Papercutz has signed a deal with Stardoll, an online fashion community for teen girls, to produce a series of graphic novels based on the site’s central narrative about a group of friends trying to make it in the fashion business. Attracting more than 200 million members from around the world, Stardoll focuses on fashion, dress-up, shopping, decorating, and social gaming.
"We are excited about our partnership with Papercutz ,and expanding the Stardoll brand through their creative graphic novels," said Carla Masters, Stardoll's head of licensing.
Stardoll is the latest franchise to enter into a partnership with Papercutz – which also produces bestselling graphic novels based on the Smurfs, Lego Ninjago, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Geronimo Stilton and others – to produce graphic novel series based on their characters. Papercutz has brought in veteran comics artist, designer, and illustrator JayJay Jackson to produce the books. Jackson will tell the story of five friends looking to succeed in fashion, creating a backstory for the teens that combines high school drama with the supernatural.
The Stardoll site has featured its own online graphic novel, Sea of Stars, which focused on a narrative similar to the proposed graphic novels and included characters that were engaged in a “meta-plotline” and were actually using the Stardoll’s site in the story. Papercutz marketing director Jesse Post said the new series will have "young fashioned-interested girls involved in a supernatural experience that they have to figure out as they go along.” But he said the new graphic novels will not have any “meta-plotlines involving the real-world Stardoll,” and said, “JayJay’s take on it sets our series off in a different direction.”
Targeting ages 10 and up, Stardoll: Secrets and Dreams Vol. 1, is a 64-page, full-color graphic novel that will be published in September 2013; and coming in December 2013, Papercutz will release the second volume of the series, Stardoll: The Secret of the Star Jewel. All the books in the series will be released in digital editions on Comixology and Iverse, available in all e-book formats.
