First Second Launches Another Non-Fiction Graphic Novel Line
To go along with their non-fiction graphic novel lines Science Comics and Maker Comics, First Second has announced at EW.com a new imprint, World Citizen Comics. They
aim to excite and inform readers about how they can fight corruption in elections, blast fake news with truth-telling, and even battle would-be dictators both near and far through a better understanding of constitutions and the rule of law.
They plan to release seven books beginning in 2020, focusing on civic involvement and media literacy. Unrig: How to Fix Our Broken Democracy by Dan Newman, art by George O’Connor, will be the first, in March 2020. It’s about campaign finance and how money influences elected officials.
That’s followed by The Fault Lines in the Constitution, out in May 2020, by Cynthia and Sanford Levinson, art by Ally Shwed. It’s an adaptation by Shwed of a book described as “a guided tour of the U.S. Constitution”.
Additional titles include
- What Unites Us by Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner, art by Tim Foley, adapting Rather’s 2017 book about civic values and patriotism
- Citizen Journalist by Seth Abramson, with consulting by Scott McCloud
- The Media Adventurer’s Handbook by Melissa Hart, artist to be determined, educating readers about persuasion and propaganda
- Breaking (the) News by Jennifer L. Pozner, art by Shelli Paroline & Braden Lamb
- Re-Constitution by Beka Feathers, art by Kasia Babis
There are sample pages from each title at the EW link. Mark Siegel, editorial and creative director for First Second, says
“We’re in a highly visual age, and the graphic novel blurs age categories, genres, and connects across all popular culture. There’s actually a rich, long tradition of comics responding in some way to tyranny and evil.”
As reported by Publishers Weekly, “a number of WCC titles will be serialized online in advance of print publication.”