We're thrilled to report that two Pantheon Books won Eisner Awards at the ceremony held recently at the 2012 San Diego Comic Con. Graphic Novelist Craig Thompson ( pictured ) won Best Writer/Artist for Habibi and Art Spiegelman's MetaMaus won Best Comics-Related Book!! Congratulations to both of these amazing Artists, very well deserved!! BRAVO!!

Just to clarify, Chip Kidd is known for creating the famous JURASSIC PARK Logo when he designed Michael Crichton’s Classic Book back in 1990. Since then it has shown up in popular culture in many different ways. Plus, it’s always interesting to see where it pops-up next!

Here is a wonderful heartwarming story. A Father, making a Sand Box for his Children, decided to give them something to find while digging. He knew he needed to place a small layer of cement in the bottom of the Sand Box he was building so that the tree’s roots near by would not grow up inside it. So, instead of just a flat surface he decided to get really creative. He thought he would give them something to discover! Check out the photos down below… it’s very cool! Plus, what a great Dad!

Here at Alfred A. Knopf we’re really excited about the sudden success of the recently published book titled, “The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln, A Novel”. The Book asks the question, “What if Abraham Lincoln hadn’t been killed by that bullet on April 14, 1865 and, also, did the president subvert the Constitution? ”

That’s the startling premise of the latest novel from Yale Law School professor Stephen Carter, in which Lincoln survives that terrible night at Ford’s Theatre, only to face an impeachment trial two years later. Please be sure to check out the BOOK TRAILER Video and then, below that, be sure to listen to what the Author had to say on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” TV News Program. They’re both pretty interesting.

Yes, here is some very exciting news! Over at the KIOWA COUNTY SIGNAL website they just did a very excellent Book Review on Chip Kidd’s latest project, the BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN Graphic Novel, published by DC Comics with artwork by Dave Taylor. For people who have read the book you know that the main focus, or theme, is “Architecture” and it’s funny because the Kiowa County Signal gave the book a score of “8 out of 10 Skyscrapers!” But seriously, it’s well-written and we appreciate it. So, please read it by clicking HERE!

This particular post was created to share an extremely excellent podcast interview of Chip Kidd done awhile back by Debbie Millman. For the few people unfamiliar with her work: she is a Partner and President of the design division at Sterling Brands, one of the leading brand identity firms in the country. Millman is President Emeritus of AIGA, and chair of the School of Visual Arts’ Master’s Program in Branding. She is a contributing editor to Print magazine and host of the podcast “Design Matters.” She is also the Author of many excellent books on Branding & Graphic Design, whew!

OK, now, we could not embed the podcast here at this site but please follow this LINK to the “DESIGN OBSERVER” where you can listen to it. If you’re a fan of Chip Kidd, or just love Graphic Design in general, then you’ll really love it. It’s really well done & also entertaining as well. It was done around the time Chip Kidd wrote his 2 Books: “The Cheese Monkeys: A Novel in Two Semesters” and “The Learners: A Novel”. But, they are not the only focus of the interview because they also do an excellent job of covering many different aspects of Design. So, go check it out!

Whoops! One last thing, if you would like to learn more about Debbie Millman then please be sure to visit her website by clicking HERE!

WNYC Radio has a very interesting & informative podcast called ON THE MEDIA, where they cover issues related to Books, TV, Culture, Politics, Art, etc… One of the many areas they report about is “The Book Publishing Industry”. Here’s a recent podcast titled, “PUBLISHING: ADAPT OR DIE”, where they investigate fears of Amazon becoming a monopoly and the little publishing house standing up to it, a Pulitzer snub for fiction, the problem of knock-off books, Pottermore and much more.

At the recent 2012 San Diego Comic Con Chip Kidd announced that he’ll be designing a brand-new book for PictureBox Inc. The title is “The Passion Of Gengoroh Tagame: Bara Master ” ( Gay Bondage Manga ) and it’s set to be published in Spring 2013. Plus, it will be an over-sized volume & the Japanese language will be translated by Anne Ishii. The Book Cover Prototype is shown up above & we want to thank Tom Spurgeon, the Writer of THE COMICS REPORTER website, for breaking this story. In fact, the article he wrote is wayyy better than what you’re reading here, ha ha! So please, check it out —> CLICK HERE!

If you enjoy the art of Book Jacket design, or Graphic Design in general, then you owe it to yourself to check out a recent article over at the TIME Magazine Website titled, “The Book Jacket Art of Chip Kidd”. It’s a part of their TIME PHOTO SERIES where they present a small slideshow of images with quotes or information down below the pictures, it’s both educational and fun! They picked 15 Book Covers created by Chip Kidd and they’re pretty interesting to see. I mean, OK the graphics are nice ( not trying to brag, ha ha ) but the really interesting part is reading about the creation of these covers. Some of them are quotes from the Authors & how they felt about the jacket. It’s very thought-provoking. It’s also a bit like “a study of Book Publishing”, if that’s the right way to phrase it. Anyways, I’ll shut-up & let you visit their website so you can see what I mean. Just CLICK HERE! ( Oh Yeah, and Thanks TIME Magazine! )

Oh man, we’re all so extremely excited!! In about 5 days (July 20th, 2012) Abrams Books will be releasing a brand-new “Batman History” Book right around the time of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Movie. It’s titled, The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Trilogy. In 2005, director Christopher Nolan redefined the Batman legend with “Batman Begins”, starring Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader. A fresh, dynamic reboot of the franchise, “Batman Begins” explored the comic book hero's origins and his evolution from Billionaire Bruce Wayne to Dark Avenger who fights crime and corruption in Gotham City. A 2008 sequel, “The Dark Knight”, took those compelling, character-driven foundations and raised the stakes, pitting Batman against a deranged master criminal, the Joker, in an all-out war for Gotham's soul. Now, the final film of Nolan's trilogy, “The Dark Knight Rises”, is 2012's most anticipated film release.

The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Trilogy tells the complete behind-the-scenes story of these three monumental films. Based on in-depth interviews with Christopher Nolan and all of the films' key cast and crew including: Co-Writers David S. Goyer and Jonathan Nolan, Cinematographer Wally Pfister, and more! The book reveals the creative process behind the epic Dark Knight Trilogy, supported by lavish art and never-before-seen photography.

The Authors who wrote the book are Jody Duncan Jesser and Janine Pourroy. There is also an Introduction written by Michael Caine (Actor who plays Alfred The Butler), a Foreword written by Christopher Nolan, and the book was designed by Chip Kidd (Designer).

The San Diego Comic Con has not even busted loose yet ( they all go wacky koo-koo crazy on the weekend, ha! ) and already the SUPER-HUGE news to break out is that Neil Gaiman will be returning to his popular character, The SANDMAN! Yes, Neil Gaiman is set to start writing new stories!! It’s also important to note that J.H. Williams will be doing the Illustration so you know it’s gonna look AWESOME! Now, Neil was not even actually at the event but made the announcement via video conference from the DC Comics Vertigo Offices in New York City. OK, Maybe you think this news is too good to be true and you don’t believe us? Well down below is the video, check it out!!

Also, since this post is sort of about the 2012 SDCC event I thought it would be cool to share this photo of what the PANTHEON BOOKS Booth looks like. Check it out, pretty snazzy! They have been saying that the attendance is crazy & Graphic Novels are flying all over the place! So, if you’re there this weekend please be sure to visit Booth #1515. Chip Kidd, among other Authors, will be there signing books.