More often than not, when someone is asking to become my MySpace friend, a short note is attached saying something along the lines of  "I've always liked your work."  This is of course very kind, even if they include that same line in every invitation to every comics professional they befriend here on MySpace.  (By the way, I don't automatically just accept anyone -- I'd have twice as many friends, if I did, mostly young, lonely beautiful women who wish to show me their webcam pics!  I usually look at the pages of my would-be friends, and have found many incredibly interesting folks here on MySpace.  I have, however, lost patience with pages that take forever to load and have a hundred YouTube videos embedded.)

Now, it's not with any false modesty, that I suspect most of my befrienders have never heard of my current company, Papercutz.  After all, it only started a few years ago, and we only publish a few titles a year.  Whereas, I spent twenty years at good ol' Mighty Marvel Comics, where I edited such high-profile titles as THE UNCANNY X-MEN (up to the death of Dark Phoenix by Claremont and Byrne, although she lived in the version I edited!), THE AVENGERS, CAPTAIN AMERICA, IRON MAN, THE FANTASTIC FOUR, and eventually all the SPIDER-MAN titles, including SPIDER-MAN 1, by Todd McFarlane, so I'm not surprised that most people remember me from my Marvel Comics days.  So, without being too pushy about it, I usually write back a short message suggesting they check out what I've been up to at Papercutz.  Here's a recent response I got from such a message:

Hey Jim, glad to hear back from you.  Could you let me know more about your current projects.i.e Papercutz.  Do you do any comic conventions in the PA/MD?  The Baltimore comic con is coming up in August, I will be attending and if you are, I would like to catch you there.

Well, I wish I could attend more comic conventions, but because Papercutz is both a relatively new comics and graphic novel publisher, and a rather small company, I really can't spend too much time away from the office.  I try to make most conventions in the greater New York area, as well as the San Diego Comic Con, but that's about it.  In fact, it's because I can't attend too many cons around the country that I'm here on MySpace.  This is about the best way I know how to meet people from all over the world without leaving the 13th floor offices of Papercutz!

As for our current projects, I'll be happy to talk about 'em for you...

TALES FROM THE CRYPT -- based on the greatest horror comicbook of all time! Papercutz managed to obtain the exclusive rights from EC Comics to create all-new stories in both comics and graphic novel form.  As noted in yesterday's blog, we've been taking steps to make our new version of TALES FROM THE CRYPT a bit closer to the original series, yet still keep it suitable for all-ages.  The latest issue will be on sale 5/29, and features an incredible lineup, with all-new stories by award-winning horror writer Joe R. Lansdale. John L. Lansdale, and Arie Kaplan, and darker-than-ever artwork by James Romberger, Mr. Exes, and Ricko (the Sicko) Parker (Remember Rick drew BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD at Marvel?).

NANCY DREW -- is actually our biggest seller at the moment.  Having a major motion picture released last year sure didn't hurt at all.  Stefan Petrucha, known for his brilliant X-FILES comics, writes the Girl Detective's latest adventures with his wife, who's also a talented writer, Sarah Kinney.  While traditionally, most of Nancy Drew's fans are girls, quite a few males of all ages are also avid followers of this series.  Artist Sho Murase, along with color and 3-D CG artist Carlos Guzman, make each and every NANCY DREW graphic novel an incredible sight to behold.  Even fans who say they hate manga, are fans of Murase and Guzman's artistry.  And believe it or not, they just keep getting better with each new Nancy Drew graphic novel!

THE HARDY BOYS -- If you're a Marvel fan who wondered whatever happened to X-Men writer Scott Lobdell, you need look no further than our ongoing series of graphic novels starring Frank and Joe Hardy!  Recently, the book has taken a quantum leap forward artistically thanks to the dynamic draftsmanship of Paulo Henrique!  He combines all the fun of manga, with all the power of John Byrne at his best! 

BIONICLE -- Our newest title, and already it looks like it may become our biggest hit yet!  Based on the LEGO toys of the same name, the graphic novel series is collecting the original comicbooks that were available either packed with the toys or through the BIONICLE fan club.  Greg Farshtey is like unto a god in BIONICLE fan circles, and once you check out this title, you'll see why.  The first two volumes feature great art by Carlos D'Anda and Randy Elliott.   Even the coloring and lettering are state-of-the art fantastic! What TRANSFORMERS was to a previous generation, BIONICLE is to today's generation!

CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED -- Another legendary comics series is revived by Papercutz!  In this series we're re-presenting many of the long out-of-print issues originally produced by First Comics.  Volume 1 featured Dickens's "Great Expectations" and volume 2 spotlights Wells's "The Invisible Man."  Both were adapted by award-winning graphic novelist Rick Geary.  Volume 3, coming this Fall, will be Kyle Baker's adaptation of the "Alice in Wonderland" sequel, Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass." 

CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED DELUXE -- this companion title features far-longer adaptations to allow greater faithfulness to the source material.  A few blogs back, I wrote about the stunning review the first volume's "The Wind in the Willows" garnered.  Michel Plessix's version of the now 100 year-old book by Kenneth Grahame was deservedly dubbed a "visual masterpiece" by NEWSWEEK magazine, which caused the book to go right into a big second printing.  The second volume featured four "Tales from the Brothers Grimm" which is also getting rave reviews, but the third volume, coming at the end of this year, is Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe," and it is one of the best graphic novels I've read all year!  Adapted by Christophe Gaultier, this all-new adaptation is simply incredible.  Gaultier brings the story vividly and dramatically to life, in a way that is sure to move you.  I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed "Robinson Crusoe"!

I'm tempted to talk about some of the other projects we're hoping to bring out in 2009, but it may be a bit too early for that.  In the meantime, I hope that my many friends from my Marvel days, will do me the kind favor of checking out some of the titles I've just mentioned.  I'd really like to know what you think about it, good or bad.  If you don't believe we can take constructive, or even destructive criticism, just check out the letters published in the TALES FROM THE CRYPT comicbook.  The fans pulled no punches, and we took the blows (feels like I'm about to break into a Sinatra song right about now...), and shock of shocks -- we even listened and acted upon their advice.  So don't be shy!  As my hero and mentor Stan "the Man" Lee might say, here's your chance to Sock It to Salicrup!  Let me know what you think, okay?

Excelsior!

Jim

Well, what can I say? Check out Malcolm Jones’s review of the new comics adapting classic novels in this week’s issue of NEWSWEEK, and you’ll see a review that just made my day, my week, my month, maybe my whole year!  It’s online at:  http://www.newsweek.com/id/128537

Perhaps one of the most frustrating parts of being a comicbook editor is to publish a comic or graphic novel that you love, that you wish to share with the whole world because it’s so good, and for whatever reasons, it unfortunately just seems to fade away unnoticed.  Yes, there’s the satisfaction of producing something to be proud of, but sometimes that’s not enough.  But when Papercutz brought back CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED and introduced CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED DELUXE, we’ve had nothing but good luck. 

I’ve been a comics fan most of my life, and that simply means I appreciate and love great comics.  I certainly enjoy good superhero comics, and have even edited many that are still highly regarded by fans.  But I love every other type of comic as well.  And now as editor-in-chief at Papercutz, I’ve had the opportunity to revive such legendary comics as TALES FROM THE CRYPT and CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED. 

For CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED, not only did we wish to revive Albert Kanter’s original brainchild, with its oft-stated mission of introducing children to great works of literature through the comics medium, I hoped that with CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED DELUXE, with far more pages available, we could also produce comics that could stand on their own as works of comics art.  A lofty ambition, I know, but why not attempt to produce the very best? 

Our plan was to bring back the great series of adaptations originally published in the 90s by First Publishing and Berkley in the 90s. (Our friends at Jack Lake Productions are reprinting the Gilberton original series.)  We thought First/Berkley were ahead of their time distributing CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED to bookstores, and that now would be the right time to bring them back.  That plus publishing CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED DELUXE seemed perhaps an overly ambitious plan for a relatively small comics publisher such as Papercutz, but we decided to go for it! 

Well, our first bit of luck was getting the rights to publish Michel Plessix’s beautiful adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s "The Wind in the Willows."  My partner, Terry Nantier, had previously published this in 1997 in four volumes at his other company NBM, and he masterfully arranged for this great work to be the debut volume of our DELUXE series.

Our second bit of luck came when Diamond, the major comicbook distributor, devoted a full page to CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED DELUXE 1 "The Wind in the Willows" in their catalog, which gave us excellent exposure and also had a very positive impact on sales.

Once the book was released, a flood of great reviews began appearing, and there’s hardly been any let up.  As much as I appreciate each and every review we’ve gotten so far, the piece in NEWSWEEK was a real surprise.  We knew they were doing a piece on the classic comics adaptations currently in release from several publishers, and we would’ve been grateful if we were simply mentioned.  Imagine our surprise when the issue hits the stands and most of the piece, entitled "Everything is Illuminated" is about CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED.  Here are just a few bits...

"Papercutz, the company now licensing the brand, has set very high standards for its new series."

"’The Wind in the Willows’ is something else again. First published in four volumes in France in 1996, Michel Plessix’s rendering of Kenneth Grahame’s story is a visual masterpiece—Rat, Mole, Toad and Badger have met their Michelangelo. Every frame is drawn and colored with meticulous care. Every elegant page is composed with a dual purpose: to enchant the eye and to further the various narratives that make up the loose plot. Plessix knows how to advance and retard the story’s pace. He knows just when to zoom in and when to pull back for a wide shot."

"Plessix’s ’The Wind in the Willows’ is a book to get lost in—and ’lost in’ implies, if not a completely different world, then at least a place as alien as it is beguiling."

But what really surprised me is this...

"Plessix’s version isn’t better than Grahame’s—it’s just a different way of telling the story. They’re not mutually exclusive. You can choose both—or either—and not go amiss. I sat down with Plessix’s and Grahame’s versions, read them side by side, both for the first time, and I can’t say that one is better, other than the significant fact that Grahame dreamed it all up in the first place (although the fact that we wouldn’t have Mendelssohn’s "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" without Shakespeare’s does nothing to diminish Mendelssohn). Their charms are different, but each man has created a wonderful world, one out of words and the other in images."

Can you believe it?  NEWSWEEK is saying a comics adaptation is virtually equal to the source material! It reminded me of a smart review of the movie adaptation of "A League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" which proclaimed "The comic was better!"  As a longtime comics fan and professional, who has been a part of a comics industry that has long yearned to be afforded the same respect as film and television, nothing could be more satisfying that to read such a review.  Thank you, NEWSWEEK.  Thank you, Malcolm Jones.

Both CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED DELUXE 1 "Wind in the Willows" and CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED 1 "Great Expectations" (by Charles Dickens and adapted by Rick Geary) should still be on sale at most booksellers, and as you can imagine, I’d love it if you could see these books for yourself. 

Whew!  Things have been so hectic the last couple of months I’ve barely had time to keep up with my MySpace page, not to mention my FaceBook page, and my LinkedIn page, and my all-but-forgotten ComicSpace page, and my Biz page, etc., etc.  Mainly I’ve been working ’round the clock on all sorts of great Papercutz projects, but I did catch whatever flu bug that’s been going around lately, and that certainly knocked the wind out of me these past two weeks.  But, hey, I’m back and better than ever!

The really good news is that the Papercutz NANCY DREW and HARDY BOYS graphic novels have become a couple of sleeper hits.  People are really enjoying Stefan Petrucha, Sarah Kinney, and Sho Murase’s take on the world-famous Girl Detective, and fans have noticed what a great job Scott Lobdell and Paulo Henrique are doing on the Undercover Brothers.  Even readers who didn’t initially like our manga-inspired approach on the artwork admit they now love Sho and Paulo’s artwork.  It’s as if we’ve become the manga-like titles for people who hate manga-like titles! 

Both the NANCY DREW and HARDY BOYS series have just published their 12th volumes, which is the equivalent of publishing over three years worth of regular monthly comics, as each volume has packed in 84 pages of comics, so this is like our third anniversary.  Yay us!

And as excited as we are to be doing so well in today’s extremely competitive domestic comics market, we’re doubly delighted that the foreign editions of the NANCY DREW and HARDY BOYS graphic novels are starting to take off as well!  Just check out this article from The Hindu, India’s national newspaper:

http://www.thehindu.com/mp/2008/03/03/stories/2008030351050100.htm

We just received a big box of sample copies of NANCY DREW and THE HARDY BOYS graphic novels from our friends at Euro Books and we were greatly impressed.  We especially liked the 3 IN 1 editions that collect three of our graphic novels into one fat fun-filled edition.  And here’s the really odd (to me) part, these editions are entirely in English, so unlike some of the other beautifully produced foreign editions we’ve got to look at, I can actually read these.

Well, as you know by now, I can go on and on, but it’s getting late and I better start heading home.  Tomorrow’s another day, and I hope I can start telling you more exciting Papercutz news then.

But before I go, a great big sincere THANK YOU to everyone out there that has been picking up any Papercutz comics or graphic novels.  Your support has meant everything to me, and it’s the reason we’re all working so hard to make our comics the very best they can possibly be.  Again, THANK YOU!

One of the things I really enjoy a lot about working in comics is designing covers.  By being around Marvel Comics for so long, I was lucky enough to see such folks as John Romita, Marie Severin, Gil Kane, Ed Hannigan, Ron Wilson, and Dave Cockrum, among others (all working with various editors from Stan Lee to Jim Shooter), whip up incredible cover sketches, as if by magic!  I learned so much by watching these top talents in action, and although not every cover comes out exactly the way we hope, it's still an exciting creative process, trying to come up with the best possible covers.

The late Dave Cockrum had an interesting approach to his cover sketches.  In fact, I don't think it's fair to even call what he did "sketches." He did fairly tight pencils and worked out almost every design detail, leaving little for the cover artist to figure out. It's as if he was simply drawing the covers at actual size.

Dave was such an easy going, friendly guy, it's still hard to believe that I won't ever be running into him again at another Big Apple Convention or any other gathering of comics folks.  When I read that my pal Cliff Meth was helping Dave's widow, Paty, sell off Dave's comicbook collection, it finally did sink in. 

If you're looking for a good deal on reading copies of great comics, follow this link: