This post is part of our Poptropica Yearbook series. If you missed the intro, check it out on the 2007 Rewind. And now, let’s turn back the clock…
It’s not too late to revisit the year 2008! Though Poptropica had started off just the year before with one island, six more had appeared by the end of the following year: Shark Tooth, Time Tangled (known as Time Twisted before its release), 24 Carrot, Super Power, and Spy. They all fit on one map page!
It was right in the midst of the launch of Super Power Island that two big hotspots in the Poptropica universe made their debut. First, on July 17, 2008, the Poptropica Creators’ Blog was born.
Just nine days later, on July 26, this very blog — the Poptropica Help Blog, then known as Scary Tomato’s Weblog — was created! As the only active Poptropica fan site around, it soon gained lots of interest, garnering over 100K site views by November. In addition to island guides, sneak peeks of upcoming islands from the Creators also generated tons of buzz.
The first staff members were recruited to join 11-year-old Slanted Fish (then known as Scary Tomato): Smockers, an 11-year-old blogger; and Codien, a 16-year-old graphic designer who gave the PHB its name, first logo, and redesigned headers (this one was for Halloween!):
But back to Poptropica. It was a much simpler time back then, and believe it or not, even the Costumizer tool was new, released in early 2008. To make things interesting, the Creators would occasionally release bonus customizables to be found. Rather than being items, they’d simply be put on your character.
But the most exciting customization came when some strange new parts leaked, not intentionally placed by the Pop Creators. They were known as “Monster Carnival” leaks, named after a then-fabled island that would be enshrouded in mystery for many years to come.
Pretty cool, right? And the fun was just getting started…
You’ve reached the end of the 2008 page of the Poptropica Yearbook! Stay tuned for the next chapter, and to view the entire collection, check out the Poptropica Yearbook in our Pop Plus collection.
While you’re here, sign the yearbook by commenting? 
