Nobrow Press

Last updated

Nobrow Press
Founded2008
FounderSam Arthur and Alex Spiro
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Headquarters locationLondon
DistributionBounce Sales & Marketing (UK)
Penguin Random House (US) [1]
Walker Books (Australia) [2]
Key peopleHarry Gwinner
Publication typesBooks
Imprints Flying Eye Books
Official website www.nobrow.net

Nobrow Press is a British comics publishing company based in London, England. Nobrow is known for its bi-annual eponymous anthology, for publishing the works of Blexbolex, Luke Pearson, Jon McNaught and Jesse Moynihan, and for exposing the English-speaking world to works by European artists. [3] The publisher is seen as a champion of DIY culture. [4]

Contents

Nobrow's works are distributed in the U.S. by Penguin Random House.

History

The company was founded in October 2008 by Sam Arthur and Alex Spiro with the intention "to publish books that deserved to be printed." [5]

In January 2012 the company curated the two-week "This Is Not a Pop-Up" event at the Hayward Gallery shop, where-by they hosted musicians, artists and a workshop for children as well as offering their products for sale. [6] In September 2012 the company attended the Small Press Expo, with co-founder Arthur participating in the panel "British Comics: Does it Translate". In early 2012 it was announced that Nobrow was to work on the launch of a sister imprint, focused on children's publishing, with 12 titles to publish in 2013. [7] In September 2013, Nobrow opened a New York City office, headed by Creative Director Alex Spiro. As well as aiding US distribution efforts, the satellite would focus on newly formed relationships with TV and Film studios, who had taken an interest in some of their titles, such as Hilda. [8]

In June 2016, it was announced by Netflix that they would be producing, along with Silvergate Media, Hilda , an animated TV series for children based on Luke Pearson's graphic novel series of the same name. [8]

Aesthetic

Nobrow utilizes an idiosyncratic printing approach which allows the publisher to achieve a striking palette of colours in its books. It also carefully oversees the paper stock used, in order to create books that evoke a sense of history. [5] The company's publishing aesthetic has been described by Rob Clough in The Comics Journal as one that is "part Drawn & Quarterly and part Blab! , where design and color are often more important than line and narrative. This is not to say that narrative is irrelevant in these comics, only that the narrative direction is more on the abstruse side. The design, packaging, and attention to detail and color here are almost painfully exquisite." [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DC Comics</span> American comic book publisher, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Entertainment

DC Comics, Inc. is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marvel Comics</span> American comic book publisher

Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the property of The Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin Goodman as Timely Comics, and by 1951 had generally become known as Atlas Comics. The Marvel era began in June 1961 with the launch of The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and many others. The Marvel brand, which had been used over the years and decades, was solidified as the company's primary brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archie Comics</span> American comic book publisher

Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle, Sabrina Spellman, Josie and the Pussycats and Katy Keene. The company is also known for its long-running Sonic the Hedgehog comic series, which it published from 1992 until 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Publishing</span> Firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books

Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was a Racine, Wisconsin, firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also produced children's books and family-related entertainment products. The company had editorial offices in New York City and Los Angeles, California. Western Publishing became Golden Books Family Entertainment in 1996. As of 2013, Little Golden Books remains as an imprint of Penguin Random House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dark Horse Comics</span> American comic book and manga publisher

Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon, comic book shops known as Pegasus Books and founded in 1980.

Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third-largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IDW Publishing</span> American comic book publishing company

IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), it formed in 1999, and is recognized as the fifth-largest comic book publisher in the United States, behind Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Image Comics, ahead of other comic book publishers such as Archie, Boom!, Dynamite, Valiant, and Oni Press. The company is known for its licensed comic book adaptations of films, television shows, video games, and cartoons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon & Schuster</span> American publishing company

Simon & Schuster Inc. is an American publishing company owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins and Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster is considered one of the 'Big Five' English language publishers. As of 2017 Simon & Schuster was the third largest publisher in the United States, publishing 2,000 titles annually under 35 different imprints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drawn & Quarterly</span> Canadian publishing house

Drawn & Quarterly is a publishing company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, specializing in comics. It publishes primarily comic books, graphic novels and comic strip collections. The books it publishes are noted for their artistic content, as well as the quality of printing and design. The name of the company is a pun on "drawing", "quarterly", and the practice of hanging, drawing and quartering. Initially it specialized in underground and alternative comics, but has since expanded into classic reprints and translations of foreign works. Drawn & Quarterly was the company's flagship quarterly anthology during the 1990s.

Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a publishing company owned by Hachette Livre, the largest publishing company in France, and the third largest trade and educational publisher in the world. Hachette Livre is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lagardère Group. HBG was formed when Hachette Livre purchased the Time Warner Book Group from Time Warner on March 31, 2006. Its headquarters are located at 1290 Avenue of the Americas, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Hachette is considered one of the "big five" publishing companies, along with Holtzbrinck/Macmillan, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster. In one year, HBG publishes approximately 1400+ adult books, 300 books for young readers, and 450 audio book titles. In 2017, the company had 167 books on the New York Times bestseller list, 34 of which reached No. 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abrams Books</span> American publisher of books and stationery

Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (HNA), is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marvel Press</span> Prose novel imprint for Marvel Comics

Marvel Press is the prose novel imprint for Marvel Comics jointly published with Disney Books.

Amazon Publishing is Amazon's book publishing unit launched in 2009. It is composed of 15 imprints including AmazonEncore, AmazonCrossing, Montlake Romance, Thomas & Mercer, 47North, and TOPPLE Books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penguin Random House</span> Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company

Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. Penguin Books was originally founded in 1935 and Random House was founded in 1927. Along with Simon & Schuster, Hachette, HarperCollins and Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Random House is considered one of the 'Big Five' English language publishers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke Pearson</span> British illustrator

Luke Pearson is a British illustrator, cartoonist, and comic book writer best known for the Hilda series of comics for Nobrow Press, and Hilda, the Netflix series based on the comics. He has also storyboarded episodes of the Cartoon Network series Adventure Time, during its fifth and seventh seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lion Forge Comics</span> American comic book publisher

Lion Forge Comics was an American comic book publisher founded in 2011 by David Steward II and Carl Reed, with headquarters formerly located in St. Louis, Missouri. The company had a strong focus on culturally diverse creators and stories. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's merger with Oni Press. The merged company, Oni–Lion Forge Publishing Group, is owned by Polarity. As of 2022, the Lion Forge name is now "largely dormant with Oni Press taking over the publishing side of things".

Hilda is an animated streaming television series based on the graphic novel series of the same name by Luke Pearson. Produced by Silvergate Media and Mercury Filmworks, the series follows the adventures of fearless Hilda, an 11-year-old blue-haired girl who, along with her mother Johanna and her deerfox Twig, moves to the fictional city of Trolberg after their old residency in the outskirts of a forest is destroyed by a giant. Though moving away from the wild and into a bustling city, Hilda still manages to befriend even the most dangerous of monsters.


Hilda is a British children's graphic novel series written and illustrated by Luke Pearson and published by Nobrow Press. A television series adaptation was released on Netflix on 21 September 2018. Following the success of the Netflix series, several story book tie-ins were published.

Raw Books & Graphics is an American publishing company specializing in comics and graphic novels. Operating since 1978, it is owned and operated by Françoise Mouly. The company first came to prominence publishing Raw magazine, co-edited by Mouly and her husband, cartoonist Art Spiegelman. In the 1980s the company published graphic novels, and with the formation of Raw Junior in 1999, branched into children's comics with Little Lit and Toon Books.

References

  1. "PRHPS to Distribute Nobrow/Flying Eye Books". penguinrandomhouse.com. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  2. "Wholesale". Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  3. 1 2 Clough, Rob (13 January 2012). "London Calling: Blank Slate Books and Nobrow Press". The Comics Journal. Archived from the original on 1 November 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  4. Ross, Alice (26 July 2011). "DIY Design: get into zine culture with this in-depth guide". Digital Arts. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  5. 1 2 Danielson, Julie (14 June 2012). "Nobrow Press on the Art of Publishing". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 7 August 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  6. Hossenally, Rooksanna (11 January 2012). "In London, a Pop-Up That's Not a Pop-Up". New York Times. Archived from the original on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  7. "Nobrow Press to Launch Children's Imprint in 2013". PublishersWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Netflix Adds Five New Original Animated Series For Kids, Renews Kong: King of the Apes". Netflix Media Center. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.

51°32′15″N0°03′32″W / 51.5375°N 0.0590°W / 51.5375; -0.0590