For more information:
Frank R. Scatoni
619-807-1887
frank@ventureliterary.com

"No Kill Date"

Venture Literary Sells Illustrated Version of The 9/11 Commission Report to FSG

On October 13, 2005, Greg Dinkin and Frank R. Scatoni of Venture Literary sold the North American rights to Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon’s The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation to Thomas LeBien at Hill & Wang, an imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Officially published for the trade audience by Norton, The 9/11 Commission Report became an instant best-seller, with more than a million copies sold. Despite this success, however, untold millions of readers were left uneducated and uninformed of this wealth of information—intimidated by the 550 pages of exacting and often tedious detail. How much more of an impact would the report have had if it had been presented in an easily accessible manner—an adaptation that is particularly appealing to the tens of millions of young readers who have an interest in gaining the knowledge offered by the official report yet were turned off by its exhaustive presentation?

Legendary comic book illustrators and storytellers Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon had these exact questions in mind when they set out to find a way to address the limitations of The 9/11 Commission Report. Taking notice of the successful trend in the publishing of graphic novels, and combining their expertise from having worked at Harvey and Marvel Comics, the artists knew that if they streamlined the story, they could bring this historically critical document to life. The result of this collaboration is The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation, a brilliant retelling of the events of 9/11 and an exploration of the aftermath, rendered in an illuminating way that is accessible to every reader—both domestically and abroad.

Sid Jacobson is both a talented artist and a natural storyteller. The author of three novels, Jacobson has been a lifer in the comic book world. He was the managing editor and editor-in-chief for Harvey Comics, creating the lucrative Richie Rich character during that time. He was also responsible for the redesign and modernization of the Casper character. Between stints at Harvey, Jacobsen was executive editor at Marvel Comics, overseeing such features as Alf, Heathcliff, Mighty Mouse, The Ewoks, and the Care Bears. He also edited several graphic novels for Marvel and helped leverage their characters in the film world. A native New Yorker currently residing in Los Angeles, Jacobson is also an award-winning Grammy-nominated songwriter.

Ernie Colon has split time at three of the largest comic book publishers in the world—Harvey, Marvel, and DC Comics. As an editor at DC, Colon oversaw the production of Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Blackhawk, and The Flash, as well as the graphic novel The Medusa Chain. While at Marvel, he was responsible for illustrating powerhouse franchise Spiderman, as well as John Carter of Mars, Damage Control, Mighty Mouse, and Rocky and Bullwinkle.

To learn more about Venture Literary, visit: www.ventureliterary.com.
To learn more about Hall and Wang, visit: www.fsgbooks.com.