Locust Moon Press Dreams Big with Ambitious New Projects Following their Double Eisner Winning ‘Little Nemo’ Anthology

Last year, Locust Moon Press made a big splash with its mega-sized anthology, Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream. Filled with beautiful illustrations by some of the industries top talent (Craig Thompson, Bill Sienkiewicz) paying tribute to Winsor McCay’s beloved character, this 144 page, 16” x 21’ hardcover took home 2 Eisner awards for best anthology and best production design (by Jim Rugg), and is currently nominated for two Harvey Awards.

Now Locust Moon is looking to build upon their success in 2015 with some very ambitious projects including a more accessible edition for their Little Nemo anthology, their first original graphic novel, and a collaboration with the Philadelphia Art Museum.

While the Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream anthology received its fair share of awards and positive reviews, its massive size and selections of mature content made it a little inaccessible for a wider audience. That’s why, this September, Locust Moon is partnering with Françoise Mouly’s remarkable comics-for-young-readers imprint Toon Books to release Little Nemo’s Big New Dreams; a miniature, abridged edition of their giant Nemo tome.

The joint effort, designed by Françoise herself, and featuring an illustrated introduction by Art Spiegelman, will feature 30 of the original 118 strips in an edition appropriate for “libraries, schools, backpacks, picnics, airplanes, and budgets without room for triple-digit literary line-items,” to quote Locust Moon’s publisher Josh O’Neill.

This fall, Locust Moon will also look to make some large steps forward with their serialized anthology, Quarter Moon: Impractical Cats. The sixth issue will feature contributions from an all-star line-up from the likes of Paul Pope, Bill Sienkiewicz, Ronald Wimberly, David Mack, Dean Haspiel, Farel Dalrymple, and more. It debuts this November at Comics Arts Brooklyn.

In addition their anthologies, this fall Locust Moon will expand into original graphic novel market with Shaman from the creative team of Ben Kahn and Bruno Hidalgo. Described by O’Neill as “a gleeful dismemberment of superhero tropes,” Shaman follows the one man in control of superhero comics’ infamous revolving door of death. Kahn and Hidalgo have crafted a uniquely charming supernatural saga that blends comedy and drama in an irresistible and idiosyncratic voice. It hits comic shop shelves everywhere on October 15th.

Quarter Moon: Impractical Cats, Shaman cover by Farel Dalrymple, Prometheus Eternal back cover by Bill Sienkiewicz

Finally, and perhaps most impressive of all, Locust Moon has launched a partnership with the Philadelphia Museum of Art to produce a companion to the Museum’s upcoming Wrath of the Gods exhibition. The exhibition, featuring pieces by Rubens, Michelangelo, and Titian, will focus on Rubens’ Prometheus Bound painting and the many works connected to it. The comic, entitled Prometheus Eternal, collects an array of original adaptations of the Prometheus myth keyed off the artwork exhibited at the Museum. It will feature a cover by the one and only Bill Sienkiewicz, and a murderers’ row of contributors including Grant Morrison, David Mack, Paul Pope, Farel Dalrymple, Yuko Shimizu, and Dave McKean. Locust Moon’s comic Prometheus Eternal debuts alongside the Wrath of the Gods exhibition at the Museum on September 12th. It will be available in comic shops in December.

Prometheus Eternal panel by Dave McKean

“This is an opportunity for us to bring the visions of remarkable comics storytellers to the context in which they deserve to be seen: among the great artworks of the ages. This partnership is a chance to put comics in conversation with the rest of art history,” says O’Neill. “Prometheus Eternal is intended to be the first comic project of many with the Museum. This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship between Locust Moon and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.”

For more information on all of these projects, be sure to visit Locust Moon Press.