Associate Editor Michael Petranek writing, because I would like to get some more friends — Facebook friends for Papercutz, that is! You see, our blog is one of the best places to get news and hear from Papercutz contributors. But for pictures and other inside info, our Facebook page is the place to be! Click here to log in and be my friend! Turn me from this…

TO THIS!

-Michael

A big “thank you” to everyone who came out to see us along with Rick Parker, Stefan Petrucha, Maia Kinney-Petrucha, Margo Kinney-Petrucha, Sarah Kinney, Jim Salicrup, and myself at the Papercutz booth at New York Comic-Con 2010! You may have also run into Janice Chiang and other Papercutz contributors. It was fun for everyone except, well, me! It seems that I caught a case of the black plague at Comic-Con which I am still recovering from. A panel from THE SMURFS #1 sums up my Comic-Con experience:

That’s about it! I missed Saturday because of the worse cold I’ve had in years. Lucky for me, the great writers and artists along with Jim and Tony Shenton stepped up in my absence and I am extremely grateful for their help. People went gaga over PAPERCUTZ SLICES, DISNEY FAIRIES, and THE SMURFS and we couldn’t be happier! It was a fun time, with over 90,000 people attending.

While I’m on the subject of THE SMURFS, the reviews just keep rolling on in! The response has been great and we are very pleased. Over at PopCultureaddict.com, a great overview of the first two graphic novels was recently posted. Plus, if you travel to comics&more at blogspot, you’ll find even more info on THE SMURFS. It’s smurftastic!

Lastly, it’s become more and more apparent that our fans have been using facebook a lot more and Myspace a lot less. Thus, we’ve decided to up our presence on facebook. Please, add us as your friend! Just log in and search for Papercutz. You can’t miss us. Until next time, thanks for stopping by and stay smurfy!

-Michael

It sure has been a long time since I’ve written, but I will try to make it up to you with a lot of links to some neat stuff going on in the world of Papercutz. 2010 is the 80th anniversary of NANCY DREW and we plan on celebrating in style! If you are a NANCY DREW fan and you have a facebook account, make it official! Go to this page, log in, and join! I’ll be posting previews and other cool stuff there.

If you haven’t yet noticed, TALES FROM THE CRYPT #8 “Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid” was a smash hit for Papercutz. We couldn’t be happier! On that note, if you are still not sure about this book and want more info you can ask Publisher’s Weekly what they thought, or perhaps Booklist. It seems like Glugg (the stinky dead kid) can be found here, there and everywhere! The same can be said for our good friend Geronimo Stilton. He’s popping up everywhere! Have fun surfing the web!

Speaking of young troublemakers like Glugg, if you haven’t checked out CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #5 “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” read this review:

“Tom Sawyer, that original American bad boy, returns in graphic-novel format. The manga-influenced, full-color illustrations bring a new level of dynamism to a text that is already quite dramatic, what with its murder, buried treasure, youthful romance, and presumed deaths. (Tom himself is thought dead twice.) This version doesn’t shy away from the culture of the time; Injun Joe is still Injun Joe and Tom’s bare backside still has many run-ins with Aunt Polly’s slipper. In regard to the latter, there is brief, occasional nudity as a result of the skinny-dipping and spankings, but nothing gratuitous. While the overall work is of a generally high quality, it is not perfect. Visually, it is often difficult to distinguish among the supporting characters. In addition, the speech balloons are occasionally confusing, leaving readers unsure of who is speaking. Despite those minor flaws, this volume serves as a fine introduction to the story, the author, and his time and place.”

–Douglas P. Davey, Halton Hills Public Library, Ontario, Canada

Wow! Thanks Mr. Davey! That’s all I have time for today but make sure you watch out for Papercutz! There should be a new blog contributor here soon that I think will surprise you!

-Michael