A few words in defence of Top Shelf

Ha, the title is a parody of the recent Randy Newman song - this should really be called a few nice words I and other rather notable people want to say about indie US publisher Top Shelf. I am working with them now on the 'AX: alternative manga collection', which is progressing well - we are up to about 60% of the 400 pages done now, and what great stuff it is! Wonderfully odd, personal, inventive alternative manga - its really going to be THE book for fans of mature gekiga style manga.

As to Top Shelf: nobody's perfect of course, but I can genuinely say they are respectful, discuss things openly, are genuine lovers of comics, make lovely looking books with great production quality and simply let you get on with doing things for the most part. Chris is a real gentleman and always supportive, and in San Francisco Brett welcomed me in by saying "You're one of the family now."
Nice...

But dont take my word for it, go and read the big interview with Alan Moore over at Newsrama, where he says: "It’s been something of a revelation. Not because I’m surprised at the production job Top Shelf is doing, or how pleasant they are to work for, because those are things I decided when they published Lost Girls by me and Melinda. But what has been a bit of a revelation is the effect working at Top Shelf has had on me, and I think Kevin [O'Neill] as well.

"I think we both decided that because we were not working for anything we recognized as a mainstream comics publisher, we have changed the way we think about the work. It’s a subtle thing, but if you’re working in mainstream comics, as both of us have been doing for getting on 25 years or more, then really, it’s a thing that you kind of take in by osmosis. You absorb the values of the field in which you’re working."
(click the post title to go to the rest of this interview, whihc talks about the making of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volume, Century: 1910.', whihc Top Shelf are publishing).

One of my big buzzes this year was the Top Shelf 'coming attractions' press release. It notes their books this year by Alan Moore, Kevin O'Neill, Eddie Campbell and Pat Mills... and then right next to them is MY name! What good company to be in! This reminds me of the NLP psychology stage in which they ask: 'How will you KNOW that you have got what you wanted?' Well, being published by the same publisher as 4 of the key comic book influences on me... hmm I think THAT counts as a pretty good signpost!


QUOTE TODAY:
"When you get the message, hang up the phone."
- Alan Watts on drug use.