"The single most important graphic novel" Top Shelf has ever published

Top Shelf has announced that the complete Lost Girls collection has shipped to the printer and will arrive in stores later this summer:

Big news in Top Shelf land. After 16 years in development, the complete LOST GIRLS by Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie has finally shipped to the printer, and will be hitting stores in August!

This will be the most expensive book Top Shelf has ever published, with the first printing costing us almost $200K. Why so expensive? Because Lost Girls will be published as three, 112-page, super-deluxe, oversized (9" x 12") clothbound hardcover volumes, each wrapped in a beautiful dust jacket, with all three volumes sealed and shrink-wrapped in a gorgeous slipcase. The entire epic published -- all at once -- as an art object for the ages.

And to help raise the money to pay for this print run, we've decided to offer a Signed & Numbered edition, limited to 500 copies, that will be autographed by both Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie. This is a Top Shelf website exclusive, and the money raised through this advance sale will allow us to finance the project.

The regular addition will cost $75, and the S&N edition will cost $150. Pre-orders are being taken on the Top Shelf website.

Chris Staros, Top Shelf publisher, added: Brett Warnock and I would personally like to thank everyone for helping us get this project off the ground, as this is, without a doubt, we've ever published. And with a decade of publishing and 150 literary graphic novels & comix to our credit -- including From Hell and Blankets -- that's saying something.

Why is this release so important? Because it does something that's never been done before: reinvent pornography as something literary, thoughtful, exquisite, and human. A singularly unique and layered story, Lost Girls is a commentary on the intimate wonder of human sexuality, the undeniable value of free speech, and the vulgarities of war. In an era and political climate when most would shy away from taking such a stand, this graphic novel champions freedom of expression and puts that ideal to the test. As a tightly knit community of fans, creators, retailers, publishers, distributors, and press we all believe that the pen truly is mightier than the sword, but we also know that the power of the pen lies not in the author so much as the audience. As such, Lost Girls need the support of all of us.

It has often been said, "If it's worth reacting to, it's worth overreacting to," and you can be sure that this fully-painted epic will get a reaction from everyone who reads it -- and more than its share of over-reactors as well. The literary, political, social, and sexual aspects of Lost Girls are going to challenge our system to live up to itself. Get ready. Lost Girls is coming in August!

And to hear what Alan Moore has to say about the project, just click here to read the amazing 2-part interview Kurt Amacker of Cinescape did with him, where Alan addresses every issue one could have with this work: http://www.topshelfcomix.com/news.php?article=147

Read More