Norton brings back Kings in Disguise

by Sunyoung Lee, PW Comics Week -- Publishers Weekly, 4/4/2006

W.W. Norton's debut into the world of graphic novel publishing could be said to have officially taken place last year with its release of two Will Eisner titles, The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and the classic Contract with God trilogy, but this April's reissue of James Vance and Dan Burr's Kings in Disguise promises to solidify Norton's status as the newest high-profile player in this rapidly expanding genre. Taken together with the 2004 signing of R. Crumb's much anticipated and still forthcoming nonfiction take on the Book of Genesis, it's clear: after more than five years of distributing Fantagraphics, the indie comics mainstay, Norton's finally getting serious about publishing its own graphic titles.

Long considered a classic in the field, Kings in Disguise won both Harvey and Eisner awards when it was published more than 15 years ago by the now defunct Kitchen Sink Press. Neil Gaiman, one of the book's many distinguished fans, described it as being as important as Maus, Watchmen and Love & Rockets "in the rise of the graphic novel, showing that comics can take on any kind of story."

Norton editor Tom Mayer first heard of the title from Judy Hansen, the agent who helped Denis Kitchen put together the deal for Eisner and Crumb. Mayer asked her if she could recommend any other titles for Norton. "I said, you know, this is Norton, we're not going to publish manga, but I am interested in seeing more literary graphic projects," Mayer recalled. Hansen sent him Kings, and Mayer loved it. "It's all too easy to say that this is a graphic novel. But I'm trying to think of this as literature," said Mayer.

Kings in Disguise follows the story of a young boy, Freddie Bloch, whose family has disintegrated under the pressures of the Great Depression. Freddie sets out for Detroit to look for his father after his older brother is carted off to jail for attempted robbery, and quickly falls in with an experienced if somewhat eccentric tramp who goes by the moniker the King of Spain. Together, the two crisscross the nation, catching rides in boxcars and living in a world of soup kitchens, labor riots and shantytowns. As depicted by James Vance's plain-speaking, understated prose and Dan Burr's hard-lined drawings, Kings in Disguise is a dry-eyed, meticulous evocation of the poverty and resilience of the dispossessed.

Norton's new edition boasts a foreword by Alan Moore, who described the book as a "mud-stained masterpiece of raindog regents and their unsung histories," as well as a revised intro by James Vance, who traced the book's origins from a short story to a play to a comic book. The paperback reprint will have an initial print run of 7,500, which Mayer described as "a modest run." The books will be widely distributed, and Mayer also hoped to introduce the title to academics through Norton's college sales reps. Although there had been some talk of publicizing the book with an animated short that would then be sent out to blogs, advertising will most likely be limited to what Mayer calls "undercover Web marketing, sending books to those who discuss graphic novels, sending the book to those who are in the know and would remember the book."

Most of the advertising push will be saved for next year, when Norton will be publishing and promoting the hardcover sequel to Kings in Disguise, called On the Ropes. The sequel was always part of the plan —the titles were signed in a two-book deal, with the paperback reprint designed to set the foundation for the hardcover release. Although only the first 25 pages of On the Rope's script have come in thus far, Mayer's hoping to finish up production on the book this summer for a spring 2007 release.

In describing Norton's vision for this new area of publishing, Mayer invoked Norton's longstanding mission: "Norton's motto is 'Books that live,' so we want to do that for graphic novels as well," he said. "We don't want to do a flash-in-the-pan graphic novel, we want to publish great books. We want books with legs that we'll be proud about in 10 or 15 years." Still, Mayer conceded that the field of publishers wanting to get into comics is a crowded one. This came into stark focus when he visited the first New York Comic-con this past February. Walking around on the floor "was like being on an airplane," he said. "Clearly we'd like to think of ourselves doing our graphic novels as important, but when it comes down to it, we're like a small bottle floating around in this massive ocean."

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