Remember the Smurfs? These small, blue cartoon creatures clothed in white footie trousers (with a hole for their tails) and matching Phrygian caps rose to pop-culture fame as stars of their own animated Saturday morning television show in the 1980s. Created by Hanna-Barbera, The Smurfs was a huge hit for NBC, where it ran for nine seasons. The cartoon was repeatedly nominated for Daytime Emmy awards and generated several prime-time Smurfs specials. Almost 30 years later, The Smurfs continue to win over new fans; the show is still streaming on www.fancast.com, occasionally airs on Cartoon Network's Boomerang channel, and is also available on DVD from Warner Home Video (kids can visit the official "Smurfs on DVD" Web site to watch videos and play games). Now the Smurfs are poised to go 21st century, with a new live-action/CGI-animated movie, currently in production. Scheduled for release in August 2011, the Sony Pictures film features the vocal talents of Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, and Hank Azaria as well as Jonathan Winters, Katy Perry, and George Lopez.
With Smurf-mania percolating, it's a great time for kids to explore the literary roots of these likable characters. Peyo (the pen name for Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford) originally introduced the Smurfs as part of his Johan and Peewit comic series in 1958. Papa Smurf and his cohorts were such a huge success that they were quickly allotted their own comic. Papercutz is making these works available to young readers once again by launching a new line up of full-color Smurfs graphic novels. The books pair crystal clear reproductions of Peyo's artwork with accessible new text translations. The Smurfs and the Magic Flute (Smurfs Graphic Novel #2) recounts their first appearance in the Johan and Peewit comics. Set in medieval times, the story features Johan, a brave young page, and his mischievous, short-statured sidekick, Peewit. When Peewit finds a magic flute (the instrument makes anyone who hears its music dance until they collapse) it's not long before it falls into the hands of a thief. The two friends must travel to the village of the Smurfs--the flute's creators--to find a way to counteract its effects and defeat the bad guy. The Purple Smurfs (Smurfs Graphic Novel #1) includes the title story, which marked the debut of the Smurfs' stand-alone series, along with two other tales. Filled with blithe adventures, exaggerated visual humor, and warmhearted innocence, these comics are both entertaining and endearing.
Calling the Smurfs "a great example of comics that can be enjoyed equally by children and adults," Salicrup hopes to publish the entire Smurfs oeuvre as Papercutz graphic novels. In fact, Papercutz is publishing "The Purple Smurfs" in English for the first time: "The original story, entitled 'The Black Smurfs,' was seen as unintentionally insensitive. In the story, the Smurfs are bitten by a Bzz Fly which turns the Smurfs into zombie-like black Smurfs, shouting 'Gnap!' as they bite and infect other Smurfs. It was a cartoon scenario inspired by the Black Plague. When Hanna-Barbera adapted that story into a cartoon, they simply changed it from 'The Black Smurfs' to 'The Purple Smurfs,' and the problem was solved. Papercutz has followed Hanna-Barbera's lead, and has changed the Smurfs in the original comics story from black to purple, with the full approval of the Lafig Belgium, the licensing agents for the Smurfs." The Smurf King (#3) will be released in December and The Smurfette (#4) will follow in January.
With more than five decades under their belts, the Smurfs have plenty of staying power. Salicrup points out, "Children still respond to these characters as if they were their friends. The Smurfs...work and play together and simply want to be loved and happy just like we all do. The Smurfs are far from perfect, but they are accepting of each others' foibles and are always forgiving." Will fans of the TV series enjoy reading about these familiar characters in graphic novel format? "They will love it! And they'll especially love seeing the little bits Hanna-Barbera would leave out. The Saturday morning cartoon version was just a bit too squeaky-clean, removing much of the great slapstick humor found in the comics."
What role will these books play in library collections? According to Salicrup, like other comics that are well-drawn and well-written, these titles "Provide great entertainment while making the whole reading experience fun. The Smurfs comics look deceptively simple, but there's far more to them on just about every level. Even the vocabulary is somewhat sophisticated, but that's what's so wonderful about comics. Thanks to the incredibly clear storytelling in the pictures, kids can easily figure out the difficult words in the dialogue and captions. In fact, with the word 'Smurf' used to replace so many other words in the Smurfs' dialogue (e.g., 'Hey, there! Smurf out of the way!') kids are constantly having fun figuring out what the missing words are. The only possible problem I foresee for libraries is that it may be hard keeping these graphic novels on the shelves--the demand will be smurf-tastic!"
Publication Information:
The Purple Smurfs. (The Smurfs Graphic Novel #1). Tr. ISBN 978-1-59707-207-6; pap. ISBN 978-1-59707-206-9.
The Smurfs and the Magic Flute. (The Smurfs Graphic Novel #2). Tr. ISBN 978-1-59707-209-0; pap. ISBN 978-1-59707-208-3
Ea vol: Papercutz, dist. by Macmillan. Sept. 2010. Tr $10.99; pap. $5.99.
This is where Iam going to get at my 28th Birthday of 2010! In the title of Hanna-Barbera's cartoon of The Smurfs said, The Smurfs created by Peyo! Because they honestly used Peyo in honors. With a thanks with the honest merantman, Sturt Ross who brought the Smurfs to America.
Posted by Charles H. Westgate III on September 7, 2010 09:14:48PM
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