Comics writer Mariko Tamaki will be curating a new LGBTQ+ focused imprint for Surely Books, a new Abrams ComicArts. The new imprint will begin publishing this month with the graphic novel, Lifetime Passes by writer Terry Blas and artist Claudia Aguirre, along with a new set of previously unannounced titles scheduled for a 2022 and 2023 release.
The releases for 2022 include M Is for Monster, a heartfelt sci-fi scenario combining the Frankenstein story with a heartwarming tale of sibling expectations, scheduled for spring 2022 from Talia Dutton. Also planned for next fall, Homecoming by Kaitlin Chan tells the story of a queer millennials coming-out story set in Taiwan during a new LGBTQ+ era in Asia; and Mimosa by Archie Bongiovanni, the story of a group of thirty-something queer friends forced to examine their relationships as they get older.
The Page’s Guide to Being a Guy, the story of a guy forced to learn about the complexity of gender from Writer Kacen Callender and artist Seth Smith and the previously announced original graphic novel Washington’s Gay General, the story a little-known, openly homosexual American General during the Revolutionary War by writer Josh Trujillo (he/him) and artist Levi Hastings are on the docket for early 2023. Also, in Spring of 2023, Surely Books will publish Grand Slam Romance, the story of two flirty softball-playing girl-best friends who end up on rival teams during a genuinely magical softball season, by writer Oliva Hicks and artist Emma Oosterhous.
The imprint, launched in October 2019 with the announcement of the books: Lifetime Passes and Flung Out of Space: Inspired by the Indecent Adventures of Patricia Highsmith, begin hitting stands this month with Lifetime Passes, the story of a bunch of teenagers who hatch a scheme feigning to help seniors only to be transformed by them. Next up in February 2022, Flung Out of Space: Inspired by the Indecent Adventures of Patricia Highsmith, is the fictional story about the real-life author Highsmith by writer Grace Ellis and artist Hannah Templer, will be released.
In an interview about the imprint with Publishers Weekly, Tamaki, who has written comics across a variety of genres including superhero comics, as well as YA graphic novels, such as the critically-acclaimed and award-winning This One Summer with her cousin, artist Jillian Tamaki, and Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me with artist Rosemary Valero-O’Connell as well as four prose novels based on BOOM! Studios’ popular Queer-focused Lumberjanes graphic novels, which Abrams published, said about the new imprint, crediting her partner, Heather Gold, with the idea for Surely Books:
“I was looking to move into editing and another side of comics production at the time. I had worked with Abrams on the Lumberjanes series and really loved the experience, so it seemed a good place to start.”
She added about the concept for Surely Books:
“The concept is simple, our sole focus is on LGBTQIA+ creators and the stories they want to tell, meaning that the story itself doesn’t even need to be about queer characters specifically. Up to this point, we’ve really been trying to cast a wide net, to go outside of the confines of what we would even expect a Surely title to be. Really it just needs to be a great story told well.”
Charlotte Greenbaum, who edits the Surely Books for Abrams, and also on Abrams’ Megascope imprint, with writer and editor John Jennings, which focuses on works by people of color, as well as on other Abrams and Amulet graphic novels, said about working with Tamaki:
“Once a book is signed Mariko and I work fairly closely—she brings her experience as an author and I’m providing more traditional editorial feedback. While Abrams will continue to publish LGBTQ+ graphic novels in its other imprints, [Surely Books] gives us the opportunity to work with the incredible emerging talent in the graphic novel community. Not to mention the fact that Mariko is developing some exciting new concepts with our creators that will really stand out in the genre.”
Greenbaum also stated about the target audience:
“One of the neat things about Surely is how broad the audience is, but we’re particularly interested in targeting readers who don’t always see themselves and their experiences represented in media.”
Tamaki’s 2008 Skim, which she co-created with Jillian Tamaki, was one of the first graphic novels to reach a wide audience, including LGBTQ+ teens. Tamaki credits her first publisher, Ann Decter, as well as editors Calista Brill, Shelly Bond, Joan Hilty, Andrea Shea, and Paul Kaminski for helping her along the way, saying:
“Even people I work with now are teaching me as I go. Writing is a very solitary experience, but I do think the only way to progress as a writer and artist is by getting that feedback and support.”
At Surely Books, she is turning the tables, providing that feedback and support to both emerging and more established creators, and in the long run, she hopes the imprint will bring new creators to the field as well.
“I would hope that there are people who read these books and are inspired by our inspirations. I would love if the books we create are a jump start for people to tell more queer stories in comics.”
Lifetime Passes releases later this month.