Lucy Knisley was the toast of comics last year for her graphic-novel memoir Relish, so the announcement that Fantagraphics will publish her next two books is big news.
Both books are travel stories. The first, An Age of License, is the tale of Lucy's trip through Europe, where she apparently has all sorts of adventures, meditates on the meaning of life and finds love. It's due out this fall and will be about 200 pages, black and white with some color.
In the second book, Displacement, Lucy takes her grandparents on a cruise, meditates on the meaning of life and "tries to hold her family together," which sounds intriguing. This graphic novel will also be black and white with some color.
There are a couple of things about this announcement that are worth noting. First is the move from First Second, which published Relish, to Fantagraphics. First Second gave Relish a strong marketing push — for a while it seemed there was a Lucy Knisley interview somewhere, often in a major publication, every single day, and she did a book tour as well. I think that's helpful to a young creator, and I hope she's able to stay on a roll with Fantagraphics.
The other thing is format. Relish had a lush feeling because it was in full color. To me, a black-and-white or black-and-white-with-color format signals a different type of book, maybe something a bit more serious, a bit more literary. It works well for many of Fantagraphics' titles, as it did for Knisley's first book, French Milk, and it will be interesting to see how it changes the feel of her work.
Fall is a long ways away, so while you wait, check out Knisley's sporadically updated webcomic, Stop Paying Attention, which is funny and perceptive and really shows what she is capable of.
The full press release can be found below.
Fantagraphics Books is excited to announce the acquisition of two new comics travel memoirs by acclaimed cartoonist Lucy Knisley. Fall 2014 brings An Age of License, which recounts Knisley's charming and romantic adventures across Europe on a quest to discover what is truly important in life, find love along the way. Displacement is a travelogue about taking her elderly grandparents on a cruise, and pondering the meaning of life, while trying to hold her family together. The deal was brokered by Holly Bemiss at The Susan Rabiner Literary Agency.
New York Times Best Selling cartoonist Knisley garnered fame from her two previous graphic novels Relish and French Milk. She is also well known for her ongoing web comic, Stop Paying Attention, the latest of which is "A Light That Never Goes Out." Knisley's greatest strength lays in her keen ability to tell her story to both young adult and mature readers.
"I'm really excited to finally be working with Fantagraphics, which I've admired for years," Knisley explains. "These books are an exploration of youth and freedom, versus responsibility and family, and I'm so glad Fantagraphics is the company to help me tell these stories."
Much like the HBO series Girls, Knisley speaks to a generation of young women who are fiercely independent and yearn for adventure. The Eat, Pray, Love for the "social media" generation, An Age of License is a series of illustrated snapshots of a life full of cute cats, fancy food, and exotic travel.
AN AGE OF LICENSE
A Travelogue by Lucy Knisley
Fall 2014 • Paperback
208 pages • Black & white with some color
ISBN: 978-1-60699-760-8
www.fantagraphics.com/anageoflicense
DISPLACEMENT
A Travel Memoir by Lucy Knisley
Summer 2015 • Paperback
128 pages • Black & white with some color