Papercutz prepares for the release of Matthew Erman and Shelby Criswell‘s new middle grade graphic novel Heebie Jeebies with a preview. The 184-page graphic novel releases September 17, retailing for $14.99.
From the book’s synopsis:
“AT AMBERLINE MIDDLE SCHOOL THERE’S MORE THAN ONE THING THAT GOES BUMP IN THE NIGHT…
“Blue and his best friend Herschel are definitely not the coolest kids around, but when a group of popular bullies tell our main characters that their problems can be solved by finding the treasure buried beneath the school… well, Blue, Herschel and one annoying night janitor have to investigate their school after dark!
“What nightmares guard the treasure? The kind to give our heroes one bad case of the Heebie Jeebies!”
The book is written by Matthew Erman who has previously produced Long Lost and Witchblood with Lisa Sterle at Vault; Good Luckat BOOM!; and more. For the younger readers market, Heebie Jeebies follows on from his two previous efforts on licensed properties – Care Bears: Unlock the Magic (IDW) and The Dark Crystal: Journey into the Mondo Leviadin (BOOM Box!). This will be his first non-licensed graphic novel for kids.
In the press release Matthew Erman says:
“I am so excited and so proud that Heebie Jeebies is getting announced and will soon be taking over the world of graphic novels for kids. This is the kind of book and the kind of story I absolutely loved as a kid and couldn’t get enough of — it’s funny, sweet, scary and has a plethora of weird and goofy moments that’ll hopefully make readers scream with delight.
Speaking about co-creator and artistic partner Shelby Criswell, he adds:
“Working with Shelby is always a privilege and getting to create this story with them was incredible.”
Shelby Criswell is relatively new to the middle grade graphic novel space. The artist, graphic designer and illustrator released their debut graphic novel Queer As All Get Out: 10 People Who’ve Inspired Me from Street Noise Books in 2021. They have contributed to The Nib anthology Be Gay, Do Comics (published by IDW in 2020) and had previously worked alongside Matthew Erman on the Terminal Punks series at Papercutz’ parent company Mad Cave Studios – which was collected as a trade 2021.
Talking about Heebie Jeebiesthe artist said:
“This is the first book I’ve made that I’ll get to give to my son and that really is magical to me. Writing for kids was never something I expected to do, or to love, but when you get into the mindset and really understand the kind of impact you can have on little ones, it honestly makes me tear up.”
Criswell mentions that the genesis of the book is actually drawn from personal experience:
“Heebie Jeebies was inspired by my time working as a night janitor at a Montessori school — I was down on my luck and looking for anything to give my life the nudge in the right direction it needed. Dreaming of a hidden treasure underneath the school kept me going and cleaning, in the hopes that I’d discover a magical fix-it to all my problems. And while there weren’t riches beyond imagination, I did find my imagination and this story blossomed from that experience. In the end the magic treasure I eventually found was not the one I was looking for, but the one I needed and now after all these years, I get to share the treasure I found with everyone.”
