Comic book scribe Brian K. Vaughan is featured in a full-page article (page 21) in the 'Arts and Leisure' section of Sunday's New York Times. Reviewer George Gene Gustines focuses on Vaughan's first original graphic novel, Pride of Baghdad, which is due out on September 13. Three pages from Pride of Baghdad are reproduced in full color and the article also features a large photo of Vaughan perusing a copy of one of his periodical comic releases, Y, The Last Man.
In addition to discussing Pride of Baghdad at some length Gustines also mentions all of Vaughan's original monthly comic book series including Y, The Last Man, Ex Machina, and Runaways and notes that 'Like Pride of Baghdad, each of Mr. Vaughan's monthly series is fueled by thinly veiled social commentary.' In addition to praising Vaughan's oeuvre and recounting the 30-year-old author's quick rise in the comic book world, Gustines also quotes Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon description of Vaughan 'as the best young writer in mainstream comics.'
With the release of Pride of Baghdad this month and new collections of Vaughan's Y, The Last Man, Ex Machina and Runaways all due out in the fourth quarter, it would appear to be a good time to put some additional in-store marketing behind the works of one of the key 'high concept' writers working in the business today, especially given Vaughan's ability to appeal to both traditional and non-traditional comic readers. Vaughan is also the focus of the 'Writer's Spotlight' feature in ICv2's Retailers Guide to Graphic Novels #9, which covers Q4 releases.