Books published by Top Shelf Productions

One of the American Library Association’s Top 10 Best Graphic Novels for Adults!Nominated for four Eisner Awards!Nominated for two Harvey Awards!Nominated for five Ringo Awards!Nominated for the American Cartoonists Society Reuben Award (Graphic Novel Division)!A young journalist prompts a reclusive piano superstar to open up, resulting in this stunning graphic sonata exploring a lifetime of rivalry, regret, and redemption.1933. In the small French village of Cressy-la-Valoise, a local piano contest brings together two brilliant young players: Julien Dubois, the privileged heir of a wealthy family, and François Samson, the janitor's son. One wins, one loses, and both are changed forever.1997. In a huge mansion stained with cigarette smoke and memories, a bitter old man is shaken by the unexpected visit of an interviewer. Somewhere between reality and fantasy, Julien composes, like in a musical score, a complex and moving story about the cost of success, rivalry, redemption, and flying pianos.When all is said and done, did anyone ever truly win? And is there any music left to play?

Return to the astonishing world of talking peaches, magic tea, frightening wildlife, and threatening lizard tribes! The fantasy adventure too epic for one graphic novel finally reaches its conclusion.Home Time: Under the River ended with a disastrous tea ceremony which left six kids lost, scared, confused, and even burnt. Now, the second half of the Home Time saga picks up from that nerve-wracking cliffhanger, as the children leave the relative safety of Peach Village in search of medicine, answers, and hopefully, a way home.Equipped with a living map, a flask of hallucinogenic tea, and a plan so stupid it just might work, Lily, Amanda, Ben and Nathan will have to pull together at the very time they''ve drifted the furthest apart.Award-winning graphic novelist Campbell Whyte is back, with his signature kaleidoscope of art styles, to cast a new spell wrapping up the most whimsically fantastical journey in ages.

Summer camp is supposed to be about finding nirvana in a rock garden... But Elodie prefers Nirvana and Soundgarden. Can she confront rambunctious kids, confusing feelings, and supernatural horrors all at once?Summer 1994: with just two months left before college, Elodie is forced by her mother to take a job as a camp counselor. She doesn''t know the first thing about nature, or sports, of kids for that matter, and isn''t especially interested in learning... but now she''s responsible for a foul-mouthed horde of red-headed girls who just might win her over, whether she likes it or not. Just as Elodie starts getting used to her new environment, though -- and close to one of the other counselors -- a dark mystery lurking around the camp begins to haunt her dreams.

You won the election... now what? Activist organizing meets government gridlock as a millennial New Yorker cartoonist follows a first-year senator on her unforgettable journey — from outsider to insider.In early 2018, cartoonist Sofia Warren was not paying attention to New York state politics. But that summer, her Brooklyn neighborhood began buzzing about Julia Salazar, a 27-year-old democratic socialist running for state senate whose grassroots campaign was inspiring an army of volunteers. When they beat the odds and won, Warren found herself wondering what would happen next. How does it work when an outsider who runs on revolutionary change has to actually do the job? So she decided to find out. Using the graphic memoir format, Radical: My Year with a Socialist Senator is a remarkable first-hand account of Warren’s experience embedded with Julia Salazar and her staff during their first year in office. From candid conversations and eyewitness experiences, Warren builds a gripping and intimate portrait of a scrappy team of community organizers battling entrenched power structures, particularly to advance Julia’s marquee issue of housing rights. At every key point during the year — setting up an office, navigating insider politics, public pushback, testy staff meetings, emotional speeches, protest marches, setbacks, and victories — Warren is up close and personal with Julia and her team, observing, questioning, and drawing, as they try to translate their ideals into concrete legislation. Along the way, Warren works toward answers to deeper questions: what makes a good leader? What does it mean to be a part of a community? Can democracy work? How can everyday people make change happen? All these themes are explored — with nuance, compassion, and humor — in Sofia Warren''s remarkable debut.

A pioneer of 21st-century graphic memoir, Jeffrey Brown captures timeless insights into love, intimacy, and vulnerability in three unforgettable relationship portraits.Twenty years ago, young painter Jeffrey Brown grew frustrated with the expectations of the art world and wanted desperately to make something real. In a single sketchbook, working directly in ink, he began recording his memories of a recent long-distance relationship, matching the emotional frailty of the young lovers with painfully honest writing and art. As that book, Clumsy, struck a chord with readers and spawned the follow-ups Unlikely and Any Easy Intimacy, Brown’s work proved a watershed for the emerging form of the graphic memoir. Chronicling the awkward mess of romantic relationships in unsparing and explicit detail, these works also reflect the fragmentary nature of memory, the risk of opening ourselves to pain, and the giggly rush of falling in love. Now collected into one volume for the first time, this Relationship Trilogy is a bittersweet reminder of the everyday joy, heartbreak, and humor that — despite everything— keep us coming back for more. Collects Clumsy, Unlikely, and AEIOU or Any Easy Intimacy.

Free Pass is an intoxicating tale of liberty, privacy, and shame, set in the sticky place where sex, politics, and technology come together.George Orwell said "You are free to be a drunkard, an idler, a coward, backbiter, a fornicator. You are not free to think for yourself." Huck and Nadia are enjoying their twenties: working in Big Tech and developing an adventurous sex life. Together they fantasize about opening their relationship with a "free pass" to sleep with certain friends or celebrities. It's all in good fun. But Huck is leading a double life. As a national election looms, he grows more and more uncomfortable with his company’s unelected authority over internet discourse. When the couple receives a bizarre gift — a cutting-edge humanoid sex AI that can morph into anyone — their worlds of fantasy, trust, and consent are thrown into blissful chaos.In a society growing more divided each day, Huck struggles with the pressure to uphold boundaries at work... while everything is collapsing at home. Julian Hanshaw follows his acclaimed graphic novels Tim Ginger and Cloud Hotel with an intoxicating new tale of liberty, privacy, and shame, set in the sticky place where sex, politics, and technology come together.

What she once possessed... now threatens to possess her. This vibrant Swedish debut graphic novel is an epic quest for the things left behind, with icy-cool artwork and astonishing sci-fi settings.What happens when our most precious belongings... no longer belong? When something we loved suddenly becomes junk, a powerful energy is unleashed. One night, ice-skating prodigy Florence Sato is overwhelmed by pressure and throws away her skates. This fateful moment accidentally summons a "junkwraith," a terrifying ghost which seeks revenge for its abandonment by attacking the memories of its former owner. Before she forgets who she is, and to find out who she really wants to be, Florence must set off (with her trusty digital assistant Frank) on a long journey into the Wastelands to put to rest the monster she created.

Soon to be an Apple TV+ series!The ocean is packed with plants, animals, water... and science! Ride the waves of knowledge with Sam and Jade as they explain all about the amazing wonders of the sea, and have a blast doing it.Have you ever wondered why the ocean has waves? Why do the tides change with the moon? Can dolphins really "see" using sound? How does surfing actually work? And what can we do to protect the ocean?Cresting from the pages of the beloved graphic novel series Surfside Girls, join best friends Sam & Jade — and Sam''s little brother Peet — as they explore the AWESOME world of ocean science. From physics to marine biology to ecology to surfing lessons, there''s so much to learn... with plenty of fun and jokes along the way! The Science of Surfing is the coolest way to take a beach vacation and learn at the same time.

The beloved wordless fantasy graphic novel series reaches its stunning conclusion -- with plenty of thrills, laughs, and exquisitely illustrated animal magic.Winter has arrived in Korgi Hollow... and with it, the end of the Korgi story. As Ivy and her Korgi pup, Sprout, frolic in the frozen weather, an ancient power is stirring. At long last, saddle up for the conclusion of this "silent" epic fairytale told entirely through detailed pen-and-ink drawings. Fire and ice will collide in a timeless battle between good and evil. Will the residents of Korgi Hollow survive the harsh cold? One thing is for sure: nothing will ever be the same.

A triumph of graphic memoir, Parenthesis narrates the author''s experience with tumor-related epilepsy--losing herself, and finding herself again.Judith is barely out of her teens when a tumor begins pressing on her brain, ushering in a new world of seizures, memory gaps, and loss of self. Suddenly, the sentence of her normal life has been interrupted by the opening of a parenthesis that may never close.Based on the real experiences of cartoonist Élodie Durand, Parenthesis is a gripping testament of struggle, fragility, acceptance, and transformation which was deservedly awarded the Revelation Prize of the Angoulême International Comics Festival.

The inmates of an extensive underground prison struggle to build meaningful lives in a broken system, in the most ambitious graphic novel to date from rising indie star Chris Gooch (Bottled and Deep Breaths).Under-Earth takes place in a subterranean landfill, hollowed out to serve as a massive improvised prison. Sunken into the trash and debris of the past -- gameboys, iphones, coffee cups, old cars -- we follow two parallel stories.In the first, a new arrival struggles to adapt to the everyday violence, physical labour, and poverty of the prison city. Overwhelmed and alone, he finds a connection with a fellow inmate through an old, beat-up novel. While these two silent and uncommunicative men grow closer thanks to their book, the stress of their environment will test their new bond.Meanwhile, a pair of thieves pull off a risky job in exchange for the prisons' schematics and the promise of escape -- only to be betrayed by their employer. On the run with their hope for escape now gone, the two women set their minds to revenge. Yet as they lay their plans, their focus shifts from an obsession with the outside world to the life they have with each other.Equal parts sincerity and violence, Under-Earth explores humanity's inextinguishable drive to find meaning, connection, and even family -- and how fragile such constructions can be.

A magnum opus from one of the giants of indie cartooning finally gets its due -- in full color, and expanded with a new 120-page grand finale!Since the dawn of time, the eternal struggle of Monkey Vs. Robot has captivated the hearts of comics fans everywhere. Now, creator James Kochalka and Top Shelf Productions celebrate the 20th anniversary of this timeless epic with a jaw-dropping deluxe collection. Both of the original black & white graphic novels, Monkey Vs. Robot and Monkey Vs. Robot and the Crystal of Power, have been newly colored by James Kochalka for this edition! In addition, Kochalka completes the trilogy with a brand-new graphic novel appearing here for the first time, Monkey Vs. Robot in Love. That's right, this book has it all... brutal combat and tender moments alike.With animal fury and silicon precision, this definitive collection will satisfy both the monkey and the robot inside every one of us.A factory of self-replicating robots is stripping the jungle of its natural resources, threatening a colony of nearby monkeys. Tentative encounters between the two groups quickly escalate into all-out war. But beware: the charm and humor of Kochalka's whimsical cartooning conceals a profound examination of humanity's relationship with our environment and the duality within the human mind. It's a modern-day fable for adults and kids alike, based on the age-old struggle between instinct and reason, nature and technology.

Exploding from the beloved Glorkian Warrior video game and graphic novels: a hilarious new outer-space adventure, from the award-winning creator of Johnny Boo!Who keeps the galaxy silly? The Glork Patrol! When the patrol crash-lands on the sinister Bad Planet, Baby Gonk finds a giant egg... so of course he sits on it. Soon it hatches a baby Quackaboodle, the most dangerous creature in the universe!Will there be a fight to the death, or will the Baby Quackaboodle become the newest member of the Glork Patrol? Join author James Kochalka for a new beginning to the wild and wacky universe of Glork!