More Comics Coming from Hachette

This story originally appeared in PW Comics Week on December 5, 2006 Sign up now!

by Calvin Reid, PW Comics Week -- Publishers Weekly, 12/5/2006

Jaime Levine, Anthony Lappe
and Dan Goldman.

The industry may be focused on the launch of Yen Press, Hachette's new comics imprint, but it's not the only graphic novel publishing going on at the Hachette Book Group. There are at least three comics projects in the works at Hachette's Warner Books division: The Lost Angel (July 2007), a gritty story of urban love and tricked-out lowriders by an L.A. tattoo and graffiti artist; a series of graphic novels by the popular hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan (the first in winter 2008) and Shooting War (Nov. 2007), a biting satire on the Iraq war that began as a Web comic and was acquired for print during this year's San Diego Comic-con.

Warner Books senior editor Jaime Levine acquired Anthony Lappé and Dan Goldman's Shooting War and will publish the book in hardcover next fall. And Leila Porteus, another Warner Books assistant editor, is responsible for acquiring The Lost Angel and the graphic novel series being produced by three members the Wu-Tang Clan.

Levine acquires commercial fiction and has a background in prose works in science fiction and fantasy. Her prose authors include thriller writers Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child as well as science fiction writer Jacqueline Carey (Kushiel's Legacy series) and Carrie Vaughan, who writes vampire/werewolf novels.

Levine told PWCW that Hachette's new Yen Press will eventually share marketing and promotional staff with other Hachette units. But she said Warner Books' graphic novel publishing is "completely separate from Yen Press. Some support departments here are centralized, but creatively there's no overlap. What they do doesn't necessarily overlap us."

Levine insists that Warner is not starting a comics imprint. "We're trying to be selective in what we publish," says Levine, emphasizing that these works fit Warner's publishing mandate: topical pop culture works that engage multiple audiences. She said the Warner Books' sales and marketing department is eager to work on the comics: "It's a challenge for the staff and an opportunity to do new stuff." She said, "We want the books to be taken seriously as mainstream works and give them access to bookstore audiences that comics haven't always had. But we want to market to comics fans as well."

From Shooting War

Porteus has specialized in nonfiction prose works in health, business and the occasional pop culture title. Her first graphic novel work will be The Lost Angel by Mr. Cartoon, a tattoo and hip-hop street artist renowned for his murals, logos, covers fpr recordings and custom car designs. He's created a variety of graphic works for such hip-hop performers as Method Man, Eminem, Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent and worked on ad campaigns for Nike, T-Mobile, Toyota and other corporate interests. Porteus got involved in publishing comics works because "I knew Warner was interested in comics, and I think it's important to understand that any story, any genre can be told graphically."

Long familiar with Mr. Cartoon's career, Porteus approached him about creating a graphic novel. "His street art and tattoos have always had a strong sense of story," said Porteus. The book is scheduled for publication in time to promote the book in San Diego next year. The Lost Angel is the story of a young Japanese guy in love with Low-Riders, cars with customized exteriors and crazy hydraulic suspensions, and he dreams of traveling to Los Angeles, the home of lowrider Chicano culture. Porteus says she'll team with Mr. Cartoon (he's a member of the Soul Assassins, the L.A. collective of hip-hop, fashion and graffiti artists) to market and promote the book to his own large following.

Porteus also convinced three Wu-Tang Clan MCs—Method Man, GZA and Ghostface Killah—to produce a series of separate graphic novels in a deal negotiated by agent Marc Gerald. The first Wu-Tang Clan graphic title, by Method Man, is scheduled to appear in the winter of 2008. Porteus said the books are in various stages of production.

"In their music, the Wu-Tang Clan created their own world based on the influences of hip-hop, pop culture and old kung-fu movies," said Porteus. "They all read comics, and it's influenced their music, especially Method Man's."

Levine said that the book-format Shooting War, created by writer Anthony Lappé and artist Dan Goldman, will be about twice the length of the Web comic originally serialized on Smithmag.net, where it generated media attention in the Village Voice, Wired, Time.com and Rolling Stone. Set about 10 years in the future, the comic is a corrosive satire on the Iraq war that often seems to predict the violent and absurd turns of the actual conflict. The book is written by Lappé and reflects his experience as a real correspondent in Iraq. Dan Goldman, a founding member of the online comics studio ACT-I-VATE, is illustrating the book.

"We're turning a serial comic into a coherent whole and creating a real novel," said Levine. "The artists are adding material at the beginning and transition material to connect sections." And she points to Porteus's books as well as her own to emphasize that Warner is out to attract a generation of readers interested in hip-hop and topical subjects. "The cutting edge, underground flavor of graphic novels is perfect for these artists. It's been fascinating to see what the worlds of Mr. Cartoon and the Wu-Tang Clan will look like in book form."