CAN FRANK HARDY SAVE HIM IN TIME?

THE HARDY BOYS THE NEW CASE FILES #1 “Crawling With Zombies” is coming soon (October 12th, to be exact), and buzz has been brewing! If you haven’t heard, comics legend Gerry Conway has taken over writing duties, and the new HARDY BOYS books will be 6 x 9, a much larger size with bigger comics! Gerry created “The Punisher” and also wrote The Amazing Spider-Man #121 “The Night Gwen Stacy Died,” one of the most revered comics of the last 40 years. We’re excited, but I don’t want to give too much away. I’ll leave you with another teaser page…

Looks pretty cool, huh? Well, you’ll have to wait until October to see the whole thing for yourself! Thanks for dropping by!

-Michael

Editorial Associate Mike Petranek here, dropping by today because Papercutz graphic novels are getting coverage on the radio! In the coming weeks DISNEY FAIRIES and THE SMURFS will both be mentioned on several radio stations around the country! Here’s two examples.

If you live in Houston,  Fox 5 KVVU will be mentioning THE SMURFS! You can see an article here about the Smurfs that says we’re based out of Texas! Well, I’m FROM Texas, so that’s probably how that mix-up occurred. Also, if you live in Ridgecrest, CA tune in to KZIQ/KWDJ to hear about THE SMURFS!

For DISNEY FAIRIES fans, if you live in New Jersey the radio station Star 99.1 will be giving out copies of DISNEY FAIRIES graphic novels #1 and #2! Be sure to tune in!

There will be more contests and giveaways coming up, so be sure to stop by the Papercutz blog to find out more and tune in to your local Radio Disney station to hear more about Fairies. Until next time, have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

-Michael

I felt this was definitely worth sharing. Rick Parker did a little Photoshop work on a picture of me, Terry Nantier and Jim Salicrup at Comic Con. Enjoy!

-Michael

Editorial Associate Mike Petranek here because I am extremely excited about THE SMURFS graphic novels, in stores four weeks from tomorrow on August 31st! It’s been a long wait but we are very excited for Papercutz fans to see these graphic novels. The work by Peyo and Yvan Delporte is truly wonderful. Here’s a sneak-peak you won’t see anywhere else of one of the stories in graphic novel #1  “The Purple Smurfs,” called “The Flying Smurf”:

I can certainly identify with the Flying Smurf. Who wouldn’t want to fly? It sure would make getting to work a whole lot easier!

The advance copies of THE PURPLE SMURFS and THE SMURFS AND THE MAGIC FLUTE have begun generating some buzz. THE PURPLE SMURFS was recently named one of the five best graphic novels for kids and adults by tonic.com… And that’s out of all the graphic novels released – ever! We were thrilled to see this.

If you’d like some more history on THE SMURFS, I recommend visiting the Occasional Superheroine blog and of course, our good friend Matt Murray’s smurfology blog. You can also find information on THE PURPLE SMURFS in the August 15th issue of Kirkus reviews! I’ll be sure to post it here once it’s online. That’s it for now. I hope you are having a great Monday, and thanks for stopping by!

-Michael

Editorial Associate Mike Petranek here, taking a bit of time to drop by and say “hello” after a great time in San Diego! Editor in Chief Jim Salicrup and I met a lot of great people who are very excited about the first two SMURFS graphic novels, in stores August 31st from Papercutz. San Diego can be hectic, but that didn’t stop Jim from finding time to spend time with our good friend Papa Smurf, who joined us at the Papercutz booth. See for yourself!

Papa Smurf and Jim!

Now normally Papa Smurf is three apples tall, but I guess he can get a little bit bigger for convention appearances. After all, he is very good with potions and should be able to whip up a growth one with no trouble!

We had samples of THE SMURFS #1 “The Purple Smurfs” and THE SMURFS #2 “The Smurfs and the Magic Flute” and everyone wanted a peek! Smurfic designer Adam Grano and letterer of all things Smurfy Janice Chiang both stopped by to see the printed books and we were delighted to see their reactions! Here’s Jim with a good friend of Papercutz, Matt, showing off a copy of “The Purple Smurfs”:

The Purple Smurfs!

We had a great time and want you to remember that you can already pick up a copy of THE SMURFS comicbook at your local comicbook store! Ask them to order it if it’s not in stock — it’s only $1 and contains the first ever appearance of Gargamel and his cat Azrael. We hope you find these comics as Smurftastic as we do. Visit the Papercutz website’s SMURF section for previews and more info. Until then, thanks for stopping by and have a smurfy day!

-Michael

If you’re in the New York City area this weekend, why not stop by Mike Carbo’s Comic Book Marketplace on Saturday? Papercutz Editor-in-Chief Jim Salicrup will be there joined by Rick Parker and Steve Mannion who will be signing copies of TALES FROM THE CRYPT! Check out the website for the Comic Book Marketplace here.

The Marketplace will be open from 10:30am to 7:00pm and there will be plenty of signings and chances to pick up some cool comics! It should be a fun time and a great chance for you to pick up some of the rarer TALES FROM THE CRYPT comics that your comicbook store may be sold out of. We hope to see you there!

-Michael

Well it looks like we’re going to have to go back to ANOTHER printing of TALES FROM THE CRYPT #8 “Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid”! It seems that people can’t get enough of Glugg, the crew from “DieLite,” and our “Carrier” werewolves! We couldn’t be happier.

You may find that a lot of online sites are out of stock until December. You can still get Crypt #8 and Crypt #’s 5-7 in the TALES FROM THE CRYPT Boxed Set available from Amazon.com and BarnesandNobles.com. Of course, we like anyone who sells are books just the same and you can find these boxed sets at wonderful comicbook stores all around. If they don’t have it, ask them to order it for you!

Recently, Editor-In-Chief Jim Salicrup along with “Stinky Dead Kid” artist Rick Parker took over a bookstore in Maplewood, NJ to promote our favorite living dead kid, Glugg! You can check out a neat article with some great pictures here. Way to go! Still not convinced that this Crypt is right for you? Well, check out this review at horrornews.net. Also, the folks at Broken Frontier urge you to forger swine flu, CRYPT fever is here! If you’re not convinced, I’m still gonna keep trying!

While the Stinky Dead Kid Glugg has been getting a lot of attention, our Twilight spoof “DieLite” has also turned a few heads as it was written by the father-daughter team of Stefan Petrucha and Maia Kinney-Petrucha! If you haven’t seen the links from Stefan’s blog post below, you can read a little bit about the collaboration here.  Also, don’t forget that Maia and Stefan will be interviewed on Mix 94.1 in Canton, OH Monday November 16th on their morning show! A link to the interview will be available as soon as we get it.

As for Maia, let me just say “WOW!” When I was 14 I was still trying to figure out how to get Oreo cookies out of my teeth and what to do about the monster under my bed. What can I say? I was  a late bloomer. Great job Maia! We’ll keep you updated on CRYPT news and everything Papercutz here at the blog. Keep checking in, as I have a feeling you’re going to start seeing some more entries from your favorite Papercutz contributors.

Thanks,

-Michael

Figuring out exactly how to end this story was kind of the opposite of a deus ex machina in which a convenient device arrives at the end to explain all kinds of loose plot ends. Instead, time consuming research and even math (!) was needed to come up with a plot that brought Nancy to a very specific ending. It was sometimes necessary to do a little writing backwards (which I don’t recommend!!). For those of you who aren’t caught up on your reading and haven’t gotten to Nancy Drew, issue 17, I won’t give away the ending. But the denouement, thanks to the art of Sho Murase, was spectacular. Thanks, Sho!

Newsflash! We just got news that the Antikythera device is even older than we thought.

Here’s the link so you can stay up-to-date on the discovery.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2009/jul/29/archaeology-astronomy

July 22-26, 2009

Papercutz will be at booth 2046 at this year’s San Diego Comic Con, where fans can meet authors and artists, purchase Papercutz graphic novels, see exclusive previews of new titles, and chat with Papercutz staff! It should be a great time, and we urge our fans to come out and say hello. Appearing for book signings at the Papercutz booth at this year’s Comic Con:

Greg Farshtey, BIONICLE author

Thursday, July 23rd – 4:o0 to 5:30pm

Friday, July 24th – 2:30 to 4:00pm

Saturday, July 25th – 10:30am to 12:00pm

Scott Lobdell, HARDY BOYS author

Thursday, July 23rd – 1:00pm to 2:30pm

Friday, July 24th – 5:30pm to 7:00pm

Saturday, July 25th – 2:30pm to 4:00pm

Sunday, July 26th – 10:30am to 12:00pm

Sho Murase, NANCY DREW artist

Thursday, July 23rd – 11:00am to 12:00pm

Friday, July 24th – 11:00am to 12:00pm

Also, come join us at out PAPERCUTZ PANEL on Sunday July 26th at 3pm in room #2 with BIONCILE’s Greg Farshtey, NANCY DREW’s Sho Murase, The HARDY BOYS’ Scott Lobdell, as well as Editor-in-Chief Jim Salicrup and publisher Terry Nantier. Get a FREE TALES FROM THE CRYPT comicbook! We hope to see you there!

Every year, for the past few years, Papercutz has been at the two biggest comicbook conventions in the United States — Comic Con International: San Diego, out on the West Coast, and New York Comic Con, right here on the East Coast.  As much as we love these super-mega-comic-cons, we also enjoy attending the much smaller Kids Comic Con in the Bronx.  Held at Bronx Community College, the convention is small enough that you can experience most of the programming and spend lots of time talking to the guests, in a very casual environment.  This is the third Kids Comic Con (I’ve been to ‘em all), and I’ll be there to have a great time talking about my favorite comics and graphic novel publisher.  If you’re in the neighborhood, why not drop by and say hi?  Here’s all the official info:

THE KIDS COMIC CON 2009 IS COMING!

FUN, ADVENTURE AND EXCITEMENT FOR ALL AGES

(and it promotes learning, thinking and reading, too!)

            Hey kids (and parents! And teachers! And comic fans! And, yeah, you at the computer, too!), the KIDS COMIC CON 2009 is right around the corner! That’s right, The KIDS’ COMIC CON 2008 went so well that we’re doing it again! Get ready for fun, fantastic guests, and action — all for kids! (Okay, parents are allowed to have fun, too.) Most exciting is that’s there are more things for kids to do than at last year’s con!

The KIDS COMIC CON 2009 is set for April 25th at Bronx Community College (181^st Street & University Avenue, Bronx, NY 10453). And yep, even though the economy is struggling like Superman surrounded by Kryptonite, the KIDS COMIC CON 2009 is still free for children 17 and under (and hey, Mom and Dad, its just $5 for you — making the KIDS COMIC CON one of the best entertainment values around).

            KCC creator and founder Alex Simmons, writer for Archie, Scooby-Doo and oh, so much more, said he’s especially excited about this year’s KIDS COMIC CON because of all that’s happened since the first-ever KCC in 2007.  “One of the guests at that con was Jay Williams, a representative of the humongous New York City Comic Con. He was so thrilled with our KIDS COMIC CON he asked if I would help redesign the Kids Day at the NYCC to incorporate what we do at the KIDS COMIC CON. In 2008 and 2009, along with others, we did that, and helped expand what was offered to hundreds of kids.” he said.

            One of the added benefits of having worked with the NYCC is that Simmons and other volunteers organizing the KIDS COMIC CON were able to improve and expand on workshops that will be offered at KCC 2009, which will be here in just a few short weeks.

            “Our primary goals at the KIDS COMIC CON are to promote reading and creativity in kids’ lives,” Simmons said. “Now more than ever it is imperative that we supply kids with a continuous flow of positive ideas, skills, and outlets for their thinking as well as self-esteem building activities, like creating from their own imaginations. No matter what path a kid’s life takes, having a solid habit of reading and being able to think, synthesize ideas, and come up with new concepts or fresh ways of looking at things will help them succeed. That’s what we do here, and it’s fun, fun, fun for all!”

            Events scheduled for the KIDS COMIC CON 2009 include:

10 a.m.:             Welcome—Alex Simmons, MC

Intro to convention events & First raffle

Marketplace & Kids’ Art Gallery Opens

10:30 AM - Kids Emotes Drawing Competition — On the convention floor children will be given a chance to win a prize by drawing their favorite Emote character.

11:00 to 11:45 PM –How To Have Fun Reading Comics — Peter Gutierrez will lead a workshop for educators, and parents on how to make using comics in an educational way, fun for all concerned.

11 AM – 6 PM: Kids’ Corner:  where kids can sit and read comics.

11:30 AM -12:15 PM:              He Really Is An Alien?  Join author Marc Nobleman as he reveals how two teenage boys created one of the greatest comic book icons in the world.  Marc will share a few great tales and images from his book, “BOYS OF STEEL,” the exciting inside story of Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel the creators of Superman!”

11:30 AM – 5 PM:             Portfolio Review Crew.

All day, professional writers, illustrators, and editors will review students’ portfolios (artwork) to give them tips on how to improve their work.

11:30 a.m. – 12 PM:             Youth Workshop A – Triangles, Circles, and Squares, Oh My! Is a fun introductory class in drawing kooky comics book characters by starting with ordinary shapes.  Artist: Neil Numberman, illustrator of JOEY FLY, PRIVATE EYE.

11:45 AM -12:30 PM:              Professional Workshop I
The ABCs of Comics and Graphic Novels: What are they and what is their value to children past, present, and future?  (Panelists:  TBA)

12 PM – 1 PM:  Where the Action Is, Part 1 – Young people learn how the pros put so many dynamic poses and so much motion into drawing characters.

12 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.:        Youth Workshop B – Get A Clue!  This fun and clever workshop will show kids how to write and draw mystery comics, complete with suspects, clues, a climatic capture. The program is lead by Fiona Robinson, creator of THE 3-2-3 DETECTIVES AGENCY book

12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.            The Art of Making Comics 101, an introductory class in creating simple and wonderful comic book characters, lead by artists Andrew Arnold, illustrator of the fun book, ADVENTURES IN COMICS.

12 – 2 PM – LIVE MAGICIAN

1 PM – 2 PM – Motion Potion: The Magic of Animation – A panel and demo on cartoon shows and animation with our special guest SCOTT GIMPLE, creator/producer of Disney’s Fillmore.

1:30 p.m. – 1:45 PM:             Professional Workshop II — Comics in the Classroom.  Participants will discuss benefits, methods, and curriculums for using comics in the classrooms and libraries to support understanding of academic subjects.  (Panelists: To be announced.)

2 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.:    Toon Books Readers Theater Performance. See one of the Toon Books come alive with a performance by Geoffrey and Leigh.

2:00 PM – 2:45 PM:            Youth Workshop – Star Ships and Cadillac’s. Learn some of the tricks to drawing cool vehicles, weapons, and diabolical machines.

2:30 – 3:15:            Toon Book Reheals for Kids presentation

2:30 – 3:15:      Make Mine Manga.  This a wonderful introductory class in how to create Manga style comics led by artist Yali Lin.

2:30 PM – 3:00 PM:                    SPECIAL EVENT — on the convention floor.  TBA.

3 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.:    All Age Workshop– ARCHIE’ WAY – Join this members of Team Archie (old and new school) as they show how one of America’s longest running icons can be fun, fresh, and educational! New stories, looks, and plenty surprises. 

3:00 – 4:00 PM: Give it Some Color!  A profession artists and colorist will teach students some of the tricks of the trade in the wonderful world of coloring comics! (Artist:  TBA.)

3:15 – 3:30:            Toon Books Performance by Kids

3:30 PM – 5:15 PM:            Youth Workshop F – The Art of Making Comics

The Art of Making Comics 101, an introductory class in creating comics.  (Artists: TBA)

3 PM – 3:30 PM:                    SPECIAL EVENT — on the convention floor.  TBA.

4:00 – 5:00 p.m.:             Professional Workshop III – The ABCs of Comics. What are they, and what is their value to children past, present, and future? This time the emphasis will be on the FUTURE of comics, literacy, and kids. (Panelists:  TBA)

6 p.m.                                      Closing Remarks

* (Schedule subject to change up to 24 hours before the convention opens.)

            Simmons also noted that excitement is building on both sides of the KIDS COMICS CON. “At our first KIDS COMIC CON, artists, writers, and creative folks from all aspects of the comic industry were impressively generous with their time, but many found themselves energized by the excitement and enthusiasm of our kids. And since then word has spread. This year they know what to expect and so many have told me they can’t wait to see the kids again,” he said.

          Comics pros and publishers already committed to this year’s con include:

Archie Comics (Mike Pellerito, Fernando Ruiz, Tito Pena, Fred Mauser, etc.)

Soriah Chauvel, cartoonist on CAPTAIN KC!

Peter Gutierrez, writer

Brian Leung of Kidjutsu

Janna Miroshima of Diamond Kids Group

Dave Roman, of Nickelodeon Magazine

Raina Telgemeier, artist on Scholastic’s Babysitter Club graphic novel

James Sherman, illustrator

Andrew Arnold, illustrator of Adventures in Cartooning!

John Gallagher, illustrator, creator, publisher of …Boy

Danny Fingeroth, writer

Maurice Waters and ECBACC

Kerry Milliron and Random House for Kids

Ali Kokmen, and Random House Del Rey (manga)

Kyle & Liz Baker

Fiona Robinson, creator of The 3-2-3 Detectives Agency book  (Abrams)

Christina Siravo, children’s book illustrator

Michael Wright, editor DC Comics

Ashanti Freeman, indy artists

Emotes

Jessica Weiss, tween publisher of the comic, Geezerville.

Samuel Vera, artist, publisher, creator of “Alien in My Toilet”

Marc Nobleman, author of BOYS OF STEEL about the creators of Superman

Ray Felix, artist, indy artist & publisher

Jim Salicrup, editor-in-chief of Papercutz

Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MOCCA)

Joe Staton, illustrator of Scooby Doo and so many other comics

Yali Lin, illustrator (Manga)

Dave MacDonald, creator of Hamster Sam Comics

Neil Numberman, illustrator of Joey Fly, Private Eye, from First Second Books

Scott Cunningham, writer of kids’ comics for Archie, DC, etc.

Phyllis Novin, inker for Bongo Comics

PalOOza Toys

Mark Mariano, creator, artist of Happloo comic book series

Reggie & Dionne Byer, creators of Kidz of the King Comics

Kevin Pyle, artist

Ed Mouzon, illustrator

Gary Camp, illustrator

Rich T., illustrator, and teaching artist

For information on how to donate time, money, or books to support the Kids’ Comic Con, write to Alex Simmons at:  Alex@SimmonsHereAndNow.com