Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: Andy Hirsch, first second, graphic novel, ralph
Andy Hirsch Sells Ralph Graphic Novel Rights to First Second
Andy Hirsch's middle-grade graphic novel Ralph is about an anxious boy and a rambunctious dog who bond while facing obstacles.
Article Summary
- Andy Hirsch sells world rights for 'Ralph' to First Second.
- 'Ralph': A tale of an anxious boy and his dog's adventures.
- The graphic novel 'Ralph' is scheduled to be published in 2025.
- Andy Hirsch, acclaimed for 'Science Comics', represents himself.
Andy Hirsch's middle-grade graphic novel Ralph is about an anxious boy and a rambunctious dog who bond while facing obstacles on and off the agility course. Robyn Chapman at First Second has acquired world rights to Ralph, and Jill Freshney at First Second will also edit. Andy Hirsch posts, "That's right, it's a boy-and-dog sports drama. More details await in an upcoming newsletter". and you can sign up for that newsletter here.
Andy Hirsch is a cartoonist living in Dallas, Texas, and the author and illustrator of several previous entries in First Second's Science Comics series, including Dogs: From Predator to Protector, Trees: Kings of the Forest, and Cats: Nature and Nurture. He is also the co-creator of The Baker Street Peculiars, illustrator of the graphic novel The Royal Historian of Oz (a 2013 YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens), and contributor to the Garfield, Regular Show, and Adventure Time ongoing comic book series. His first solo graphic novel, Varmints, was released in 2016. The publication of Ralph is scheduled for 2025. Hirsch represented himself in negotiations rather than use an agent.
First Second Books is a prominent and ground-breaking American graphic novels publisher based in New York City, and an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, part of Holtzbrinck Publishers, distributed by Macmillan, with Editorial & Creative Director Mark Siegel and Editorial Director Calista Brill. Who is as brill as her surname sounds.
The expansion of children's graphic novels is fuelling all manner of publishers extending into the comics medium. Right now, it seems like an infinite market that is being tapped into, and creating longstanding comic book readers for decades to come. It is not for nothing that kids' graphic novels in bookstores are being referred to as the newsstand of the twenty-first century.