Associate Editor Michael Petranek here, gearing up for New York Comic Con at the Javits Convention Center October 13th-16 with appearances by Stefan Petrucha and Rick Parker! Our booth number is 1831. More on that in the coming weeks. For now, I’d like to turn to reviews that have been coming in from all over the country recently. It feels like people coast to coast are enjoying our graphic novels, and we couldn’t be happier.

Over in the North West part of the United States, the Portland Book Review got their hands on a copy of THE HARDY BOYS The New Case Files #1 “Crawling with Zombies,” calling it “a great series to get hooked on.” You can read the review here. Don’t forget about The Hardy Boys “Crawling with Zombies” video, either! Head over to our website’s video page to watch it. That was a lot of fun to make– I got to direct the video as well as record the original music I wrote for it. It was a blast!

Over in Tennessee, Andy Smith, or as he’s sometimes known “Captain Comics,” of The Comics Buyers Guide got his hands on graphic novels of THE HARDY BOYS The New Case Files, NANCY DREW The New Case Files, PAPERCUTZ SLICES, and TALES FROM THE CRYPT, reviewing all of them for his article in the guide’s upcoming November issue. Cap’n Andy reviews a lot of graphic novels, discussing our series at the end of the article because he says he’s “saved the best for last.” His review isn’t up yet, but as soon as it is I’ll post it. Thanks, Cap’n!

We hope wherever you are, you are enjoying our graphic novels. We want to hear from you! Let us know what you think. Until next time, have a great day, and thanks for stopping by.

-Michael

Associate Editor Michael Petranek here, very excited about the Drew’s Clues interview with Stefan Petrucha, Sarah Kinney, and Sho Murase about all things Nancy Drew. You can access the interview here. It’s great to see all three of these wonderful friends and colleagues interviewed in the same place. I think you’ll enjoy it!

Things are going well here at Papercutz. Last weekend I did a podcast interview that you can check out here. Right now Jim and I are slowly but surely getting through all 192 pages of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED DELUXE #6 “The Three Musketeers”. It’s a big project but it’s going to be a cool graphic novel. I’m also looking forward to getting started on THE SMURFS #7 and PAPERCUTZ SLICES #3 very soon! I can’t wait to get some emails from Adam Grano and Rick Parker. Until next time, have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

-Michael

It’s been far too long since I’ve stopped in to share Papercutz news with you, and boy is there a lot! GERONIMO STILTON #7 “Dinosaurs in Action” and THE SMURFS #4 ‘The Smurfette” were the first two books released by Papercutz in 2011. This is all getting us ready for May 7th, 2011. Why this date, you ask? Because that is Free Comic Book Day — the day when you will be able to pick up your free copies of GERONIMO STILTON & THE SMURFS free comic! Visit the Free Comic Book Day website for more info. For now, here’s a sneak peek of our free comicbook cover:

We’re very excited about this comic! I love working with Ortho on Geronimo Stilton and Adam Grano on The Smurfs, so it should be pretty cool to see these two titles come together. Recently, The Comics Journal put together an essay on The Smurfs and their creator, Peyo. You can read the article here. It’s great if you’ve ever wondered where these little blue guys came from and how they’ve changed throughout the years.

Speaking of The Smurfs, THE SMURFS #4 was recently named a “Good Comic For Kids” by School Library Journal along with NANCY DREW The New Case Files Vol. 2 “Vampire Slayer Part II”, DISNEY FAIRIES Vol. 4 “Tinker Bell to the Rescue”, and CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED Deluxe Vol. 5 “Treasure Island”. A great start to the year, indeed! We’ve been getting a lot of attention, which is wonderful. However, I can’t write about this great start to 2011 without mentioning our parody titles, which are no exception!

TALES FROM THE CRYPT and PAPERCUTZ SLICES have both been in the news today. It seems that people’s interest in HARRY POTTY and WICKEDER have only grown with time. Over the last few weeks TALES FROM THE CRYPT has been reviewed and/or mentioned in the Comic Book Recourses and The Graphic Novel Reporter. Meanwhile, PAPERCUTZ SLICES #1 “Harry Potty” has popped up on Curled Up Kids and in The Miami Herald! With all of this news regarding books by Stefan Petrucha and Rick Parker, why not take a look back at our HARRY POTTY video?

I hope your 2011 has started out safely and that you are enjoying the Year of the Rabbit. Until next time, take care and thanks for stopping by!

-Mike

Associate Editor Michael Petranek here to drop by and share our NEW video for NANCY DREW The New Case Files! We’re very excited about this video and this series and hope you are too! For more info, please visit our NANCY DREW page. As for the video, check it out here:

What did you think? Are you excited to see Nancy Drew head in a new direction? Let us know!

Over the past weekend I also received a lot of links to articles about NANCY DREW The New Case Files and THE HARDY BOYS The New Case Files. Check out ABC Action News’ coverage of a great article by Scripps Howard News Service that includes an interview with THE HARDY BOYS The New Case Files scribe Gerry Conway here. I also found some coverage of the HARDY BOYS video here. Needless to say, I was pleased as punch! Well until next time, take care and thanks for stopping by!

-Michael

Papercutz Slices (C) 2010 Stefan Petrucha and Barking Dog Studios. All rights reserved.

If you frequent our blog, you know Stefan as the writer of PAPERCUTZ SLICES, NANCY DREW, and several stories in TALES FROM THE CRYPT, including “Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid.” What you might not know is that aside from his work for Papercutz, Stefan has scripted comics for “Web of Spider-Man” and “What If?” (Marvel Comics), “The X-Files” (Topps Comics), and multiple titles for Comico Comics, Moonstone Books, and Dark Horse Comics. He is a novelist whose latest work “Blood Prophecy” was released to rave reviews (I highly recommend it), and who has appeared on the A&E television show “Paranormal State.” If that wasn’t enough, Stefan is also a musician and a fun person to be around. Why not check out his website to see more of his work and learn more about this very cool writer!

Stefan’s newest Papercutz graphic novel, PAPERCUTZ SLICES #1 “Harry Potty” has been turning a lot of heads recently.  It was no surprise to me that the Comics Waiting Room described Stefan and collaborator Rick Parker as a “demented dynamic duo” in a recent review, and that the website Artistic License described the work as “humorous in all the right places.” So, without further ado, here is the Papercutz Q&A with Stefan Petrucha. Enjoy!

PAPERCUTZ: What first inspired you to write such a book? [Harry Potty and the Deathly Boring]

STEFAN PETRUCHA: With two daughters, my wife and I had the pleasure of reading all seven “Harry Potter” books aloud twice.  Along the way, we’d enjoy making fun of certain things, using funny voices and so on.  Following the success of “Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid” (in the 8th issue of Papercutz’ TALES FROM THE CRYPT series, now in its seventh printing) I pitched publisher Jim Salicrup and Terry Nantier the idea of doing a parody series.  Harry Potter seemed the best place to start.

PZ: And, with regard the title, did you check into all connected-copyright laws and such beforehand?!

SP: Over the years I’ve done a lot of research into copyright and intellectual property (IP) law, even ghost-writing a book on the subject.  Unfortunately, many people misunderstand where the line is legally.  Parody is a protected part of copyright law, specifically mentioned in the “fair use” clause.  The rule of thumb is that you can use enough of the original material so readers know what you’re talking about, but not so much that people think they’re actually buying the original.  So, our title and cover suggest the series, but also clearly states that this is an unauthorized parody.  Though we think we’re the best, we’re hardly the first Harry Potter parody to see print.  For instance, there’s an entire book series published in the UK called Barry Trotter – the author’s website boasts 700,000 copies sold.

I look at it this way – from Siskel and Ebert on up, many people make a living critiquing film and books.  Parody is the same thing, only in a narrative form.  It’s also important to distinguish between parody (which makes fun of the original) and satire (which uses the original to make fun of something else).  MAD, Saturday Night Live and so on have been doing it successfully for decades.

PZ: How much fun did you have coming up with the character names?

SP: A lot, but ultimately the names JK Rowling came up with in the original are pretty strange to begin with.  Even more fun was coming up with the names of the spells – like rememberallthisstufficus, cappuccino vente, and gluteus maximus!

PZ: What’s your favorite part of the now-finished book?

That would have to be the giant Haggard’s fondness for stepping on mouse-elves because they make a popping sound just like bubble wrap.

I have to say, though, that artist Rick Parker did a fantastic job sticking in background jokes and fun stuff that I’m still spotting when I look at the book.

PZ: Once someone has read it, what thoughts would you like them to take away?

SP: I’d like them not so much to have any thoughts as to be completely seized with laughter.

PZ: Lastly, what’s next for you?

SP: In a more serious vein, I currently have a historical vampire novel out from Grand Central Books entitled Blood Prophecy.  As for our next Slices effort, we’ll be dicing up the popular Twlight series with Breaking Down, appearing in March 2011.  I’m pleased and proud to say the script was co-written with my daughter, Maia Kinney-Petrucha.  Rick tells us he’s bent on making the art even funnier than the first book!

[END]

I hope you enjoyed this Q&A with Stefan Petrucha. I’ll be posting a Q&A with artist Rick Parker soon, which is sure to be very entertaining. Until next time, take it easy, and thanks for stopping by!

-Michael

I hope you had a great Turkey Day! I know I did. I got to spends some quality time with my good friend Zeus. He may weigh around 100 lbs., but he’s a pushover…

Me and Zeus

As you can see, Zeus is investigating something here. He’s on the case of the missing turkey, sniffing my hand in the hope that he can find some Thanksgiving leftovers.  Zeus may be a a great  detective, but the Dana Girls have him beat! You might remember the Dana Girls from NANCY DREW #20 and 21. Here’s the cover to NANCY DREW #21 for a refresher…

Nancy Drew #21

You see, at popculteraddict.com, a great article on the history of the Dana Girls was just published. I think it has some really cool facts about these two detectives, and had a great time reading it. For more info on Nancy Drew, don’t forget to visit her page on the Papercutz website. Stop by in the next few days, as I’ll be posting an interview with Nancy Drew scribe Stefan Petrucha! Until next time, thanks for stopping by!

-Michael

Editorial Assistant Mike Petranek here to discuss Nancy Drew and the Dana Girls! For those of you who don’t know, The Dana Girls are a detective duo created by Carloyn Keene, the same person who created Nancy Drew! The funny thing is, these characters had never appeared together… until now! See the cover from NANCY DREW #20 “High School Musical Mystery Part I:

Nancy and pals George and Bess wind up in the town of Penfield, where they visit the Starhurst School for Girls. Once students hear that Nancy, the famed Girl Detective has arrived, they insist she meet Penfield’s own teen sleuths, Louise and Jean Dana, the Dana Girls! Soon, a good-natured yet highly involved contest is put together to see who the best mystery-solver is, and it’s in the form of a musical complete with clues planted throughout the school. There’s only one complication, the “phony” crime concocted for the Mystery Musical turns out to be real!

To read more about this graphic novel, check out this great review here. Visit the Papercutz website for more information about this graphic novel and Nancy Drew #21 “High School Musical Mystery Part II.” Until next time, thanks for stopping by!

-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

If that’s not enough, yesterday my agent, Joe Veltre, finalized an agreement with a major publisher for a new YA book to be written by yours truly.  I am completely jazzed about this project, though I’ve been instructed not to discuss the details just yet.  The powers that be want to spring the full news when it will have maximum impact.  But, leave it to say, I can’t wait to get started on this one.

Hope everyone has a good three day weekend!

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