Top 10 Flesk Books in 2025! Happy New Year!

Hi, everyone,

Welcome to our top 10 list of Flesk books sold in 2025. This ranking was calculated by the actual number of copies sold rather than by the total funds collected. The number of people holding a copy in their hands is our favorite way to measure the success of a title.

Last night, I flipped through some of the pictures that we took throughout 2025 and it made me realize how amazing the year was.

Vicky and I had the chance to see many of our friends throughout the year. We had a wonderful time meeting people at the handful of events where we exhibited. We released eight new books that we are very proud of. We even managed to take a pair of trips where we could fully get lost in nature and recharge. I’m grateful to everyone who makes it possible for Vicky and myself to make books on these amazing artists. I consider ourselves to be very lucky. We have all of you to thank for allowing us to continue to do what we love.

We have some big plans that we will be kicking into motion this month. We’ve also mapped out our book schedule for this year. I’ll share all of these details soon.

For now, I will offer some insight into our top 10 books in 2025. This helps to remind myself about the many positive things that happened over the past few years while also looking forward to what 2026 will bring.

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year day with many more great days to come!

—John

#1 — The Art of Daniel Warren Johnson

When I first met DWJ I didn’t quite realize how big of a superstar he was becoming. As I read his comics for the first time, I had that same feeling wash over me that I had when first reading Frank Miller’s run on Daredevil, and also Darwyn Cooke’s The New Frontier. It’s rare to have such an impactful writer/artist/storyteller all in one person. Daniel has cemented himself as one of the most defining creators of his generation. It was a blast to work with him to make this book. We are incredibly proud of how it turned out. The Art of DWJ easily took the number one spot this year. I expect it will continue to be popular throughout 2026. For those who want the signed hardcover, it will eventually sell out. Fair warning.

#2 — Portfolio: The Complete Various Drawings by Mark Schultz

This one surprised me since this book has been out since 2024. Portfolio was number 3 last year and moved up a spot for 2025! Our stock on the paperback, hardcover and signed hardcover are getting low. The success of this book has encouraged us to work on The Carbon Collection (coming in 2026). Our goal with Portfolio was to make a book packed with Schultz art at an easy to hold size. It has proven very popular and I’m thrilled to see it in the #2 spot! We’ve published more books on Schultz than on any other artist. He is a wonderful guy and amazing to work with.

#3 — Fiendish Monsters: The Horror Art of Bruce Timm

We released this book on December 2 and within less than a month it almost made the #2 spot. Bruce was very active in the design and tone of this book. The “Monsters” title and chapter titles were all hand lettering by him. He provided a bunch of commentary, and had his hand in each page of the design as well as the color adjustments for his art. It was an amazing experience to work with Bruce on this. It’s obvious to see how much passion he has for this genre. We’re currently working on the next book in the series that will collect his noir/crime/hard-boiled art. After that, we have a fantasy themed book coming. After these, even more collections are planned!

#4 — Xenozoic by Mark Schultz

Can we all take a moment to give Mark a standing ovation? Two books in the top 4 and this one has been in print from us since 2010! Xenozoic proves time and again that people love this series. The story is just as relevant today as it was when it was initially released. It is constantly being discovered by new people. We’re just about sold out of this latest printing and have some copies on our website. We’ll print more copies and restock our distributor later this year.

#5 — Franklin Booth: Silent Symphony

It feels so good to see this book continue to sell at a brisk pace. An absolute master of pen-and-ink, Franklin Booth’s drawings continue to make people happy. As many of you know, Booth was the subject of the first book that I published back in 2002. It was titled Painter with a Pen. Silent Symphony was meant as a 20th year celebration of our publishing books. I loved every minute of working on this book. It brings me great joy to see Booth capture the #5 spot.

#6 — Spectres by Tran Nguyen

I still remember seeing Tran’s paintings for the first time and being completely mesmerized. She has a grace to her works that constanlty moves me. It’s such an honor to work with her. This is her second book that we published. It’s filled with her captivating experimental paintings that I can’t get enough of.

#7 — The Last Battle at the End of the World by Jeffrey Alan Love

Jeff is one of the most unique and powerful storytellers out there. This is the fourth JAL book that we have published. Like the previous titles, The Last Battle at the End of the World has limited text, yet each page carries so much depth and wonder that adding more text would only be a distraction. I have yet to see anyone else who can tell a story the way Jeff can. A true individual and a wonderful person.

#8 — The Art of Arthur Adams

This book was a huge hit when it was released in 2023. It remains the biggest Kickstarter campaign that we’ve ever ran. We ran out of copies for our distributor, but still have some copies on our website. I’ve been following Arthur since the original Longshot series was released. Making this book was a dream. And like the others, Arthur is such a pleasure to work with.

#9 — Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm

Yay! A second B.T. book on the list! Like Mark Schultz’s Xenozoic, Bruce’s Naughty and Nice collection has been selling nonstop since its initial printing 15 years ago. I actually need to reprint this, along with The Big Tease. We will, but I need to wait until later this year when I can focus on them. I still love looking through this book and am happy to see it on this list.

#10 — Ambedo by Tran Nguyen

Along with Mark Schultz and Bruce Timm, Tran Nguyen has the honor of having two books on our top ten list! As an intersting aside, back when Tran was at SCAD, she took a class that Mark was teaching. Small world! Ambedo is a new edition with a new cover. The previous edition had a small print run and sold out quickly. I’ve always been eager to bring this back to print and am so happy we did. It’s another lovely book that I am honored to have published.

I’d like to also mention Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea Revealed by Gianni and Mignola. The initial pre-orders did really well for this title too. I’m sure this will be on the top 10 list next year once the distributor sales reports are made available to us.

I’m sure you are eager to hear all about what we will be releasing in 2026. I’m just as eager to share! I’ll save the details for a future newsletter. At the moment we are putting the final touches on the William Stout Comics Volume One book. I’m looking at the calendar and will lock in a Kickstarter launch date in late-January or early-February. I’ll get that date finalized soon to share with you all.

Enjoy,

John

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Text copyright © 2026 John Fleskes. Photos by Vicky Lien and John Fleskes and © 2026 . Videos © 2026 Flesk Publications. Artwork © 2026 its respective artists. All rights reserved.

Flesk, Adams, Cho, Pini’s, and Rude at Baltimore Comic Con

We are very excited to be flying to Maryland early next week for the Baltimore Comic Con.

We will have our Flesk booth packed with our latest art books. Arthur Adams, Frank Cho, Wendy and Richard Pini, and Steve Rude are all special guests. This is an all-star line-up that you won’t want to miss.

Each artist will have some goodies available for purchase at their respective booths. You can also bring along some of your favorite comics or books to get signed.

We look forward to seeing you at the show!

Enjoy,

John

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Text copyright © 2023 John Fleskes. Photos by Vicky Lien and John Fleskes and © 2023 . Videos © 2023 Flesk Publications. Artwork © 2023 its respective artists. All rights reserved.

Gilt by J.A.W. Cooper in Development from Flesk Publications!

Greetings!

I have spent the last week working on the new J.A.W. Cooper book. This collects a large variety of beautiful paintings and drawings from the last couple of years. I find the movement of this pencil drawing to be so alive and graceful.

In some ways it gets easier to work on a book with an artist who I have made a few books with before. We have that trust and line of communication in place. But, in other ways it gets harder. As the artist grows, I feel I need to grow and improve alongside them. I put a lot of pressure on myself to not lose my sense of curiosity and wonder.

I came up with a flow and pace for this book that is a new approach that respects her past books and art, but adds a clear independent voice to it. I’m excited to run it by Cooper tomorrow to see what she thinks.

Whenever I design a book, no matter how much time or effort I put into it, I’m always willing to throw it all away and start over from scratch if a better idea surfaces. The best situation is when a design that I present to an artist sparks an idea from them and we end up making something better together than we could have done alone. I feel like if I get blind to a bad design, then I will be stagnant and fail to represent the artist. In this sense, I am never precious about a design and always open to trying a new approach.

I’ll keep you updated about the release date. Paper shortages and supply chain issues are still a problem. But, this will come out in due time.

Enjoy!

John

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Text copyright © 2022 John Fleskes. Photos by Vicky Lien and John Fleskes and © 2022 . Videos © 2022 Flesk Publications. Artwork © 2022 its respective artists. All rights reserved.

Fifteen Flesk Titles are Out of Print. The Last Copies Are Available on Our Flesk Website.

Hi, all,

All fifteen of these Flesk titles are now officially out of print and out of stock from our book trade distributor–PGW. These are no longer available to order by book or comic stores.

The last remaining copies are available on our Flesk website. We have anywhere from just a few copies to a handful of cases left of each title.

It is rewarding to see how popular all of these books have been. You have our thanks for making these art collections a success!

Al Williamson: Strange World Adventures (The paperback edition is sold out. We have hardcover copies available.)

Ballpoint Beauties by Frank Cho (Limited copies of the paperback is available.)

Carbon 2 by Mark Schultz (Limited copies of the paperback is available.)

Carbon 4 by Mark Schultz (Limited copies of the paperback and hardcover is available.)

Drawing Beautiful Women: The Frank Cho Method (Limited copies of the hardcover is available.)

Spectrum 21 (Paperback and hardcover is sold out.)

Spectrum 22 (Limited copies of the paperback and hardcover available.)

Spectrum 23 (Limited copies of the paperback and hardcover available.)

Spectrum 24 (Limited copies of the hardcover is available. The paperback is sold out.)

Spectrum 25 (Limited copies of the paperback and hardcover available.)

Spectrum 26 (Paperback and hardcover is sold out.)

Spectrum 27 (Limited copies of the hardcover is available. The paperback is sold out.)

Storms at Sea by Mark Schultz (Limited copies of this hardcover is available.)

The J.A.W. Cooper Genesis Collection (This book is sold out.)

The Thousand Demon Tree by Jeffrey Alan Love (Signed paperback edition available.)

We have new collections in the works with Arthur Adams, Frank Cho, J.A.W. Cooper, Rachel and Terry Dodson, Jeffrey Alan Love, Richard and Wendy Pini, Mark Schultz, and Al Williamson.

Thanks for supporting us to allow us to make more art books!

Enjoy,

John

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Text copyright © 2022 John Fleskes. Photos by Vicky Lien and John Fleskes and © 2022 . Videos © 2022 Flesk Publications. Artwork © 2022 its respective artists. All rights reserved.

Our Art of Tyler Jacobson Kickstarter Campaign Ends On August 5th!

Our Art of Tyler Jacobson Kickstarter campaign ends on Thursday, August 5th.

All of the book and print pledges come with a free signed mini-print and access to a streaming time-lapse video of the book cover and slipcase painting. We have a deluxe signed edition and trade hardcover on offer, along with some beautiful signed premium prints.

This art featured today is a thesis piece done by Tyler while he was in college. This book will show examples of his earliest drawings all the way up to his most recent paintings.

Here’s the link to learn more:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fleskpublications/the-art-of-tyler-jacobson

Enjoy,

–John

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Text and photos copyright © 2020 John Fleskes. Videos © 2021 Flesk Publications. Artwork © 2020 its respective artists. All rights reserved.

Jeffrey Alan Love Signed Books!

Hi, all,

We had a driveway visit with Jeffrey Alan Love earlier this week. Jeff was kind enough to sign more copies of his Notes From the Shadowed City and The Thousand Demon Tree books. We have them available on our Flesk website.

It was nice to catch up with Jeff and to hear about a pair of book ideas that he has. He’s a great guy and wonderful to work with. I look forward to publishing more books with Jeff in the future.

The Jeffrey Alan Love books from Flesk:
https://www.fleskpublications.com/jeffrey-alan-love

Enjoy

John

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Spectrum: The Gift of Community

Hi, everyone,

When people learn that I’m an art book publisher, the number one question that they ask is if I am an artist.

The answer is that my gifts lie elsewhere. Instead of being an artist, I have this fortunate position to be able to bring people together, to help raise the awareness of the art community, to be able to make books on the artists whose work that I love, to share who these artists are with others, and to raise artists up, while playing a part in putting the spotlight on them. In addition, I am humbled by being able to participate in running the Spectrum awards ceremony. This ceremony goes far beyond simply handing out awards. We get to recognize the entire fantastic art community on stage, in a prestigious theater. This was a dream for Arnie and Cathy Fenner to be able to to one day. And now this vision has become a reality where hundreds of people can participate.

Fantastic artists, on stage, in the spotlight, being recognized for outstanding achievement, among their peers, the fans, and the community. It’s unlike anything else.

So no, I’m not an artist. I was not given that gift. But, I’m ecstatic that so many others have this gift and that I can help share your gifts with others.

I hope you can join us at the Spectrum 26 Awards Ceremony that will be held on March 30, 2019 at the Folly Theater in Kansas City, MO.

Thanks for making so much beautiful art, and thank you for allowing me to be a part of this community.

If you are interested in submitting to Spectrum 26, you have until Thursday, January 24th.

More information on submitting to Spectrum 26:
http://spectrumfantasticart.com/

More information about the Spectrum Awards Ceremony:
https://www.spectrumfantasticartlive.com/

Enjoy,

John

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Text copyright © 2018 John Fleskes. Photos and videos © 2018 John Fleskes / Flesk Publications. Artwork © 2018 its respective artists. All Rights reserved.

Spectrum 25 is Now Available!

Hi all,

Spectrum 25 is now available! Featured within its pages is Julie Bell and over 260 other premier artists!

Available from your favorite book store, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Available to the trade through Publisher’s Group West.

https://www.fleskpublications.com/spectrum-books/
http://spectrumfantasticart.com/

Enjoy,

John

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Text copyright © 2018 John Fleskes. Photos and videos © 2018 John Fleskes / Flesk Publications. Artwork © 2018 its respective artists. All Rights reserved.

Stoke Out Santa Cruz A Success!

Hi all,

The Stoke Out 2018 charity event was a big success! I’ll write more about it later, but for now here’s me and my buddy Gary Velo and his son “J” after a busy day of volunteering. (And some dodgeball action afterward!) Dozens of volunteers made it possible to help hundreds of families today. It was a good day.

Enjoy,

John

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Text copyright © 2018 John Fleskes. Photos and videos © 2018 John Fleskes / Flesk Publications. Artwork © 2018 its respective artists. All Rights reserved.