2018 was a big year for our imprint, Graphix.
With an exciting announcement from Raina Telgemeier; highly anticipated releases in the Dog Man and Amulet series; honors and praise for Hey, Kiddo; and authors traveling all across the country to meet fans, there’s a lot to look back on!
Here are the top 10 Graphix moments of 2018:
1. A 5 million copy first printing for Dog Man
Earlier this month, Scholastic announced that Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild, the sixth book in Dav Pilkey’s bestselling series, would receive a 5 million copy print run – up from the 3 million printed for the last Dog Man book, Lord of the Fleas. Brawl of the Wild hits shelves next week, on December 24!
2. Dav Pilkey’s “Howl with Laughter” Tour
Speaking of Dav Pilkey! In the fall, the Captain Underpants & Dog Man creator traveled all across the United States and Canada on the “Howl with Laughter” Tour, meeting thousands of fans along the way! At every sold out stop, Dav gave an inspiring speech, signed books, and posted for supa-fun photos! Check out the video recap:
3. Raina Telgemeier announces her next two books
At New York Comic Con, bestselling graphic novelist Raina Telgemeier shared that two new books are on the way! Share Your Smile, on sale April 30, 2019, will be how-to book for budding graphic novelists, and Guts, her next graphic novel memoir, will release on September 10, 2019!
4. Amulet 8 and a celebration in Seattle
Fans of the Amulet series had a lot to celebrate in 2018! In September, Supernova – the eighth book in Kazu Kibuishi’s series – was released to much fanfare.
And, on Sunday, August 19, the Seattle Mariners celebrated author/illustrator Kazu Kibuishi with Amulet Day at Safeco Field! The event included a presentation by Kazu, plus a meet & greet and book signing for fans before the game. Attendees also received a special tee shirt designed by Kazu just for the Mariners.
Thank you @boltcity . I can’t express how meaningful your talk was to Malcolm today. He is one of those kids who wants to grow up to draw pictures and tell stories and your talk was very inspiring. Today was a big deal. pic.twitter.com/K85vlvNwQC
— Cara (@running2_cj) August 19, 2018
Amulet day with @boltcity @Mariners and @MarinerMoose living the dream!! @RisdonMSLibrary pic.twitter.com/QHxY16725Y
— Mary Beth Kurspahic (@mblovesbooks) August 19, 2018
at the Mariners game to support @boltcity and friends for Amulet Day!!
— ben burbank (@bburbank) August 19, 2018
so many kids here who love these books pic.twitter.com/RzhExeCKhp
5. Graphix launches an Instagram account
This summer, Graphix joined Instagram and launched their account with cute, original illustrations some of their most iconic characters. (If you’re not following them yet, what are you waiting for?) We dug up their very first post (see below), which featured the three cousins from Boneville.
6. Graphix hits the road for the Summer Reading Road Trip
This July, Scholastic partnered with bookstores and libraries in communities nationwide to host reading festivals for families and encourage summer reading! A number of Graphix authors – including Ru Xu (Newsprints), Gale Galligan (The Baby-sitters Club), and Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Hey, Kiddo and the Jedi Academy series) – joined the RVs on the road to meet readers and sign books!
I had a great time at the Fundamentals bookstore signing with @JonathanFenske and @SutherlandTui for @Scholastic’s Summer Reading Road Trip! :D Armand and I were so thrilled to meet Dog Man! pic.twitter.com/xPcCmzrXax
— Ru Xu (@ruemxu) July 23, 2018
i am so very happy, y’all pic.twitter.com/NoGYsrNWWD
— gale galligan (@robochai) July 3, 2018
Despite the micromanagement by Slappy, I had a great time at the @Scholastic #SummerResdingRoadTrip. pic.twitter.com/gPSxs6Lhoj
— Jarrett J. Krosoczka (@StudioJJK) July 6, 2018
7. BONE’s Jeff Smith releases his first ever picture book
Jeff Smith’s graphic novel series BONE is about three Bone cousins lost in a valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures. The series was named by Time as one of the top ten graphic novels of all time, and this year, Smith launched his first-ever picture book – Smiley’s Dream Book – featuring the cousins from Boneville. Listen to Smith’s episode of the Scholastic Reads podcast all about his picture book here.
8. Hey, Kiddo is nominated for a National Book Award, and more end-of-the-year love
Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s graphic novel memoir for young adults, Hey, Kiddo, was not only longlisted for the National Book Award, but it was also recognized by a number of organizations and outlets (including The Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR and more) on their “best of“ end-of-the-year lists.
You can listen to Jarrett’s episode of the Scholastic Reads podcast here.
(P.S. Let’s also give a special shout-out to Aron Nels Steinke whose graphic novel Mr. Wolf's Class made the Chicago Public Library list of Best Fiction for Younger Readers!)
9. National Selfie Day
June 21 is National Seflie Day, and Graphix celebrated all month long on their Instagram account with seflies from some of their most popular characters!
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
10. All the Twitter takeovers
So. Many. Twitter. Takeovers. Graphix gave you a sneak peek at so many of their great new titles by revealing panels on social media. Here’s a roundup of some of the excerpts they shared via Twitter takeover:
