Graphic novels took another step up in visibility at this year's BookExpo America show at McCormick Place in Chicago this weekend.  The over-all show had an upbeat feel, with former President Clinton's keynote address not only bringing a high level of celebrity to the show, but also presaging a major best-seller coming out later this month. 

The Graphic Novel Pavilion covered nearly twice the floor area as the first-time effort in Anaheim last year (see 'A Bigger Graphic Novel Year at BEA'), according to Diamond VP-Marketing Roger Fletcher.  Both the booths in the graphic novel pavilion and booths elsewhere in the hall, from the large Tokyopop presence near the front of the hall to the tiny Fantagraphics area in W.W. Norton's space, were busy throughout the show, especially on Friday. 

ICv2 released its new ICv2 Retailers Guide to Graphic Novels #2 at the show, with the news that the 2003 graphic novel market grew at a 50% rate over 2002; and that in 2003, almost 2/3 of graphic novel sales were in bookstores (see 'Graphic Novels Up 50% in 2003').

The ubiquity of manga; a conventiongoer with a Tokyopop bag walks past the Viz banner at the show's entrance.

Manga was impossible to avoid; four large Viz window-clings (approximately 8' high) greeted every attendee, and just inside the entrance to the building, a 10' x 40' Viz banner reinforced the impression.

The manga panel (featuring Tokyopop VP Steve Kleckner, Dark Horse VP Michael Martens, Moderator Diamond Book Distributor's Kuo-Yu Liang, Waldenbooks buyer Kurt Hassler, Del Rey's Dallas Middaugh, and Viz VP-Marketing Liza Coppola) was very well-attended, with standing retailers lining the back of the room.  Other comic-related panels included a comic licensing panel, a graphic novel trends panel, and Art Spiegelman's preview of his upcoming Pantheon release (see 'In the Shadow of No Towers').