Scott McCloud announced this week that he'd inked a deal with First Second Books to publish his new original graphic novel, The Sculptor, with a publication date planned for Spring 2013.  Wow - well mark your calendars, I guess! :)  The only hint about the comic from McCloud is a mention that it "takes place in Manhattan".

It's actually a two book deal with the publisher both for The Sculptor and after a non-fiction book.  Click "read more" to see the full press release.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

New York, NY; January 30, 2009—First Second Books announced today that it will publish two upcoming works by Scott McCloud, the award-winning author of the widely-acclaimed Understanding Comics and its followups, Reinventing Comics and Making Comics.  A new work of graphic fiction, tentatively titled “The Sculptor,” is slated for publication in Spring 2013 and will be followed by a non-fiction book.

First Second’s Editorial Director Mark Siegel says, “Scott McCloud’s accomplishments are considerable: as spokesman and champion of the medium of comics, as its great explainer and theorist, as its dedicated practitioner.  Scott has now tasked himself with an ambitious pole-vault into adult fiction—a great American graphic novel.”

Understanding Comics, McCloud’s seminal work, was published in 1993 and was translated into 16 languages.  Reinventing Comics (2000) and Making Comics (2006) cemented his reputation as one of the most in-demand experts on the genre.  McCloud’s U.S. author tour in support of Making Comics covered all 50 states, and tens of thousands have attended his lively speaking appearances at universities, corporations, and media.

McCloud has won the grand-slam of Eisner, Harvey, Inkpot and Kirby Awards (the highest awards in the comics industry), and he has been recognized by both his peers and critics as one of the most respected voices in the genre.  His international reputation has earned him the Alph Art Award (critics prize) at the prestigious annual Comics Festival in Angouleme, France, England’s coveted Eagle Award, and the Finnish Lempi International Award.  In 2002 the Association of Educational Publishers awarded McCloud its Distinguished Achievement Award, and in 2007, Making Comics won the Quill Award for Graphic Novels.

Of this new editorial partnership, McCloud commented: “I’m thrilled to be working with First Second.  I’ve been in contact with Mark Siegel since the line launched and have watched with admiration as their catalog has grown in depth, breadth and quality, including some of my favorite new artists working on upcoming projects.  This is a forward-looking team that understands comics, and can match my enthusiasm for its endless possibilities.”

The deal was brokered by Scott McCloud’s agent Judy Hansen of the Hansen Literary Agency, who feels that McCloud and First Second “will be an impressive match.”  Film agent for the Hansen Agency, Nick Harris of Rabineau Wachter Sanford & Harris adds, “We’ve no doubt this will be a hugely commercial film property, as well—one that Hollywood is already taking notice of.”

First Second is an imprint of Roaring Brook Press / Macmillan, USA
For more information visit www.firstsecondbooks.com