Shakespeare Manga-Style From John Wiley
This story originally appeared in PW Comics Week on June 20, 2006 Sign up now!
by Calvin Reid, PW Comics Week -- Publishers Weekly, 6/20/2006
In the latest example of a book publisher making its first foray into comics publishing, science and technical house John Wiley & Sons has signed a deal with five comics artists to produce a line of manga-style adaptations of four Shakespearean plays that will be published in 2008. The deal was negotiated by agent Bob Mecoy.
The line of Shakespearean manga adaptations was acquired by Wiley senior acquisition editor Greg Tubach, a former editor at the literary study guides line Cliff Notes, an imprint at John Wiley. Tubach says he’s not really a big comics fan but as a Cliff Notes editor, "I always have literature on my mind," and he’s been watching the "manga craze" for a few years. "Last November I went to an American Library Association workshop on manga in the classroom, and I thought, 'what a great match—Shakespeare and manga.' I want to use these books to introduce a whole new generation of readers to Shakespeare."
The plays being turned into manga include Hamlet, Romeo & Julie, Macbeth and Julius Caesar. The plays will be adapted by writer Adam Sexton and the artists include Tintin Pantoja (Hamlet), Yali Lin (Romeo & Juliet), Eve Grandt and Candice Chou (Macbeth) and Hyeondo Park (Julius Caesar). Three of the five artists (Pantoja, Lin and Park) are recent graduates of the cartooning program at New York City's School of Visual Arts.
The plays chosen are among the bestselling Cliff Notes supplements, and Tubach says Shakespeare remains "the most recommended author for high school students." This is the first serious comics project at Wiley, and Tubach says he's getting a lot of support within the house. "No one at the company is skeptical," he says, "and the sales reps are on board. I'm very excited about this project."
Agent Bob Mecoy also represents comics artists Matt Madden and nonfiction comics creator Jim Ottaviani, who just signed a two-book deal with First Second to produce a comics biography of physicist Richard Feynman. Mecoy says the Wiley deal is just the latest indication of how much trade book publishers are interested in comics.
"It's fascinating. I'm looking for more comics creators. There just aren't enough artists,” says Mecoy. "Editors tell me they even want science comics. A lot of people want to be in the comics game, and I can tell you why. When you walk down empty bookstore aisles and get to the comics aisle, it's full of readers of all ages, genders and races. The graphic novel may be becoming the big book that everybody can read."
