MPress Catalog - cloudfront.net
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MPress Catalog - cloudfront.net
™ CATALOG MPRESS CATALOG 07 CVR-BC.indd 1 PANTONE 1797 C BLACK 2007 6/19/07 9:20:01 AM Twenty years ago, a small company named Dark Horse Comics began publishing with a simple vision: To publish the kinds of comics and graphic novels that its founders wanted to read. This approach has served the company well, as we’ve watched our ambitious little project achieve amazing success over the last two decades. The passage of time has not changed our goal of finding fascinating characters with compelling stories to tell, nor our search for more ways to tell them. Two years ago we made the decision to expand our vision into more traditional publishing areas. As a result, M Press was born. This new division of Dark Horse was created to take advantage of the relationships we’ve developed over the years with many gifted writers, as well as to expand the types of books we publish. We’ll take on the kinds of projects you might expect from Dark Horse—science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mystery—but for the first time, you might also find a historical novel, a biography, or even a book focused on self-help. All of this is fair game for our M Press imprint. Nothing has changed with regard to the goals we set all those years ago—we’re still looking for great stories and themes. And, of course, we can’t wait to read those same stories ourselves. Happy reading, Mike Richardson Publisher M Press MPRESS CATALOG 07 IFC-IBC.indd 2 PANTONE 1797 C 6/19/07 9:21:35 AM CONTENTS 2 Eternal Strangers 4 Shanghai Diary 6 Race for the Gold 8 The Playboy Interviews: The Comedians 10 The Playboy Interviews Backlist Titles 12 LeRoy Neiman: Femlin 14 Leonard Maltin’s Movie Crazy 16 Harlan Ellison’s Watching 18 Spider Kiss 20 Diary of Indignities 22 John Landis 24 Order form 26 Backlist titles ™ • See page 24 for ordering information MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 1 6/14/07 4:45:51 PM “[A] riveting and heartwarming account of its author’s experiences in a dark time.” —jewish review (Advance praise for Eternal Strangers) ETERNAL STRANGERS Ursula Bacon A much anticipated prequel to Shanghai Diary, Eternal Strangers is the compelling story of young people overcoming adversity in the face of insurmountable odds. While in the shadow of Nazi Europe, two people fall in love and build a life together as their old isbn-10: 1-59582-099-x isbn-13: 978-1-59582-099-0 world, and their old life is changing all around them. $14.95 • 6" x 9" • 288 pp • m press ursula bacon • portland, or This new book by Ursula Bacon introduces us to her parents and trade paper follows their romance at a time of war. Inspiring, thought-provoking, memoir and starkly honest, Eternal Strangers will be a book discussed for rights: worldwide • july 2007 years to come. KEY SALES POINTS • Discussion questions at the end of the book; perfect for book clubs • Shanghai Diary, the companion volume, is currently in development as a motion picture with Clancy Sigal (Frida) writing the screenplay. • Fans and readers of Shanghai Diary will want to continue the story and see how it began. • Readers of history, especially geographic history, will be fascinated by Bacon’s interpretation of Europe and the continuing relationship between her parents during the trials of the Greatest Generation. PROMOTION AND PUBLICITY • National review attention • $20,000 marketing budget • Education focus targeted toward schools for adoption into required reading programs • Publicity and promotion in conjunction with author’s speaking engagements • Promotion with book clubs • Exhibit and promotion at book and library trade shows • Promotional mailings targeting public and higher education libraries • Promotion on author’s website: www.ursulabacon.com • Recently nominated for the 2007 Sophie Brody Medal, which is to be awarded to the U.S. author of the most distinguished contribution to Jewish literature for adults in 2007. 2 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 2 URSULA BACON fled Nazi Germany with her parents in 1939 and landed in Shanghai, China, along with 18,000 other middle-European refugees. The family spent most of the war years in a Japanese-controlled “Designated Area” often referred to as a ghetto. Today, Ms. Bacon lectures and conducts workshops. She is a frequent keynote speaker at women’s conferences and educational events. She and her husband live in Oregon and enjoy hosting parties for friends. They have two children. m p r e s s | f ron t l is t t i t le s 2 0 0 7 6/22/07 12:01:16 PM [EXCERPT] fRomETERNALSTRANGERS H E FELL IN LOVE THE first time he saw her. His eyes followed the young woman with the dark hair as she moved gracefully, dance-like, between the few narrow, rough-hewn wooden tables and benches in the small, dimly lit tavern. To the waiting men who came to the tavern for their early afternoon meals, she carried heavy white plates heaped with onion-fried potatoes and thick chunks of smoked sausages. Her faced was flushed from the heat of the coal-fed iron stove where she and her younger sister, Lucy prepared the simple country food. Carefully, she placed a full-to-the-brim bowl of a thick, fragrant soup in front of the tall, slender soldier in his fieldgray uniform. She brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face with the back of her hand and was about to return to the makeshift kitchen when the soldier spoke up. The passionate tone in his deep, low voice struck a chord within her. “Just a moment please; I want to talk with you. Please!” He was overcome with a sense of awe and fascination as his warm, hazel eyes locked on to her lively, deep brown ones and searched her face. Like a magnet, the soldier held her glance and slowly, almost dream-like, she sat down beside him, drawn by a strange urgency not to let this moment pass. Astonished, she knew, in that instant, their future together was as inevitable as the appearance of stars on a clear summer’s night. Irene, innkeeper Herman Burger’s oldest daughter, had never lacked the attention of eager, young men. Serious, more often than not, they pleaded for courting time, painted rosy pictures of a future union, and went as far as asking her father for her hand in marriage. Most of these young men were good Jewish boys from the small garrison town of Lubitz—where everybody knew everyone. The hard-working Jewish families from in and around the town pursued their modest businesses, worked their trades, faithfully attended their orthodox synagogue, and lived in a relatively peaceful state with their gentile neighbors. Ursula Bacon’s impassioned memoir Shanghai Diary has touched the lives of people around the world, recounting the story of her youth in China and of her parents’ struggles to hold their family together in the face of the onrushing horrors of World War II. In Eternal Strangers Bacon explores the events that brought her parents Martin and Irene together, the horrors that nearly tore them apart, and the love that kept them united through the end of one world war and the beginning of a second. M P R E S S | F RON T L IS T T I T LE S 2 0 0 7 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 3 3 6/14/07 4:45:59 PM “Iampleasedtoaddthisbooktomylibrary,asIhaven’t readabetterstoryinalongtime.Boththecontentofthis tale,andthemannerinwhichitistold,issuperb.” —JOHN N. DAHLE, J.D, pHD. SEpTEMBER 2005 ShaNGhai diarY: a YOUNG Girl’S JOUrNEY frOm hiTlEr’S haTE TO War-TOrN ChiNa Ursula Bacon IN 1939, THE THIRD REICH was closing its iron grip around the lives of Germany’s Jews. Most Western nations, not willing to ISBN-10: 1-59582-000-0 ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-000-6 involve themselves in volatile European politics, had shut their $24.95 • 6" X 9" • 272 pp • M pRESS doors to Jewish immigrants. Tens of thousands of Middle- URSULA BACON • pORTLAND OR European refugees, fleeing Hitler’s brutal regime, set their hopes CLOTH, 21 B&w pHOTOS • MEMOIR/ HOLOCAUST for freedom on Shanghai—the only open port available. Eleven-year-old Ursula Bacon was one such refugee, narrowly escaping with her parents from the clutches of the SS. After traveling RIGHTS: wORLDwIDE • AVAILABLE NOw OTHER wORKS BY THE AUTHOR: ETERNALSTRANGERS eight thousand miles from their lifelong home and witnessing the arrest of fellow passengers, they arrived in Shanghai only to discover that the long arm of Nazi influence had extended into China. They made an abrupt transition from a life of privilege to one of malnourished poverty, living in a district teeming with disease and noxious waste. During the eight years that passed before the family’s dream of emigrating to America was realized, they relied on determination, ingenuity, the help of honest friends, and the calming presence of an England-born Buddhist monk to persevere. In this fascinating memoir, Ursula recounts her struggles in that overcrowded and dubious refuge of Shanghai—from the ensuing Japanese occupation to an intense moment of self-defense; from targeted Allied air attacks to assisting the rescue of a downed American crew. Fifty years later, Ursula is ready to tell her story. 4 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 4 M P R E S S | F RON T L IS T T I T LE S 2 0 0 7 6/14/07 4:46:00 PM [EXCERPT] fRomSHANGHAIDIARY AUGUST1939:ThEYEARofThEhARE W “This is a very personal story that has its place in today’s world. Not to keep the war alive, but to show how adversity can be dealt with.” —BONNIE CEHOVET, Magazine for the Metaphysical, Spiritual & Healing Communities, 2005 E WALKED DOWN ONE OF the busy, cluttered, and noisy streets of Hongkew for the first time and learned that they all looked alike. Narrow two-story houses clung to each other in a row stretching the length of a city block; broken up only by a gate-like entrance in mid-street that led to inside lanes. The whole width of each house was a storefront that had no door, stood wide open all day long, and was boarded up at night. We saw a man making peanut butter and someone boiling water from a cement cauldron that was heated from below by a bright fire. There was a candied-fruit vendor, a dried-herb business, a rice kitchen, a fabric merchant, a primitive tea house, and a Chinese pharmacy. There was a sort of lending library where the books were attached to thin chains and customers of all ages read their selections squatting on their haunches or sitting on tiny stools on the street. There were people in the business of making cotton stuffing for quilts and robes, others were selling smoked and dried duck, fish, and other indistinguishable items. On the street itself, without the formality of a storefront, were people in the ear-cleaning and barbering business. The barbers were digging around in their customers’ ears with a thin bamboo stick, ends wrapped in cotton. Others were being shaved from cheek to cheek. Business was brisk, and people were waiting for their turn patiently, squatting on their haunches in the dirt-littered streets. We walked and gawked, dodged in and out between street vendors selling everything from a bowl of rice to sewing threads to brooms and brushes. For those who could neither read nor write, studious looking scribes in long black robes, round silk caps on their heads, were busily taking dictation for letters behind a tiny folding table in the middle of the crowds. “The Chinese people are serious about business, “Vati remarked. “Every enterprise is a one-man band. We have a lot to learn about the way things are done here.” M P R E S S | F RON T L IS T T I T LE S 2 0 0 7 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 5 5 6/14/07 4:46:02 PM Race for the Gold is based on the true story of Louis Remme, a French-Canadian cattle trader living in Oregon and his dangerous race across two states to save his fortune. RACE FOR THE GOLD Thorn Bacon In 1855 Remme felt himself a rich man having sold his latest herd of cattle for $12,500 and having safely deposited the money in the Adams Express Company Bank in San Francisco. isbn-10: 1-59582-115-5 isbn-13: 978-1-59582-115-7 For a time, his future seemed bright and his fortune secured; that $14.95 • 6" x 9" • 250 pp • m press is until Black Monday hit California, and a series of bank collapses thorn bacon • portland or wiped out the Adams Express, and with it all the money Remme trade paper • historical fiction had in the world. But fate dealt Remme one last chance to save his rights: worldwide • july 2007 fortune: with the telegraph lines out of commission, the only way for news to reach the Oregon branch of Adams Express was by steamboat. Remme knew if he could get the message through, he could stop the run on the bank and save some of his money. In a six-day race against time, across forbidding terrain, filled with hazards, vengeful Indians, and life-threatening dangers, Remme would have to ride hard and fast, changing horses at least twenty times. Would he be able to reach the bank in time? THORN BACON is a prolific writer for such national magazines as Popular Science, Argos, National Wildlife, and True. A journalist for over twenty years with major daily newspapers, including the Chicago Daily News and articles often carried by the Associated Press. He is the author of several books and makes his home in Oregon. KEY SALES POINTS • Written with an immediacy and presence that pulls the reader into the story as if he were there on the ride with Remme, Race for the Gold mixes the best elements of historical fiction with the thrill of an action story. PROMOTION AND PUBLICITY • Author appearances and signings in the Pacific Northwest • Review copies sent to Publisher’s Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, and more • Featured at the Oregon Historical Society and other museum bookstores • Educational focus targeted toward schools for adoption into reading programs 6 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 6 m p r e s s | f ron t l is t t i t le s 2 0 0 7 6/22/07 12:02:31 PM [EXCERPT] fRomRACEFORTHEGOLD E VEN THOUGH his passage through the wilderness would be hampered by dozens of setbacks, his estimate of the sailing time from stop to stop of the Columbia was more than guesswork. Four years earlier when the Columbia first reached Portland from San Francisco, he had been one of her first customers to send freight: eggs, apples, and wheat for the gold camps of California. She was the first true steamboat in Oregon waters. But aside from that distinction, the Columbia had little to brag about. A three-masted sidewheeler, only ninety feet long, double-ended and resembling a ferryboat, the sturdy wooden vessel of 770 feet lacked both style and comfort. Her speed seldom exceeded four to five miles an hour. A year after her maiden voyage the Columbia made two runs a month to Portland. For passage, travelers paid twenty-five dollars each way and had to furnish their own blankets and food. The steamer’s slow speed was the factor that gave Remme hope he could keep ahead of her overland, despite the obstacles. By water it was about 710 miles on a straight course from San Francisco to the mouth of the Columbia River, where the vessel had to cross the most treacherous and destructive sandbar in the world. After the hazardous crossing, the ship plowed up on the Columbia about ninety miles into the Willamette River to dock in Portland, which had mostly settled on the west bank. Remme’s calculations of speed were not based on dividing nautical miles by hourly speed. He factored into the equation the extra time consumed by the paddleboat to make five coastal stops along the way. Loading and unloading passengers and cargo, maneuvering in and out of small bays and docking and undocking safely added significantly to her running time. Six days enroute was the sensible estimate before she could drop anchor in the Willamette River. M P R E S S | F RON T L IS T T I T LE S 2 0 0 7 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 7 7 6/14/07 4:46:04 PM “America’s greatest wits explain their rises and falls . . .” THE PLAYBOY INTERVIEWS: THE COMEDIANS Stephen Randall & the editors of Playboy Humor: some of us have it, others don’t. Woody Allen has a lot of it. Robin Williams, too. Don Rickles defined what it was for a new generation. Groucho Marx for the generation before. What is it? For fifty years Playboy has been asking the candid questions, isbn-10: 1-59582-066-3 isbn-13: 978-1-59582-066-2 letting the comedians give a straight response. In this collection $22.95 • 6" x 9" • 480 pp • m press of Playboy Interviews, America’s greatest wits explain their rises cloth • biography/performing arts/humor and falls, talking about what is funny, what is not, and how to make ’em laugh. rights: worldwide • october 2007 KEY SALES POINTS • This volume features interviews with the following notable figures: Don Rickles, Bill Cosby, Groucho Marx, Woody Allen, Jim Carrey, George Carlin, Jon Stewart, Steve Martin, Robin Williams, Chris Rock, and Jerry Seinfeld. • Many of these interviews are presented in this volume for the first time since their original magazine publication. In some cases, they have been unavailable for more than forty years. PROMOTION AND PUBLICITY • Advertising campaign in monthly Playboy and on Playboy.com • Online interviews to be posted on MySpace/darkhorse.com • National review attention 8 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 8 m p r e s s | f ron t l is t t i t le s 2 0 0 7 6/22/07 12:03:03 PM [EXCERPT] of the JOHN STEWART INTERVIEW from THE PLAYBOY INTERVIEWS: THE COMEDIANS PLAYBOY: Isn’t The Daily Show the longest you’ve ever held a job? stewart: That’s true. I started January 11, 1999. How did you know? PLAYBOY: This is Playboy. We know everything. stewart: We’ll see. PLAYBOY: Tell us about the time you destroyed thousands of dollars’ worth of aquariums in what can loosely be described as a gymnastics accident. stewart: You do know [smiles]. First, the tanks were empty. No fish were harmed in that senseless tragedy. It was 1976 or 1977. My brother was an assistant manager at one of the first mega Woolworths. He was a bit of a taskmaster, but good people. The main floor was filled with entertaining and wonderful items. I worked downstairs in the catacombs, with the stock shelves. To alleviate some of the boredom, we used to dive off the shelves. They were pretty high, but it was okay because this was back in the day of the beanbag chair. We’d pile them up and do whatever gymnastics routine we could imagine. Unfortunately, I hit a bag wrong and it shot across the room and wiped out thousands of dollars’ worth of aquariums. Fortunately, I had the key to the incinerator. But, much to my chagrin, aquariums make a lot of noise when they burn. It drew the attention of some higher-ups and my brother had to fire me. PLAYBOY: Too bad. You probably would have made manager by now. stewart: A major disappointment. But I sought professional help, improved my diving technique and haven’t hit the bag wrong in years. I know it’s one reason I’ve lasted so long with The Daily Show. PLAYBOY: Describe The Daily Show to someone who’s never seen it. stewart: It’s a pulsating hour of drama. Actually, if someone’s never seen it, chances are I won’t be talking to them; I force people to watch a highlight reel before each and every introduction. PLAYBOY: And then you walk into the room? stewart: Exactly. Then I say: “Do you watch the news? Do you think it’s funny? We do, too.” That’s pretty much it. M P R E S S | F RON T L IS T T I T LE S 2 0 0 7 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 9 6/14/07 4:46:05 PM THE PLAYBOY INTERVIEWS: LARGER THAN LIFE Stephen Randall & the editors of Playboy Fame: It’s a world unto itself. Only certain people—the lucky few—are permitted entrance. Their notoriety and influence shape our views on politics, art, commerce, music, even the way we dress and speak. Our lives become defined by how we were before they existed and how we see ourselves after. Everyone remembers where they were the first time they heard the Beatles, watched Muhammad Ali step into the ring, or how they sat in amazement as Marlon Brando filled the big screen. Playboy and M Press are honored to collect the interviews of fourteen people who shaped the world, who can truly be called Larger Than Life. KEY SALES POINTS • Includes interviews with The Beatles, Marlon Brando, Cassius Clay/ Muhammad Ali, Howard Cosell, Walter Cronkite, Bette Davis, Bob Dylan, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, and Mae West isbn-10: 1-59582-045-0 isbn-13: 978-1-59582-045-7 $22.95 • 6" x 9" • 400 pp • m press cloth • biography/popular culture rights: worldwide • available now THE PLAYBOY INTERVIEWS: MOVERS AND SHAKERS Stephen Randall & the editors of Playboy Power. Control. Influence. In every business, in every area of professional achievement, only a handful of people have taken control of their industry or marketplace. With vision, determination, and passion, these people have bent the world to their will. Some were millionaires from birth, others have risen to the upper echelons of power by their bootstraps. From the computers you use, to the shoes you wear, to the cars you drive, their hands have shaped the fabric of your daily existence. In Movers and Shakers, fifteen of the most important people from the last forty-five years of American business speak candidly about their rise to power. KEY SALES POINTS • Interviews with Donald Trump, Steven Jobs, Bill Gates, Malcolm Forbes, and Hugh M. Hefner, among others. • Features many interviews that have been unavailable for more than forty years! 10 isbn-10: 1-59582-044-2 isbn-13: 978-1-59582-044-0 $22.95 • 6" x 9" • 480 pp • m press cloth • biography/business rights: worldwide • available now m press | back l is t t i t le s MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 10 6/22/07 2:51:19 PM ThE PlaYBOY iNTErViEWS: ThE dirECTOrS Stephen Randall & the editors of Playboy THE BEST MOVIES SpEAK IN a universal language, communicating effortlessly on both emotional and intellectual terms. While there have been many great films, only a few directors have achieved such facility with the filmmaking medium to raise the motion picture to an art form. In this collection of remarkably candid interviews, seventeen of the screen’s most widely acclaimed and creative filmmakers discuss what drives and inspires them. These revealing, thought-provoking, and highly personal interviews, possible only in Playboy’s open forum, range from Roman Polanski’s thoughts on the murder of his wife to Oliver Stone’s frank discussions about the challenges he faced in creating his memorable films. KEY SALES POINTS • Seventeen talks with filmmakers, from Billy Wilder in 1963 to Quentin Tarantino in 2003. • Other subjects include Ingmar Bergman, Francis Ford Coppola, Stanley Kubrick, Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, and Orson Welles, with Clint Eastwood and Oliver Stone featured twice in interviews conducted decades apart. ISBN-10: 1-59582-028-0 ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-028-0 $22.95 • 6" X 9" • 480 pp • M pRESS CLOTH • FILM & TELVISION/BIOGRApHY RIGHTS: wORLDwIDE • AVAILABLE NOw ThE PlaYBOY iNTErViEWS: ThEY PlaYEd ThE GamE Stephen Randall & the editors of Playboy FACT: A LARGE NUMBER OF Playboy’s readers do buy the magazine for the articles—specifically the interviews. The PlayboyInterviews are incisive and entertaining, and important figures from all walks of life—many of whom honor no other interview requests—have given life- and career-altering interviews in the magazine’s pages. ThePlayboyInterviews:TheyPlayedtheGame features some of the most revered—and reviled—American sports stars from the past six decades openly discussing controversial issues including race, gender, drugs, and sexuality. More than just a bunch of jocks talking sports, these interviews are a fascinating reflection of the American psyche and evolving cultural perceptions. KEY SALES POINTS • Includes interviews with Jim Brown, Joe Namath, Billie Jean King, O.J. Simpson, Pete Rose, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, Barry Bonds, Mike Tyson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and others. • Select interviews originally edited for space are presented here in full! ISBN-10: 1-59582-046-9 ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-046-4 $22.95 • 6" X 9" • 300 pp • M pRESS CLOTH • SpORTS/BIOGRApHY RIGHTS: wORLDwIDE • AVAILABLE NOw M P R E S S | B ACk L IS T T I T LE S MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 11 11 6/14/07 4:46:09 PM M Press is honored to present fifty years of LeRoy Neiman’s Femlin drawings, some of which have never been seen in print. LEROY NEIMAN : FEMLIN LeRoy Neiman with afterword by Hugh Hefner LeRoy Neiman has drawn the twelve-inch woman called Femlin for every issue of Playboy for the last half-century, showing her at play, at sport, and at her ease. Wearing her trademark heels, stockings, and gloves—and not much else—Femlin has become a beloved icon of Playboy magazine . . . and a celebrity in her own right. With text and images by Neiman, and an afterword by Playboy founder and publisher Hugh M. Hefner, Femlin is shown in all isbn-10: 1-59582-138-4 isbn-13: 978-1-59582-138-6 $49.95 • 9" x 12" • 186 pp • m press cloth; over 300 b&w and color illustrations popular art/culture rights: worldwide • november 2007 her flattering historical light. KEY SALES POINTS • In addition to the regular edition, M Press will be releasing a slipcased, limited edition, numbered at only 250 copies and signed by LeRoy Neiman. • Neiman has sold more than 150,000 fine-art prints and paintings that, according to Manhattan magazine, “have an estimated market value exceeding $400 million.” This book is a must-have for the Neiman collector. • The popular-art market, which has supported Neiman through his years as Playboy illustrator and art personality, will want to have this book. • Fans interested in other Neiman themes—including sports and “the good life”—will want to add to their collection. • Readers of Playboy—more than three million of them—will want to see more of the Femlin in action. LEROY NEIMAN broke the barrier between fine art and popular art with his brilliantly colored, energetic depictions of life in America and abroad. A world-class artist best known for his paintings of sporting events, leisure activities, and the cultural life of the twentieth century, Neiman is one of the most popular artists living and working today. He has published fourteen books of his collected work, has won numerous awards, is included in the fine art collections of the nation’s top museums, and has been a key artistic contributor to Playboy since 1954. PROMOTION AND PUBLICITY • Playboy will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Femlin character in a special feature in the August 2007 issue of Playboy. • Promotion and publicity in Playboy and on Playboy.com • Promotion and publicity on Neiman’s official website, leroyneiman.com • The Franklin Bowles Galleries, the official gallery and limited-edition print house for Neiman’s work, will be staging two gallery shows this fall, in San Francisco and in New York. The book will be sold through the gallery, and mentioned through their advertising and marketing efforts. 12 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 12 m p r e s s | f ron t l is t t i t le s 2 0 0 7 6/22/07 12:03:44 PM [EXCERPT] ILLUSTRATIONS from LEROY NEIMAN: FEMLIN M P R E S S | F RON T L IS T T I T LE S 2 0 0 7 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 13 13 6/14/07 4:46:14 PM Rare photos, art, and one-on-one interviews with actors, writers, directors, and entertainers! LEONARD MALTIN’S MOVIE CRAZY Leonard Maltin In his quarterly subscription-only newsletter Leonard Maltin shares his personal reminisces, rare photos, art, and one-on-one interviews with actors, writers, directors, and entertainers of the Golden Age, chronicling the fascinating history of a magical silver- isbn-10: 1-59582-119-8 isbn-13: 978-1-59582-119-5 screen era. $19.95 • 6" x 9" • 400 pp • m press leonard matlin • los angeles, ca Leonard Maltin’s Movie Crazy is a collection of the best essays and trade paper; b&w photos throughout articles from his newsletter. Anyone who enjoys movies will find film & television it here: the history of the silent film, the emerging motion picture rights: worldwide • december 2007 industry, a chronicle of short subjects to feature-length films, struggles and conflicts between studios, the rise of the actor and actress, and yes, rare glimpses into the lives of those nearly forgotten performers whose legacies are fast fading away. KEY SALES POINTS • Leonard Maltin’s annual movie guides regularly sell upward of 50,000 copies. • This will be popular with Maltin’s legions of fans and followers who turn to him for advice and recommendations on movies every week on TV and in print. • Illustrated with rare photographs, one-sheet movie posters, advertising art, and personal memorabilia from the collections of the stars themselves, this book will capture the attention of the casual reader as well as the seasoned film buff. PROMOTION AND PUBLICITY • Maltin will publicize his book on his weekly DirecTV show Secret’s Out, as well as through his position as a correspondent on the nationally syndicated TV series Entertainment Tonight. Maltin is also a frequent guest on major TV talk shows such as The Tonight Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. • National review attention • Advertising in national film magazines • Online features at Leonard Maltin’s movie site: leonardmaltin.com • Promotion at film conventions, library, and book shows 14 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 14 LEONARD MALTIN is perhaps best known for his paperback reference, Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide, published annually since 1969. He’s been a commentator and interviewer on Entertainment Tonight for twenty-five years and for three years he has co-hosted the weekly movie review show Hot Ticket. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Village Voice, TV Guide, Esquire, Playboy, and The London Times. Maltin currently hosts a daily syndicated radio feature, teaches at the University of Southern California, and is a faculty member of the New School for Social Research in New York. Maltin lives in California. m p r e s s | f ron t l is t t i t le s 2 0 0 7 6/22/07 12:04:20 PM [EXCERPT] fRomLEONARDMALTIN’SMOVIECRAZY PERSONAL FAVORITES I COULDN’T LAUNCH A NEWSLETTER without spotlighting two special people: my wife Alice’s favorite actor (who ranks pretty high on my list, too), Ronald Colman, seen here in a wonderful publicity shot for ATaleofTwo Citiesexamining a miniature guillotine with his director, MGM’s prolific Jack Conway. Colman certainly had a run of great parts in the 1930s, and great speeches to read with that mellifluous voice. Sydney Carton’s final soliloquy is perhaps his finest moment on screen. Then there is my personal heartthrob, Thelma Todd, seen here in a rare photo with former silent-screen comedy star Monty Banks, who directed her in a cute British musical comedy, YouMadeMeLoveYou (1933). Incidentally, the Italian-born Banks (real name Mario Bianchi) later married British singing sweetheart Gracie Fields, and even directed Laurel and Hardy, in GreatGuns, during a brief World War II sojourn in Hollywood. M P R E S S | F RON T L IS T T I T LE S 2 0 0 7 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 15 15 6/14/07 4:46:19 PM “Harlan Ellison’s essays on film are invariably stimulating, often infuriating, always provocative, and never dull. In fact, they’re often more entertaining than the movies he’s writing about.” —leonard maltin HARLAN ELLISON’S WATCHING Harlan Ellison® with an introduction by Leonard Maltin Harlan Ellison’s Watching documents more than twenty-five years of this award-winning author’s writings on his obsession with the motion picture. As the only member of Hollywood’s Writers Guild ever to win the coveted WGA award for Most Outstanding isbn-10: 1-59582-056-6 isbn-13: 978-1-59582-056-3 Teleplay four times (for solo credits), he is uniquely qualified to $12.95 • 6" x 9" • 248 pp • m press write about film from both sides of the camera. harlan ellison • los angeles, ca trade paper • film/history & criticism More than fifty essays in this first collection of Harlan Ellison’s rights: worldwide • november 2007 cinema criticism come from the darkened interiors of a thousand movie houses where this most peculiar of all Observers of the Passing Scene has spent much of his life. The view from these magic caverns is guaranteed to make you grind your teeth in anger, bobble your head in blessed agreement, and open your eyes in a manner of judging films that is definitely not plebeian. The love affair with movies is obvious. As an essayist, Ellison has no equal; as a film critic he has no friends. KEY SALES POINTS • This will be popular with Harlan’s fans who have read his essays over the years. • Recommended for any fan of the cinema. • New introduction by Leonard Maltin • With a new documentary about Ellison, Dreams with Sharp Teeth, opening in 2007, interest in Ellison will be at an all-time high. HARLAN ELLISON ® was recently characterized by The New York Times Book Review as having “the spellbinding quality of a great nonstop talker, with a cultural warehouse for a mind.” The Los Angeles Times suggested, “It’s long past time for Harlan Ellison to be awarded the title: twentieth century Lewis Carroll.” And the Washington Post Book World said simply, “One of the great living American short story writers.” He has written or edited seventy-five books; more than 1700 stories, essays, articles, and newspaper columns; two dozen teleplays, for which he received the Writers Guild of America most outstanding teleplay award for solo work an unprecedented four times; and a dozen movies. PROMOTION AND PUBLICITY • • • • National review attention Advertising in national film magazines Featured excerpts on MySpace/darkhorse.com Promotion at film conventions, library, and book shows 16 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 16 m p r e s s | f ron t l is t t i t le s 2 0 0 7 6/22/07 12:05:01 PM harlan ellison’s WATCHING | HIGHLIGHTED ESSAYS Twentieth Century-Fox Film Has Science Fiction Theme, 1951 Mickey One, 1965 The War Lord, 1965 The Battle of the Bulge, 1966 Juliet of the Spirits, 1966 You’re a Big Boy Now! 1966 Nightmare At The Daisy, 1966 Beau Geste, 1966 Up the Down Staircase, 1967 Rosemary’s Baby, 1968 Harlan Ellison’s Handy Guide to 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1969 Joe, 1970 Silent Running, 1972 A Sort of Interview with Peter Boyle, 1973 Harlan Ellison’s Watching (First Series): 1st Installment, 1977 Luke Skywalker is a Nerd and Darth Vader Sucks Runny Eggs, 1977 Star Trek—The Motionless Picture, 1980 In Which Sublime And Ridiculous Pass Like Ships In The Night, 1984 In Which an Attempt Is Made To Have One’s Cake And Eat It, Too, 1985 In Which The Fortunate Reader Gets To Peek Inside The Fabled Black Tower, 1985 In Which The Fabled Black Tower Meets Dune With As Much Affection As Godzilla Met Ghidrah, 1985 In Which Nothing Terribly Profound Occurs, 1985 In Which Several Things Are Held Up To The Light . . . Not A Brain In Sight, 1985 In Which Numerous Ends (Loose) Are Tied Up, Some In The Configuration Of A Noose (Hangman’s), 1985 In Which We Sail To The Edge Of The World And Confront The Abyss, Having Run Out Of Steam, 1986 In Which The Unheard-of Is Heard, Kind Of, 1986 In Which A Gourmet Feast Is Prepared Of Words A Mere Two Months Old, 1986 In Which A Forest Is Analyzed Without Recourse To Any Description Of A Tree, 1986 In Which We Scuffle Through The Embers, 1984 In Which We Unflinchingly Look a Gift Horse In The Choppers, 1986 In Which We Discover Why The Children Don’t Look Like Their Parents, 1984 In Which We Long For The Stillness Of The Lake, The Smooth Swell Of The Sea, 1986 In Which Manifestations Of Arrested Adolescence Are Shown To Be Symptoms of a Noncommunicable Dopiness, Thank God, 1986 In Which Youth Goeth Before A Fall, 1986 In Which You And A Large Group Of Total Strangers Are Flipped The Finger By The Mad Masters Of Anthropomorphism, 1987 In Which the Land Echoes To The Sound Of An Ox Of A Different Color Being Gored, 1987 In Which, With Wiles And Winces, We Waft Words Warranting, To Wit, Wonderful Wit, 1988 In Which Li’l White Lies Are Revealed To Be At Least Tattletale Gray, 1988 In Which THREE Cinematic Variations On “The Whimper of Whipped Dogs” Are Presented, 1988 In Which the Switch Is Thrown, 1989 In Which The Canine of Vacuity Is Wagged by The Far More Interesting Tale of O’Bannon, 1989 In Which We Praise Those Whose Pants’re On Fire, Noses Long As A Telephone Wire, 1989 M P R E S S | F RON T L IS T T I T LE S 2 0 0 7 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 17 17 6/14/07 4:46:21 PM Originallypublishedin1961as Rockabilly,thisisthenovel’sfirst appearanceasasinglevolumeinmorethantwentyyears. SPidEr KiSS Harlan Ellison® HE CLAIMS HE’S NOT A FAN of rock and roll, but somehow Harlan Ellison’s seminal novel based on the career of Jerry Lee Lewis ended up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. One of the first—and still one of the best—dissections of the wildly destructive rock-and- ISBN-10: 1-59582-058-2 ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-058-7 roll lifestyle, SpiderKiss isn’t about giant cockroaches that attack $12.95 • 5" X 8" • 275 pp • M pRESS Detroit or space invaders that smell like chicken soup. Instead, HARLAN ELLISON • LOS ANGELES, CA it’s the story of Luther Sellers, a nice kid from Louisville with TRADE pApER • FICTION/LITERATURE a voice like an angel who’s renamed Stag Preston by a ruthless RIGHTS: wORLDwIDE • AVAILABLE NOw promoter. Preston’s meteoric rise on the music scene is matched only by the rise in his enormous appetites—and not just for home cooking—and soon the invisible monkey named Success is riding him straight to hell. This raucous early novel reinforces Ellison’s reputation as one of America’s most dynamic writers. PRAISE FOR SPIDERKISS “Therehavebeenmanybookswrittenaboutrockandroll,somegood, somebad,butthisnovel,originallypublishedin1961,hasthesingular distinction(asitproudlyproclaimsonthebackcover)ofbeingtheonlyone enshrinedintheRockandRollHallofFame.Ellisonisbestknownforhis speculativefictionandnon-fictionwriting,soit’shardtoimaginehimtacklingsomethingsomundaneasthestoryofarockstar,butashecomments inhisauthor’snote,StagPrestonisasymbol,ratherthanaportrayalof anyparticularrockerandSpider Kissisafable.” —Green Man Review, April2007 18 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 18 M p R E S S | F RON T L IS T T I T LE S 2 0 0 7 6/14/07 4:46:26 PM [EXCERPT] fRomSPIDERKISS H IS SONG WAS A POINTLESS thing; filled with pastel inanities; don’t ever leave me because I’ve got a sad dog heart that’ll follow you where’er you go, no, don’t leave me ’cause my sad dog heart cries just for you for you, ju-ust fo-o-o-or you . . . But there was a subtext to the song. Something dark and roiling, an oil stain on a wet street, a rainbow of dark colors that moved almost as though alive, verging into colors that had no names, disturbing colors for which there were only psychiatric parallels. Green is the dead baby image . . . The running line of what could be sensed but not heard was ominous, threatening, sensuously compelling in ways that spoke to skin and nerve-ends. It was like the moment one receives the biopsy report. It was like the feeble sound an unwatered plant makes in the instant before all reserve moisture dries from the tap root and the green turns to brown. It was like the sigh of anguish from the victim of voodoo at the instant the final pin is jammed into the ju-ju doll half a continent away. It was like the cry of a mother brought to see the tiny, crushed form lying beneath the blanket on a busy intersection. It was like the kiss of a spider. And the great animal that was his audience, his vacuous, demanding, insensate, vicious audience, purred. Ripples of contentment washed the crowd. Almost mystically the surface of mass hysteria was smoothed, quieted, molded by his singing into a glossy plane of attention and silence. Girls who had been facially and bodily contorted by his appearance, who had thrown themselves forward in a spasm of adoration, now settled back demurely, seated and attentive. ...Itwaslikethesighofanguishfromthevictim ofvoodooattheinstantthefinalpinisjammed intotheju-judollhalfacontinentaway. M P R E S S | F RON T L IS T T I T LE S 2 0 0 7 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 19 1 6/14/07 4:46:32 PM “Patrick ‘Bad News’ Hughes has a book out now which amounts to a more portable version of his blog that you can leave unlimited comments on with a ballpoint pen. In other words, I love it.” —xeni jardin, BoingBoing.com DIARY OF INDIGNITIES Patrick Hughes A hilarious account of life’s daily disappointments, as told by blogger Patrick Hughes. From reminiscing about being a teen in the ’80s to chronicling another family Christmas with Jello shots, Hughes has the right amount of candor, wit, and perversity for isbn-10: 1-59582-103-1 isbn-13: 978-1-59582-103-4 these vignettes to really pack a punch. $14.95 • 6" x 9" • 256 pp • m press patrick hughes • gainsville, fl Whimsical stories of soul-melting shame, Diary of Indignities first trade paper • humor came to public notice on the popular blog: Bad News Hughes, rights: worldwide • june 2007 where thousands of readers are flabbergasted, disgusted, and amused every day. The indignities generated by the author’s uncanny life and talent for personal failure feature more than your average share of heartbreak, carefree violence, booze, bodily injury, hypochondria, inappropriate nudity, neuroses, embarrassment, and painful rashes, and are all totally true. Except for the bits that are really obviously just kind of made up. Most people can tell the difference. KEY SALES POINTS • For a sample of the wit of Patrick Hughes, log on to badnewshughes .blogspot.com! • Diary of Indignities presents numerous cross-marketing opportunities via the heavily trafficked blogosphere, publisher’s website, and digital culture venues • Marketing and Publicity PATRICK HUGHES’ previous incarnations have seen him employed as a newspaper and magazine columnist, editor, record-store owner, watermelon picker, and science writer for the University of Florida. His articles on music, art, film, and crop dusting have appeared in a variety of publications, including Thrasher, The Gainesville Sun, Art Papers, Metal Maniacs, JAZZIZ, and Agricultural Aviation, and with noted filmmaker David Cassidy he co-authored the book One Small Step: The Story of the Space Chimps. PROMOTION AND PUBLICITY • Promotion at bookshows, including New York ComicCon, BEA, and ALA. • Author signings and appearances on the East Coast. 20 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 20 m p r e s s | f ron t l is t t i t le s 2 0 0 7 6/19/07 9:06:14 AM [EXCERPT] from DIARY OF INDIGNITIES ADVICE FOR CHILDREN D ON’T USE ONE OF THOSE little Handi-Vac things to empty an ashtray. Because the inrush of air could potentially reignite any fading embers. And, uh, a big jet of flame might shoot out of the thing, surprising you and making you scream like a ten-year-old girl. And you might knock over your beer. If you’re ever fishing, and a poisonous water moccasin swims up to try and eat one of the fish on your stringer, and you think that maybe flipping the snake out of the water and onto, say, me is a good idea, please reconsider. Just because you can stick toothpicks in your forehead and they’ll stay there and it doesn’t really hurt all that bad doesn’t mean you should go ahead and do it, at Denny’s or any other restaurant. Don’t try to pee and ride a bicycle at the same time, even if Jim Marburger can do it. Not that you were watching or anything. The rash won’t go away on its own. Should you ever decide to use bamboo sticks and stretchy, decorative string that’s designed to wrap presents to make a bow and arrow, and should you decide to wad up a bunch of duct tape on the end of your arrow and soak it with WD-40 so it’ll, you know, burn better, I would recommend not shooting the flaming arrow onto the roof of a house or into the lap of your friend’s cousin. Even by accident. Knife wounds inflicted on bodily extremities, such as hands, should receive firm pressure with a clean, dry towel or cloth. Elevate if possible. Remember, dry is the key. The wet washcloth is a poor choice for staunching blood flow, no matter what you’ve heard. M P R E S S | F RON T L IS T T I T LE S 2 0 0 7 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 21 21 6/14/07 4:46:34 PM Acompletecareerretrospectiveaboutthe groundbreakingrevolutionaryfilmmaker JOhN laNdiS Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan WHAT DO ANImALHoUSE,ThEBLUESBRoThERS,AnAmerican WerewolfinLondon, and Michael Jackson’s Thriller have in common? Director John Landis who has consistently made innovative and mega-successful movies. An exhaustive career retrospective about ISBN-10: 1-59582-041-8 ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-041-9 $29.95 • 8" X 11" • 280 pp • M pRESS the groundbreaking revolutionary filmmaker, told through exclusive TRADE pApER ; 100+ pHOTOS & ILLUSTRATIONS interviews, with Landis as well as through essays, interviews, and FILM HISTORY remembrances by his colleagues, contemporaries, and members of the film industry and reviewers. Contributors include Joe Dante, Jack Arnold, Wes Craven, Rick Baker, Frank Oz, Jim Abrahams, and others. Illustrated with exclusive photographs from Mr. Landis’s many films, some reproduced here for the first time from the director’s personal collection of photographs taken on the set by Mr. Landis during production of his movies. KEY SALES POINTS • John Landis has remained one of the most popular filmmakers of his generation since exploding on the cinema scene in the early 1970s. • There has never been a major biography/autobiography of Landis. • John Landis was recently made a member of the Masters of Horror film series and has two new films in the works due for release in 2007–2008. • Contributors include Joe Dante, Jack Arnold, Wes Craven, Rick Baker, Frank Oz, Jim Abrahams, and more. • Illustrated with exclusive photographs from Mr. Landis’s many films, some reproduced here for the first time from the director’s personal collection of photos taken on the set by Mr. Landis himself. • Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan is a film journalist and she serves as director of the Torino Film Festival hosted each year in Italy. RIGHTS: wORLDwIDE • OCTOBER 2007 Althoughheismostlyknownforhisinfluentialcomedies,JOHNLANDIShasalsodone manyhorror-relatedprojects.Hiscareerbegan as a teenager, working as a mailboy at 20th Century Fox. He starred in Schlock (1976), which he also wrote and directed, and also directedThe Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)and National Lampoon’s Animal House(1978). In1980,LandisdirectedThe Blues Brothers (which he co-wrote with Dan Aykroyd) and then An American Werewolf in London, which he also wrote, in 1981. American WerewolfwasperhapsLandis’smostpersonal project, a film which he had been planning to make since 1969. Landis also directed the opening teaser and first segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie(1983).Thatsameyearsaw anotherLandis-directedfilm,thePrinceandthe Pauper–stylecomedyTrading Places,starring DanAykroydandEddieMurphy. PROMOTION AND PUBLICITY • John Landis and the author will be available for signings at tradeshows and events, including Comic-Con International: San Diego. 22 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 22 M P R E S S | F RON T L IS T T I T LE S 2 0 0 7 6/14/07 4:46:36 PM [EXCERPT] MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 23 photos from JOHN LANDIS 23 6/22/07 12:08:44 PM Order information Diamond Book Distributors is the primary distributor of M Press titles to the U.S. book trade. If you currently do not have an account with DBD please contact: Library: Allan Greenberg Ph: 410-560-7100 X864 gallan@diamondbookdistributors.com Bookstore: Donnie Lewis Ph: 410-560-7100 X 840 ldonnie@diamondbookdistributors.com Below are just a few of the book and library wholesalers carrying M Press titles: Baker & Taylor 800-775-1800 btinfo@btol.com Book Wholesalers Inc 800-888-4478 customerservice@bwibooks.com Bookazine 800-221-8110 sales@bookazine.com Brodart 800-233-8467 bookinfo@brodart.com Demco 800-448-8939 mediacustserv@demco.com Follett-Library 800-621-4345 customerservice@flr.follett.com Follett-Higher Education 800-323-4506 bkstrserv@fheg.follett.com Ingram 800-937-8000 newaccounts@Ingrambook.com Partners West 425-227-8486 partnerswest@partners-west.com If your preferred distributor is not listed above please ask them to carry M Press titles. M Press titles are available in the following countries from Diamond Book Distribution through the contacts listed below. Not all titles are available. Please check international rights listed next to titles. Canada Canadian Manda Group 416-516-0911 • Fax 416-516-0917 • general@mandagroup.com Europe/United Kingdom Diamond Book Distributors UK Simon Bryne 020-8536-5730 • Fax 020-8536-5736 • bsimon@diamondcomics.co.uk Orders can be sent to orders@diamondcomics.co.uk All other international inquiries, please contact: Scott Hatfill, Director of International Sales 615-355-7577 • Fax 615-554-4277 • hscott@diamondbookdistributors.com. If you are unsure of who to contact or would like to find out if you qualify to order direct, please call 503-652-8815 and ask for sales or e-mail to: sales@darkhorse.com Individuals: We encourage individuals to patronize local book and comics sellers. You may, however, order directly from us. Please see darkhorse.com for details. 24 M PRESS | Order information 2 0 0 7 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 24 6/14/07 4:47:03 PM BACKLIST 26 Bottomfeeder 28 Living with Type 2 Diabetes 29 The Great American Stay-at-Home Wives Conspiracy 30 Saffron and Brimstone 31 Will Eisner: A Spirited Life ™ MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 25 All text and images shown copyright M Press 2007–2008 6/14/07 4:47:03 PM “Mr.Fingermanisadeeplytalented,creative,anddisturbedman.” —mAXBRooKS,authorofWorld War Z BOTTOmfEEdEr B.H. Fingerman PHIL MERMAN IS A REGULAR GUY. A regular guy who just happens to be immortal—for whatever that’s worth. So far all it’s gotten him is a divorce, a lack of friends and family, and a string of soul-killing jobs with no room for advancement. Bound to a self-imposed ISBN-10: 1-59582-097-3 ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-097-6 ethical code bordering on vigilantism, Phil prowls the bowels of $12.95 • 5" X 8" • 272 pp • M pRESS New York City in search of suitable sustenance—the homeless, B.H. FINGERMAN • BROOKLYN, NY the insane, no one who’ll be missed—all the while wondering TRADE pApER • FICTION how he became what he is. Are there others of his kind? Would RIGHTS: wORLDwIDE • AVAILABLE NOw he want to know them? Clues to the mystery of his existence begin to reveal themselves, luring him into spaces perhaps best left unknown. KEY SALES POINTS • Bottomfeeder is the debut prose novel of the critically acclaimed and award-winning artist Bob Fingerman. • The author is also known for his features in Cracked,Penthouse,Heavy Metal,NationalLampoon, and HighTimes. PROMOTION AND PUBLICITY B.H. FINGERMAN is a twenty-three year veteran of the comic book field. His books includethecriticallyacclaimedBeg the Question andWhite Like She,(bothpublishedbyFantagraphics). Other books include the recently releasedYou Deserved ItandZombieWorld: Winter’s Dregs(bothbyDarkHorseBooks), to which Fingerman contributed the title tale. This is his first novel. Fingerman lives in NewYork. • National review attention from humor and pop-culture publications such as EntertainmentWeeklyand Maxim. • Promotion on author’s website: www.bobfingerman.com • Author signings at bookstores, galleries, and tradeshows, such as BEA and NY ComicCon. PRAISE FOR AUTHOR’S PREVIOUS WORK “Ifyoucaptured,hogtied,andextractedDNAfromtherespectivebrainpansofChuckPalahniuk,PhilipRoth,andBramStoker,theresulting, recombinantliterarymutationwouldresemblenothingsomuchas Fingerman’sdebutnovelBottomfeeder.Laugh-packed,horrific,boldly reprehensible,sociallyastute,andslavetonoknowntrend,Fingerman hascomeupwithabookthatprettymuchbleedsgenius.” —JERRYSTAhL,I, Fatty; Permanent Midnight 26 MPRESS|BACk L IS T T I T LE S MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 26 6/14/07 4:47:06 PM . . . He’d never been a religious man, but I felt him yearning to characterize me as unholy—unclean [EXCERPT] from BOTTOMFEEDER Maybe this whole immortality thing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Oh, sure, they pump it up like it’s going to be some nonstop party, but let me tell you something: don’t believe the hype. A LITTLE BACKGROUND, BUT ONLY A LITTLE . . . I n MY FOLKS’ declining years their tunes about my perpetually youthful—if a bit pallid—good looks changed from pride and admiration to scorn and resentment, and then finally fear and distrust. “You’ve got some great genes, let me tell you,” my dad said many a time. He said it again that day, complimenting me on my forty-fifth birthday. “You don’t look a day over thirty.” The fact was I didn’t look a day over twenty-seven, but why split hairs? I still don’t today, and guess what? That’s right, I won’t tomorrow or the day after that or the day after that. No Dorian Gray portrait tucked away in a dormer, attic, or closet either. Not even under the kitchen sink. Lucky me. By the time he’d been consigned to his deathbed— mercifully in his own home instead of some grim hospice— my dad’s tune had done a one-eighty; apropos in a dyslexic way, considering he was eighty-one. No longer was I getting the flattery, the “I’ll have what you’re having” type of goodnatured ribbing. Beyond his abiding antipathy for my inconstant visits—and those taking place only after dusk— he looked on me as an abomination, his rheumy, cataractglazed eyes focusing as well as they could on my smooth pale face. He’d never been a religious man, but I felt him yearning to characterize me as unholy—unclean. M P R E S S | B ACK L IS T T I T LE S MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 27 27 6/22/07 12:09:08 PM liViNG WiTh TYPE 2 diaBETES— mOViNG PaST ThE fEar Gloria Loring & Dr. Timothy Gray WITH DIETARY AND LIFESTYLE CHOICES fueling a rise in type 2 diabetes, coping with this treatable disease has become a priority for millions. Unfortunately, although type 2 diabetes can be treated, the specifics of how to effectively combine insulin, diet, and exercise ISBN-10: 1-59582-016-7 ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-016-7 are often difficult to master. Gloria Loring—a regular contributor $14.95 • 6” X 9” • 280 pp • M pRESS to the DiabetesWellnessLetter as well as a famous singer, songwriter, GLORIA LORING • LAKE ARROwHEAD, CA DR. TIMOTHY GRAY • pORTLAND, OR former star of the TV drama DaysofOurLives, and mother of a diabetic child—co-authors with Dr. Timothy Gray on this straight- TRADE pApER; ILLUSTRATIONS AND pHOTOS forward guide on how to identify and live with type 2 diabetes. The HEALTH & FITNESS authors draw on up-to-date research and first-hand experiences RIGHTS: wORLDwIDE • AVAILABLE NOw to create a book that is both easy to follow and empathetic toward those with the disease and their loved ones. KEY SALES POINTS • An estimated 13 million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with diabetes while 5.2 million people are unaware that they have the disease. LivingwithType2Diabetes contains the information to help manage this disease. • After her son, Brennan, was diagnosed with diabetes, Gloria Loring published TheDaysofOurLivesCelebrityCookbook to raise money and awareness for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International. • The Juvenile Diabetes Foundation has recognized Gloria Loring with their Lifetime Commitment Award. Loring has also received the Woman of Achievement Award by the Miss America Organization and is listed in Who’sWhoinAmerica and TheWorldWho’sWhoofWomen. 28 MPRESS|BACk L IS T T I T LE S MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 28 6/14/07 4:47:08 PM ThE GrEaT amEriCaN STaY-aT-hOmE-WiVES CONSPiraCY Dan Merchant and B. Scott Taylor MIKE O’BRIEN THOUGHT HE HAD it all. A semi-retired Internet millionaire, Mike had a beautiful wife and a relaxing life—until he discovered that his wife was part of possibly the greatest, and ISBN-10: 1-59582-020-5 ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-020-4 oldest, conspiracy in history. Dan Merchant and B. Scott Taylor’s $21.95 • 6” X 9” • 292 pp • M pRESS satiric, sharp novel tells the story of how stay-at-home wives communicate and collaborate to control the lives of married men. DAN MERCHANT AND B. SCOTT TAYLOR • pORTLAND, OR This hilarious romp details the wives’ “Point System” (Leaves the CLOTH; 36 ILLUSTRATIONS toilet seat up: -100 points; Lets his mother-in-law visit for a month: FICTION/HUMOR +500 points), includes a quiz to determine if your wife is part of RIGHTS: wORLDwIDE • AVAILABLE NOw the conspiracy (Does your wife spend more than five hours a week at Starbucks?), and answers burning questions like: If men are the superior sex, why do they lose every argument with their stayat-home wives? Energetic and entertaining, TheGreatAmerican Stay-at-Home-WivesConspiracy is a witty look into the lives of wives and the husbands who are controlled by them. KEY SALES POINTS • Humor fans of books such as Steve Martin’s Shopgirl,PureDrivel,and ThePleasureofMyCompanywill love this book! • Readers of “lad mags” such as Maximand Stuff will appreciate the same eye-candy humor in this hilarious romp of a story! • Features a reversible dust jacket, so your secret stays safe! DAN MERCHANT is an Emmy Awardwinningtelevisionwriter/producerandoftenmockedyouthbasketballcoach.Hehasbeen happily married for more than seventeen yearsandisthefatheroftwo.Mr.Merchantis currentlyvacationingatDickCheney’s“secure location” until things cool down with the PortlandPTA. B. SCOTT TAYLOR is an Internet millionaire,serialentrepreneur,registeredRepublican and Veteran of USN Squadron SVAQ 130 (Zappers).Hehasbeenhappilymarriedfor more than fifteen years. He lives in Portland withhiswife,theirfourchildren,twodogs,and a cat. Mr. Taylor is presently suffering from caffeinewithdrawal,havingbeenbannedfrom everyStarbuck’sinthePacificNorthwest. M P R E S S | B ACk L IS T T I T LE S MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 29 2 6/14/07 4:47:09 PM Contains the short story “Echo,” winner of the 2006 Nebula Award for Best Short Story SAFFRON AND BRIMSTONE: STRANGE STORIES Elizabeth Hand Widely praised and widely read, Elizabeth Hand is regarded as one of America’s leading literary fantasists. This new collection (an expansion of the limited-release Bibliomancy, which won the World Fantasy Award in 2005) showcases a wildly inventive isbn-10: 1-59582-096-5 isbn-13: 978-1-59582-096-9 author at the height of her powers. Included in this collection $14.95 • 5" x 8" • 325 pp • m press are “The Least Trumps,” in which a lonely woman reaches out to elizabeth hand • maine the world through symbols, tattooing, and the Tarot, and “Pavane trade paper • fiction/literature for a Prince of the Air,” where neo-pagan rituals bring a recently rights: worldwide • available now departed soul to something very different than eternal rest. Written in the author’s characteristic poetic prose and rich with the details of traumatic lives that are luminously transformed, Saffron and Brimstone is a worthy addition to an outstanding career. KEY SALES POINTS • By the author of Maze of Deception and Hunted (over 110,000 combined sales). • Selected for inclusion in several “Best of the Year” collections. • Elizabeth Hand’s work has been selected as a Washington Post Notable Book and a New York Times Notable Book, and she has been awarded two Nebula and two World Fantasy awards. • Saffron & Brimstone is part of the Locus recommended reading list for 2007. Elizabeth Hand is the author of almost a dozen books and is a frequent contributor to The Washington Post Book World, Fantasy and Science Fiction, and the The Village Voice Literary Supplement, among others. The recipient of numerous awards and honors. PRAISE FOR AUTHOR’S PREVIOUS WORK “Myth and magic are the ingredients assembled to sometimes stunning effect in this vivid gathering of previously collected and recently published stories from the award-winning fantasy author. Brandishing the lush descriptive prose that energized such critically acclaimed novels as Waking the Moon (1995) and Mortal Love (2004), Hand conflates reality with dream and disorientation, the physical world with realms visited in memory and imagination.” —Kirkus Reviews, August 2006 “Enthusiasts for Hand’s sensuously descriptive brand of literary fantasy are in for a treat with her latest collection of short fiction. Aptly subtitled ‘strange stories,’ the eight superbly crafted tales share Hand’s predilection for probing the translucent borderline between magic and reality.” —carl hayes, Booklist 30 m press | back l is t t i t le s MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 30 6/22/07 12:09:57 PM “BesidesverifyingEisner’simpactonnearlyeveryartistwhodrew comicsinhiswake,AndelmanshowsthatEisner’sinfluenceextends tosuchfilmdirectorsasSpielbergandTarantino.” —GordonFlagg, Booklist Will EiSNEr: a SPiriTEd lifE Bob Andelman THIS BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED BIOGRApHY EXpLORES the fascinating life of Eisner, detailing a career that exceeds six decades in which Eisner spearheaded the cause of comics for adult readers and created the first widely accepted graphic novel,AContractwithGod. His in- ISBN-10: 1-59582-011-6 ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-011-2 fluence has been felt by such diverse talents as Batman creator Bob $14.95 • 6" X 9" • 272 pp • M pRESS Kane and Jack Kirby. Underground comics legend R. Crumb and BOB ANDELMAN • FLORIDA Pulitzer Prize–winning cartoonists Jules Feiffer and Art Spiegelman TRADE pApER; 91 pHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATIONS have hailed Eisner’s cinematic approach to comics and his enduring BIOGRApHY/COMICS character The Spirit. From his childhood to educating Army sol- RIGHTS: wORLDwIDE • AVAILABLE NOw diers to famously turning down a proposal for Superman, Eisner’s personal and professional life is told in dramatic detail. KEY SALES POINTS • Bob Andelman spent almost three years interviewing Eisner, researching his life and work and interviewing his friends, family, and the creative talents he inspired over a seventy-year career. Among those who spoke about their personal experience with Will Eisner were: Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, Neil Gaiman, Denis Kitchen, Joe Kubert, Stan Lee, Jules Feiffer, Neal Adams, and Patrick McDonnell. M P R E S S | B ACk L IS T T I T LE S MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 31 31 6/14/07 4:47:12 PM Look for reviews and upcoming M Press titles on our website: www.mpressbooks.com For publicity requests or other inquiries, contact: EMAIL: info@mpressbooks.com TELEPHONE: (503) 652-8815 MPRESS CATALOG 07.indd 32 6/19/07 9:06:29 AM MPRESS CATALOG 07 IFC-IBC.indd 3 PANTONE 1797 C 6/19/07 9:21:43 AM M PRESS BOOKS ™ 10956 S.E. MAIN STREET MILWAUKIE, OREGON 97222 www.mpressbooks.com MPRESS CATALOG 07 CVR-BC.indd 4 PANTONE 1797 C BLACK 6/19/07 9:20:14 AM