 The Pit by Erik Kriek making waves! Greetings from LtL HQ in Saint Paul MN! I hope Spring is treating you well so far. We’ve been having some whiplash weather here, with a 94 degree day yesterday, hot on the heels of several 60 degree spring days in a row. Dropping into your inbox today for some quick news updates from LtL and Smudge. First off, The Pit by Erik Kriek is out and in shops all over the English-language world! We’ve been gratified to see the initial response to the book, including these excellent reviews from Near Mint Condition, and Library Journal: REVIEW: The Pit by Erik Kriek reviewed by Library Journal. “”Kriek’s latest is an immersive fever dream that readers are likely to find lingering in their minds for quite some time.” – Library Journal (STARRED) REVIEW: The Pit by Erik Kriek reviewed by Near Mint Condition.  Face Meat preorders ship this week! The totally rad Face Meat bonus items have arrived in the form of these 3″ x 4″ color stickers! Which means of course that the arrival of the book is imminent, it could arrive as early as today or as late as Wednesday. Regardless of the day, we will ship all pre-orders within 24 hours of its arrival as per normal. Those of you who watch our release dates will notice that this book slipped back about 3 weeks. This is because of the legal crisis that our distributor was facing 2 weeks ago. The book had actually been entirely printed and almost bound when our distributor temporarily looked in danger of total collapse, which might have stranded us with a print bill, shipped books, and no revenue from those books. Thankfully a very swift court-approved sale to another party has put an end to that crisis, but not without delaying the book, which I had had held at the printer pending resolution. This is a tough time for many publishers, so if you have upcoming or newly released books that you are enthusiastic about I would highly recommend that you pick them up or order them from your favorite retailer sooner rather than later. Even if Diamond has succeeded in righting the ship, which it does seem as though they have, the knock-on effects from this long period of uncertainty will surely be the end of many a publishing enterprise in the next few months. I don’t anticipate that will be the case for Living the Line, chiefly because of our low operating expenses, combined with our very enthusiastic audience of comic lovers who value the innovative and visually spectacular books our artists we produce. Which is all to say, thank you very much for your ongoing support and patronage.  Rabagoo Race available for preorder now! The Rabagoo Race, the graphic novel debut by mononymous Scottish comicsmeister Garresh. is available to preoder NOW through the current Previews catalog, or from pretty much any bookstore! Above is the Previews ad we put together for the book, featuring a gorgeous early page from the book, and a sweet pull quote from Awesome Comics Podcast. We’re hoping you all will be as hyped for this one as we are! Release will be in August.   The Rest of the Year! And C.D. Gibson… Those of you who stalk our advanced listings (there are a surprising number of you!) may have seen a notice go up recently for our December released, the long-promised The Complete Charles Dana Gibson—A Widow and Her Friends (1898-1901), featuring the mid-period work of America’s greatest cartoonist, the incomparable CD Gibson, featuring his books The Education of Mr Pipp, Americans As Drawn By, and A Widow and Her Friends. The book is nearly done, with just a few minor image adjustments and potentially some text changes to come, but one thing that is not quite finalized is the cover. Of these two images, one will end up being the front cover and one will be the title page. Be curious if you’re your thoughts on the two images. If you were picking this book up site unseen, which one would make you more likely to dig in, and why? I limited myself to selections from the books being reproduced, both of these are from the titular story. Would love to hear your thoughts! The Complete CD Gibson: A Widow and Her Friends (1899-1091) is the first of a three-volume series dedicated to the complete bibliography of perhaps America’s greatest-ever cartoonist, the incomparable Charles Dana Gibson. This first book in The Complete Charles Dana Gibson will present the most beloved and long-form of Gibson’s influential graphic novel works, The Education of Mr. Pip, and The Widow and Her Friends. The book features stunning reproduction, laboriously sourced and restored from the best possible sources, gorgeous printing that gives unparalleled insight into why Gibson was one of America’s greatest artistic and cultural exports during the decades in which he worked. The book also includes a long biographical essay by series editor and production artist Sean Michael Robinson that contexualizes Gibson’s work for a modern audience, illuminating his progressive politics, his wry humor, and his explosive mark-making that influenced generations of fine artists and illustrators. The Rest of the Year as of Now! Face Meat by Bonten Taro (May 2025) The Rabagoo Race by Garresh (August 2025) My Gorilla Family by Iijima Ichiro (August 2025) Harpy by EPHK (September 2025) UNANNOUNCED CLASSIC HORROR MANGA (October 2025) UK In a Bad Way And Other Stories by James Harvey (November 2025) The Complete CD Gibson — A Widow and Her Friends (1899-1901) by CD Gibson (December 2025) Take care! Hope all is well with you. Best, Sean Living the Line |
