J.M. Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan, once said, “It is not in doing what you like, but in liking what you do that is the secret of happiness.” We here at Papercutz and Super Genius not only get to work with and create comics all day every day, but we get to share those comics with you. We don’t just like what we do—we love it! And boy, do we have something special to share with you all today!
On July 18th, Super Genius will be releasing THE WENDY PROJECT, a beautifully illustrated, modern take on J.M. Barrie's classic Peter Pan story! Written by up-and-comer Melissa Jane Osbourne and Illustrated by the illustrious Veronica Fish (Archie, Spider-Woman, Slam!), THE WENDY PROJECT reimagines the Peter Pan story from the point of view of Wendy. It’s one of the most hotly anticipated releases of the year and for good reason!
The book tells the story of 16-year-old Wendy Davies, who crashes her car into a lake on a late summer night in New England with her two younger brothers in the backseat. When she wakes in the hospital, she is told that her youngest brother, Michael, is dead. Wendy — an otherwise sensible teenager – shocks her family by insisting that Michael is alive and in the custody of a mysterious flying boy. Placed in a new school, Wendy negotiates fantasy and reality as students and adults around her resemble characters from a storybook. Given a sketchbook by her therapist, Wendy starts to draw. But is “The Wendy Project” merely her safe space, or a portal between worlds?
Grief is a difficult thing to deal with because it just doesn’t make sense: someone you love is there one minute and gone the next. How can that be? The nonsensical nature of grief often drives someone to retreat to the world of fantasy, to escape reality for a something out of a storybook. In this way, THE WENDY PROJECT is like a cross between Peter Pan and Pan’s Labyrinth (so maybe Peter Pan’s Labyrinth?). For Wendy, as Barrie once wrote, “both make believe and true are the exact same thing.”
Written and illustrated with both spirited wit and psychological gravity, THE WENDY PROJECT is perfect for kids, teenagers, or even adults who have experienced loss in their life, who seek to make sense of something nonsensical.
It’s a beautiful story, one that will make you laugh and cry in equal measures. So grab a box of tissues and a warm blanket and lose yourself in the awfully big adventure of THE WENDY PROJECT!
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