Hereville is a "staff pick" in Previews! Plus, please tell your local comic book shop about Hereville.

Previews, for those of you who don’t know, is the monthly catalog of available comics sent to comic book stores all over the USA (and I think Canada as well?). Each month is a huge, glossy brick of more comic books than anyone could ever read — so it’s easy for a new and unknown comic to get lost.

(Unless, of course, people like you call your local comic book store and ask them to carry Hereville. Hint, hint.)

So I’m relieved and thrilled that in the August issue, Hereville will be one of seven “Staff Picks.” Woo!

Here’s what Kate Henning wrote in her review of Hereville:

Witches, trolls, talking pigs, and knitting lessons — yup, Hereville brings the goods. With its heroine growing up in a blended family, an orthodox Jewish community, and a rich fantasy world, there are a few different gimmicks this book could lean on, but Deutsch neatly balances these elements rather than belaboring them, making for a fun and endearing story.

Eleven year-old Mirka Hirschberg is a sympathetic, dynamic protagonist who will appeal to fans of Raina Telgemeier’s Smile, Jone Yolen’s Foiled, and even Joe Kelly’s I Kill Giants. As a sister, daughter, and aspiring dragon slayer, she joins the heroines of these other works as an appealingly imperfect character learning to understand her own goals. She’s also very bright, and it’s entertaining to watch her start debates with her stepmother Fruma, who is not so much wicked as wickedly clever.

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword is only the first chapter in a story that promises much more fantastic adventure and social tension. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in Orthodox Jewish culture, sword acquisition, or trolls with an affinity for needlecraft.

See PREVIEWS page #218

Thanks so much, Kate!

I loved both Smile and I Kill Giants, so it made my day to be listed in that company. (I haven’t read Foiled, but now I think I really must.)

By the way, that last line — “PREVIEWS page 218”? That’s what you tell your local comic book store, when you ask them to stock Hereville — they can find it in the current issue of PREVIEWS, on page 218. And, of course, you’re going to call them and ask them to carry Hereville, right? Please? Pretty-please? Do it today? Pretty-please with sugar on top?

(I’m not too dignified to beg. Heck, I love begging.)

Of course, you can also buy Hereville in bookstores (on shelves November first), or you can pre-order it from Amazon and other web outlets. In addition, I’ll be making pre-orders available in the next week or two for people who’d like to buy autographed and/or sketched-in copies — I’ll post once I’ve got the details worked out.