Top Shelf Productions announces the acquisition of two graphic novels.
Ed Piskor‘s Wizzywig will be published next year. Piskor has been serializing the comic on-line, and according to Top Shelf’s Chris Staros, he has “already garnered substantial accolades and a cult fanbase, and we are eager to share this book with the world.”
Staros also offers this description of the comic, for those who haven’t read it: “They say What You See Is What You Get… but Kevin ‘Boingthump’ Phenicle could always see more than most people. In the world of phone phreaks, hackers, and scammers, he’s a legend. His exploits are hotly debated: could he really get free long-distance calls by whistling into a pay phone? Did his video-game piracy scheme accidentally trigger the first computer virus? And did he really dodge the FBI by using their own wiretapping software against them? Is he even a real person? And if he’s ever caught, what would happen to a geek like him in federal prison?” The comic is “based on the incredible true stories of early hackers,” and is “the thrilling tale of a master manipulator—his journey from precocious child scammer to federally-wanted fugitive, and beyond. In a world transformed by social networks and data leaks, Ed Piskor’s debut graphic novel reminds us how much power can rest in the hands of an audacious kid with a keyboard.”
The other title Top Shelf has picked up is God is Disappointed in You by writer Mark Russell and artist Shannon Wheeler. Staros says the book “is for people who would like to read the Bible if only it would just cut to the chase. Stripped of its arcane language and its interminable passages of poetry, genealogy and law, every book of the Bible is condensed down to its core message, usually in the space of a single page or less. Written by Mark Russell with cartoons by Shannon Wheeler, God is Disappointed in You is a frequently hilarious, often shocking, but always accurate retelling of the Bible, including the parts selectively left out by Sunday School teachers and church sermons. Irreverent, yet taking the Bible at face value, this book is a must-read for anyone who wants to see past the fog of religious agendas and cultural debates to know what the Bible really says.”