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Rounding out our Fall '10 offerings, here's your report on the newest licensed books and graphic novels from Stone Arch Books!


Last season, we introduced our partnership with Sports Illustrated Kids and launched our first graphic novels under the SI Kids brand. This season, we take it a step further and add full-color chapter books to the mix. The kids at Victory School all have extraordinary athletic ability, but they face ordinary struggles, learning that teamwork and fair play are just as important to them as they are to normal kids. Check out the awesome Victory School Superstars trailer, too:







We've also got six brand-new graphic novels from Sports Illustrated Kids. These books have been getting some great reviews. School Library Journal said they were "sure to fly off shelves." Nice!




Did you know that some of our ever-popular Graphic Revolve retellings of classic tales are also available in Spanish! Es verdad! English-language learners, bilingual kids, and Spanish-language learners will all appreciate these editions of some of our coolest graphic novels.




And we're granting wishes to librarians and kids everywhere by adding classic Arabian Nights tales (with absolutely breathtaking illustrations) to the Gr

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!

This morning I was half listening to an NPR news article about moths outwitting bats. All of a sudden, my nephew Matt who is visiting from Wyoming said, “They’re talking about one of your books!”

Actually, the announcer was talking about Bertholdia trigiona, the tiger moth. The creature can confuse a chirping bat by creating its own mothy (mothish? mothesque?) rattles that interfere with the hunting bat’s echolocation. My nephew thought he was hearing about Tiger Moth, a costumed superhero created by author Aaron Reynolds for one of our Graphic Sparks series. Tiger Moth is an insect ninja who, with the estimable aid of his pillbug sidekick, Kung Pow, fights against the baddies of the bug world. Tiger also narrates his books in a funny, noir style, introducing young readers to mysteries, bugs, and a clever, cool vocabulary.

I thought it was great that my nephew made such a quick connection between what he had heard on the radio to one of the books he had read. It pays to have lots of fun books lying around for your relatives to pick up and enjoy.

Two of our graphic novels are featured in an School Library Journal article this month. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, from our Graphic Revolve set, and Tiger Moth, Insect Ninja, from our Graphic Sparks set, are spotlighted in Michele Gorman’s list of 25 great graphic novels for young readers. The books are among some great company--our sister company Capstone Press's The Shocking World of Electricity with Max Axiom, Super Scientist! is listed, as are a bunch of other great books.

Check out our website to see the other graphic-novel retellings of classic books in our Graphic Revolve set, and other funny, goofy books in our Graphic Sparks set.

Animation Mentor is an online school for animators. The list of teachers is quite impressive, and for great fun, check out the student showcase.