Some Info On Checker Book Publishing
If you happen to be a teen or a young adult who is fairly into graphic novels, chances are fairly good that you may have heard of checker book publishing. In fact, you might even own some of their releases. Checker book publishing is a publisher based in West Carrollton, Ohio that specializes in graphic novels. The full name of the company is Checker Book Publishing Group.
Graphic novels are a niche form of storytelling that shares similarities with comic books, but are usually differentiated from the latter by longer length, a theme and storyline aimed at adults, and generally better overall quality. They are the western equivalent to Japanese Manga, a similar form of storytelling that is extremely popular in Japan and most of East Asia. The term is disliked and criticized by some as being a mere marketing term, but like it or not, these books are proving to be a rising force in culture, with some Hollywood movies being based on graphic novels, some of them becoming popular with audiences who have, as whole, no knowledge of the source material.
Checker book publishing publishes graphic novels of all genres and categories. The audience that Checker book publishing is might not be very wide, graphic novels being a niche product in The United States, Canada, and the UK, where its products are easily available. On the other hand, many among its target audience of young adults are repeat buyers and collectors of certain series. Checker book publishing has specialized knowledge of its market, claiming that regular book publishers do not understand the graphic novel and its readers and that comic book publishers do not understand the regular book trade. The company considers everyone else as lacking the proper perspective in publishing for the readers of graphic novels.
Knowing this, it can be said that Checker book publishing claims it has competitive strengths that allow it to be a market leader in the niche graphic novel publishing business. However, checker book publishing envisions a vast readership transcending the now niche status of graphic novels. According to its website, the Checker Book Publishing Group claims to be better than any other publisher because of its high production standards, diversified worldwide distribution, publicity and promotion expertise, and a hands-on partnership with creators. The last quality claimed by the company is especially important, as there is a general perception that publishers can often get in the way of the creative vision of writers and artists. Graphic novel readers, unless they are collecting a series, will often insist on quality since graphic novels are significantly more expensive than regular novels or comic books. Checker book publishing publishes in many genres, in contrast to some other publishers who also print and distribute graphic novels. They are especially well known for their carrying of classic titles such as Dick Tracy, Star Trek, Steve Canyon, and Flash Gordon, among many others. They also publish English language translations of Japanese Manga in formats for western markets (with the story proceeding from the left page to the right, unlike the Japanese format, which is reversed). Checker allows online purchases exclusively from Paypal and will ship products anywhere major international couriers will be able to reach.
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