COMIC BOOKS 101 OFFERS
VISUAL PRIMER TO THE COMICS INDUSTRY

The Book, Due in June and co-written by Chris Ryall and Scott Tipton, features Contributions from Many Entertainment Luminaries

(San Diego, March 31, 2009) – Chris Ryall, IDW Publishing’s Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, and Scott Tipton, comics101.com’s founder, are proud to announce the May release of Comic Books 101, available for pre-order in Diamond's Previews catalog being released to comics shops tomorrow, April 1.

Comic Books 101, coming from IMPACT Books, is a 288-page prose-with-illustrations primer to the comic-book industry. The book serves as an overview to the industry, discussing:

- the history of comics
- the top publishers
- most popular characters
- pioneering creators
- a full rundown of Hollywood movie and TV adaptations.

The material is presented through prose chapters, personal asides, anecdotes and sidebars, and contributions from comic-book luminaries, and features over 100 full-color illustrations detailing historic moments, characters, covers and creators.

Comic Books 101 is the natural outgrowth of the long-running Comics 101 column run by Scott Tipton at the Web site of the same name. The weekly column has been running since its launch at Kevin Smith’s Movie Poop Shoot.com site in 2004. Prior to joining IDW, Ryall served as that site’s Editor-in-Chief.

Comic Books 101 features an all-new introduction from comic-book great Stan Lee, and includes all-new sidebar contributions from Clive Barker, Joe Casey, Paul Dini, Joe Hill, Brian Lynch, Gene Simmons, Mark Waid, Marv Wolfman, and many more. Harlan Ellison contributed a brand-new, 1,500-word recollection detailing the first comic book he ever read as the book’s "outroduction." The book also features many all-new chapter illustrations and cartoon images from artists like Mark Engblom, David Messina, and Nick Roche, dozens upon dozens of images of classic covers, characters, and creators, and a cover by Locke & Key artist Gabriel Rodriguez.

“It’s been a pleasure to assemble Comic Books 101 for many reasons, not least of which was the chance to get recollections and remembrances from so many creators we’ve long admired,” said 101 co-writer Chris Ryall. “The book offers plenty of entertaining stories for longtime fans as well as offering new fans or comic-curious folks an easy, illustrated intro to all facets of the industry. If you want to know who Western Publishing is, where Superman—and his creators—came from, the different types of manga, the differences between a comic and a graphic novel or which TV and movie adaptations were the best and the worst, all of that and so much more is right here in this book.”

“The motivation behind the column has always been a simple one,” asserted 101 co-writer Tipton. “Introduce new readers to the world of comics with entertaining history lessons that celebrate both the grand and the goofy, the silly and the sublime. Comic Books 101 allows us to take that philosophy to the next step, with both a more detailed historical approach and 'Guest Lectures' from some of the biggest names in comics and popular culture.”

Comic Books 101, ISBN: 978-1-60061-187-2, is a 288-page, 8” x 8” softcover book with a retail price of $22.99. It is available for pre-order through the April '09 Diamond Previews catalog (page 317, Diamond order code APR09 1125) or at Amazon.com.



About Chris Ryall
Chris Ryall is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief at IDW Publishing. He is also an Eisner-nominated writer of comics such as Groom Lake, Zombies vs. Robots, Beowulf, Clive Barker’s The Great and Secret Show, George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead, Gene Simmons House of Horrors, Doomed, and Shaun of the Dead. His first children’s picture book, Transformers: I Am Optimus Prime, also published by IDW, will be released in May. More information about these titles can be found at www.IDWpublishing.com. Ryall maintains a daily blog at ryalltime.blogspot.com and has contributed a weekly TV Recommendations column to www.Comics101.com since its inception.

About Scott Tipton
Scott Tipton, founder and Editor-in-Chief of Comics 101.com, writes the weekly column of the same name, the site's most popular and highly trafficked column. In recent years, Scott has crossed over from comics historian to comics creator, writing such comics as Spike: Old Wounds, Spike: Lost and Found, Angel: Auld Lang Syne, Klingons: Blood Will Tell, Star Trek: The Next Generation: Intelligence Gathering, Star Trek: Mirror Images and Angel: Smile Time for IDW Publishing. Scott's upcoming comics projects include Astro Boy: Underground, Angel: Not Fade Away and Spock: Reflections. Readers looking for Scott's latest ruminations on comics past and present need only tune into www.Comics101.com, where a new column is posted every Wednesday without fail.

About IMPACT Books
IMPACT Books publishes the finest in comic, fantasy, sci-fi, Manga and popular art. For more information visit www.IMPACT-Books.com