Classical Comics News Archive 2008 News archives for other years are available here: 2009  2007 Click here for the current news page
13th November 2008	Macbeth wins Book Award. Last night's ceremony for the British Book Design and Production Awards 2008 was a great success for Classical Comics. Macbeth Original Text was the winner of the Secondary Education category and was also Highly Commended (2nd place) in Literature; while Henry V Quick Text achieved the shortlist for the Secondary Education category. The award for Macbeth, presented by Gyles Brandreth, marked a significant achievement - not only for the book itself, but also for the company as both gain recognition from the mainstream book industry.
1st November 2008	Macbeth to go into 2nd edition. (we're out, out of Damned Spot!) Within 10 months of the first edition rolling of the printing press, we'll be sold out of Macbeth Original Text! This has caught us a little by surprise - but we're on the case and will have a second edition out before the end of 2008.
22nd October 2008	US Editions now shipping. The US Editions of Henry V and Macbeth have arrived at PGW's distribution center, ready for shipping. A Christmas Carol will be available from November 3rd, with Jane Eyre and Frankenstein following at the end of November. The US Versions feature American English, with the exception of the Original Text dialogue and captions (which stay as British English to remain true to the original works).
1st October 2008	Triple Delight! After months of hard work, we finally have Frankenstein, Jane Eyre and A Christmas Carol all rolling off the printing press at the same time. A little later than we'd aimed for, they're well-worth the wait. See them revealed for the first time at Birmingham International Comic Show (BICS) Saturday and Sunday 4th and 5th of October.
23rd June 2008	Another Landmark! First Translation! Ittosha Incorporated of Japan are to translate our books into Japanese. Using a mixture of our Plain and Quick Text versions as the basis, they'll be producing a single text version for the Japanese market. This is hugely exciting and we can't wait to see the finished books - with luck, we'll be able to see them at Frankfurt Book Show this October. The press release can be viewed here: Japanese Translation Press Release
31st May 2008	Classical Comics distribution in USA and Canada What an important event in our company's history! We have signed up with a fantastic distribution company based in California, Publishers Group West to make our books available in America and Canada. We'll be creating special US-English "flavours" of our books for the US market but the British English versions will also be available through PGW over there. Of course, the Original Text dialogue will remain in British English! This deal is so exciting for us because it opens up a massive opportunity to spread the "good word" about classical literature and about graphic novels in general into the mainstream trade. Kevin Votel (VP of Marketing and Business Development for PGW) and Clive Bryant sign the contract:
30th May 2008	Classical Comics picks up IPPY Award in LA Henry V won a Silver IPPY award - that's the Independent Publisher Book Awards, held each year in America to coincide with the Book Expo America show, which this year was held in Los Angeles. It's fantastic to have won an award with our very first book, and we're all delighted with this wonderful accolade. Because Clive was in LA for the book show, he was able to collect the award (a silver "gong") in person from the Awards Director, Jim Barnes:
12th May 2008	Bristol 2008 Bristol was as hot as ever, but the crowds didn't seem to mind. Here are some photos... Team 2008 (l to r) Greg Powell, Jo Wheeler, Karen Wenborn and Clive Bryant: Our books go down a storm (trooper): The Frankenstein Art Team: Declan Shalvey and Jon Haward: Declan drawing a Frankenstein pic: Part of the Christmas Carol Team: Mike Collins (left) and Sean Michael Wilson (right):
16th April 2008	"Down-under" distribution deal signed We're delighted to announce that distribution for Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji was agreed and signed at London Book Fair. Book and Volume (www.bookandvolume.com.au) are our official, sole distributors in those territories; and here are Jo, Karen and Clive at the "signing session" with Terrie and Ian from Book and Volume:
14th April 2008	The Times - "The Bard - as they like it" Did you see Benedict Nightingale's wonderful article on making Shakespeare more appealing to kids? This is what he said about our Macbeth: "[Jon] Haward has caught the play's terror and tension a lot better than many productions that I recall" It is a superb article: The Times Article, 14th April 2008.
7th April 2008	See us at London Book Fair 14th-16th April 2008 If you're in the book trade, come and see us on stand U805 at London Book Fair.
27th February 2008	Guardian G2 - Something wicked this way comes In case you missed the double-page feature about us in yesterday's Guardian G2 supplement, here it is: Guardian G2 Article. Naturally, we're thrilled to have such high-profile coverage as this!
20th February 2008	Macbeth Now Available !!! Well, we finally got there. Our second book, printed in time to hit the publishing date! Review copies have gone out and have been unbelievably well received; which is understandable because it is such a GREAT BOOK ! Fantastic linework, wonderful colouring, superb lettering, all over a brilliant adaptation of a great story. Sorry, I've run out of superlatives! It really is that good! And it's available right now. Click here for more details and previews The title is available from amazon.co.uk: Original Text Plain Text Quick Text
5th February 2008	Shakespeare 4 Kidz Education endorses Classical Comics S4K Education - pioneers in Creative Shakespeare Education across the UK and overseas since 1996 - are delighted to endorse the Shakespeare Graphic Novels from Classical Comics. You can read the announcement here: Shakespeare 4 Kidz
31st January 2008	Patrick Stewart Supports Classical Comics' Macbeth The world-famous actor, Patrick Stewart, gives his support to our range of books! You can read the announcement here: booktrade.info
19th January 2008	Macbeth Pencils Finished Jon Haward has completed penciling the last pages on Macbeth. The artwork is now being finalised and coloured so that it can all go to print at the beginning of February. This book truly is a masterpiece!