Papercutz has announced its August releases, and there are several graphic novel products with strong commercial potential.  The product with potentially the broadest appeal is The Life of Pope John Paul II, a 96-page color hardcover graphic non-fiction work that will retail for $16.95.  It will carry an intro by His Eminence Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes.

This new biography by Alessandro Mainardi (writer) and Werner Maresta (artist) is not the first time a biography has been done of this pope in comic book form.  In 1983, Marvel Comics published a biography by Steven Grant and John Tartaglione in a floppy format, which sold over 3 million copies.  Another comic bio by Toni Pagot, which we haven't seen, is out there on the Internet in trade paperback format but appears to be in dwindling supply.

The Papercutz release will be the first hardcover presentation of a John Paul II comic bio, and has the potential to sell well over a long period of time.

Papercutz is also releasing box sets of its two flagship titles, Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, in plenty of time for the holidays.  The Nancy Drew Boxed Set, which will include volumes 1-4 along with a free Nancy Drew Computer Game from Her Interactive, will retail for $29.95.  The Hardy Boys Boxed Set, also with four volumes, will also retail for $29.95.  The books have been selling very well as individual volumes (see 'Nancy Drew Sells Out'), and these value-priced sets will be great holiday products.