Janet Evanovich book news

From Hearld Tribune (Sarasota, FL) --

Titles become graphic novels --

George Gene Gustines, The New York Times --
February 10, 2010 --

Look! Up in the sky! It's a prose author moving a ton of graphic novels! Last month Yen Press announced that it would print 350,000 copies of a graphic-novel adaptation of "Twilight," the first part of the immensely popular vampire saga created by Stephenie Meyer. Now comes word from Dark Horse Comics that it will print 100,000 copies of a graphic novel by Janet Evanovich, the best-selling mystery writer, which will continue her "Motor Mouth" series of novels.

These are staggering initial print runs for graphic novels. More typical is a run of 20,000 to 25,000, which is usually enough for both the comic-book market and general bookstores, according to Milton Griepp, the publisher and founder of ICv2, an online trade publication that covers pop culture for retailers.

In August 2008, expecting a major sales bump from the film version of "Watchmen," DC Comics printed more than 900,000 copies of the softcover collected edition of the comic. According to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks bookstore sales, 733,000 copies of that edition were sold in 2008 and 2009 combined. More than 170,000 copies were sold in comic stores in those two years, according to estimates at ICv2.

In Evanovich's case, rather than an adaptation, "Troublemaker!: A Barnaby Adventure" will be the third installment of a series, after her best-selling "Metro Girl" and "Motor Mouth" novels. These revolve around a NASCAR driver named Sam Hooker and Alexandra Barnaby, a mechanic. This two-part graphic novel is being written with Evanovich's daughter, Alexandra, a fellow comic-book fan. The first part will be released on July 20 as a $17.99 hardcover. The second is due in the fall.