Parent company | Mad Cave Studios |
---|---|
Founded | 2005 |
Founder | Terry Nantier Jim Salicrup |
Headquarters location | New York City, U.S. |
Distribution | Simon & Schuster [1] |
Key people | Stefan Petrucha Michael Petranek |
Official website | Papercutz.com |
Papercutz Graphic Novels is an American publisher of family-friendly comic books and graphic novels, mostly based on licensed properties such as Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and Lego Ninjago. Papercutz has also published new volumes of the Golden Age-era comics series Classics Illustrated and Tales from the Crypt . In recent years they have begun publishing English translations of European (mostly Franco-Belgian) all-ages comics, including The Smurfs and Asterix . They publish several titles through their imprint Super Genius.
Terry Nantier (born 1957), [2] founder of NBM Publishing, established Papercutz in 2005, along with comics industry veteran Jim Salicrup, who became the editor-in-chief. Their intent was to produce comics and graphic novels appropriate for children, which was lacking in the industry at the time. Writer Stefan Petrucha came on board as well; he has worked on such titles as Nancy Drew , Papercutz Slices, and Rio . Associate editor Michael Petranek joined Papercutz in 2008. [3]
Mad Cave Studios acquired Papercutz in 2022. [4]
In the spring of 2005 Papercutz launched with the publication of two three-part comic book series; Nancy Drew's The Demon of River Heights and The Hardy Boys' The Ocean of Osyria. Both series were both collected into 92-page graphic novels, becoming the first titles in the Nancy Drew Graphic Novel and The Hardy Boys Graphic Novel series respectively. All other titles in both series have been made in graphic novel format only and are published every three months. The Nancy Drew graphic novels are written by Stefan Petrucha, and the first series was illustrated in manga-style artwork by Sho Murase. The character's graphic novel incarnation has been described as "a fun, sassy, modern-day teen who is still hot on the heels of criminals." [5] Creators on the Hardy Boys series included writer Scott Lobdell (Hardy Boys), and artist Lea Hernandez. In 2010, Papercutz relaunched both titles, with the Hardy Boys series bringing on a new creative team of Gerry Conway and Paulo Henrique. [6]
In 2006, Papercutz published an English translation of the Italian nonfiction graphic novel The Life of Pope John Paul II , by Alessandro Mainard and Werner Maresta.
In 2007, Papercutz acquired the Classics Illustrated license and began publishing comic book adaptations of classic children's novels. Combining reprints of some of the original titles with new modern adaptations, contributors to the series include Rick Geary, Kyle Baker, Tom Mandrake, Jill Thompson, Dan Spiegle, Peter Kuper, Gahan Wilson, Ricardo Villagrán, Mike Vosburg, and Mike Ploog. A second series, Classics Illustrated Deluxe, features many French artists.[ citation needed ]
From 2007–2010 Papercutz published a new series of original Tales from the Crypt comics. The first issue was published in June 2007, with a cover drawn by Kyle Baker. All three of EC Comics' "horror hosts" (The GhouLunatics) appear in the issue, drawn by Rick Parker. Contributors to subsequent issues included well-known horror talents Joe R. Lansdale and his brother John L. Lansdale, Don McGregor, husband and wife team James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook, Mort Todd, Neil Kleid, Arie Kaplan, and Chris Noeth. Controversy erupted in 2008 when U.S. vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was featured on a cover, attacking the horror hosts with a hockey stick, published with a letter from William Gaines' daughter Cathy Gaines Mifsud commenting on censorship. [7] Papercutz published 13 issues (9 graphic novels) of Tales from the Crypt, with the last issue being published September 28, 2010.
In 2009, Papercutz launched Papercutz Slices, a popular culture parody series written by Stefan Petrucha and illustrated by Rick Parker. Targets of the series have included Diary of a Wimpy Kid , [8] the Harry Potter books, Twilight , Percy Jackson & the Olympians , The Hunger Games , and The Walking Dead .
In July 2010, Papercutz began publishing The Smurfs comics, translated by Joe Johnson. Debuting with a special preview comic that contained the story "The Smurfnapper," Papercutz has released a large number of Smurfs graphic novels to date. The success of The Smurfs prompted Papercutz to publish more English translations of such Franco-Belgian comics series as Benny Breakiron , Dance Class, and Sybil the Backpack Fairy.
Since 2010 Papercutz has added a slate of new licensed properties to its graphic novel lines, including the Disney Fairies, Lego Ninjago, [9] Garfield, Power Rangers, Rio , [10] and Stardoll. [11]
In 2024, Papercutz announced a new partnership with The Walt Disney Company to begin publishing titles based on Disney and Pixar IPs. "Embark on a Summer Reading Adventure: Papercutz Reveals an Enchanting Lineup of Disney Graphic Novels!," These include new titles and reprints based on Turning Red , Inside Out , Encanto , Phineas and Ferb , Disney Fairies, Frozen , and 101 Dalmatian Street , with presumedly more unannounced titles in the works.
Gladstone Publishing was an American company that published Disney comics from 1986 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1998. The company had its origins as a subsidiary of Another Rainbow Publishing, a company formed by Bruce Hamilton and Russ Cochran to publish the Carl Barks Library and produce limited edition lithographs of Carl Barks oil paintings of the Disney ducks. The name references Gladstone Gander.
Disney comics are comic books and comic strips featuring characters created by the Walt Disney Company, including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck.
Russell George Manning was an American comic book artist who created the series Magnus, Robot Fighter and illustrated such newspaper comic strips as Tarzan and Star Wars. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2006.
First Comics is an American comic book publisher that was active from 1983 to 1991 and then from 2011 to present, known for titles like American Flagg!, Grimjack, Nexus, Badger, Dreadstar, and Jon Sable. Along with competitors like Pacific Comics and Eclipse Comics, First took early advantage of the growing direct market, attracting a number of writers and artists from DC and Marvel to produce creator-owned titles, which, as they were not subject to the Comics Code, were free to feature more mature content.
Kyle John Baker is an American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, and animator known for his graphic novels and for a 2000s revival of the series Plastic Man.
Rick Geary is an American cartoonist and illustrator. He is known for works such as A Treasury of Victorian Murder and graphic novel biographies of Leon Trotsky and J. Edgar Hoover.
The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers is a detective fiction series of books published by Aladdin Paperbacks, which replaced The Hardy Boys Digest paperbacks in early 2005. All the books in the series have been written under the pen name of Franklin W. Dixon.
The Haunt of Fear was an American bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics, starting in 1950. Along with Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror, it formed a trifecta of popular EC horror anthologies. The Haunt of Fear was sold at newsstands beginning with its May/June 1950 issue.
Tales from the Crypt was an American bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics from 1950 to 1955, producing 27 issues. Along with its sister titles, The Haunt of Fear and The Vault of Horror, Tales from the Crypt was popular, but in the late 1940s and early 1950s comic books came under attack from parents, clergymen, schoolteachers and others who believed the books contributed to illiteracy and juvenile delinquency. In April and June 1954, highly publicized congressional subcommittee hearings on the effects of comic books upon children left the industry shaken. With the subsequent imposition of a highly restrictive Comics Code, EC Comics publisher Bill Gaines cancelled Tales from the Crypt and its two companion horror titles, along with the company's remaining crime and science fiction series in September 1954.
Classics Illustrated is an American comic book/magazine series featuring adaptations of literary classics such as Les Misérables, Moby-Dick, Hamlet, and The Iliad. Created by Albert Kanter, the series began publication in 1941 and finished its first run in 1969, producing 169 issues. Following the series' demise, various companies reprinted its titles. Since then, the Classics Illustrated brand has been used to create new comic book adaptations. This series is different from the Great Illustrated Classics, which is an adaptation of the classics for young readers that includes illustrations, but is not in the comic book form.
Neil Kleid is an American cartoonist who received a 2003 Xeric Award grant for his graphic novella Ninety Candles (2004). Raised in Oak Park, Michigan, he lives in New Jersey
Nantier Beall Minoustchine Publishing Inc. is an American graphic novel publisher. Founded by Terry Nantier in 1976 as Flying Buttress Publications, NBM is one of the oldest graphic novel publishers in North America. The company publishes English adaptations and translations of popular European comics, compilations of classic comic strips, and original fiction and nonfiction graphic novels. In addition to NBM Graphic Novels, the company has several imprints including ComicsLit for literary graphic fiction, and Eurotica and Amerotica for adult comics.
Jim Salicrup is an American comic book editor, known for his tenures at Marvel Comics and Topps Comics. At Marvel, where he worked for twenty years, he edited books such as The Uncanny X-Men, Fantastic Four, Avengers and various Spider-Man titles. At Topps, he edited books such as Bram Stoker's Dracula, X-Files and Zorro.
The Smurfs is a Belgian comic series, created by cartoonist Peyo. The titular creatures were introduced as supporting characters in an already established series, Johan and Peewit in 1958, and starred in their own series from 1959. Thirty-nine Smurf comic albums have been created, 16 of them by Peyo. Originally, the Smurf stories appeared in Spirou magazine with reprints in many different magazines, but after Peyo left the publisher Dupuis, many comics were first published in dedicated Smurf magazines, which existed in French, Dutch and German. A number of short stories and one page gags have been collected in comic books next to the regular series of 39. By 2008, Smurf comics have been translated into 25 languages, and some 25 million albums have been sold.
The X-Files was a spin-off from the television series of the same name, originally published by Topps Comics and, most recently, DC Comics imprint Wildstorm.
Stefan Petrucha is an American writer of comics and young adult fiction. He has written graphic novels in the X-Files and Nancy Drew series, as well as science fiction and horror. For 13 years, from 1994 to 2007, Petrucha wrote stories for Disney comic books published by Egmont.
Richard Lowell Parker is an American artist, writer, and cartoonist whose humorous artwork has appeared in The New York Times, The Village Voice, Time magazine, U.S. News & World Report, Life magazine, and various comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Pendulum Press was a publishing company based in West Haven, Connecticut, that operated from 1970 to 1994, producing the bulk of their material in the 1970s. The company is most well known for their comic book adaptations of literary classics. The Pendulum Now Age Classics series published black-and-white paperback adaptations of more than 70 literary classics, such as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, The War of the Worlds, and Moby-Dick. These stories were later widely reprinted by other publishers well into the 2000s. Pendulum also published a line of historical comics, a line of comic book biographies, and a line of comic book adaptations of inspiring stories and morality tales.
Graphic Classics is a comic book anthology series published by Eureka Productions of Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. Graphic Classics features adaptations of literary classics by authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle, H. P. Lovecraft, and Edgar Allan Poe, with art by top professionals, many of whom hail from the underground or alternative comics world. Created and edited by Tom Pomplun, the series began publication in 2002.