Random publishing news rundown

Lots of revelations about upcoming books have come out in the past week. Let’s see if we can hit the highlights.

Jeff Smith has been rather busy lately. In addition to his ongoing series RASL and wrapping up the color version of Bone for Scholastic, he is currently working on a children’s book for Francoise Mouly’s Toon Books line, which will be published in the fall. Here’s the details:

Little Mouse by Jeff Smith
ISBN: 978-1-935179-01-6
Price: $12.95
Hardcover, 9×6, 32 pages
Release date: September 7, 2008
Synopsis: There’s lots to do before Little mouse is ready to go visit the barn. Will he master all the intricacies of getting dressed, from
snaps and buttons to Velcro and tail holes?

Eisner Award-winning cartoonist Jeff Smith and his determined Little Mouse reveal all the smallest pleasures of this daily task.

* A little bird over at Houghton Mifflin told me that Charles Burns is going to be the guest editor for the 2009 Best American Comics book.

* News that should make Dave Sim very happy: IDW plans to reprint Alex Raymond’s Rip Kirby comic strip.

* Scott Morse announced the upcoming release of the art book The Ancient Book of Sex and Science, a sequel of sorts to The Ancient Book of Myth and War,  over at his blog.

* Publisher’s Weekly reported the other day that Dark Horse will be publishing a graphic novel written by best-selling children’s author Jane Yolen.

* Blot author Tom Neely says he’s working on a new graphic novel entitled Wolf with Aaron Turner and shares a teaser image.

Yipe.