Korean Edition of Wordless Books Published

A Korean edition of my book has just been published by Vis and Biz in Seoul, South Korea. I am really excited about reaching an Asian audience and look forward to receiving feedback from readers. This is a good example of how wordless books, that I examine in my book, communicate across borders, regardless of our cultural and language differences. I am really grateful for this opportunity and I hope that this opens up a dialogue about pictorial narratives between our cultures.

2009 Harvey Award Nomination

Wordless Books: The Original Graphic Novels was nominated for the prestigious 2009 Harvey Award in the category of Best Biographical, Historical or Journalistic Presentation.

Named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, one of the industry’s most innovative talents, the Harvey Awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art. They will be presented October 10, 2009 in Baltimore, MD, in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con. Nominations for the Harvey Awards are selected exclusively by creators – those who write, draw, ink, letter, color, design, edit or are otherwise involved in a creative capacity in the comics field. They are the only industry awards both nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals. Professionals who participate will be joining nearly 2,000 other comics professionals in honoring the outstanding comics achievements of 2008.

Freistil Black

I am honored to have the first chapter of my book included in Freistil, the prestigious bi-annual of European commercial illustration published by Verlag Hermann Schmidt Mainz, 2009. "Freistil reveals the breath and the evolution of the culture of illustration. Here, you will discover talents, aspects and technical finesses, not to mention the trend of a culture that develops rapidly and is distinguished by the daring to take clear, individual standpoints." [Backcover]

First Place Winner--New York Book Show

Wordless Books: The Original Graphic Novels was awarded First Place Book in the Special Trade/ Adult Graphic Novel category in the 23rd Annual New York Book Show sponsored by the Bookbinders' Guild of New York. Mark Evanier's Kirby, King of Comics was the Second Place winner and Chip Kidd, Geoff Spear, and Saul Ferris's Bat-Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan won Third Place in the category. This festive event was held on March 24, 2009 in the Grand Ballroom at the Manhattan Center.

I was so honored to learn that my book was chosen a winner in this show. To learn on the night of the show that it was awarded the First Place Book in the Adult Graphic Novel category among so many other fine books was even more exciting. This award reflects the creativity with my publisher, Harry N. Abrams, and Robert McKee, book designer; Anet Sirna-Bruder, Production Coordinator; Michelle Ishay, Art Director; and Charlie Kochman, my editior. This award shows that the early wordless books and woodcut novels that I have studied for many years are finally being respected for a strong social message and admired for their visual impact.

Judges' Comments
"Three part 'torn' binding is very unusual and interesting. Typography is beautiful and appropriate. Layout and composition is very elegant. Tints are very even. Paper choices are excellent. Shows a great respect for the graphic novel genre."


The books have been selected from more than 900 entries from book publishers and printers, large and small, throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.

"For many of us," stated Eric I. Schwartz, President of The Bookbinders' Guild of New York, "including myself, the New York Book Show is the highest point of our seasonal calendar. Each year the New York Book Show is a demonstration of the care and creativity of the producers of great books, from the type on the page ,to the paper they are printed on, to the ideas they represent. It is an affirmation of the vitality of a technology first invented in the 1450s and a celebration of the multifarious permutations of the book within the community that has the greatest stake in its continued success."

Pease Public Library Program

I presented a slide show on the early wordless books, woodcut novels, contemporary wordless comics, and picture books on Tuesday, March 17, 2009 at 7 p.m. at Pease Public Library, Plymouth, New Hampshire. It was a very well attended event with a reception and book signing, hosted by Katherine Hillier--Library director, staff, and volunteers.

Library Director Katherine Hillier and myself
photos by Paulette Brace

French Edition

A French edition of Wordless Books (Roman Graphique. Des Origines aux Annees) was published by Editions de La Martiniere. See page 9 in their Spring catalogue.

September in New York City

I had the privilege to be part of two comic book related events this past September in New York City.

Howl! Festival
The first event I attended was a panel discussion called "Inside Out: Self and Society in Comic Art: Trends in Autobiography, journalism and social critique in graphic novels.”with moderator Calvin Reid (Publisher's Weekly Comics Week); artists Jillian Tamaki (Skim), Josh Neufeld (A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge) and James Romberger (Seven Miles a Second); and editor at DC/Vertigo, Pornsak Pichetshote. It was held at St.Mark's Church in the Bowery, New York and was one of the panel discussions held as part of the annual Howl Festival. Sept. 10, 2008. Edward Carey from Comics Culture was present and has loaded the complete transcript of our discussion in two parts called Inside Out: Self and Society in Comic Art.

Calvin Reid, Josh Newfeld, David Berona, and James Romberger

Columbia University Book History Colloquium
The second event I participated in was a presentation and discussion held on Sept. 25 with David Hajdu, Columbia University and Mike Kelly, New York University entitled “Reading Pictures, Burning Comics: New Perspectives on the History of Graphic Narrative.” This was one of the scheduled events for the Fall 2008 Columbia University Book History Colloquium held at Butler Library, Columbia University.

The publication of my book, Wordless Books (2008) and Hajdu’s Ten-cent Plague (2008) inspired this panel discussion that was organized by Gerald Cloud, Librarian for Reference and Research at Butler Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Moderator, comics scholar, and rare book curator Mike Kelly lead this discussion with myself and Hajdu on current scholarship, historical perspectives, and a consideration of the place wordless books, graphic novels, and comics hold in both contemporary culture and the History of the Book.

After our presentations and a lively discussion there was a book signing and we later continued our conversation at a restaurant, joined by my wife, Rose O’Brien and Charlie Kochman, Executive Editor of Abrams ComicArts.

Rose O'Brien, David Berona, David Hajdu, Gerald Cloud, Mike Kelly, Charlie Kochman