Random House seems to be developing a special relationship with comics. Pantheon, a Random House imprint, recently attracted attention by publishing a series of acclaimed graphic novels by such authors as Ben Katchor (The Beauty Supply District), Chris Ware (Jimmy Corrigan) and Daniel Clowes (David Boring). Now Doubleday, a Random House division, is launching an exploratory publishing program, under the direction of associate editor Deborah Cowell, that will publish two original graphic novels and a comics adaptation of a prose novel in the fall of 2002.
"I have been pressing my editors about comics since I began working here four years ago," said Cowell, who began her publishing career working for literary agent Marie Brown and for the late Glenn Thompson at Writers and Readers. "We can publish comics the way only a book publisher can."
Cowell told PW she has acquired Shutterbug Follies, a comic murder mystery, from cartoonist Jason Little, husband of Doubleday author Myla Goldberg (Bee Season). She has also acquired a graphic novel by comics artist Lance Tooks. Narcissa is the story a black woman filmmaker who is dying; she takes a trip to Spain, and her experiences serve to illuminate the time she has left to live. Cowell is also deciding on an artist to produce a graphic novel adaptation of Kate Christensen's In the Drink, a 1999 novel about a frustrated, hard-drinking woman who ends up ghostwriting the books of an aging and difficult celebrity novelist. Cowell points to cartoonist Kyle Baker's 1990 graphic novel Why I hate Saturn, also a comic look at Manhattan singles, as inspiring her to choose the Christensen novel.
Cowell also gives credit to Doubleday editor-in-chief William Thomas for supporting the development of a graphic novel series. "My bosses noticed the media attention for Pantheon's artists, and Bill Thomas asked me to put together a business plan. I wrote 93-page plan over the weekend." Cowell, who has also edited prose novels by Sandro Meallet (Edgewater Angles) and David Anthony Durham (Gabriel's Story) said the graphic novels will have "the full support of house for marketing and publicity. "And the artists will help with the advertising," said Cowell. "We can use their characters to sell the books, just like actors are used to promote a movie."
"What I'm doing isn't new," said Cowell. "We're presenting comics as another reading experience. We want to build a generation of comics readers who will be familiar with our list. We want to cross-pollinate between prose readers and the comics readership. Comics lovers read a lot more than just comics."
