Minx announces seven new titles for 2008

I just wanted to provide a quick list of the seven new titles from Minx, the first imprint from a major American comic-book publisher (DC Comics) devoted to teenage girls. My personal favorite from the new imprint is the debut title "The Plain Janes," by Cecil Castellucci (author) and Jim Rugg (illustrator).

We caught up with Castellucci and Rugg at the DC booth this afternoon at their book signing, and they gave us a sneak peek of "Janes in Love," the second book in the series. We'll have more for you on that later. But for now, I'm very curious to see these new titles and whether they're as strong as "The Plain Janes." Check out their descriptions and tell us which, if any, you look forward to most.

-- Sheigh Crabtree

•       TOKEN
Noted novelist Alisa Kwitney ("Sex as a Second Language," "Does She or Doesn't She," "Till the Fat Lady Sings") will collaborate with Joelle Jones, the critically acclaimed artist of "12 Reasons Why I Love Her," for a tale of teenage romance set against South Beach in the 1980's. Shira is a nice Jewish girl who goes from being a devoted Daddy's girl to the "worst shoplifter of all time."

Her world changes when she is caught shoplifting and she meets Raphael, a fellow social misfit. Can their new friendship (and possible romance) survive two very different cultures clashing?

•       EMIKO SUPERSTAR
Canadian performance artist and novelist Mariko Tamaki ("Skim," "Fake ID," "Cover Me") is the writer for Emiko Superstar, illustrated by indie favorite Steve Rolston ("The Escapists," "DeGrassi," "Queen & Country"). Emi, a 16-year-old babysitter, is desperate to break out of the suburbs and become part of Toronto's vibrant art scene.

When she takes the stage "borrowing" passages from her bosses' diary for her performance, she becomes Emiko Superstar: an instant success with the art crowd and a keeper of secrets that could ruin her and her boss's lives.

•       BURNOUT
Noted author Rebecca Donner ("Sunset Terraces") was the literary director of the fiction series at New York's KGB Bar. For her first graphic novel, she collaborates with Inaki Miranda, one of comics' rising superstar artists ("Fables," "The Road to Paradise"). In Burnout, Danni follows her older, mysterious soon-to-be stepbrother, Haskell, when he sneaks out of the house through his bedroom window and discovers his secret: Haskell is a monkeywrencher. Haskell, it turns out, spikes trees with the intent to stop corporations from what he reverently believes is mass ecological sabotage. It's a dangerous,
illicit activity, and it brings the two teenagers together in surprising and dangerous ways.

•       THE NEW YORK FOUR
Renowned graphic novel creator Brian Wood ("DMZ," the Eisner-winning "DEMO" and the forthcoming Vertigo series "Northlanders") once again collaborates with artist Ryan Kelly ("Lucifer" and "Books of
Magic"). In "The New York Four," Wood and Kelly follow the trials and tribulations of four freshmen at a New York City university as social and academic pressures and conflicting personalities threaten to unravel their friendships as quickly as they've been forged.

•       ALL NIGHTER
Eisner-nominated cartoonist David Hahn ("Bite Club," "Private Beach") will bring his story of an angry young punk rocker to Minx with "All Nighter." Art student and part-time cat burglar Kit Bradley enjoys spending her free time hanging out with her friends at a 24-hour diner. When one of them mysteriously disappears, Kit spearheads her own search party for the missing girl as her hometown is transformed into a media circus.

•       POSEUR
Prolific and highly esteemed journalist Deborah Vankin's writings on lifestyle, culture and the arts have appeared in Variety, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles. For her first graphic novel work, Vankin collaborates with illustrator Rick Mays ("Kabuki Agents") to create "Poseur." Jenna Berry has an after-school job many teenagers would be envious of, working as a "house guest for hire" and getting paid to party with Hollywood's rich and famous. When a new friend is in danger of being sent abroad and forced into an arranged marriage, Jenna becomes wrapped up in a kidnapping plot that goes horribly wrong. This work follows the identity struggles of three unlikely victims of L.A.'s Generation M from the graffiti-tagged hillsides of Silver Lake to the billion-dollar mansions of Bel-Air.

•       CLUBBING IN TOKYO

In "Clubbing in Tokyo" -- the second volume of the series by Eisner-nominated Andi Watson ("Skeleton Key," "Samurai Jam," "Love Fights"), Josh Howard ("Dead @ 17") and Grazia Lobaccaro ("Silent Dance") -- spoiled goth girl Lottie Brooks is sent to Japan to assist her uncle at his English-language school. With the help of a friend and her new boyfriend, Lottie must unravel a bizarre mystery involving poisoned students, vampire cats and costumed manga fans, all while struggling to adapt to surrounding that couldn't be more different than her home city of London.

Comments

[Jeff]

Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly together again? This will be the crown jewel of the Minx collection. I can't wait, and Local's not even finished yet. So much to look forward to.