Tales from the Crypt #8: Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid [Paperback]

Stefan Petrucha (Author), Maia Kinney-Petrucha (Author), John L. Lansdale (Author), Rick Parker (Illustrator), Miran Kim (Illustrator), James Romberger (Illustrator), Marguerite Van Cook (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 10, 2009 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Tales from the Crypt (Book 8)

The Ghoulunatics – The Vault-Keeper, the Old Witch, and everyone’s favorite, The Crypt-Keeper are back to offer their twisted takes on “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” the “Twilight”series, and Guitar Hero! The cover-featured Stinky Dead Kid stars in two tales - - one that explains exactly how he became a Stinky Dead Kid, and another in which he battles “Guitar Demon,” a popular musical toy that’s become possessed by an evil entity. There’s also the trenchant tale of teen love involving a girl and a vampire, “Dielite,” and the riotous return of the ever-doomed Thomas Donnelly in his most bizarre tale yet!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6–9—The Crypt-Keeper and his gruesome group return. Two stories are devoted to Glugg, who has cartoon adventures just like Jeff Kinney's Greg Heffley, except that Glugg is dead with flies buzzing around his head. It is a "dead-on" Kinney impersonation, complete with an obnoxious older brother, "Rock." The third selection, "DieLite," is a parody of Twilight with a loser, lovesick "Dedward" and the further adventures of Thomas Donnelly. It is a moody, dramatic piece. Readers will enjoy seeing what befalls these familiar characters in these twisted tales.—Carrie Rogers-Whitehead, Kearns Library, UT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

This ongoing series of youth-oriented chillers is a worthy addition to the E.C. horror-comics lineage and probably has itself a hit in this parody-filled volume. Serving as bookends are two chapters of “Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid”; imagine Jeff Kinney’s wimpy hero transformed into a brain-munching zombie (“they HAD to taste better than Mom’s broccoli and Velveeta”). The first tale focuses on brother Rock’s demon incantations, and the closing vignette about an undead Guitar Zero contest features a rather staggering depth of horror-movie in-jokes (not many kids’ satire manages references to Jacques Tourneur and Lucio Fulci). Twilight parody “DieLight” uses genuinely creepy watercolors to make fun of Dedward’s incessant yearning (“I could talk for days about how beyond speech I am!”), and an original werewolf story rounds out the package. Though an early “Anne Frankenstein” joke goes too far, the GhouLunatic hosts are as riff-roaring as ever. Fans of MAD magazine will eat this alive. Grades 5-8. --Daniel Kraus --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Papercutz (November 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597071633
• ISBN-13: 978-1597071635
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,407 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #35 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Literature > Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror > Comics & Graphic Novels
  • #55 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Literature > Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror > Spine-Chilling Horror
  • #60 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Comic Strips > General

More About the Author

Stefan Petrucha has written twenty novels and scores of graphic novels. His most recent work includes the parody Harry Potty and the Deathly Boring, the vampire novel Blood Prophecy, and the nonfiction Paranormal State: My Journey into the Unknown. He does not want to tell you where he lives. Gragg and Petrucha are co-authors of What the (Active Verb) Is Wrong with the Right?: A Fill-in-the-Blanks Game for the Rest of Us.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

129 of 139 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy this if you're looking for a book for your child who enjoys the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books!, January 3, 2010

By 

Skanadian (Gilbert, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales from the Crypt #8: Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid (Hardcover)

This book is a graphic novel. I didn't think it would be quite so "graphic," however. The product description says it is for the 9 to 12-year-old reader. My son falls into that age group, but this is by no means the kind of book I was looking for for him. He loves the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and I thought this sounded like a fun parody of those books. I certainly didn't expect a book with color illustrations of a vampire's severed spine and head lying in a pool of blood and I definitely don't consider those images to be something that I would want my child or, for that matter, any 9 to 12-year-old to view. This book is definitely not "kid-friendly" and I would advise you to look closely at a copy of it before you purchase it for a child within the suggested age range.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars NOT like the Wimpy Kid books at all - for older kids only!, July 3, 2010

By 

D. Phillips - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tales from the Crypt #8: Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid (Hardcover)

I searched high and low to get this book because it was always recommended for kids who liked Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. However, it is a parody like one would find in Mad Magazine in the 70's and 80's. My 7-year old son found the art to be disturbing and the story to be boring. We did not even read the other parodies to him that are in the book. My wife is a huge Twilight fan, but she did not like that parody because it was "like someone who had done some serious drugs was allowed to draw a cartoon book while they were seriously strung out." So she felt that the Twilight parody pictures were also disturbing. Both stories attempt to poke fun at the original texts, but they fall far short. We have no prior history with the third story so I cannot comment on how it relates. The art is consistent in that it is dark and graphic. Every picture throughout the book screams "PAIN!" at you as you go through it.

I think that this might be an interesting read to 20-somethings that really dislike the pop culture aspects of Twilight and who somehow read Diary of a Wimpy Kid and were equally turned off by that series. Unfortunately, I think that there are a lot of parents like myself who simply purchased it because their kid was really into Diary of a Wimpy Kid and their child is hungry to read another book. My advice: DON'T DO IT! You may scar your child and damage their interest in reading.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Graphic Novels: Art and Parody, November 10, 2009

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tales from the Crypt #8: Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid (Hardcover)

TALES FROM THE CRYPT from Papercutz is a 'cut' above other collections of the growingly popular graphic novels. First of all the book is written and designed and illustrated as a parody, which does not at all mean that it strays from its title of horror stories: the stories contained are ghoulish and even frightening, but the difference here is that the strange warped stories are so well written in both words and images that when the reader adjusts to the parody aspect of the tales the level of sophistication in the humor is more apparent.

The book contains three stories: 'Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid' by Stefan Petrucha and Rick Parker - as honest a survey of the undead as is available anywhere! - in two parts, 'DieLite' by Stefan Petrucha, Maia Kinney-Petrucha and Miran Kim, a sicko love story about a vampire and maiden he desires, and 'Carrier' by John L. Lansdale, James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook, a man builds a vault in his house in which he can transform into a werewolf etc. The art work is exceptional, with each story bearing its own trademark of imagery form drawings on lined paper (for 'Diary') to finessed realism in 'DieLite' to traditional comic book style for 'Carrier'. At the end of the book is a fine explanation of how Papercutz arrived at the concept of Parody based on the famous Tales from the Crypt series. There is considerable artistic energy in this little volume and a promise that this company will continue to produce successful art forms equal to this fine little volume (this being volume #8). Grady Harp, November 09