One of the most anticipated books at this year's Comic-Con is Alan Moore's Lost Girls, the "porno-graphic" novel that retells the story of three iconic characters from children's literature. Top Shelf Productions had copies for sale last night, tightly shrink-wrapped to avoid any complaints about exposing the many children out on the convention floor to its provocative contents. But, publisher Chris Staros assured one customer, "it's the most beautiful book Alan has ever collaborated on." Artist Melinda Gibbie, there to sign copies of the slipcased volumes, agreed. "This book turned out perfect," she said, lavishing praise on the Top Shelf production team. "It's a revelation to me. I couldn't be more pleased. We would never have gotten this level of quality from Marvel or DC."

I asked Staros if Top Shelf was concerned about the controversy the book had already caused before its release, especially in a climate where, as Marcela Valdes recently pointed out in the Washington Post, adult-themed comics risk criminal prosecution. "Once people see it, they'll understand it," he said, pointing to serious coverage (some of it forthcoming) of Lost Girls as a legitimate work of art in publications like Publishers Weekly and Rolling Stone