The annual event, focused on children’s graphic book material and organized by Alex Simmons, comes to the Bronx tomorrow:

The KIDS COMIC CON 2009 is set for April 25th at Bronx Community College (181st Street & University Avenue, Bronx, NY 10453). And yep, even though the economy is struggling like Superman surrounded by Kryptonite, the KIDS COMIC CON 2009 is still FREE for children 17 and under (and hey, Mom and Dad, its just $5 for you — making the KIDS COMIC CON one of the best entertainment values around).

The guest/exhibitor roster, which includes Archie Comics, Ponent Mon, Fillmore creator Scott Gimple and many more, can be found here. Take the whole family!

We forgot to pot this news, but everyone else did, but it’s still too good not to pass along: SALT WATER TAFFY, Matt Loux’s charming series about youthful adventurers, is going to run as a webcomic in addition to the regular printed versions:

“When I was working on THE TRUTH ABOUT DR.TRUE, SALT WATER TAFFY V3, Jack and Benny kept wanting to go on side trips, and I realized they would make great comic strip characters,” said Loux. “The Salt Water Taffy website creates a place for me to tell more of their adventures in a new format.”

Loux will premier a new comic strip online every other week until the launch of SALT WATER TAFFY VOLUME 3: THE TRUTH ABOUT DR. TRUE. The Salt Water Taffy website will also keep fans-up to-date on news, reviews, and events, and give a sneak peek of the new book.

Wimpy Kid unsurprisingly won two of the inaugural Nickelodeon Magazine Comics Awards, but Naruto got beaten by Pokémon. The winners:

+ Favorite Graphic Novel: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (series), by Jeff Kinney, Amulet Books/Harry Abrams
+ Favorite Comic Book Series: Simpsons comics, Bongo Comics
+ Cutest Comic Character: Snoopy–from Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz (United Feature Syndicate)
+ Favorite Comic Strip: Garfield by Jim Davis (Universal Press Syndicate)
+ Best Hair in Comics: Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson (Universal Press Syndicate)
+ Favorite Manga Series: Best of Pokémon Adventures, by Hidenori Kusaka and Mato (Viz)
+ Grossest Thing in Comics: The Cheese from Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney (Amulet Books/Abrams)
+ Favorite Fantasy Graphic Novel: Bone (series), by Jeff Smith

Via PR:

Nickelodeon Magazine, the leading entertainment and humor magazine for kids, announces the winners of the first Nickelodeon Magazine Comics Awards. The eight winners, chosen by more than 17,000 readers, are featured in the April 2009 issue of Nickelodeon Magazine– currently on newsstands. The Nickelodeon Magazine Comics Awards–the first major comics awards for kids–honors the best comic books, strips and graphic novels for kids published across the U.S.

“Our readers have spoken, and thousands have cast their votes,” said Laura Galen, Editorial Director of Nick Magazine. “This contest presented us with a great opportunity to engage our readers and make them a part of the editorial process. We hope they’ll enjoy seeing their favorites in print.”

Over a six week period (Nov. 24–Dec. 31, 2008), readers cast their votes for their favorite comics and characters across eight categories through a mail-in print ballot and online at http://www.nickmag.com. Readers selected their favorite graphic novels, fantasy graphic novels, comic book series, comic strips, manga series, cutest comic characters, best hair in comics and grossest thing in comics.

And in our final chart based item for the morning, ICv2 has released an adjusted list of the top-selling graphic novels of 2008, according to BookScan:

The top nine titles remained the same, but beginning with #10, five new titles made the top 20. Two of the Scholastic color Bone volumes, Bone Volume 1: Out from Boneville and Bone Volume 7: Ghost Circles, hit the list at #10 and #12, respectively.

Dark Tower: The Long Road Home, which was given a single ranking for the combined sales of all its covers, is #13 on this more comprehensive list.

Tokyopop’s Warrior’s Refuge, the OEL manga based on the works by Erin Hunter, is #15 on the combined list.

And Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Adventures Vol. 1 from Viz is #16.

A couple of very important things here: When factored into the list, kids comics actually dominate this list by a wide margin. NARUTO, BONE, WARRIORS, FRUITS BASKET.

Also, we can’t help but call out those WARRIORS books from Harper: They are packaged by Toykopop and concern a kitty cat fantasy along the lines of Watership Down, except with kitties. The stories are original. The art, from what we’ve seen, is not that great, but kids seem to be eating it up. We’ll note that Disney has also had success with their Artemis Fowl kids GNs and other properties. This is what the future of mainstream graphic novel publishing is going to look like, like it or lump it.

Archie Comics was kind enough to send over their schedule for the show:

Stop by the Archie Comics booth #1821 and meet writers Misako Rocks!, Alex Simmons, Paul Castiglia and Barbara Slate and artists Fernando Ruiz, Dan Parent, Joe Staton, Bob Smith, Jim Amash and Tito Pena. They’ll be on hand signing autographs and giving away FREE comics! Plus, for the first time ever you can purchase select Archie Graphic Novels at special convention prices! (While Supplies Last!)

Signing Schedule:
Friday:
3-4 Paul Castiglia

Saturday:
11-12 Misako Rocks!
12-1 Barbara Slate
1-2 Tito Peña
2-3 Bob Smith
3-4 Joe Staton
4-5 Alex Simmons

Sunday:
11-12 Dan Parent
12-1 Jim Amash
1-2 Fernando Ruiz
2-3 Alex Simmons

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Well, at least in NYC, as reported by Shelf Awareness:

Harry N. Abrams is off to a very muscular start in 2009. On Tuesday, the pub date for Jeff Kinney’s DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE LAST STRAW (Amulet Books), the third book in the series, the company sold at least 80,000 copies of the book, Abrams president and CEO Michael Jacobs estimated. Some 3,000 people attended Kinney’s appearance that night at the Barnes & Noble in Carle Place, N.Y., on Long Island (see photo), and about 1,300 copies of the book were sold. (At the last minute, an Abrams sales manager drove 400 extra copies to the store in a van.) Kinney appeared last night at an event hosted by R.J. Julia, Madison, Conn. Jacobs commented: “We’re very happy, especially in this retail environment.”

The New York Times looks at Jeff Kinney’s “Wimpy Kid” blockbuster status:

The franchise has been a sleeper hit for Amulet Books, an imprint of Harry N. Abrams, and for the author, Jeff Kinney, who started it as a series of online cartoons on the Web site FunBrain.com. The first book, published in 2007 and billed as a “novel in cartoons,” has spent 89 weeks on The New York Times’s children’s best-seller list and has been translated into 28 languages. According to the publisher, there are 10 million copies in print of the first two books and a third title, a do-it-yourself version that lets children write their own story. A “Wimpy Kid” movie is being cast. The latest book, “The Last Straw,” is being introduced Jan. 13 with a printing of a million copies.

Published on lined paper in the form of journal entries, the books tell in pitch-perfect voice of Greg’s hilarious and mortifying adventures at home and school. Greg, who is finely attuned to social pecking orders, writes that he is “around 52nd or 53rd most popular this year.” He is also lazy and manipulative, always choosing to do what is expedient rather than what is right — qualities that place him somewhere on the continuum between Dennis the Menace and Bart Simpson, and make him so appealing to readers 8 to 12 years old, especially boys.

If you have a little downtime over the holidays, you could do much worse than by reading The Comics Reporter’s yearend series of interviews:

Fantagraphics co-publisher Kim Thompson
Scholar and critic Jeet Heer
A looooong interview on mainstream comics with Tucker Stone
Indie comics with Sean T. Collins
PictureBox’s Dan Nadel
and the always interesting Eddie Campbell.

There are some newsy bits scattered here and there — PictureBox will be putting out retrospectives of John Kricfalusi and Syd Mead in their non-comics publishing arm. Also, Campbell, who it would seem to be impossible to interview poorly, has quite a bit to say about the recent reorganization at Macmillan which put his publisher, First Second, into the Macmillan’s Children’s Group:

I’m not surprised, because the book world, by which I mean the mainstream book publishers as well as the libraries and the Library Association, has been viewing “the graphic novel” as a young reader’s genre for quite some time. In part I think it’s because the part of a publishing house that is likely to be interested in bright illustrated narratives is the children’s books department, and in part also because those publishers, and America’s libraries, see the “graphic novel” as a way of grabbing a part of the literate populace that has hitherto proved elusive. Now, I have no objection to young folks having their own literature specially designed for them, though when I was a young ‘un myself I would have been highly suspicious of anything that the adult world thought I should read because it was supposed to be good for me. Let’s not forget that this is one of the things that drew us to comics in the first place, the very fact that they were not approved by our adults; they were our visual rock’n'roll, the things we knew that they didn’t. However, let’s not get bogged down on that point. The problem with this development is that comics were supposed to have grown up and become the “graphic novel,” but now we are apt to find articles telling us that the “graphic novel has grown up.” In other words we’re back where we started.

While Campbell has every right in the world to fret about his publisher, Tom Spurgeon also had made a bit note of First Second’s move. Nothing can be taken for granted in the publishing world, but this isn’t quite a shocker — First Second was ALWAYS part of Holt’s children’s division, as the initial press release from 2005 made clear:

Long rumored in the publishing press, children’s publisher Roaring Brook Press today announced it’s new Graphic Novel imprint, First Second, with an impressive line up of established creators like Jessica Abel, Warren Pleece, Eddie Campbell and others. The line will be guided by Editorial Director Mark Siegel and the first books will see publication in early 2006. The full press release of their announcement follows.

Tom mentions that First Second EIC Mark Siegel has his own response that will probably be even more forceful, but it’s worth pointing out.

Which doesn’t mean that Campbell’s general point doesn’t stand. While we’ll have more on this (hopefully) when we sit down (in March!) to do our own Year in Review, the fact is that juvenile graphic novels did much, much better in 2008 than literary comics from major (i.e. book) publishers did. Indeed, several of TCR’s interviewees ponder the effects of traditional publishers’ forays into graphic novels, and those effects do bear continued scrutiny.

Oh no! Soon you will see another beloved comics character as you have never seen him before! That never happened before, either! But it’s not who you think! And we’re not done using exclamation marks!

It’s Salem the cat, Sabrina’s loyal companion from years of Archie Comics!

This March, Salem goes from sidekick to main attraction in a story that kicks off a four-part miniseries-within-a-series starting in SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH #101: “YOUNG SALEM”! Only this time, this cool cat isn’t a cat at all!

In SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH #93 and #94, Salem’s backstory was explored in the two-part “Salem’s Secret.” That story highlighted a secret which linked Salem to Sabrina in an unexpected way, and explored the repercussions that followed…repercussions which affected everyone in the Magic Realm.

Now, Salem’s early days are explored once more in a special four-issue tale which harkens back to the days when he wasn’t an enchanted feline, but an actual boy wizard! That’s right: in this special storyline we take you back…way back…to when Salem was a little boy! Years later, an ill-conceived plot by Salem will incur the wrath of the leaders of the Magic Realm and lead to his enchanted punishment of spending the rest of his life as a furry feline. The magic begins in SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH #101 and continues through issue #104.

Frankly we’re surprised this story wasn’t called “Final Salem” or “Secret Salem” or “Salem Crisis” or some other catchy title. Archie Comics’s efforts to tell the story in four issues also strike us as insufficient. Why could this tale have not been expanded to a company-wide crossover? You’ve got to think big these days.

School LIbrary Journal has released a list of adult books recommended for younger readers:

It was a banner literary year and so SLJ’s Adult Books for High School Students Committee decided on 30 titles, published between September 2007 and November 2008 (with reviews published in 2008), to recognize as the best for high school readers. The list includes realistic and historical novels as well as some genre-blending titles. Biography, history, and books about the environment are well represented. Outstanding graphic novels and nonfiction also appear. The committee members are from public and school libraries across the United States and Canada, working with teens in urban, rural, and suburban settings. We are convinced that these titles will appeal to high school readers and provide a bridge into the vast world of adult publishing.

The graphic novels listed include:

Bourban Island 1730
Lewis Trondheim & Olivier Appollodorus. illus. by Lewis Trondheim. First Second. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-59643-258-1.

What It Is
Lynda Barry. Drawn & Quarterly. Tr $24.95. ISBN 978-1-897299-35-7.

Ronald Reagan, A Graphic Biography.
Andrew Helfer, Steve Buscellato and Joe Staton. Hill and Wang. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8090-9507-0.

Me and the Devil Blues, 1: The Unreal Life of Robert Johnson
Akira Hiramoto. Del Rey. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-0-345-49926-4.

Incognegro.
Mat Johnson & Warren Pleese. Vertigo. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-1-4012-1097-7.

The Museum Vaults: Excerpts from the Journal of an Expert.
Marc-Antoine Mathieu. NBM ComicsLit and the Louvre Museum. Tr $14.95. ISBN 978-1-56163-514-6.

Cairo.
G. Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker. Vertigo. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-1-4012-1140-0.

A People’s History of American Empire.
Howard Zinn & Paul Buhle. Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt. Tr $30. ISBN 978-0-8050-7779-7.

More in the link. A note: the list has left off a number of artists names, which we’ve added in. We’ll have a word with those SLJ people next time we’re in the office.

Johanna points us in the direction of a new children’s book by the marvelous Sara Varon: Chicken and Cat Clean Up.

In this volume, a 40-page hardcover for $16.99 aimed at ages 4-8, Chicken runs a housecleaning service in New York City. Cat works with Chicken, but Cat is clumsy and causes accidents, wanting to play instead of work. It’s only when Cat plays to his strengths that he’s recognized for his help. The full-color pages are calm and welcoming in their cool pastels. This new book is a sequel to Chicken and Cat, which came out a couple of years ago from Scholastic.

§ A raft of stories from the UK about how — get this — children love comics, in the wake of a study with hard numbers behind the surge. Sales are booming and growth is foreseen, says The Scotsman in a story called “Comic effect works its magic on children”:

Research by consumer analysts Mintel shows that the pre-teen market, catered to by classic comics like the Beano and the Dandy, has seen a surge over the past four years.

Experts predict sales of comics are set to increase by a further 21 per cent to reach £165 million by 2013 following the success of new titles launched on the back of TV programmes such as In the Night Garden.

Mintel senior analyst Mark Brecchin said: “It seems that the humble comic is standing the test of time and even today they provide an ideal treat for children. The market for this traditional favourite has gone from strength to strength due to a host of new launches, price rises and the fact that publishers now bring out more issues per title each month.

The Herald has more:

Sales of children’s comic books have rocketed, despite the lure of modern hobbies and pastimes.

The pre-teen market – which includes classic comics such as the Dandy and Beano – has experienced a surge of more than 70% in the past four years.

Comic sales have seen a massive 72% increase since 2003, and were worth £136m this year, thanks to new titles such as Dr Who Adventures.

Sales of women’s magazines increased by just 15% in the same period and teenage magazines declined by 61%, according to research by consumer analysts Mintel.

The UK England doesn’t have an overly robust native comics industry — especially given all the talents living there — but they do have a strong tradition of kids comics in general interest magazines, like the Beano and The Dandy, which present the kind of “national comics magazine” prevalent in Europe — especially Disney-themed magazines — but absent in the US. (Disney Adventures was a sort of attempt in this direction, and Nick magazine continues the tradition; however, comics are a small part of these magazines, compared to Beano.)

And why have comics might have surged over a five-year period? People quoted in the articles suggest it’s because of more licensed comics based on popular TV shows and so on. The Telegraph version of the story has even more info:

Dr Who Adventures magazine by the BBC rocketed from a standing start to top the chart as the most popular children’s title in 2007, with a circulation of 155,000, Mintel found. Comics based on American cartoon series The Simpsons have also proved very popular. Bucking the trend for television-based children’s magazines is The DFC, an old-school comic for eight to 12-year-olds which includes an illustrated version of Philip Pullman’s tallship tale The Adventures of John Blake.

The same piece mentions, however, that Beano has declined from a six-figure circ five years ago to a mere 64K today.

By the way, is it just us, or the does UK Dennis the Menace look a lot like Naruto?

Matthew Loux’s well-received kids comic, SALT WATER TAFFY, is back this week with a second volume:

Following closely on the success of the first volume of his new graphic adventure series, Matthew Loux brings us the second installment with SALT WATER TAFFY VOL. 2: A CLIMB UP MT. BARNABAS. In stores this week and with a third volume already in the works, critics are convinced that the American Library Association & YALSA award winning Matthew Loux is here to stay.

While the gold rush of comics to mainstream book publishers seems to have slowed a bit (there were very few announcements or rumors at SPX, aside from Raina Telgemeier’s SMILE deal with Scholastic) it isn’t all over: Jimmy Gownley’s AMELIA RULES is getting the book treatment. PR:

Ginee Seo Books, an imprint of Atheneum/Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, today announced it has acquired the world rights to Jimmy Gownley’s popular comic and graphic novel series AMELIA RULES!. The deal was brokered through an auction by Judith Hansen of the Hansen Literary Agency. Originally published by Renaissance Press, the AMELIA RULES! graphic novels and comics have become a favorite with both critics and fans alike.

Centered around the happenings of ten-year-old spitfire Amelia Louise McBride, the AMELIA RULES! series captures the true essence of being an adolescent girl in America today, as Amelia adjusts to life in “small town America” after her parent’s divorce as she is forced to leave NYC. “Jimmy is a true creative genius, and AMELIA RULES! has that rare combination of mass appeal and literary substance that every publisher dreams about. We are thrilled for Jimmy to be joining the S&S list, as we work to expand our list with some of the top comic and graphic novel talent publishing today, and we look forward to making his name and his characters known to even wider audience beyond his already substantial following,” said Ginee Seo, VP, Editorial Director of Ginee Seo Books.

Jimmy Gownley added, “It was important for me to find the perfect home for AMELIA RULES! and I strongly believe Simon & Schuster and Ginee Seo books are a great match. I am more excited than ever about Amelia and kids graphic novels in general”

The plan is for Simon & Schuster to put out reprints of the first four already published AMELIA RULES! books over the next two years, with the first reprint AMELIA RULES!: The Whole World’s Crazy to be published in Spring 2009 and the last reprint AMELIA RULES!: When the Past is a Present scheduled to be published in Spring 2010. AMELIA RULES! #5: The Tweenage Guide to Not Being Unpopular will be the first original publication with the hardcover and paperback scheduled to come out simultaneously in Fall 2010.

Shadowline, the Jim Valentino-driven arm of Image Comics, is launching a new line of comics aimed at the younger set, dubbed Silverline. The line debuts in October; creators include Joshua Williamson Vicente Navarrete, Kristen Simon, Justin Shady, Eric A. Anderson, Manny Trembley, and Valentino himself. PR below:

“Silverline Books is dedicated to publishing quality all-ages books that bridge the gap between traditional storybooks and comics,” said Publisher Jim Valentino. “We believe that there’s a strong need to reach out to younger readers and introduce them to comics with uplifting, non-violent stories in a format they’re familiar with.”

Silverline Books officially begins October 29th with its first all-new release, DEAR DRACULA by Joshua Williamson and Vicente Navarrete; a Halloween-themed story about a boy who gets visited by his hero, the king of all vampires. It continues in November with BRUCE, THE LITTLE BLUE SPRUCE by Shadowline editor Kristen Simon and Image co-founder Jim Valentino, in which the titular tree wants nothing more than a family to take him in on Christmas.

The year ends with two more Silverline titles, including December’s MISSING THE BOAT by Justin Shady (aka Wayne Chinsang) and Dwellephant, about two lazy animals who are too late for Noah’s Ark, and the softcover follow-up to last years double Eisner award nominee PX! BOOK TWO: IN THE SERVICE OF THE QUEEN by Eric A. Anderson and Manny Trembley.

More info and previews in the link.

It seems that Little Lulu wasn’t the only tot in a red dress that legendary John Stanley wrote about. Pappy’s Golden Age has reproduced some of John Stanley’s NANCY comics, and if Nancy and Sluggo come off a bit like Lulu and Tubby, there’s no doubt that Aunt Fritzi is wayyyyy hotter than Lulu’s mom.
[Via Journalista]

Lots of events coming up for Eleanor Davis and Dean Haspiel, including TONIGHT:

TOON Books is pleased to announce a series of September events to launch the first two titles in the publisher’s fall line of comics for early readers.

Talented newcomer Eleanor Davis will debut Stinky, a hilarious and heartwarming story that proves even monsters can make new friends…warts and all. Davis, just 25 years old, was recently hailed by Publishers Weekly as one of four emerging comic artists to watch, and currently lives in Athens, GA.

Powerhouse artist Dean Haspiel will present Mo and Jo: Fighting Together Forever, written by legendary cartoonist Jay Lynch, a delightfully tongue-in-cheek superhero story about two twins who love the same superhero – but can’t stand each other! Lynch has helped create many popular humor products, including Wacky Packages and the Garbage Pail Kids. Haspiel has illustrated Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon’s The Escapist and drawn superheroes for Marvel and DC Comics.

TOON Books are a collection of hardcover, full-color comics for early readers published by New Yorker Art Editor Françoise Mouly with Series Advisor Art Spiegelman. The imprint launched in Spring 2008 and has received near-universal praise. More information on www.TOON-BOOKS.com

Following is a schedule of events planned to mark the debuts of Stinky and Mo and Jo:

Friday, September 5, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
• Desert Island, 540 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211
Eleanor Davis & Dean Haspiel—reading, signing with milk and cookies!

Saturday, September 6, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
• STORYHOUR at McNally Jackson NYC, 52 Prince Street, New York, NY 10012
Eleanor Davis & Dean Haspiel, introduced by Françoise Mouly and Art Spiegelman.

Monday, September 8, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
• Jim Hanley’s Universe, 4 West 33rd Street, New York, NY 10001
Eleanor Davis & Dean Haspiel—reading and signing

All events will be kid-friendly and a great way to introduce children 4 and up to the pleasures of books and comics. PLEASE JOIN US!

You know, it isn’t just the movie people who are snapping up the comics! Cartoonists are still getting book deals at traditional publishers left and right. This week’s PW Comics Week had a few items of note. Dash Shaw, the new lit comics It Kid, has signed up for his next book at Pantheon, a print version of his online Body World:

The deal was negotiated by agent Bob Mecoy. The book was acquired by Pantheon editorial director Dan Frank along with editor/designer Chip Kidd, who will both edit the book. Mecoy also said there was “unprecedented” interest in both Bottomless Belly Button and Body World from Hollywood film studios, although no deal has been reached.

The same issue also notes that agent Judy Hansen has negotiated a two-book deal at Scholastic for Flight’s Jake Parker for his character Missile Mouse.

Missile Mouse was introduced earlier this year in Flight Explorer, an anthology based on Flight with comics created for young readers, published by Villard. Missile Mouse: The Star Crusher, the first of the two graphic novels, will be published in 2010.

Hansen also writes to us to say that she’s negotiated another two-book deal for Benjamin Hatke, another Flight and Flight Explorer author. Mark Siegel at First Second has acquired two graphic novels starring Zita the Spacegirl (left). The first book is titled Zita the Spacegirl: The Longest Day.

Mucho good reading ahead.

With so much good stuff being done again, it’s about time:

Nickelodeon Magazine, the leading entertainment and humor magazine for kids, has announced its first-ever “Best Kids’ Graphic Novel” Awards, taking place in spring 2009. The Awards will honor the best comic books and animated novels for kids published across the U.S. The submission process is open through Sept. 30, 2008, and voting will take place in December.

“Comics have always been an integral part of who we are, and these Awards will allow us to honor the great work for kids being produced in graphic novels today,” said Laura Galen, Senior Vice President and Editorial Director. “Our readers consistently rave about ‘The Comic Book’ section as one of their favorites, so awards are a natural direction for the magazine.”

All graphic novel submissions must be submitted before Sept. 30, 2008. A list of books for kids to vote on, pre-selected by the Nickelodeon Magazine editorial staff, will be available in the December issue and online at http://www.nickmag.com. The results will be announced in print and online in spring 2009 in conjunction with the release of Nickelodeon Magazine’s popular annual cartoon-themed issue. Nickelodeon Magazine welcomes all submissions appropriate for kids between the ages of seven and 13.

(more…)

Among book publishing people, it has long been agreed that the final hurdle, the ultimate Holy Grail in mainstream acceptance of graphic novels as “real” books and the highest realm of sales success would be a selection by Oprah’s Book Club, the television-fueled reading club that can result in MILLIONS of additional sales for any book she chooses to anoint. Indeed, it’s been a popular parlor game for the GN crowd to try and figure out which book could break the barrier…LOVE AND ROCKETS? PERSEPOLIS? WATCHMEN? FUN HOME? KRAMERS ERGOT #7?

While the Book Club has yet to make a selection to pass the final frontier, at least one plateau has been reached: Sara Varon’s ROBOT DREAMS has been selected for Oprah’s Kids Reading List.

In this nearly wordless book, comic book-style illustrations tell the story of Dog and his best friend, Robot. When the two become separated, readers follow their separate—and very different—experiences, which are amusing, wistful and truly thought provoking.

Congrats to Sara — the selection is quite a kudos for her wonderful art and storytelling.