8/16/2023 0 Comments Top shelfThe work has yet to be distributed in the United Kingdom, as the Great Ormond Street Hospital currently owns the copyright to Peter Pan. However, the work received good reviews and the initial print run sold out in one day. Before publication, fears were raised that the book would prove hard to sell given its nature, and that there may be legal implications. The eventual publication proved controversial, with Moore himself describing the work as " pornography" and Chris Staros admitting that publication was "putting the whole company on the line". The work had long been on the schedules of Top Shelf, initially intended as a three volume affair scheduled for a 2002 release. The company also followed this route with Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie's Lost Girls, launching it at the 2006 Comic Con International. This has at times caused unrest with retailers, particularly when Blankets was launched at the 2003 Comic Con International. The 2004 Comic Con International saw the company launch eight books, of which two were immediate sell-outs. Top Shelf have slowly expanded their line and typically aim to launch works at conventions in order to generate a buzz. A second communication was issued a day later, declaring "Top Shelf Saved by Comics Community Record 12 Hours." The move was greeted with envy by rival publishers, Tom Devlin of Highwater told The Comics Journal that although he viewed the move initially as maybe "a little pathetic", he later realized it as "the most remarkable marketing scheme", although qualifying that he didn't feel "there was a cynical moment" in Top Shelf's actions. Top Shelf were unprepared for the response, with a volunteer drafted to help pack the orders. The move created such an atmosphere that rival publisher and fellow LPC client Dark Horse felt moved to issue a statement to the effect that they were "in a profitable position." The communication swiftly spread across the internet, with both Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis disseminating the appeal through their online presences. They asked former customers to "find it in your hearts to each spend around fifty bucks. The company called upon the goodwill it had previously established in the comics market and issued a communication asking for help. Investigation by Top Shelf revealed an LPC filing for Chapter 11, a move which left Top Shelf in a perilous state: The company had issued checks based on the LPC check clearing. A $20,000 check the distributor had issued bounced. In April 2002 the collapse of the bookstore distributor LPC caused severe financial problems for the company. In 2000 Staros delivered the keynote speech at the Ignatz Awards, and argued that the industry must focus more on content, and that more works of the merit of From Hell and Jimmy Corrigan would help the public re-evaluate their perceptions of the medium. ![]() ![]() The company launched at a recessional period for comics, and saw themselves as, together with Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly, and the now-defunct Highwater Books, attempting to "change the public perception and face of comics altogether". Staros and Warnock have aimed to give their imprint a style "that is quite hip, but also quite endearing", and Staros regularly signs correspondence with the tagline "Your friend thru comics". Works by James Kochalka followed, and then in 1999 the company published Good-bye, Chunky Rice, a work which saw its creator, Craig Thompson, win a Harvey Award and which helped establish Top Shelf's reputation for publishing works of merit, with it being chosen as a book of the year by The Comics Journal (#220) alongside the Top Shelf-distributed From Hell. The first title to be published by the new imprint was Pete Sickman-Garner's Hey, Mister: After School Special, a collection of Garner's previously self-published comic books along with two new tales. ![]() The duo started publishing under the name Primal Groove Press, but soon changed the name to Top Shelf. The partnership evolved from combining Warnock's design skills and marketing abilities with Staros' talents for editing and book-keeping. Previously, Warnock had used the Top Shelf name as the title for a self-published anthology, whilst Staros had worked in the industry representing Eddie Campbell in the United States and self-published a number of comics-based zines. The company was founded by Chris Staros and Brett Warnock after discussions between the pair at the 1997 Small Press Expo. Brett Warnock during the How to Put Together a Comics Anthology panel at the Stumptown Comics Fest 2006.
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