About Free Books, srl

Free Books, srl owns one of the largest printing facility in Italy. Its print services are employed by dozens of major Italian publisher since the 80s.

The Free Books comics imprint launched in early 2004. It quickly gained nation-wide attention for its publications of Alan Moore's Supreme and Judgement Day, Clive Barker's Hellraiser and Tapping the Vein, Joss Whedon's Fray and Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise.

Other classic and fresh new material (ie: Milton Caniff's Steve Canyon, Star Trek comic book adaptations, Joe Kubert's Yossel: April 19, 1943, the complete Joss Whedon's Buffy collection consisting of more than 25 trade paperbacks, the multiple Eisner Awards winner Eric Shanower's Age of Bronze, Ashley Wood's Lore, George Herriman's Krazy Kat, Jim Woodring's Frank, the Luna Brothers' Ultra and Girls, Matt Wagner's Mage, Rick Remender's surprise hit A Sea of Red, Warren Ellis' Lazarus Churchyard, Dean Motter's Mister X and Charles M. Schulz's It's only a game) came out during 2005 and 2006, at an average pace of 7 tpbs per month.

Free Books srl currently focuses on reprinting US and European graphic novels [licensed from Dark Horse, Image, Fantagraphics, IDW, Checker Book Publishing, Abstract Studios, iBooks, Norma Editorial, SAF and MamTor among others].

In March of 2006 we introduced Free Seishin, a new label specialized in manga and manhwa titles. Free Seishin immediately distinguished itself from the competition by bringing to the Italian market a very diverse array of manga, ranging from otaku-themed sensations like Bow Ditama and Bunjuro Nakayama's Mahoromatic to long forgotten classics like Yoshihisa Tagami's Grey and the latest works of world-renowned masters such as Johji Manabe, Hajime Sawada and Seiho Takizawa. As of September 2006 we already have licensing deals in place with most of the more active Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese publishers, such as Wani Books, Enterbrain, Jive Ltd., Shonen Gahosha, Tokuma Shoten, Dainippon Kaiga, Netcomics, Sigongsa, Tong Li, etc. But the number of our international partners is constantly increasing.

Starting in Fall 2006 we presented the first titles in our novels and reference texts sub-imprint, based on extensive agreements with DC Comics and Dark Horse. Among the initial releases absolute must read such as Marv Wolfman's Kingdom Come and Elliot S! Maggin Crisis on Infinite Earths novelizations, the Publisher's Weekly bestseller The Life and Death of Superman by Roger Stern, the highly-controversial Andrew Vachss' Batman: Ultimate Evil and the illustrated Art of Animation Drawing books by the acclaimed Anastasia director Don Bluth.

We're currently distributed through both the mainstream bookstores and specialty shops market. For selected titles, in newstands as well.

Free Books newsstands line-up, which rolled out in Fall 2004, as of July 2006 is comprised of:

• pocket versions of both the cult saga Strangers in Paradise by Terry Moore and the sci-fi masterpiece Borderline by Carlos Trillo & Eduardo Risso.
• the full-color humor bimonthly series Sara & Pol, based on an animated TV show by Andrea Domestici.
• the full-color adventure / fantasy bimonthly series Wondercity, created by Giovanni Gualdoni, Stefano Turconi and Enrico Tenderini with a Disney-like flavor. Already sold in 7 territories.
• the b/w bimonthly thriller L'Insonne (96 pages per issue), created by the brilliant comics star Giuseppe Di Bernardo.
• the full-color bimonthly prestige magazine Brand New!, which replaces our previous 2-colors arthouse art publication, titled Orme. While Orme spotlighted works by Lorenzo Mattotti, Vittorio Giardino, Giuseppe Palumbo, Daniele Brolli, Keko, Gipi, Maurizio Ribichini, and alios, the freshly developed Brand New! focus on the younger generation of Italian creators, with all-new concepts and characters by Gualdoni, Turconi, Enrietto, Manfredi Toraldo and more.
• quarterly treasury-sized, 96-pages, full color GNs created by the finest Italian mega-talents, including artists well-known in the US such as Marco Turini (Fantagraphics) and Carmine Di Giandomenico (Marvel).