Kranz On Copy: Insights and answers on copywriting and writing copy

I hit the BookExpo floor again after lunch. As promised, I found a Catholic book publisher, Loyola Press. Instead of sending out the usual PR flacks, Loyola staffed the booth with their creative director, Adam Moroschan -- from what I saw and heard, both a great talent and a great guy.

Their big news is Loyola Classics, a reprint series of American Catholic classics, many of which have been long out of print. I managed to pick Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? by John R. Powers.

As you know, many advertising writers and designers dream of more lofty creative efforts. Well, a bunch of ad folk in NYC got off their collective butts and formed Contemporary Press, an independant publishing house specializing in edgy urban work, what publisher and author Jay Brida calls "pop punk pulp." The covers look great and I look forward to lifting the hoods.

Big news for comics fans: M Press is releasing a new biography, Will Eisner: A Spirited Life. It's by Bob Andelman and is scheduled for release in September.

My big score of the afternoon is The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes edited by Gina Misiroglu. She signed my copy (bless her) and says her favorite superhero is the Silver Surfer. She notes that her book is the first to assemble ALL the big heros together, regardless of copyright owner. Also, she notes that she's as interested in the heroes' cultural/social impact as she is in their assorted powers.

More tomorrow...