Fanbase Press is thrilled to announce that its coming-of-age graphic novel, Four-Color Heroes, has been named as a finalist for the 26th annual Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards in the Graphic Novels & Comics category.
Written and illustrated by Aotearoa/New Zealand-born creator Richard Fairgray (Black Sand Beach), Four-Color Heroes is set in a New Zealand high school during the passing of the Civil Union Act 2004. As tensions rose nationwide over the basic equal rights of same-sex couples, two boys were fighting a battle on a smaller scale, against enemies from within and without, as they found love and self-discovery through the pages of a comic book.
The graphic novel features a foreword by GLAAD Award-winning writer David M. Booher (Killer Queens, Canto, Young Men in Love), as well as an essay by clinical psychologist and media consultant Dr. Drea Letamendi on protecting the mental health of LGBTQIA+ youth.
As part of its mission to discover, review, and share the best books from university and independent publishers, Foreword Magazine, Inc. hosts an annual awards program each year. Finalists represent the best books published in 2023. After more than 2,000 individual titles spread across 55 genres were submitted for consideration, the Finalists were determined by Foreword’s editorial team. Winners will be decided by an expert team of booksellers and librarians—representing Foreword’s trade readership—from across the country.
The English-language edition of Four-Color Heroes is currently available in print from Fanbase Press and digitally on Hoopla, Comics Plus, Kindle Direct, Google Books, and Google Play. Four-Color Heroes was also released digitally in te reo Māori via Hoopla, ComicsPlus, Google Books, and Google Play.
Earlier this year, Four-Color Heroes was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Original Graphic Novel / Anthology category.
For more information on Four-Color Heroes, please visit www.FourColorHeroes.com or www.fanbasepress.com, as well as Facebook (/FourColorHeroes) and Twitter, @4ColorHeroesGN.
ABOUT FANBASE PRESS
As an Eisner, Harvey, and GLAAD Media Awards-nominated comic book publisher and geek culture website, Fanbase Press produces new and distinctive works, as well as daily reviews, interviews, and podcasts, that span the pop culture spectrum and give voice to the themes, ideals, and people that make geekdom so exceptional.
Fanbase Press’ previous titles, including the 2023 Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated Ripple Effects, the 2018 Eisner Award-nominated Quince, the 2022 International Latino Book Award-winning Nuclear Power, and the 2020 Foreword INDIES Award-winning Quince: The Definitive Bilingual Edition, are available online at www.fanbasepress.com and on Amazon, as well as digitally through Hoopla Digital, ComicsPlus, and Kindle.
ABOUT RICHARD FAIRGRAY
Born completely blind in one eye and with only 3% of vision in the other, Fairgray is an award-winning creator who has published over 200 titles, ranging from children’s books like Gorillas in Our Midst and My Grandpa Is a Dinosaur (Sky Pony) to graphic novels and ongoing comics like Shed (Blue Fox Comics) and Haunted Hill. He splits his time between his home in Hollywood and his home in Canada, where he lives with his husband and dogs.
