NBM is a leading critically acclaimed independent graphic novel publisher showcasing the diversity of comics from North America and Europe. Founded in 1976 by publisher Terry Nantier while still studying at Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Communications, NBM (at the time, Flying Buttress Publications) was among the very first to bring the concept of graphic novels over to these shores. It started by publishing Europeans such as Enki Bilal. Struggling Flying Buttress was way ahead of its time. It took until the mid-eighties for the company to take off with such series as The Mercenary and Corto Maltese. It also developed a great name for itself in classic reprints by proving, in the early eighties, there was an audience ready to pay for library-worthy volumes of Terry and the Pirates. NBM has always sought as wide an audience as any good novel or movie may reach. Its editorial choices are always motivated by that one single goal. NBM pioneered general bookstore distribution as early as 1980. In 1986, it was the first comics pub to get a distributor when it signed with Publishers Group West. In 1988, it took over its own distribution and became the first to distribute Dark Horse graphic novels into that market. It was thus the first graphic novel publisher to have a full understanding and intimate working knowledge of the general book trade, even amongst the biggest of comics publishers. NBM's books are now available in a wide array of different retailing organizations. As a result, NBM continues to grow and attract big names. It also attracts way more than its fair share of press and media acclaim for its widely recognized very high level of quality.