TOKYO ZOMBIE PROOFS & DUMMY COPY!

With this post, I wanted to take a minute to share the latest details on Tokyo Zombie. I'm happy to report that all the proofing and edits are completely finalized, and the book is at the printers as we speak. YES! Since all of the production is now complete, I wanted to give a few behind-the-scenes details on the final steps before a bunch of files and images become a real book.

I've talked with the publisher, and they're cool with me sharing some photos with all ya'll. As the last step of proofing, we received a dummy copy of the book and digital proofs. A dummy copy means it's a full facsimile of what the book will look like- the actual cover stock, laminate, page count, size and weight. The only catch is that the inside pages are... ENTIRELY BLANK! The digital proofs are just what you'd guess- digital printouts of exactly what the inside pages will look like, for final copy edits and formatting issues.



I've been treating these proofs pretty reverently, and it's a real trip to see the work we did adapting Yusaku Hanakuma's radical manga now in physical form. This is also why I got red-faced and started swearing at my GF when she SAT ON THE DIGITAL PROOFS. TWICE. (I know you were coming over to the couch to sit and read What It Is, honey, but that's no excuse!). Even after all the rounds of edits and proofing before this stage, we still had a few spacing tweaks, moved a sound effect away from the edge of the page, and a couple other minor edits; As an editor/translator (and for Evan, in charge of production) it was really hard to finally commit to everything and say, That it's, it's FINISHED!


Evan's full book jacket design with author details on the back flap. The two blurbs on the back cover are from Johnny Ryan and Eric Nakamura :)


The book spine! That's 164 manga pages of zombie hilarity!


Yusaku Hanakuma designed and sent along a brand-new Last Gasp logo specifically for his inaugural English release! The first person to get this as a tattoo wins my lifetime admiration.


The stack of digital proofs, which are lower resolution than the final book pages but get the job done for catching typos.


You saw it first, the Tokyo Zombie table of contents! (OOOH)


You saw it first, a bald dude smacking a zombie's head off! (AHHH)

Let me know what you think so far! I'll post details tomorrow morning about Tokyo Zombie in this month's issue of Previews(!) and how to order a copy for yourself. You are ordering a copy, right? :B