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"I was completely charmed by the 'Hereville' series. It’s a wonderful vehicle for a
coming-of-age story with a female protagonist who’s both relatable and likable."
Rabbi Joshua Breindel
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"Without a doubt, this is the best graphic novel of 2010 for kids. Bar none."
Elizabeth Bird, School Library Journal
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"Unique, laugh-out-loud funny, and thoroughly engrossing. Sequel, please!"
Tanya Auger, Horn Book Magazine
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"Mirka is the heroine that girlhood dreams are made of… Hereville is pure enchantment."
Barbara M. Moon, School Library Journal
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"Deutsch creates a beautiful, detail-rich world with a muted, ethereal palette that
masterfully blends faith and fantasy with astounding harmony. Undoubtedly one of
the cleverest graphic novels of the year."
Kirkus Reviews
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"This is a terrific story, told with skill and lots of heart, that readers of all ages will enjoy."
Publishers Weekly
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"I have finally fallen in love with my first graphic novel… the perfect bat mitzvah gift."
Sonja Bolle, Los Angeles Times
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"An elegant, subtle examination into the gender roles, deep religious roots, and everyday
cultural elements of an Orthodox Jewish society, while also being a witty,
enormously clever adventure quest... "
The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
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"Comics, and the rest of the world, for that matter, need more girl heroes like Mirka.
She will have readers cheering for her every step of the way. "
Raina Telgemeier
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"Author/illustrator Barry Deutsch offers up a mitzvah — a graphic novel which has joy,
style, lots of Yiddishkeit, adventure, and magic."
Jane Yolen
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"What do you get when you cross Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Isaac Bashevis Singer?"
The Washington Post
[…] I’ve posted a graphic showing the steps I went through to design the troll for Hereville. You can see the entire thing (it’s a bit long) on the Hereville website. […]
[…] I’ve posted a graphic showing the steps I went through to design the troll for Hereville. You can see the entire thing (it’s a bit long) on the Hereville website. […]
I think you could reuse all of them for future monsters. Each one of them has rather endearing monster qualities.
I think you could reuse all of them for future monsters. Each one of them has rather endearing monster qualities.
You know even without the horns I always thought the Troll was kinda sad. Think about it, the only contact this creature got was from people who came to rob or kill it. Worst yet, this is a clever troll, that at least has a mind enough to desire civil conversation, in a race of beings know for being stupid. It’s an outsider in society as a whole, and even more so it’s an outsider among it’s peers.
You know even without the horns I always thought the Troll was kinda sad. Think about it, the only contact this creature got was from people who came to rob or kill it. Worst yet, this is a clever troll, that at least has a mind enough to desire civil conversation, in a race of beings know for being stupid. It’s an outsider in society as a whole, and even more so it’s an outsider among it’s peers.
Interesting. The only time I can recall working on monster design was related to figuring out how large wings should be on various creatures, and especially how narrowly they could attach to the body, and still have a modicum of physics behind them. (Answers tended to be “so large as to dwarf all other aspects of the body†and “take up all dorsal areas, plus have bone and muscle structures that dominate the ventral areas – oh, and by the way, have hollow bones, too.†I largely abandoned winged creatures at that point.)
I’m curious how much of the plot you had in mind when you were designing the troll. The story line of the first edition of How Mirka Got Her Sword (** Spoiler, spoiler **) would seem to require a troll with a rather expressive face – sufficient to display intelligence, erudition, world-weariness – yet some of your drawings would seem to preclude almost all expression.
The fact that Mirka asks the troll to store the sword for her suggests that we’re going to see the troll again in a future installment – and perhaps in each installment? Moreover, given that the troll seems so articulate and honorable, I have to suspect that the troll would eventually become a grudging ally or, at the very least, a loyal and honorable foe. (“Oh, it’s you again. I commend you on your timing; I just had the sword polished. It’s right over there, behind the [fill in the obstacle that Mirka must conquer to retrieve her sword]. But are you sure you wouldn’t like to trade it for this copy of the White Album? Mint condition….â€)
And in some final installment, I’m hoping to see the troll weigh in on Mirka’s side in opposition to some villain who has (foolishly) offended the troll’s sense of honor and decorum. After all, I don’t encounter an honorable, decorous troll that often; it’d be a shame to waste such a character.
But it’s hard to imagine any of these developments without a rather expressive troll face.
Interesting. The only time I can recall working on monster design was related to figuring out how large wings should be on various creatures, and especially how narrowly they could attach to the body, and still have a modicum of physics behind them. (Answers tended to be “so large as to dwarf all other aspects of the body” and “take up all dorsal areas, plus have bone and muscle structures that dominate the ventral areas – oh, and by the way, have hollow bones, too.” I largely abandoned winged creatures at that point.)
I’m curious how much of the plot you had in mind when you were designing the troll. The story line of the first edition of How Mirka Got Her Sword (** Spoiler, spoiler **) would seem to require a troll with a rather expressive face – sufficient to display intelligence, erudition, world-weariness – yet some of your drawings would seem to preclude almost all expression.
The fact that Mirka asks the troll to store the sword for her suggests that we’re going to see the troll again in a future installment – and perhaps in each installment? Moreover, given that the troll seems so articulate and honorable, I have to suspect that the troll would eventually become a grudging ally or, at the very least, a loyal and honorable foe. (“Oh, it’s you again. I commend you on your timing; I just had the sword polished. It’s right over there, behind the [fill in the obstacle that Mirka must conquer to retrieve her sword]. But are you sure you wouldn’t like to trade it for this copy of the White Album? Mint condition….”)
And in some final installment, I’m hoping to see the troll weigh in on Mirka’s side in opposition to some villain who has (foolishly) offended the troll’s sense of honor and decorum. After all, I don’t encounter an honorable, decorous troll that often; it’d be a shame to waste such a character.
But it’s hard to imagine any of these developments without a rather expressive troll face.
The arms coming out of the ears is a wonderful symbol for internet trolls– they want to type, not listen. I hope you recycle the idea at some point.
The arms coming out of the ears is a wonderful symbol for internet trolls– they want to type, not listen. I hope you recycle the idea at some point.