Check out this new video from Papercutz! GERONIMO STILTON #1 and #2 are in stores on August 18th!

Hi Everbody!

This is editorial assistant Mike Petranek here to share some photos and articles from San Diego Comic Con 2009 with you! We had a blast, even though not everyone could make it this year with the economy and scheduling conflicts.

First off, Geronimo Stilton made the biggest splash at Comic Con, followed very closely by TALES FROM THE CRYPT #13 “Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid”. Here’s a couple of articles that mention us:

Publisher’s Weekly: San Diego Not Just for Grown-Ups

School Library Journal: Good comics for Kids

Of course, we love the recognition but stress that our comics and graphic novels are for people of all ages. We hope that the audience for Geronimo Stilton ranges from age 4 to age 84!

I carried around a small camera and took some pictures at our booth. Here’s a chance to see some of your favorite Papercutz contributors in action!

HARDY BOYS writer Scott Lobdell and NANCY DREW artist Sho Murase

Miran Kim, artist of the upcoming TALES FROM THE CRYPT story “DieLite”, with Editor-in-Chief Jim Salicrup.

From left to right: TALES FROM THE CRYPT artist Rick Parker, Jim Salicrup, TALES FROM THE CRYPT writer and artist Mort Todd, and Editorial Assistant Mike Petranek…Or as Rick would say, “The Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse” (ha ha!)

Publisher Terry Nantier with Eisner Award-winner Rick Geary, adaptor of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #1 “Great Expectations” and #2 “The Invisible Man”.

BIONICLE scribe and huge Yankees fan Greg Farshtey with Jim.

Some big fans of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #3 “Through the Looking-Glass”

Me, at home, uploading pictures for your enjoyment after landing back in New York at 6:30am. Don’t I look cheery?

I hope you’ve enjoyed taking a look at our trip to San Diego. TALES FROM THE CRYPT comicbook #13 “Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid”, BIONICLE #6 “The Underwater City”, and NANCY DREW #18 “City Under the Basement” are all in stores now! Don’t let Summer pass you by without checking out the newest titles from Papercutz. Thanks for stopping by!

-Mike

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

PAPERCUTZ at the San Diego Comic Con

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!

Hi Everyone!

Editorial Assistant Mike Petranek here, very pleased to see that our blog readers have reacted with such excitement to the latest posts by Editor-In-Chief Jim Salicrup and PAPERCUTZ contributors Scott Lobdell, Greg Farshtey and Sho Murase. We love to hear your thoughts, and the upcoming HARDY BOYS, BIONICLE, and NANCY DREW volumes are very exciting. We’ll keep you posted on any news in the future! And if you have become accustomed to just hopping over to the blog page and skipping the PAPERCUTZ homepage, check it out! We’ve got new previews and flash animation from everyone’ s favorite Editor-in-Cheese: GERONIMO STILTON!

Now that Summer has finally arrived, many of you will probably be going to the beach or sitting poolside under the sun. A great way to soak up some rays is with a PAPERCUTZ graphic novel by your side. Not only that, but this past week 3 new graphic novels hit stores at the same time, giving you an abundance of books to take with you to the beach, on road trips, or wherever your  Summer adventures may take you!

First up is THE HARDY BOYS #17 “Word Up!”, which coincidentally begins when Joe and Frank take a trip to the beach, expecting a nice day off from A.T.A.C. and the stress of everyday life. Too bad their vacation must be put on hold when they find out that someone is out to silence controversial local D.J. John Pryde…permanently! The boys may not like his bombastic style or aggressive personality, but they’ll risk life and limb to keep him on the air!

Next we have CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #5 “Hamlet”. This exciting tale of murder, madness, and revenge still rivets me every time I pick it up. I’ve read Hamlet countless times and have  performed the role of Horatio (Hamlet’s best buddy) on stage. This dark adaptation by Steven Grant and Tom Mandrake really captures the heart and soul of the play, one of my personal favorites. If  you’ve never experienced Hamlet on stage or on the page, now’s a great time to start!

Lastly, BIONICLE 5 “The Battle of Voya Nui” has also hit stores, with a brand new look brought by the art of Stuart Sayger. This is an action-packed BIONICLE graphic novel that begins a darker turn for the BIONICLE Universe. Just look at this sample of the artwork!

Those two Piraka are not guys I would invite over for dinner any time soon! And that’s just the start of it. Greg Farshtey and Stuart Sayger take us onto an island where nothing is as it appears and danger lurks around every corner in “The Battle of Voya Nui”.

Now that I’ve shared our newest titles with you, I’ve got to get back to helping our Editor-in-Chief Jim Salicrup with the mountain of papers on his desk. Before I go, do any of you know the origin of the story of Hamlet, and the original Danish Prince Shakespeare based him on? Shakespeare often used real historical figures as the source of his plays, and the story of Hamlet goes back over 1,000 years! I’d love to hear what you have to say about that. I’ll be back soon with news on upcoming titles including GERONIMO STILTON, CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED, and NANCY DREW! Until then, have a great Summer, keep reading, and watch out for PAPERCUTZ!

-Mike

Hi Everyone!

This is editorial assistant Mike Petranek here to tell you about a new two-part story in NANCY DREW entitled “The Secret Within.” The first part is in NANCY DREW #17 “Night of the Living Chatchke,” in stores this week! Here’s the colorful cover by Sho Murase:

Hey, did you go anywhere exciting for spring break this year? Perhaps you may be thinking about a trip this summer? Well, in this story, Nancy travels to Turkey with her father, attorney Carson Drew, who has been hired to negotiate the sale of a client’s ancestral estate.  Not only that, but Nancy is without her best friends George and Bess for this adventure. But as everyone knows, wherever Nancy goes, she’s sure to stumble upon a mystery. Her father Carson has taken quite a liking to his client, the beautiful Ms. Alda Oktar. When the three are browsing at a large Turkish bazaar, Alda takes a liking to an old statue that Nancy finds less than attractive, to say the least. Carson buys the statue and arranges to have it sent to Alda’s home. Once Nancy and Carson settle into their rooms at the estate, along with the funky looking statue, weird things start to happen… Which makes us wonder:

Once things start going “bump” and, oddly enough, “pop!” in the night, it’s up to the Girl Detective to investigate. And that leads her to an amazing discovery! What is it that Nancy finds? The answer’s in NANCY DREW Graphic Novel #17 - available at booksellers everywhere. If you want you can even order directly from Papercutz.

Haunted Statues and Nancy Drew! Part one of “The Secret Within” is a fun way to kick off the start of May.  So check it out, post your comments here, and watch out for Papercutz!

-Mike

Hello, everyone!
This is editorial assistant Michael Petranek here, writing about the new exciting CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED  volume that just hit stores. “The Raven and Other Poems” by Edgar Allan Poe and  illustrated by Gahan Wilson.  It has already garnered rave reviews and we wanted to share one them with you. But  we’ll save that for the end.  First, here’s a look at the cover:

Pretty cool, huh? I love artist Gahan Wilson’s work– he’s the perfect artist to illustrate Edgar Allan Poe’s dark and chilling poems.

Here’s a tiny bit of info on Poe and Wilson:

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), who lived in Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City, is the father of the American mystery tale. “The Raven,” his most famous poem, has been adapted into everything from a movie starring Vincent Price to an episode of The Simpsons. The Mystery Writers of America have named their highest award, the Edgar, in honor of Poe.

Gahan Wilson is one of the most famous cartoonists alive.  His work has received the World Fantasy Award, the National Cartoonists Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival Award. He grew up in Illinois and lives in New York.

You may have noticed that Edgar Allan Poe was born in 1809. That means we’re celebrating his 200th birthday this year!  And what better way to celebrate, than presenting his most famous poems in this profusely illustrated edition, for the very first time in hardcover.

You can Google Gahan Wilson and Edgar Allan Poe for even more information on these two legendary creators! But to give you an even better idea of what CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #4 is like, here’s a Poe preview page:

That was just a snippet from “The Sleeper.”

Horror fans love Poe and his work. Here’s what a great website devoted to all things macabre had to say:

“I only wished my old CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED looked this good!…Raven and Other Poems is a tribute to the works of Edgar Allan Poe. All his greatest poems are featured inside this rather attractive edition. The one I reviewed consists of a hardcover bound much like the Dr. Suess books with nice semi gloss stock. If that isn’t enough we have the great illustration work of Gahan Wilson, an all time favorite macabre cartoonist of mine. He has been called on to illustrate each poem with 1 page pieces as accompaniment to Edgar’s works posted throughout. Each illustration contains that Wilson style we have come to love. Humorous, macabre, quirky, detailed and a truly unique style that more than appropriately shares space with Poe’s work…Do yourself a favor and pick up a few [CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED volumes]. This edition is very durable and a prize for collectors” - www.horrornews.net

Very cool! Mania.com says that “this match of Poe and Wilson was made in Heaven. Wilson’s illustrations are just bizarre and innocent enough to appeal to kids while not dulling the edge of Poe’s words…Grade A.” You can read that review by clicking here:

http://www.mania.com/starlog-ceases-publication_article_114372.html.

Another amazing review came from the School Library Journal’s website. The site says that “the illustrations combine pastel hues, ink lines and cross-hatching, and eerie images for a spine-chilling effect.” I couldn’t  agree more! To read the full review and to see what The School Library Journal has to say about some previous CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED titles along with the upcoming Tom Mandrake adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” (Classics Illustrated #5), click here: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6647784.html. This article also has some info on Rick Geary’s “The Invisible Man” (calling it “a gripping version of this pioneering work of science fiction”), and Kyle Baker’s adaptation of “Through the Looking Glass,” which it describes as containing “crisply colored, almost stylized illustrations.” Thanks, School Library Journal! As you know, we here at Papercutz are big fans and supporters of libraries everywhere. If we’re not at the office, you can usually find one of us with our nose buried in a book somewhere.

CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #5: “The Raven and Other Poems” features (aside from “The Raven”) the Poe classics Annabel Lee, Lines on Ale (a personal favorite), The City in the Sea, The Sleeper, Eldorado, Alone, The Haunted Palace, and The Conquerer Worm. I hope you enjoy reading this collection as much as we did putting it together! Let us know what you think. Love it or hate it, we always want to hear from you.  So just leave a comment and sound off!

-Mike

Hi there,

My name is Paulo Henrique and most of you know me as the artist of the Hardy Boys for Papercutz.  One thing you might not know is that I prefer to go by PH instead of “Paulo Henrique.”  I’d like to share a bit about myself and let you all ask any questions you may have for me. I always like to hear from fans!
I was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil where I started drawing at a very young age.  The first thing I remember drawing was from when I was 6.  I was in art class and I drew a picture of Darth Vader.  The teacher said she thought that I had drawn a bride in a black wedding dress!  I always liked bad guys the best, but I knew that Vader was a good guy under that mask.  I think that’s why I liked him so much as a kid.  After that, I just kept on drawing and drawing.
I really like “larger than life” characters, and when I was growing up I was drawn to Manga style before I even knew that’s what it was called. For those of you who don’t know what Manga is, it’s really just a word for Japanese art. It’s a style that we use in the Hardy Boys a lot. There are a million definitions of “Manga” out there, but an easy way to identify the style is characters with exaggerated faces and bodies. In English, the translation is actually “Japanese comics,” so you’ll see a lot of stuff out there called “Manga” that actually isn’t.  If you want a good example of some Manga Hardy Boys, look at the fourth page of comics in THE HARDY BOYS Graphic Novel #14: “Haley Danielle’s Top Eight!”:

Manga Joe Hardy!

Some of the best-known artists who shaped what we know as Manga today are Machiko Hasegawa and Osamu Tezuka. Readers have probably seen Tezuka’s “Astro Boy” at some point in their lives. Google it!  The history of Manga goes all the way back to the 1800’s and there’s a lot of info on the Internet if you do some searching.
Back to my art!  Some of you may want to know who my favorite comics characters are and how I got started.  Well, I love that blue bomber!  I’m talking about Megaman.  I started drawing him when I was a teenager and I’ve beaten all of the original Nintendo games. Megaman is a Manga character and he jump-started my career.  In 1997, I was hired to draw the Megaman comicbook for Brazilian publisher Magnum and ended up working with Sidney Lima, who would work on THE HARDY BOYS at Papercutz years later.  At that time, a lot of publishers got interested in Manga, so I met with Magnum and did a test for Megaman.  Both Sidney Lima and I ended up getting the job, and we became friends.  Years later I started to work for Yabu media and was doing an electronic graphic novel called COMBO RANGES, so I called him to work with me.  This led to us collaborating on THE HARDY BOYS.  He is a good friend and a great artist.  I have to thank him for introducing me to Papercutz and THE HARDY BOYS.  The Megaman series took off, and I ended up teaching Manga style to young artists at a place called Impacto Studios in Brazil.
Impacto Studios is a place where young artists can come to learn and improve their art, while more established artists teach classes to students and are introduced to companies that may want to hire them. At Impacto, I became friends with Klebs Junior, the founder of the studio and a comicbook artist himself.  Klebs is well known in comics. Aside from founding Impacto he also illustrated “Snakes on a Plane” (DC), “Excalibur” (Marvel Comics), “Harbinger” and a bunch of other titles.  Klebs became my agent and helped get my work to America.  When he heard that Top Cow Productions was looking for an artist for their “Myth Warriors” series, he set up a test for me.  Top Cow hired me and my work ended up getting distributed to a much larger audience in the US.
I worked for a lot of different magazines and publications in Brazil, but it wasn’t until volume 6 of  THE HARDY BOYS that I started working on that series.  My friend Sidney needed some help.  He asked me to help draw the Hardy Boys on #6 and then I started drawing it full-time and have no plans to stop!  I just finished my 11th volume of the series.
Aside from comics, I really love music.  I have remixed a lot of Megaman songs from the video games and I play guitar and sing in a hard rock trio called “Octane” in Brazil.  You can find us on MySpace and YouTube.  As far as my favorite groups go, I like Avenged Sevenfold, Story of the Year, and System of a Down.  From the “Old School” I love Iron Maiden and Metallica.  I also like pop and classical music.  I love Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart.  I don’t understand classical music, but I appreciate it so much.  I like some Brazilian pop music but I really dislike, (I don’t want to say hate, it’s a strong word)…SAMBA!  Samba’s the national music of Brazil.  It’s upbeat and encourages listeners to dance.  It’s not for me, though.
So all of you readers may have questions for me.  Send them in and I’ll try to answer as quickly as possible!  My favorite titles from THE HARDY BOYS so far are #8: “A Hardy Day’s Night” (just a beautiful father and son story) and #15: “Live Free, Die Hardy!” which was action-packed.  I’ve got to thank Jim Salicrup, Terry Nantier, Scott Lobdell, Laurie E. Smith, and Mark Lerer for all of their hard work and support.  Perhaps most importantly: thanks to you fans!  Without you we wouldn’t be able to put these great graphic novels together.  Thanks and be sure to ask me questions!

-PH