UFO Awards, Surviving on Mars, and more!

Well hello! I hope you’re all having a nice summer.It’s been busy in Living the Line/Smudge land, but I wanted to send out a quick missive about some of the more timely events… Let’s start with some great news!NominationUFO AWARD NOMINATIONUFO Mushroom Invasion has been nominated for the first inaugural American Manga Awards, in the category of Best Edition of Classic Manga! This is a fantastic lineup of books, and we’re proud to have our second Smudge title in such good company. You can read about ALL the nominees, and learn how to vote if you’re an industry professional, here.
The judge’s comments:“Reminiscent of sci-fi horror from the 1950s with all the campy charm it entails”
-Lynzee Loveridge“Dark, weird, mycology-obsessed old horror manga. Read it and know what has been missing from your manga life.”
-Shaenon Garrity“UFO Mushroom Invasion flew in from somewhere completely off my radar and I’m glad it did. I feel lucky to exist in a galaxy where there are still sublimely strange classic horror comics like this one waiting to be discovered.”
-MinovskyUFO Mushroom Invasion is currently available to preorder from Living the Line, or basically anywhere else, and we hope you’ll consider doing so!SmudgeFurther SMUDGE…and, yes, even thought we haven’t announced the next title, rest assured, we have been working hard on the next Smudge titles, and boy are they corkers! We’ve been banking books and licenses in the hopes of being able to put out four historic horror manga titles a year, a pace that we’re heading towards for 2025. When we can announce titles, you’ll be the first to know! (Although news might hit Instagram a few hours in advance…) Finding these books, bringing these hidden gems to light for the first time in English, has been an incredibly rewarding experience. We hope that everyone out there (and there are literally thousands of you!) who have purchased Her Frankenstein will be with us for the long haul as we dig into the hidden history of horror and find the glistening gems buried in the morass.Surviving on MarsSurviving on Mars– order NOW!In other pressing news, Brandon Graham’s new book, Surviving on Mars, is now available to preorder from your local comic store or bookstore! (or, @m@zon or B@rns @nd N@ble, for instance…) .

If you’re going through hell, KEEP GOING. From daily routines and art-making, to dealing with depression, and living among porn performers in Las Vegas, Eisner Award winning cartoonist Brandon Graham (King City, Rain like Hammers, Prophet, Moonray) offers a funny and touching look into the life of an artist making his way in the 21st century.
Graham, who has been known primarily for his strange far future science-fiction and pun-filled fantasy works, has been making memoir comics for decades. This is the first major collection of this work, exploring Graham’s life in the seedy alien landscape of Las Vegas, while he strives at making art as a tool for surviving the chaotic universe. This is a very unusual book, one that Brandon has been working on for years, both touching and funny and sad, like if Emily Dickenson made comics and moonlighted in the porn industry. We’ve made this a special publication in a lot of ways, including experimenting with ONLY offering this initially through comic shops and bookstores, with no preorders from Living the Line, and a format and price ($14.99) that’s targeted at getting it in as many hands as possible. We hope you’ll tell your local comic shop or bookstore that you want a copy! Thanks for reading! As always, more news soon 🙂

All the best,
Sean