Fantasy Book Critic: PRESS RELEASE: Radical Publishing at the Miami Book Fair this Weekend with Sam Sarkar Signing!

Breakthrough graphic novel publisher Radical Publishing is proud to announce its participation in this year’s 25th Annual Miami Book Fair International taking place Friday, November 14th—Sunday, November 16th, 2008 from 10AM-6PM at Booth 117 of the Comix Galaxy section of the fair located at Miami Dade College's Wolfson Campus. Joined by entertainment industry veteran Sam Sarkar (creator and writer of Caliber, and director of development for Johnny Depp's Infinitum Nihil), Radical plans to announce the launch of its upcoming Fall titles and introduce the global publishing industry to its original lineup of recent graphic novel debuts.

Radical Publishing is a manufacturer of the next generation of premium comic book and graphic novel products, with a focus on high-concept stories and quality art by newly discovered and marquee talents such as John Bolton, Luis Royo, Jim Steranko, Yoshitaka Amano, Steve Niles, Ian Edginton, Steve Moore, Sam Sarkar, Arthur Suydam, Stjepan Sejic, Dave Wilkins, Steve Pugh, Warren Ellis, Tomm Coker, Clayton Crain, Bill Sienkiewicz, Patrick Reilly and Weta Workshop of New Zealand, among many others. All Radical Publishing properties serve as the basis for opportunities in ancillary markets including videogames, merchandising and motion pictures produced by sister company Radical Pictures, Inc. The result is a publishing mechanism in which creators develop, launch and participate in transforming high concepts into multi-market opportunities and motion pictures. The company further entices audiences around the world with first-rate creative, detailed storytelling and rock-and-roll swagger…

ABOUT SAM SARKAR:

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Sam Sarkar is a 23-year veteran of the entertainment industry. He began his career as an actor and was one of the leads on the long-running, syndicated television series “Neon Rider”. Following the series, Sam decided to pursue writing and worked for the hit television series “Beverly Hills 90210”. Stemming from his work on the show, he also co-wrote a television pilot for Spelling Entertainment under the direct guidance of TV legend Aaron Spelling. Deciding then to embark on feature films, Sam took some chances, following a varied path of writing screenplays and working as a sound technician. In 2004, after working on several films with actor Johnny Depp, Sam was asked to help run Depp's production company, Infinitum Nihil, headed by Christi Dembrowski. As such, he continues to serve the varied needs of Hollywood as an executive, producer and writer. “Caliber” is his first graphic novel.

ABOUT THE MIAMI BOOK FAIR INTERNATIONAL:

The mission of Miami Book Fair International is to promote reading, encourage writing, and heighten an awareness of literacy and the literary arts in our multi-ethnic community. Miami Book Fair International is a full-scale international event that includes a Sunday-to-Sunday schedule of programs, readings and special activities. Since the creation of the Florida Center for the Literary Arts (an academic and cultural initiative of Miami-Dade College), the Book Fair is now part of a new, broader effort to shine a brighter light on the literary arts. Founded in 2001, the Florida Center for the Literary Arts works to transform South Florida into a bustling nexus of year-round international literary events. A multi-faceted umbrella created to celebrate all forms of literature, including journalism, writing for theater and cinema, literacy programs, and book clubs, the Center has embraced the Book Fair as one of its components, and has fully invested in its success. For more information on the exciting programs being developed by the Center, please visit the Official Website.

ABOUT RADICAL PUBLISHING:

In a world of publishing where the market is always hungry for the next fresh property, one new publisher is looking to shake things up and deliver exciting new creative products with a bold new business approach. Aptly named, Radical Publishing leverages its experienced leadership, dynamic crew and unique business infrastructure to create that vital connection. Founded by Barry Levine, Jesse Berger, David Elliott and Matthew Berger, Radical Publishing is a manufacturer of the next generation of premium comic book products, with a focus on high-concept stories and art by the top breakthrough talent. Radical has already made significant strides within its first year, and its success so far continues to encourage the loyalty of a roster of A-list creators as they reap the benefits of success as part of this brave new offering. The quality of the work ensures a longer shelf life for each property as a collective library of intellectual properties.

In no way limited to print, Radical's unique business model extends the influence of its properties into new realms that include merchandise (Radical Toyz), children's books (Radical Kidz), and motion picture adaptations (Radical Pictures) that have formed established relationships with companies like Lion Rock Entertainment, Bad Hat Harry Productions, and Johnny Depp's Infinitum Nihil, among numerous others. This year, Radical is also joined by the Asian property foundry Storm Lion. Based in Singapore and led by Edmund Shern, Storm Lion represents the next-gen approach to publishing and entertainment, with titles designed to appeal to Asian and international audiences in comics, books and anime.

Barry Levine is a founding member, President and Publisher at Radical Publishing, set up to introduce the next generation of the comic book medium via a multi-vertical, intellectual property brokerage business model for all media sectors. Levine is widely regarded as one of the top handful of executives in the comics-to-film world that combines expertise in both sourcing as well as producing high-concept filmed media from comic book properties. He is currently producing with Peter Berg and Film 44 on the Radical Comics project Hercules for Universal Studios/Spyglass Entertainment and with Bryan Singer and Bad Hat Harry Productions on the Radical Comics project Freedom Formula. Prior to Radical Publishing, Levine was a producer with a first look deal in the comics-to-film entertainment division of Dark Horse Comics, the largest independent comic book publisher in the world. In his three-year tenure, he set up nine Dark Horse comic book properties as film or television properties with nearly every major studio, including Universal, Sony, Paramount/MTV Films, Warner Bros. and Disney/Miramax. Levine's producing credits include New Line's “Detroit Rock City”, as well as “Driftwood” and “Splinter” under Dark Horse Entertainment. Mr. Levine is currently set to produce “Rex Mundi”, with Johnny Depp attached to star, and is an Executive Producer on “R.I.P.D” at Universal. Levine started working in the motion picture business in 1987 as a music supervisor, and worked on such films as “Driving Miss Daisy”, “Guilty By Suspicion”, “Judge Dredd”, “Street Fighter” and “Die Hard With A Vengeance”. Mr. Levine's career began as one of the top rock photographers in the world, photographing the major bands of the 1970s and ’80s including KISS, Motley Crue, Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Beatles, Elton John and hundreds of others.

Listen to ICV2’s Two-Part Interview with Barry Levine:

Part One: http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/12532.html
Part Two: http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/12533.html