The Purple Smurfs (Smurfs Graphic Novels Series #1)

by Yvan Delporte, Peyo

Overview

The most recognizable, appealing, blue characters in comics return in this new series from Papercutz. This debut volume introduces us to the Smurf village, and features two Smurf-tastic stories. In “The Purple Smurf,” when a strange fly bites one of the Smurfs, a full-on epidemic develops in the Smurf Village. After being bit, a Smurf turns purple, his vocabulary is reduced to one word (“gnap!”), and he goes berserk! The purple Smurf runs amok, biting other Smurfs on the tail and turning them purple too! It’s up to Papa Smurf to find a cure. “The Flying Smurf” features the inspiring tale of a Smurf with a dream — to fly!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781597072076
Publisher:	Papercutz
Publication date:	08/31/2010
Series:	Smurfs Graphic Novels Series , #1
Pages:	56
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	7 - 12 Years

About the Author

Yvan Delporte is a Belgian comics writer, and was editor-in-chief of Spirou magazine between 1955 and 1968 during a period considered by many the golden age of Franco-Belgian comics. He is credited with several creative contributions, among these his collaborations with Peyo on The Smurfs, with René Follet on Steve Severin (1/2) and André Franquin with the creation of Gaston Lagaffe and the co-authorship of Idées noires.

PIERRE CULLIFORD, born in Belgium in 1928, was the cartoonist known as Peyo. Peyo began his career working with some of Belgium's most talented cartoonists, including his lifelong writing partner Yvan Delporte. In 1958, The Smurfs made their first appearance and went on to become the world-famous characters we know and love today.

Editorial Reviews

Smurf-reka! In anticipation of a film scheduled for release in 2011, this previously untranslated version of the cerulean gnomes' first solo collection (1963) offers three tales: A fly's contagious bite turns nearly all of the Smurfs into aggressive purple grunters (black ones in the French original—here the translator wisely keeps the color change of Hanna-Barbera's 1981 TV adaptation); one Smurf's determination to fly results in multiple crashes and calamities; another's desire to find peace and quiet away from Smurf Village runs afoul of a mosquito and other hazards. Replete with pratfalls, butt-biting and like slapstick, the neatly squared-off comic-strip–style panels look small at first glance, but coated paper and high production values make both the dialogue and the brightly colored art easy to read. Reminiscent of Asterix in tone but shorter and less sophisticated, these episodes don't show their age, and they should find a ready audience of recent Toon Book graduates. Also available: The Smurfs and the Magic Flute (ISBN: 978-1-59707-209-6; paper ISBN: 978-1-59707-208-3), a retitled reissue of their first appearance as characters in an earlier comics series. (Graphic fiction. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews