Book excerpt: When the Belgian cartoonist Peyo created a village of cute little woodland creatures for his heroes Johan and Peewit to discover, he couldn't have known that they would wildly outgrow those humble origins to become a worldwide phenomenon all on their own. More than 50 years later, The Smurfs continue to delight us all with their silliness, bravery, heroism, and heart, and now we finally have a definitive collection of Peyo's original comics to see where it all began. Newly remastered and presented in original publication order, along with a Smurfy collection of historical notes and photographs, this volume introduces us to Smurfette and features a Johan and Peewit story never before seen in the U.S.