Book distributor LPC Group has signed to be the exclusive trade distributor for Humanoids Publishing. Humanoids Publishing specializes in comic trade paperbacks and hardcover raphic.
LPC Group is a Connecticut-based distributor of more than 80 independent publishers, including 21 graphic novel publishers. Long specializing in pop and alternative culture, LPC Group has quickly become the largest distributor of graphic novels to the book trade. In the past four years, LPC's graphic novel sales have increased by over 100% per year, surpassing one million graphic novels in 2001.
"Humanoids' diverse line of European graphic novels really fill a special niche that seems primed for growth," said Michael Murphy, LPC Group's Vice President. "Wešve already seen a rapid growth of manga‹comics from Japan. I think graphic novels from Europe will be next. And therešs nothing out there like Humanoids' line; the great stories combined with unusually lush artwork and book production create a really unique line that will be a pleasure to sell."
Dave Olbrich, Humanoids Director of U.S. Publishing said, "Effectively selling books containing comic art requires a great deal of product knowledge. Mass market bookstores are only beginning to discover the public's interest in this material and the profitability of stocking these books. The LPC Group, as the leader in the category, brings a depth of understanding about how to sell the books of Humanoids Publishing that we couldnšt have gotten anywhere else."
The books from Humanoids Publishing feature groundbreaking comic art from the worldšs finest creators, presented in remarkable high quality publications. Purchased in 1988 by entrepreneur Fabrice Giger, the company was already famous for Metal Hurlant, which inspired the creation of the American magazine Heavy Metal. Imaginative and sophisticated, Humanoids' science-fiction and heroic fantasy stories are designed to be read and enjoyed by a wider audience than that of a typical graphic novel in the American market. Humanoids, a dominant player in the French-language graphic album market, is experiencing rapid growth in the United States and Canada. Future plans include new graphic albums and trade paperbacks containing new stories from the finest comics talent from both sides of the Atlantic. North American audiences are only beginning to discover the outrageous thrills and thought-provoking fun contained in these products.
Humanoids Publishing is a division of The Humanoids Group, with offices in Paris, Brussels, Saigon, Geneva and Los Angeles. The Humanoids Group is a multi-faceted conglomerate headed by Chairman Fabrice Giger. Humanoids features subsidiaries that include an internationally renowned graphic novel/comic book publishing house, a 3-D animation and visual effects studio, an animation software development company and an entity currently developing interactive, role-playing computer games.
