NANCY DREW and Judge Sotomayor in the news

Judge Sotomayor’s affinity for NANCY DREW generates considerable buzz about PAPERCUTZ’ graphic novel series

Hello everyone!

Editorial assistant Mike Petranek here, excited about the amount of buzz that Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor’s love of Nancy Drew has garnered for our graphic novels. Ever since May, Nancy Drew has been mentioned quite often as an influence of Jude Sotomayor, even prompting other politicians such as Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) to mention their affinity for the character. We’ve seen so many mentions of our favorite Girl Detective over the past month and a half, it seemed natural that we needed to share some of them with her fans! But first, some background on Judge Sotomayor and Nancy Drew, and how the Girl Detective has influenced many of us.

You may have heard how President Barack Obama mentioned while introducing his Supreme Court nominee that Judge Sotomayor was influenced by the Girl Detective. President Obama said “It’s my understanding that Judge Sotomayor’s interest in the law was sparked as a young girl by reading the Nancy Drew series. And that when she was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 8, she was informed that people with diabetes can’t grow up to be police officers or private investigators like Nancy Drew. In essence she was told she’d have to scale back her dreams.” Today, we know that scaling back on her dreams was something Judge Sotomayor never had in mind.

Nancy Drew will soon be celebrating her 80th anniversary, with over 200 titles in print from Grosset & Dunlap, Simon & Schuster, and graphic novel publisher Papercutz. “As someone who is part Puerto Rican, who spent my early years, like Judge Sonia Sotomayor, growing up in a housing project in the Bronx, it was quite thrilling to hear that she was the President’s nominee for the Supreme Court and how inspirational Nancy Drew was to her” said Jim Salicrup, our beloved Editor-In-Chief at Papercutz.

I too was very excited to hear about President Obama’s nomination, as I began reading Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys at age 8 and well, I still do! I also remember Judge Sotomayor bringing back baseball in 1995 when I was a young kid in Texas, ending the 1994 Major League Baseball Strike.

As promised, let me share some of the news items involving Papercutz that Judge Sotomayor’s nomination has lead to. Ever since Judge Sotomayor’s nomination in May a lot of people have been talking about Nancy Drew, and her influence on young people. On the Netscape Books and Writers Community, many writers and librarians are talking about Nancy Drew and the Papercutz graphic novel series, and we think that’s great. The Papercutz series has also been mentioned on MediaBistro, which leads to an enjoyable  essay by theater columnist Misha Berson of The Seattle Times. These are all worth checking out, and we’re seeing the Papercutz name popping up more than ever as people are talking about the Girl Detective, her influence, and her longevity.

It really is remarkable how relevant Nancy Drew is today. We at Papercutz love hearing fans talk about America’s greatest Girl Detective. I know that she has been an influence on my life from the day I first picked up “The Secret of the Old Clock.” My mom read Nancy Drew, my sister read Nancy Drew, and now I help to tell her stories. I just finished up some work on NANCY DREW #18 “City Under the Basement“, and I think that not only is Nancy Drew as relevant as she has ever been, but that the talents of Stefan Petrucha, Sarah Kinney and Sho Murase show no signs whatsoever of slowing down any time soon.

Thanks for stopping by our blog, and keep your eyes peeled… At the end of the week I’ll have some exciting news about a NEW Papercutz graphic novel series that will debut at this year’s Comic Con in San Diego. Until then, take care, and watch out for Papercutz!

-Mike