Seconds Are OK, But Thirds Are Rude

First Second ⇒ (“:01″) is a publisher of graphic novels. :01 is an imprint of the children’s book imprint Roaring Brook Press ⇒ which is owned by Big Six publisher MacMillan ⇒ that is ultimately owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group ⇒. :01 seems to enjoy promoting their business in a laid-back conversational manner.

I enjoy that the name of the publishing company and that the logo is a stylized “:01″ to match the idea of time with the ordinals that the words suggest. I like this just enough, though. Clever business names do not matter until and unless a company can deliver.

& Sedition

The blue character seen on the back of the shirt is from the graphic novel A.L.I.E.E.E.N.: Archives of Lost Issues and Earthly Editions of Extraterrestrial Novelties. I present this nearly identical gif wallpaper hosted on the :01 site ⇒ as proof. The graphic novel was written, drawn, colored, and lettered by Lewis Trondheim, which is the pen name of Laurent Chabosy. Trondheim/Chabosy is also known for his own Lapinot series and the collaborative Dungeon series with Joann Sfar. :01 published an English translation in 2006 from the original A.L.I.E.E.N.: Anthologie de Littérature Infantile Extraterrestre EgaréeNégligemment 2004 French version published by Bréal Jeunesse ⇒. Only the short preface is written in either language. All of the characters in the main story speak in an untranslatable alien language. A.L.I.E.E.E.N. was nominated for for Best U.S. Edition of International Material and Trondheim/Chabosy was nominated Best Writer/Artist—Humor at the 2007 Eisner Awards ⇒, but lost in both categories.

I read and quite enjoyed the book. Even though the characters communicate through alien, the drawings are clear enough to understand what is happening. Most of what happens can be described as “cute” aliens acting unethically to each other. Their world is quite colored brightly on the surface, but the relatively disconnected plot is really quite dark in practice. Quite a bit like the human experience on Earth. So it is with practically all science fiction produced and consumed by humans. This graphic novel is best read as a quick, humorous read. Some tweens and older should be able to handle the darkness and the one epic toilet humor gag.

The shirt asserts that “in space no one can hear you read”. This is a play off of the tagline of the movie Alien ⇒. There is truth value to the statement as well because sound waves need something, like air, to travel through, and there is nothing like that in deep space.

Alien Blueprint

The possibility of extraterrestrial life is an interesting one to ponder. So far, there is no actual proof that there is life elsewhere. Yet, it seems so strange to think that humanity is either the most advanced form of life or simply alone through the the vastness of the Universe of which we know.

I realize that my statements about alien lifeforms are unoriginal both conceptually and in execution. So are some of my other observations on other topics. If I did not attempt to answer the big questions that follow from the shirts, however, then I would be remiss. I can not allow that to happen!