Stone Arch Books art director Bob Lentz as The Price Is Right host Drew Carey with the Plinko game.
So far today, the highest score received was 30,500. Not too shabby!

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Just last month, the rest of the world watched as 150,000 people descended upon the sunny harbor city of San Diego for one purpose: to feast their eyes on everything that the comic book, publishing, film, television, and video game worlds have to offer. Yes, I’m talking about Comic Con International, the largest comic book convention and pop culture phenomenon in the world. Over the past five summers, I’ve had the pleasure of attending this event, and I’ve seen a lot of great product and met a lot of great people. This year was no different, as Stone Arch Books sent me to San Diego in hopes of signing a few more great illustrators to add to our already amazing talent pool. Over two days, I reviewed over 100 portfolios and collected lots and lots of free posters, catalogs, and whatever else I could get my hands on, also known as SWAG (“Stuff We All Get”). Not only that, Comic Con is a great way to get our name out to those who may not yet know us. It’s no coincidence that we now have a working relationship with DC Comics – they found us at Comic Con!

Below are a few snapshots I took while traversing the vast landscape of booths and exhibits (not to mention negotiating the massive throng of people). Until next year...

Bob Lentz
Art Director
Stone Arch BooksThe San Diego Convention Center, home of Comic Con International for 4 1/2 days each July. It’s interesting to note that a vast majority of this convention center was added to house the ever-expanding Comic Con, which in the last 10 years has grown exponentially thanks to big budget superhero films and hyper-realistic video games.


DC Comics consistently has one of the best (and largest) booths at Comic Con, and they offer many great freebies and promotional items. I waited in line for one half hour just to get some posters and buttons. Well worth it.


A quick shot of the “Big Three” banner at the DC booth: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Did we mention that we offer beautiful chapter books featuring the crown jewels of DC Comics and the superhero world?? Pretty awesome to walk into the DC booth knowing that you get to make books with their characters in them.


Just a small sampling of the many costumed Con-goers who masquerade through the halls of the San Diego Convention Center each year. Seen here are a few alien creatures from the “Star Wars” films.


Captain Jack Sparrow from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” film series. Is it really Johnny Depp, or a wax figure? You decide. (Actually, it’s another costumed attendee who just happened to look strikingly like the real Mr. Depp...!)


Myself (right) and C.S. Jennings (left), the soon-to-be legendary illustrator on our “Incredible Rockhead” series from Graphic Sparks. C.S. had a booth this year in the small press area, where many freelance illustrators and self-employed comic book artists go to peddle their wares and drum up business. It’s worth mentioning that that is exactly how we came to work with C.S. in the first place – finding him at Comic Con several years ago!

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The Hunger Games continues to take no prisoners. Only one can survive...and HG is doing everything in its power to make sure it is the sole survivor. Goodbye, Abraham and Mary! We enjoyed getting to know both of you better!

Who would have thought that Judge Chris Crutcher could be so heartless as to send the Lincolns packing. Have you no shame, sir?

But despite reading HG kicking & screaming ( I don’t read fantasy. With the exception of Cormac McCarty’s The Road, I don’t read “After the fall” literature either. So I opened The Hunger Games cursing School Library Journal for asking me to participate in the Battle of the Books and cursing my editor for telling me I should do it ), HG won for one simple reason.

No, the Everdeen Sisters did not show up at his house and threaten him. Simply put, HG "was just a hell of a yarn."

This leaves Lois Lowry in the position of deciding between Octavian and Katniss. I, for one, cannot wait! One raised in a literary tradition; the other raised in survival. Both outsiders in their world; both fighting for life; both suffering under governments where they have no voice.



© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

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Anderson's Book About Slavery Wins!

Which, sadly, means that Anderson's Book About Slavery Loses.

Judge Linda Sue Park shares an interesting opinion about bathroom reading and sticky stories. No, I'm so not kidding.

One of the reasons I like blog discussions of books is because people go into such detail as to why, personally, they like the book. It's one reason why a blog review isn't quite the same as a journal review. And it's easily one of the reasons I like the BoB decisions; authors sharing, intimately, what makes a story work for them as a reader.

Judge Park says, "I am the most selfish of readers. The implicit question behind all of my reading is, What’s in it for me?" An instant classic quote.

Oh, this round has two authors? Named Anderson? Writing about slavery? You want to know which book actually won?

The one with the Revolutionary War setting.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

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In 1978, Warner Brothers released a theatrical one-sheet (or, a movie poster) bearing a familiar S-shield and the tagline, “You’ll believe a man can fly.” That same year, the studio premiered Superman: The Movie, a film that would help change the landscape of science fiction film and pave the way for today’s surge of comic-book and graphic novel-inspired blockbusters. This film is important because it was my first exposure to the world of comic book fiction, and ultimately opened my eyes to a much larger realm of modern-day mythology. The power, the heroism, the majesty – Superman embodied every idea and fantasy that my budding creative mind could conjure. Fast forward ten years: in late 1988, a young, offbeat director embarked on a new quest to bring the Dark Knight to the silver screen. A far cry from the campy, “Technicolor” Batman portrayed by Adam West in the 1960s, director Tim Burton’s “Batman” was dark and gritty, existing in an alternate Gotham City that hearkened back to the days of Art Deco and film noir. To a young sixth-grader like myself, it was a shock as much as it was a breath of fresh air. Batman was real now; he was human. An intelligent, industrious, and determined hero who received his “powers” through hard work and sheer will.

Flashing forward to the present day, I’d have to say that working in collaboration with DC Comics on the first set of our DC Super Hero titles was an absolute joy. Their attention to the little details, I’m convinced, is why Superman and Batman are by far two of the most recognizable properties in the world. Not only has DC left an imprint on pop culture, but they’ve also managed to maintain the image of two super heroes that made their first appearances during World War II. Just look at how little Superman has changed stylistically in the last 70 years! From pencil sketches to final color, the editors at DC worked with us to ensure that Superman and Batman (along with their respective supporting casts) were given the same treatment in our books. Going with the “animated” designs of each character, we geared these titles toward a young audience that has grown to know “Supes” and “Bats” (as they are sometimes dubbed in the industry) from their appearances in animated cartoon series on television and in film. The design of the books followed that same animated feel, and soon we had rich, entertaining novels brimming with full-color artwork and action-packed sound effects.

For those of you who enjoy seeing the process behind the creation of a book, here is the progression of the Stolen Super Powers cover, from rough pencils to final cover design:

Rough cover pencil:

Rough cover pencil (with revised hero poses):

Final cover inks:

Final cover color:

Final cover design (with title and branding):

Art credits: Sketches, pencils, and inks by Rick Burchett. Colorist: Lee Loughridge.

As we move ahead in our adventure with DC, I look forward to the opportunity of working with them even more closely (possibly even illustrating a title myself . . . ?) to ensure that we produce books that together hold up the integrity of DC Comics and Stone Arch Books. In Season 2 of DC Super Heroes, we’ll see more action and adventure, including the origin of Batman, as well as the introduction of several more super villains. Season 3 will welcome everyone’s favorite Amazon, Wonder Woman, to the fold. After that, could we see some team-ups with some of the DC Universe’s other great heroes?

The future is bright for Stone Arch, for DC, for comics . . . for fiction!

Bob Lentz
Art Director
Stone Arch Books

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This is a post I’ve been avoiding for a few weeks now.  It seems my Bob cat has…You know.  Gone the way of Samantha the dog.  For those of you who don’t know, Bob is the family pet cat who lives in South Texas with my parents. I’m living in Montreal.  About four weeks ago I [...]

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Forgive me if I am distracted, but wouldn't you be if such a bundle of cuteness came and started to live with you? Meet Sassy, our new puppy-dog. She's almost 3 years old, a hound mix (hound is the only identifiable breed in her) and is super sweet, pretty mellow, and big fan of getting scratched behind the ears.

I'm celebrating Vetran's Day over at Geek Buffet today with my list of recommened WWI reading.

But, let's get down to some books, ok? Earlier this summer, I blogged about DC Comics new imprint, Minx. I have now had the chance to read two more books in the series.


Clubbing Andi Watson and Josh Howard

Exiled to her grandparent's Lake District golf resor after a minor incident involving a club, a fake ID, the cops, and a school, night, Charlotte is set for a summer of drudgery. But then, a woman trying to tell her something is found murdered, drained of blood, with some weird symbol carved into her arm. The police rule it as suicide, the Charlotte and her friend Howard think differently.

Vaguely reminiscent of Hot Fuzz, the ending left me a big underwhelmed.

I really liked the drawing style of clear, bold lines, with lots of large blocks of space.

Re-Gifters by Mike Carey, Sonny Liew, and Marc Hempel

Dixie is hapkido (a Korean martial art) fanatic. Living on the edge of LA's Koreatown, she battles the usual high school crap of boys and the urban crap of which side the street it's ok for Koreans to walk on.

In a daring move to get the guy, she spends her tournament entry fee on a statue of a Korean warrior. The guy promptly gives it to the prettiest girl in school. Heart in the gutter, with no way to enter the tournament, Dixie needs to find her missing ki, and fast.

A most fantastic story, this is my favorite Minx title so far. Very well done. I love Dixie's prickly character and the very real story arc.

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