Category: Comics

Comics, Creators, Member Gifts, Membership, Social Media, Uncategorized

Phantom Pop Creators make an artistic return 👻

Smart Bubbles

Hello again, Poptropicans! Dropping by with a few updates!

Unfortunately, the Creator’s Blog still hasn’t been active since the end of February, but there have been small updates on social media and additions — or in one case, a subtraction — to the game itself.

First, let’s show off some wonderful fan art features from the official Pop Instagram. Click the artists’ names to view the original posts!

Copy Cat by @strawbebbyjess
24 Carrot juice meme by @happyclonetrooper
Early Pop comics, part 3 by @krazytalez
Pop doodles by @poptropicaprobs
Art styles challenge by @mac.arttack
Pop OC by @invisible_b0nes
Popsona by @cattilso
Black Widow by @aisto.li
Pop OC by @a.jbox
Pop AU by @prince_elixir_
Busting out by @ask.poptropica.villains
MVB at your door by @happyclonetrooper

The Creators also announced this month’s member gifts: a White Phantom Rogue costume, White Phantom Rogue Power that turns you partially invisible, and a White Phantom Butterfly Follower. 🦋

The ensemble is a little unusual compared to most other outfits in the game, particularly because of its monochrome color palette. Nonetheless, it’s interesting and quite refreshing!

Meanwhile, non-members and members alike can go shopping with the new rotation at Adventure Outfitters, now stocked with swords aplenty. If only these Astro-Knights came with the long-lost island itself! ⚔️

Have you been keeping up with the Daily Comics from the in-game map? After 300+ strips from the series which began its daily showings in July 2022, the comic strips have been reset. So rather than continuing on with the story, which had ended on a cliffhanger, the strips have been removed and are now being re-uploaded from the beginning. Seems like this was just another way for Pop to manufacture novelty!

Finally, long-time Poptropica Creator Jonathan Pitcher posted a couple tweets on his personal account related to his work for the game: a piece of concept art for the Multi-Tool in Steamworks Island, and compliments to pop band AJR for being his muse as he works.

So, are you about to join a masquerade while donning your phantom costume? Will you listen to the music of the night as you work late into the days on fanart? Are you interested in going down once more into the antics of Jorge and Oliver?

Whatever you plan on doing, all I ask of you is that you think of me and the PHB team as you continue on your adventures!

…I’ll see myself out.

Castori honorem ~ Smart Bubbles

Comics, Daily Pop, Fan Art Features

Daily Poptropica Comics Return — Read Them All Here! 💥📰

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! The Poptropica comic strip is back! 🌪

Starting this week, Poptropica is posting a daily comic with one strip each day in-game, which you can access by clicking the top banner on the map. However, the PHB will do you one better: you can read ALL of these previously released strips on our Comics page! 👀

Follow along on the adventures of Oliver and Jorge as they hop from island to island trying to make their way home — outside of the wacky world of Poptropica! You might recognize these boys from the Poptropica graphic novel series, which (as the Creators’ Blog realized) is not the same as the comic strip, and actually came out after it. Mystery of the Map, the first graphic novel, just won “Best Comic” in the Poppies — and is also fully archived on our Comics page! 🌟

Thanks to Dizzy Feather for the pics!

Speaking of the PHB’s archives, some of you may know that we saved many of the old Pop strips through the efforts of one super-fan back in 2020. Just recently, however, the rest of the missing strips have been uncovered thanks to another fan, Nezt50! 🥳 You can find these recovered comics in Part 3 in our Comics archive, involving adventures in a few worlds that seem to parallel those from the game, like the underground mole people of Crisis Caverns, years before its release.

Poptropica’s comic strips ran daily for a period of time from 2014–2016 and were available on various online platforms. They were written by Paul Gilligan and illustrated by Kory Merritt, who is also the artist for the graphic novels.

Although the comic strips ended on a cliffhanger with the boys arriving on an island of Dr. Frankensteins, there’s no indication yet of whether the story will continue. However, with over 300 strips to share, Poptropica could be posting for a while before we get to that point — though we may have our answer by this time next year! 📅

In other news, enjoy Poptropica’s latest Instagram stories. Thanks for showcasing (and visiting) the Poppies awards, Pop Creators! 🥳

Pop Comics promo by @PoptropicaCreators
Poppies highlight by the PHB (@poptropicahare)
Pop OCs by @failgex

Anyway, enjoy the comics! Whether you log in for each day’s drop or read them all at once in the PHB’s Comics archive, worlds of chaos await. 💥

~🐠

Comics

Catch up with Poptropica’s comic strip 📰💥

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans—did you know that Poptropica has its own comic strip? It’s true, and now, you can catch up with most of the series here!

In these comics, two young heroes, Oliver and Jorge, get thrown into the foreign world of Poptropica and have to survive as they hop from island to island full of silly and unpredictable challenges. You might recognize these boys from the Poptropica graphic novel series, which actually came out after the comic strips did. Both were illustrated by Kory Merritt, and the comics were written by Paul Gilligan.

Poptropica’s comic strips ran daily for a period of time from 2014–2016 and were available on various online platforms. These days, though, they’re harder to find. Fortunately, one super-fan recently put together all the comics so the rest of us can enjoy them without much digging.

Thanks to weeks of searching and piecing by Invisible Ring, the Poptropica comics are now available on Google Slides, with Part 1/2 starting from the beginning (as the above strips show) and Part 2/2 picking up from where the first part left off. There are over 300 strips in total, so settle in for a nice leisurely read! ☕️📰

The adventures entail monkey people, vegetable Frankenstein monsters, a Wizard of Oz world, and more—funnily enough, none of the places they visit are actually from the game, but as these are official comics, they can still be considered canon!

Believe it or not, Invisible Ring mentions there have been more strips published, though they have yet to be found. These missing strips explore islands featuring themes of black and white, Atlantis (though not in the style of Mission Atlantis Island), and even a library.

Anyway, enjoy the comics from the links above, or find them again anytime on our Comics page under Pop Plus from our site menu. Merry Christmas and happy holidays from the PHB! 🎄

Just in time for the holidays! (picture credit: Poptropica, 2014)
Comics, Virus Hunter Island

When in quarantine, play Poptropica

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans. By now, you’ve probably heard of the coronavirus pandemic sweeping over the world, causing school shutdowns, closing businesses, and more. With life on lockdown, why not turn to Poptropica to pass the time?

Like the postcard? You can download Virus Hunter Island printable postcards from Poptropica and send them to your friends!

Real talk, though: we haven’t heard from Poptropica in about a month, and with all of this going on, Poptropica Creators may have their workflow disrupted, too. That could mean a lull in activity for Poptropica, despite earlier promises about updates for this year. We’ll have to wait and see.

Anyway, whether the virus has been on your radar for months, or has just started to affect your area in the past couple weeks, at least one thing is clear: staying away from crowds helps keep you and everyone safe.

The outside world may be falling apart, but on the flip side, the online world is thriving. Here on the PHB, we’re bringing you recommendations for enjoying the best of Poptropica while under quarantine. There’s plenty to do inside!

Can you stomach the comics? 🦠

One obvious island comes to mind: Virus Hunter. In this island released in 2013, your mission is to locate the person harboring a dangerous new virus, then enter his body to remove the disease before it spreads! There couldn’t be a more relatable adventure in these trying times, and whether it’s your first time playing or you want to revisit it, the PHB has a guide for you.

Before the island came out all those years ago, Poptropica created a six-page comic called Pandemic Panic as a prelude to Virus Hunter Island. Check it out below, and read tons more official Poptropica comics on the PHB!

More island adventures, for all the benchers 🏝

Besides Virus Hunter, Poptropica is also filled with lots of other great island adventures to play. If staying at home is starting to feel like jail, try busting out of prison on Escape From Pelican Rock Island. If you miss large gatherings full of people, mingle with the cosplayers on PoptropiCon Island. Or if you prefer to strike it out on your own, embrace the solitude of Survival Island. There’s something for everyone, and we have all the guides you’ll need!

  • No prison can hold me.
  • This cave was almost too much to bear.

Here’s an open secret: the islands currently on the map aren’t the only ones you can play. With the Old Island Directory, you can play about 30 more old school islands, which Poptropica had taken down from the official game due to the older technology causing bugs. Since Flash is going down, now’s the time to play them before they’re gone for good!

  • Having one giant adventure!
  • This puzzle didn’t outfox me.

Create or compete, staying upbeat 👩‍🎨

Even beyond the decades of islands, Poptropica still has a fair amount of fun to offer. The Photo Booth is back, your club house could use a refreshed design, and worlds are waiting to be made on Realms. And while you’re at it, maybe you’ll enjoy giving your character a new look, too!

  • Decorate your club house!
  • Make a whole new world on Realms!

Meeting up in real life may not be a great idea these days, but you can still hang out with friends online! Drop by the arcade at the same time and you can play games like Star Link together, or head in solo and find new buds. You can also challenge yourself on solo games like Blaster Attack.

  • Star Link
  • Blaster Attack

And last but not least, join in on the PHB’s Community Creations challenge! This month’s theme is Hobbies, and all this downtime is a great opportunity to explore some (within health precautions, of course). Whatever the hobby, you have until the end of March to capture it for us Poptropica-style. Details here.

What have you been up to in this pandemic panic? Share your stories in the comments, keep washing your hands, and take care, everyone! 💪🧼

—the Pop-pandemic Help Blog—

Books, Comics, Creators, Graphic Novels

Graphic novel news: Lost Expedition, Mitch Krpata, and book 3!

Brave Tomato

The lost expeditionHey guys, my name is Brave Tomato, and this set of news is not just some ordinary wheel or fancy pair of sneaker-related news for once. This will be interesting… as long as you’re a fan of the Poptropica graphic novel series.

Let’s start off about Book 2, The Lost Expedition, which will come out for the world August 16th. After over a year of not hearing from them, Oliver, Mya, and Jorge are back for a brand new adventure in the world of Poptropica.

The novel will be written by Mitch Krpata (I’ll get more into him later) and illustrated yet again by Kory Merrit. If you need a reminder, the summary is as follows, according to the Barnes and Noble page:

In book two,The Lost Expedition, Oliver, Mya, and Jorge continue their search for home, with a few hilarious stops along the way. As the friends set sail for new sights, they find the evil Octavian is still hot on their trail, and he’s determined to get his hands on their magical map. To make matters worse, a mysterious organization is keen on expelling the three friends from Poptropica. As the pals travel, they find that each island is filled with its own unique brand of peril, and the mystery surrounding the map and Poptropica itself begins to unfold. Will our trio be able to once again outfox Octavian and discover the identity of this secret society?

So with that up ahead, of course it’s going to get some minor coverage. This news article by the MetroWest Daily News may seem like an ordinary news article showing off the graphic novel, but if you look into it deeper, you’ll find not just the standard summary. The news article confirms that the Poptropica graphic novel series is on a four-book deal. It also says that Mystery of the Map will the only one of the four that’s written by a different person (Galactic Hot Dogs author Max Brailler) and Mitch Krpata will write out the rest of the series.

There are also some interesting quotes said by the man himself in the article. He describes The Lost Expedition as a novel that would teach about “accepting the responsibility” of a leadership role, as well as mixing in the more action packed parts of the books. He had been with Poptropica since its beginnings in 2007, calling the franchise his “life’s work” and he desires it to “survive and outlast [him]”. Check out the article here if you’d like to read about his inspirations and other information.

However, strangely enough, the news article itself isn’t the biggest plot twist of this post. It’s the video that should be drawn attention to as well. It’s only 28 seconds long, but it’s not entirely about the content- it’s about what you hear. (Although at the end of the video, it does show a preview of one of the pages.) You can find it on the news article, so take a good listen to how Mitch sounds.

Sound familiar? Well, if you don’t hear it, Mitch here sounds quite a lot like our favorite blogging and YouTubing pirate, Captain Crawfish! For reference, here’s one of his videos.

Captain Crawfish’s identity had been a major secret for years, and now that the identity has practically been revealed to us, we have yet another mystery off our backs. All those years of crawfish-nomming jokes have been worth it. (And thank you so much for shouting out to me on the Reign of Omegon walkthrough!)

Now, let’s get into the future here, because, everyone, I found the title, cover, release date, and summary of the third Poptropica graphic novel.

*Warning: There might be potential Book 2 spoilers ahead, especially in the summary, so tread carefully.*

Continue reading “Graphic novel news: Lost Expedition, Mitch Krpata, and book 3!” →