In September 1976, NBM became America’s
first graphic novel publisher.
Did you know?...
Some of NBM’s firsts:
• First to publish in GNs starting with ‘Racket Rumba’ a European spoof of hard-boiled detective novels (months before the launch of Heavy Metal), followed by Enki Bilal’s ‘The Call of the Stars’.
• First to publish European GNs in this country, helping to inspire American artists onto greater personal expression.
• First to get general bookstore distribution as early as 1980 (distribution by Caroline House).
• First to publish library-worthy sets of hardcover reprints of classic comic strips with the very successful ‘Terry & The Pirates’ reprint program of 12 quarterly volumes in 1983.
• First to publish fully painted graphic novels with the sell-out launch of ‘The Mercenary’ by Spaniard Vicente Segrelles (1985).
and that’s only the beginning!
Major authors and sellers for NBM over the years:
Luis Royo, over 150,000 copies sold in all markets, including the SF Book Club.
The Mercenary: over 50,000 sold
A Treasury of Victorian Murder: over 20,000 sold
Peter Kuper, over 10,000 sold of 'Give It Up, and other short stories by Kafka', translated into many languages.
P. Craig Russell's ‘Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde’, over 15,000 copies sold and translated into 6 languages.
Ted Rall's controversial books have sold cumulatively over 50,000.

NBM has sold over 2.5 million Graphic Novels
General facts about NBM:

• sells over 200,000 GNs a year
• and over 75,000 magazines and comic books in its fledgling periodical line
• resulting in sales in the seven digits.
• only 30% of sales in the direct (comics) market.
• over 50 foreign language editions sold with now more than a dozen sold a year.
• Has published upwards of 350 book titles, with presently over 150 in active backlist.
Other stars in the NBM firmament:
Will Eisner
Rick Geary
Vittorio Giardino
Scott Hampton
Andre Juillard
Michael Kaluta
Nabiel Kanan
Miran Kim
Enrico Marini
Hugo Pratt
Ted Rall
Schuiten/Peeters
Dave McKean
 Stars in NBM's past:
Ray Bradbury
Milton Caniff
Harlan Ellison
Joe Haldeman
Burne Hogarth

Newest stars:
Richard Moore (Boneyard, Far West)
Patrick Atangan (The Yellow Jar)
Factoid:
NBM does more reprints of its previous books in a year than it publishes new ones (around 30 vs. 25 new).

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