When managing an Italian-American book store, featuring varied entertainment, you have to remain animated. This is what happened to Nicola Orichuia, co-owner of I AM Books, when he literally became an animated cartoon character. Orichuia appears in a water safety segment for the award winning cable access series Drawing With Fred.

The segment, spoken in Italian, is part of a special episode featuring Popeye cartoons in Italian.  In Italy, the sailor man is known as Braccio Di Ferro and has appeared in hundreds of Italian comic books. The Italian themed episode of Drawing With Fred will be shown at I AM Books on Saturday, April 29 at 10:00 am.  Popeye’s background in both the United States and Italy will be discussed by author Fred M. Grandinetti.  This program also features free personalized sketches of the sailor man and his friends. Braccio Di Ferro books will be available for purchase.