Pantheon has been a serious publisher of graphic novels long before the current boom in interest in comics. The house is the publisher of such acclaimed artists as Spiegelman (his Pulitzer Prize–winning Holocaust memoir, Maus,was first published by Pantheon in 1986) and Dan Clowes, and it is generally considered one of the most prestigious publishers of serious comics. In October, in anticipation of the December release of the animated film based on Persepolis, Pantheon released a new one-volume trade paperback edition of Marjane Satrapi’s memoir that combines the book’s two volumes. But the last original graphic novel the house published was Jessica Abel’s La Perdita in March 2006.

What’s the holdup? Frank told PWCW that it’s just business as usual at Pantheon. “We’re not out to just fill a list each season,” he said. “When we decided to get into this business, we knew we didn’t want to be forced to look for titles to publish to fill out the list. We will only publish when we can find unique, original works.”

After three volumes of hilarious slacking—a jobless trek of playing in a band, wobbling between romantic entanglements and battling the seven evil ex-boyfriends of his current girlfriend Ramona Flowers—Scott Pilgrim must finally make choices. Does he truly love mysterious messenger Ramona? Will his band SexBobOmb play out? Can he pay the rent? Can he keep a job? And why is be being followed by two ninjas? O'Malley's manga-tinged youth comedy has gotten more confident as the series has become a veritable institution, with an eight-page color section to open this volume, but the story, too, reveals new layers of character. This time out the main complication in Scott's life is Julie, a high school might-have-been-girlfriend. Julie dresses very cute and keeps showering him with attention, forcing him to deal with his feelings for Ramona, who also has a visitor from her past. The references from indie band lore, video games and manga keep the story sharp, while the occasional fight scenes—Scott must face two opponents at once!—are perfect metaphors for the uncertainty and excitement of being an early 20-something. O'Malley's sparkling dialogue captures the bravado, insensitivity and engaging cluelessness of a generation for whom a dishwashing job constitutes "getting it together" big time. (Nov.)

In the aftermath of a #1 box office debut for the movie based on his graphic novel, 30 Days of Night, Steve Niles could be forgiven for pausing to enjoy the nationwide film success of his vampire series. Instead of basking in that success, however, the prolific creator is busier than ever, with a slew of comics and prose projects underway and even more on deck for the coming year.

• Shooting War (Hachette Book Group)
• Scott Pilgrim Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together (Oni Press)
• Asian Beat (Tokyopop)
• Ex Machina Vol. 6: Power Down (DC/ Wildstorm)
• Wolverine Origins Vol. 3: Swift and Terrible (Marvel)
• Kimmie66 (DC/ Minx)
• Suppli Vol. 1 (Tokyopop)
• League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier (DC/ America's Best Comics)
• Suppli Vol. 1 (Tokyopop)
• Togari Vol. 3 (Viz Media)
• Zombies Calling (Amaze Ink/ Slave Labor Graphics)
• Worlds End (Digital Manga Publishing)
• Voice or Noise Vol. 1 (Blu Manga)
• Remembrance of Things Past Part 3: Swann in Love (NBM)

• Vertigo to Publish Demo
  
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• NYAF Unveils Programming
  
• The Spirit Movie Website
  
• Rivkah on PBS
  
• PW's Best Comics 2007
  
• Del Rey Debuts Blog
  
• Anime on Starz
  
• New York Previews Shooting War