NATE POWELL'S SWALLOW ME WHOLE NOMINATED FOR LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE

FROM TOP SHELF COMICS:

First graphic novel since 1992's MAUS to make the list-

Top Shelf Productions is bursting with pride to announce that Nate Powell's graphic novel SWALLOW ME WHOLE has been nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize!
SWALLOW ME WHOLE is one of five official finalists in the category of Young Adult Fiction, making it the first graphic novel to be nominated for this prize, in any category, since Art Spiegelman's MAUS won the Fiction category in 1992! "I'm honored just to be considered," says Powell, "and feel dizzy having my book even placed in the same sentence as MAUS."
Although SWALLOW ME WHOLE was not created exclusively for young adult readers, it is fundamentally a story about the dark, quiet corners of adolescence. The book follows two
teenage stepsiblings, Ruth and Perry, through the ups and downs of school, family, and suburban restlessness -- all complicated by the insect armies, swirling visions, and haunting voices that no one else can perceive.
"To be a young person is to be surrounded at all times by frightening transition and the terror of losing touch with a safe and familiar world," says Powell. "Sometimes the only salvation from that terror is in what a teenager can create for themselves."
The LA Times Book Prize nomination follows months of critical acclaim for SWALLOW ME WHOLE's rich storytelling and dazzling visuals, which have led some to call it "the best graphic
novel since Craig Thompson's BLANKETS." Douglas Wolk wrote in the New York Times that Powell's flowing, impressionistic artwork, with its ravenous expanses of negative space, swirls
the reader's perspective through his characters' perceptions and back out again." The Onion's AV Club agreed that the book "achieves some stunning effects with the art and the lettering"and admired how "SWALLOW ME WHOLE captures the desperation of the clinically obsessed, and how from the right angle, it can look like genius." The book also received an Ignatz Award from
the 2008 Small Press Expo.
"What makes this book so worthy of acclaim is the way it immerses the reader in the life and mindset of a gifted yet mentally ill teenager," proclaimed Walter M. Mayes, a middle school librarian and one of the members of the award committee. "To get a glimpse of what it must feel like to be inside such a head can be overpowering and disorienting upon first read, but when reread, the book offers such literary power that it is hard to deny, even if you don't totally 'get' what is happening. Teens will find this book compelling, weird, scary, and ultimately affirming."
Nate Powell will be attending Seattle's Emerald City ComiCon (April 4-5) and the SPACE Expo in Columbus, OH (April 18-19) before traveling to Los Angeles for the LA Times Book Prize ceremony on Friday, April 24. The ceremony serves as the kickoff for the LA Times Festival of Books (April 25-26), where Nate will be a special guest hosted by Hi De Ho Comics all weekend.
To celebrate Nate's achievement, Top Shelf is holding a mini-sale through April 26th: order SWALLOW ME WHOLE and get a free copy of Nate's autobiographical short story collection,
PLEASE RELEASE for free! To order, visit http://www.topshelfcomix.com/natepowell. Top Shelf 2.0 is also hosting a new online comic by Nate Powell and Rachel Bormann, entitled Cakewalk," at http://www.topshelfcomix.com/ts2.0.

Bob sweet talked Nate into agreeing to an interview for this here blog, and was also gracious enough to provide me with a copy of the book so I'd know what the heck I'm talking about. I'll be working on that over the next couple of days, and have that interview up as soon as possible.

Columbus Comics News (via Sunday Comix)

I'd like to thank Rich Watson, writing on the Sunday Comix blog, (which I also occasionally contribute to) for calling to my attention a couple of comics related news item from the Columbus, Ohio area that I'd overlooked.
Dara Naraghi, local comics writer, charter member of the PANEL artists collective and perennial SPACE exhibitor, is profiled in this week's edition of Columbus Alive! The raison d'etre of the article is his work on a series of comics, published by IDW, based on the upcoming Terminator film. Dara also goes into his views on the comics industry and gives some insight into his early life. You can probably still find a copy lying around wherever these free papers are distributed, or you can just read the article here.
Not being a big fan of anime and manga, it's really no surprise that I'd never heard of Ohayocon, the local con devoted to those areas that is going on at the Hyatt Regency hotel downtown even as I type these words, and continues through Sunday afternoon. I was a little curious about the show, and a quick Google search did turn up a brief Wikipedia entry.

The New Mid-Ohio Con

Not much news on the SPACE front right now, but I did recieve this pulsating press release concerning the fate of Columbus' other big show, the venerable Mid-Ohio Con:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mid-Ohio-Con to Merge with Ohio Comic Con

The New Mid-Ohio-Con 2008 Scheduled for October 4-5 in Columbus, Ohio

Monday, May 19, 2008 - Columbus, Ohio
GCX Holdings LLC announced today that it has reached an agreement to merge Mid-Ohio-Con
with Ohio Comic Con. The new Mid-Ohio-Con will bring together the best that both conventions
have to offer with respect to special guest list, programming, schedule, venue, and
organizational teams. Mid-Ohio-Con 2008 will take place on the weekend of October 4-5 at the
Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.

"I couldn't be more excited about this development," said James Henry, Managing Director of
GCX Holdings, which recently acquired Mid-Ohio-Con. "I strongly believe that Mid-Ohio-Con and
Ohio Comic Con will be far better together than they would be separately. This combination is a
great outcome for everybody involved, including our creative guests, retailers and other
exhibitors, and especially the loyal fans who have attended Mid-Ohio-Con year after year."

"We are very happy to be combining Ohio Comic Con with Mid-Ohio-Con," said Teresa
Colegrove, Co-Founder of Ohio Comic Con and Packrat Comics. "Our primary goal in forming
Ohio Comic Con was always to ensure that there was a great convention in our home state, and
we've certainly accomplished that with the combination of our two events. We have lots of new
ideas that we're looking forward to contributing to this year's Mid-Ohio-Con."

"I'm certainly pleased to see this combination take place," said Roger Price, Founder of Mid-
Ohio-Con. "Our new team has a lot of energy and enthusiasm as well as innovative ideas and I'm
look forward to working with them on this year's event. We've just launched our new web site
and stay tuned in the coming weeks for news about additions to our guest list for Mid-Ohio-Con
2008, as well as some exciting new additions to our programming schedule."

About Mid-Ohio-Con
Now entering its 28th year, Mid-Ohio-Con is one of America's longest-running and most
successful pop culture conventions. Each year, Mid-Ohio-Con brings fans of all ages together
with leading comic book writers and artists, film and television creators and stars, as well as
publishers and retailers from across the nation. Mid-Ohio-Con 2008 will be held on October 4-5
at the Greater Columbus Convention Center at 400 North High Street in Columbus, Ohio.

About Packrat Comics
Established in 1993 by Jamie and Teresa Colegrove, Packrat Comics is a family owned and
operated full-service specialty comic shop with two locations serving central Ohio. Working with
local schools to promote comics as both an art form and educational tool, Packrat Comics strives
to provide its community with a fun, family-friendly atmosphere where children of all ages can
enjoy this wonderful medium. Packrat Comics can be found online at www.packratcomics.com.
Contacts:
James H. Henry
GCX Holdings LLC
jhenry@gcxholdings.com
Roger A. Price
R.A.P. Promotions, Inc.
conman@midohiocon.com