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DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, HOST:
Petra Mayer was a book editor who was not limited to mere words. Like the stories and characters she brought to life for NPR listeners in her reviews, Petra herself flew off the page, and she followed those characters to places like Comic-Con, a cosplay celebration of comics, television, books, movies and video games. Here she is at the event in a piece broadcast on WEEKEND EDITION in 2014.
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PETRA MAYER: Oh, my God, zombie Teletubbies. That's the best thing ever - well, the best thing ever for the next 10 minutes. Nice, I see some vintage "Star Trek." I appreciate that.
KURTZLEBEN: For the record, she went as Spider Jerusalem, a foul-mouthed, futuristic journalist from the "Transmetropolitan" comic book. A proud, unabashed nerd, Petra didn't just love books; she delighted in them. And she would gleefully talk to anyone about her favorites, from the most obscure sci-fi trivia to pulp romance novels. And on Saturday, we suddenly lost our brilliant colleague. Petra suffered what is believed to have been a pulmonary embolism at the age of 46. We'll miss her infectious joy, talent and energy. You can hear more about Petra Mayer and her work this afternoon on All Things Considered.
(SOUNDBITE OF HALLOWEEN AND ALASKA SONG, "TELLING ME") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.