Amulet

Bill is the grip of Graphic Novel Fever at the moment. After a friend shared the first volume of a Manga adaptation of Darren Shan's 'Cirque du Freak' with him in the back of the bus on a school trip a week or two ago he came back with eyes blazing. "It's SO SICK. Please can we get it? Please can we? Please can we?? Can we, can we, CAN we????" I've not seen him with that book hunger in a while.
Cue a trip to Gosh, Orbital and Forbidden Planet at the weekend to stock up with half term treats. I'd never taken Bill to Forbidden Planet before. He actually got a bit quivery when we went inside. He was like...well I guess he was like a kid in a comic shop. We spent a LONG time browsing Adventure Time figurines...

The required volumes of Manga 'Cirque Du Freak' proved disappointingly tricksome to track down however even within these warehouses of delight. It didn't stop us spending money. Another volume of Adventure Time comic, the acclaimed graphic novelisation of Coraline, Silverfin- all have been gobbled down on the sofa and on the tube this week as we've been out and about seeking half term Fun.

I picked up the first volume of Kazu Kibuishi's 'Amulet' series almost in passing. It looked too tempting to pass by. It's already proved an expensive impulse buy- as we immediately had to go back for the next two volumes and I am now being pestered continuously for the two last. Ah well. It's a bit lovely-an investment that'll be returned to I'm sure.

There is a whole vocabulary and set of references that I'm sure I should be employing to write about it- but although I'm not completely illiterate in the form, I am basically a newbie to the world of graphic novels. This is an outsider's perspective: 'Amulet' is an action packed romp through a fantasy world of glowing stones, evil elves, martial art expert foxes, talking trees, walking houses and lost cities in the sky. It's a bit Hobbity, a bit Star Warsy and a bit Studio Ghibli-y. There's a lot of fighting, some occasionally portentous speeches, and some funny robots too. There's also (be warned) some rather sad/scary bits. It has LITERALLY been unputdownable for Bill (alright I didn't put it down either... ) It also has the requisite kickass heroine. Huzzah.

Elf based fantasy isn't necessarily my bag but all I can say about 'Amulet' is that I can't imagine a more enticing book to put in front of that often mentioned mythical creature- the 'reluctant reader'- whether male OR female. The speech bubble text is clear, linear and easy to read and the action is non-stop. There's some awful pretty spreads in there too. Bill was finishing off the third volume in the tube yesterday and there was a boy sitting opposite him who was almost salivating at the sight of it, craning and jiggling to get a better look. He ended up asking his Dad for a piece of paper and a pen. As he got off the tube I saw he'd written a big underlined heading BOOKS and then halfway down the page the single word- 'Amulet'. Pester power based on the cover alone (and maybe Bill's obvious greedy pleasure).

The 'Amulet' series by Kazu Kibuishi, pub. Scholastic isbn 978-0-439-84681-3 This is a US import only (I think) so you may need to visit a specialist comic shop or (sigh) use Amazon to get hold of it.

Superhero overdose

When I Became a Mother of Boys I was prepared I might have to become an expert in a few new subjects outside my existing knowledge base and spent some months of Bill's babyhood mentally readying myself.

I guessed there would be a vehicle obsessive phase of some sort and steeled myself to learn the difference between a BMW and a Volvo at 20 paces, a front hoe and a back hoe loader and to try and enjoy Thomas the Tank Engine.
I thought there might be a dinosaur phase and practiced pronouncing some of the trickier ones like Compsognathus and Archeoptyrex.
I anticipated that I might need a more detailed understanding of the different formation tactics of the Roman infantry.

As it turned out none of these things came (or have yet come) to pass. What I should have been studying or what I now know more than I ever thought I would about is Superheroes and their nemeses. Not just the likes of your Spidermans or your Batmans- oh no. I know the difference between the Marvel bunch and the DC (not dissimilar to remembering which is a Greek or Roman God). I know who started out a goody and then became a baddy and who started out a baddy and then became a goody and of a select few who then turned back to their original status once (or even twice) more. I know who the Teen Titans are and how the Justice Society of America differs from the Justice League of America (that's pretty specialised stuff). I can name the Metal Men and tell you the names of all 5 'Robins'*. 
I can tell you're impressed.

We have various sources of information in the house that have underpinned my knowledge. A beloved selection of annuals are Eddie's current comfort blanket, including the equivalent of a Superhero pre-school primer 'Spiderman and Friends'; where Spidey, Doc Oc, the Beast and others hang out at  school together and solve problems like cows escaping from a farm or a cat stuck in a tree. The next step up from that is the supremely strange 'Superhero Squad' annual which had us following the Human Torch cupcake recipe this weekend (pretty good- turns out the Human Torch is a useful baker). And finally the standard Marvel Heroes version,where as you may appreciate from the comparative faces of the Hulk below- things get a little less cute.

Don't be deceived by these cakes 'ordinary' appearance. They are  Human Torch Super cakes.

But my personal favourite has to be our set of Fandex Deluxe DC cards. It's a difficult object to describe but it basically consists of 76 different cut out Goody and Baddy characters with all their vital statistics and a lovingly detailed potted version of their 50 or so years of comic backstory held together by one central pivot fastener. You can thus use them as little pop-up puppets for enacting battles behind the sofa or just work your way through the most arcane details of the DC Universe. They've seen a lot of action in the two or three years we've had them and helped bring me up to speed.
There are other Fandex sets available- they're a US import- and are probably very well known if you're coming to me from there but worth tracking down from obscurity here too. If Superheroes aren't your thing how about Mythology? Or Butterflies? or even Dinosaurs...

Fandex Deluxe: DC Comics Superheroes and Villains, pub. Workman publishing isbn 978-0761158561


*Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Timothy Jackson "Tim" Drake, Stephanie Brown, Damian Wayne














 

Alienography

Having opened the subject of Mr Bill's current preferences in yesterday's post I will continue today.
I first reviewed the totally marvelous 'The Phoenix' comic here when it was all of three issues in. All I can say is if you haven't caught up with it yet and you have kids between the ages of 7 and 12 then what are you thinking of? It's totally marvelous. Every Friday Bill comes in from school, races over and dives headfirst into it and remains submerged within its pages until his stomach reminds him of the need for toast. It takes something pretty powerful to divert him even temporarily from toast. Something totally marvelous in fact.
At the moment they're running a 'design the cover' competition with a subscription up for grabs as the prize. You can find out more and download the template on their website- which I was about to link to but it seems to have gone doolally this morning. Bill has currently designed about 8 different covers including 'Death Fighter', 'Anger Man' and 'Dark Doom'. His Goth phase can't be far off.

One section that features in The Phoenix weekly is an excerpt or short story from a published book; a useful source of inspiration for me but not normally the most interesting part for Bill. A couple of weeks ago however there was a double spread from Chris Riddell's 'Alienography' and it completely captivated him (along with a cracking good cover of Riddell's trademark crazy detailed monsters). His indulgent mama therefore decided to treat both him and herself to  the Book Itself; a reasonably substantial investment at £15 but worth every penny for the pleasure it has only just begun to give us.

There were a few books that lived in our loo when I was growing up and that I read and reread both in that room and outside it. There were two 'Goodies' books/annuals and a book by Michael Palin and Terry Jones called 'Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys and Girls'(I still have the latter- shh don't tell my brother- it's got his name inside). They were very funny, irreverent, complex, a bit rude and perfect to dip into and expand my  mind in all sorts of suitable and unsuitable ways.
'Alienography' reminds me of them; it's full of in-jokes about science fiction most of which pass over Bill's head at the moment but it's also full of fun and detail which he absolutely 'gets'. There are giant flaps, books within the book, even a set of mini robot top trumps to enjoy and plentiful silliness and inventiveness. There are aliens of every conceivable colour, variety and temperament; from the Flurrghs; who turn their enemies into fluffy earmuffs to the Ummmms who can remove earwax from the other side of a room with their tongue. Mainly of course there is just the extraordinary illustrative talent of Chris Riddell to gawp at and inspire further furious scribbling of Bill's own. Beautiful silliness is the best variety.

He's been turning to this book and exploring chunks of it with great pleasure and much giggling and sharing it with his friends since we got it. My hope and expectation looking at it though is that he will still be doing that in five years time and still finding new pleasures and new funniness. A very strong recommendation for any hard-to-buy-for child or sulky tween/teenager who needs a funny bone poke, one entering their Goth phase for instance. Or for anyone with a new loo and an empty shelf.

 Anyone else remember this?

 Dark Doom (run for your lives)

'Alienography or how to spot an alien invasion' by Chris Riddell, pub. Macmillan isbn 978-1-4050-5060-9

Leo Geo

'Leo Geo- and his miraculous journey through the center of the earth' by Jon Chad is a book designed to appeal to a lot of different types of geekery going on in our household. It appeals to my book-as-fun-and-beautiful-object fetish: It is a very long, thin hardback and you have to turn it first on its side and then upside down as you follow the story. Ooo- unusual! It appeals to the husband's love of intricate linework and pen and ink hatching excellence. Ooo- detail! It appeals to Bill's love of terrifying monster encounters and outlandish machinery. Ooo- scary! And it's also Quite Educational which is obviously good for all of us but particularly Eddie, who is fond of a fact.

Leo Geo is the Morph-like featureless hero who takes us on an adventure to the centre of the earth and out the other side, courtesy of a giant drilling machine, a whole network of handy tunnels, ladders and the odd ancient civilisation and unexpected mining community. En route he imparts a wide range of different scientific factoids about his encounters and we get to learn about the constituent layers and features of the earth as well as other diversions onto crystal formation, thermal generation, magnetism, the limbic system and possibly too much about the digestive tract of a quadclops ('hurray!' say the boys). There's no attempt to dumb down, rather a revelry in scientific language and precision labeling. Geeky text- and none the worse for that. Sample speech bubbles as he negotiates that quadclops:

"'The membrane in our noses that lets us smell is called the olfactory epithelium. phew I could do without mine right now.'
'Oops! I had intended to sneak up on this ugly brute!'
'I think the monster means to masticate me!'
'Ugh! This is the worst! Wait! This monster might have the same sort of digestive system as other mammals...'
'I'll use science to get out of this pickle!'
'Yuck! I made it through the ileum and colon and managed to...er...escape...Ugh...'"

The mix between 'real' science and fantasy earth contents might confuse or irritate some but I (and Bill) found it more engaging than a purely straight approach. It's clear enough when we're going off piste from the truth. (and -aha-oho-who really knows what's down there anyway hmm?) For kids who like Science Facts and Science Fiction in equal measure (and I know there are plenty out there) this book would be heaven.

Text aside though I'm with the husband in principally admiring this book for it's beautiful black lines. There is detail to pore over and savour. An awful lot of very lovingly drawn rocks and some pretty darn cool monsters too: It's a great visual reference for those developing their drawing passion. Pretty!

(and apologies for the photos which are not going to do that prettiness justice)

'Leo Geo and his miraculous journey through the center of the earth' by Jon Chad, pub. Roaring Book Press isbn 978-1-59643-661-9. another US import- so Gosh, Amazon or similar required.

Side note- Jon Chad apparently works at the Center for Cartoon Studies. Now doesn't that sound a nice place to study?
I'm labelling this post non-fiction which may be a little controversial.

Monster Mess

When I brought home 'Monster Mess' by Lewis Trondheim from my Gosh shop I didn't realise I'd inadvertently picked out one of the husband's favourite cartoonists. See how our hearts beat as one dear? I'm sure Bill would like some of his adult books too now I look at them. They're quite heavy on poo and mindless violence and very funny. Nevertheless we'll hold them back a few years; he doesn't need any extra encouragement in the first two after all and 'Monster Mess' is plenty funny without Any Poo At All.

Trondheim has a very small and controlled style of drawing. This is a comic book that you have to get your nose quite close to the page to read the little print and follow the frames. I like that. It seems to foster a kind of immersive nerdery generated by all the best comics. You want to curl yourself up in a box with it and escape. Not for sharing. Not for reading aloud. Just for one.

'Monster Mess' is the first of four Monster graphic novels (I'm not sure about the term graphic novel here- but that's what it describes itself as. Can't we call it a comic book and not get all uppity? Or is that inverse snobbery from me?). It's a Frankenstein familiar tale. The children of cartoonist parents (they're drawn as an indeterminate species of bird but don't let that worry you) draw a set of monsters and then  bring one to life after an accident with some magic powder. Their father then draws a 10 mouthed friendly monster and animates him too, with the idea that he can catch and eat the baddy one. Unfortunately Kriss, as they call him, is not very focused on the task set (note- monsters do NOT make good family pets) and sets about causing his own brand of havoc around the house.
The whole family must unite with Kriss in forming a new plan to take down bad monster Oko, but a heap of new trouble awaits as Oko creates his own team by animating all the other monster pictures in the house. Running away from them is problematic as, being only the thickness of a piece of paper, they can get under windows and through cracks. It's definitely more than a little menacing. A showdown on a neighbour's roof sees the finale and...well the fact that there are three more books suggests escape may be possible.

The charm of the book lies in the well observed family dynamics (a cautionary tale for any of us who have left our children playing 'quietly' unobserved for a little too long) and also in the use of real children's drawings to create Team Bad Monster. It's a lovely juxtaposition of drawing styles and it seems clear that the book must have been originally drawn for and as a reflection of Trondheim's own family. There's a whole lotta love in them there flesh-eating paper bad guys.

Lewis Trondheim is a prolific French cartoonist of some renown and these books date from the 1990s but are only now being published in translation. Again I bought them as a US import so it appears you may need to do your own comic shop foray or use Amazon if you want them. Bill enjoyed this one so much that I've already added 'Monster Christmas' to my ever growing 'basket', the other two aren't out yet.

 Monster end papers

'Monster Mess' by Lewis Trondheim, pub. Papercutz isbn 978-1-59707-294-6

We created our own scene of monster/robot destruction and despair courtesy of some very pretty buttons and ribbon sent to us by Child-Led-Chaos. It was a very rainy weekend. Just as well no magic animating powder in this house; 20,000 dead apparently.

Buying comics

After last week's 'up all-nighter' (or more accurately 'up most of the early-eveninger') with 'Super Animal Adventure Squad' Bill and I have had a week of fairly gorging ourselves on comic/graphic novel fare.

First I made a tentative foray to Gosh, a specialist comic shop in Soho to see what I could forage for us both. This is the husband's territory. He's been making visits there for years, coming back with discreet bags which he then takes down to enjoy in his shed at the bottom of the garden. Occasionally the bags spend some time on the kitchen table first and by long term marital osmosis I have started to absorb some of his enthusiasm and discover some of the more mainstream grown up stuff myself. (hurray in passing for Chris Ware, Daniel Clowes, Craig Thompson, Tom Gauld and Dash Shaw) But you know I was/am a straight laced ballet/pony book girl not a cool comic geek girl. I don't really know what I am doing and the thought of a Proper Comic Shop was a little scary. I envisaged being faced with something like a specialist vinyl shop where pasty Men of Knowledge would turn together and stare at me before returning to obsessive sorting through brown boxes of plastic wrapped back titles and I would have to scuttle away shamed.

But no! It was all good! Gosh has recently moved into new premises in Berwick Street and I have to say they are extremely welcoming for the novice browser. They lure you in with big open glass doors and stacks of ordered loveliness. And they turn out to have a dedicated and beautiful children's section packed full of US import treats which would be hard to get anywhere else. There were stairs at the back leading to the basement; I suspect that's where the Proper Comic Buyers head and the brown boxes might live. I was happy to stick to the ground floor baby slopes for my first visit.

While I was rifling the shelves happily a rather smart and imposing woman came in and asked the assistant in ringing tones for help finding suitable titles for her 11 year old. "He raced through 'Bone' that you recommended last week. Have you got anything of a similar standard of reading difficulty and quality? I want something to occupy him for at least 3 hours please- that looks far too short." The patient assistant made many suggestions. I liked the conflict that was obviously surging within her. 'I don't understand, like, admire or identify with any of these titles but at least he's READING so I'll make the best of it for a minimum of 3 hours of silence.'

So here was my first self-selected kitchen table haul. I thought the assistant had probably had enough helping picky Mamas.

Which have all been more or less devoured now. Probably in about 3 hours give or take but I'm not so picky. Proper reviews to follow.

Not only did I make it to Gosh but I also took the boys briefly to Comiket on Saturday afternoon. We arrived late but just in time to see James Turner do his live drawing of 'Star Cat' which was a thrill for Bill. Here's a rubbish photo of the big screen action.

There was quite a lot of watching James Turner's head due to unfortunate light positioning.
We briefly browsed the stalls but Eddie had had enough within minutes, and it was crowded, and I ran out of small change, and I wasn't sure what was going to be kid suitable and what wasn't so we didn't stay all that long. I felt that I might be starting to wade out of my depth. But we did get these (not that we needed an indie comic fair for them!):

 And we met Andi Watson and he signed Bill's 'Gum Girl'. I was quite put in my place about 'Gum Girl' by Bill:
'What do you think Bill? Should we get this or is it too pink and girly for you to read?'
'No mum, just looks cool and superheroey to me. Get it please.'
And he's gulped down that this week too.

We're really excited to learn that there's going to be a dedicated kids comic tent as part of the Pop Up Festival in June. Our education can continue there. Hell, I may even make it down the stairs at Gosh before then.
So Cool Kids what should we buying next?

Super Animal Adventure Squad

Conversation circa 7am today-
'Morning Bill! Sleep well?'
'Yup. Oh but I stayed up nearly all night reading the WHOLE of 'Super Animal Adventure Squad'. It was really funny. I think it was at least 10 o' clock- hmm no maybe 9 o' clock- but really late anyway when I turned my light out'

That's today's review sorted then.

'Super Animal Adventure Squad' is a strip by James Turner that originally appeared in the DFC comic. Since that publication's demise it is one of a series that has been collated and given its own volume under the 'DFC library' banner. James Turner is also responsible for what may be my favourite 'Phoenix' comic strip; the marvellous 'Star Cat'. That both came from the same hand is not all that mysterious; the Squad and the Space Crew have a fair amount in common.

There are two stories in the volume. In 'Teatime of Doom' Agents K, Rex, Irwin, Beesley and Bearbot (variously cat, iguana, pelican, bee and robot) must stop evil Doctor Nefarious from stealing the world's cake supply with ants to force consumption of his own brand broccoli sponge (Nooooo!). In the longer 'The Case of the Baboon Bandit' our heroes turn pirate to try and steal back the Jade Baboon of Rangoon from Green Beard, but must then go even further and win a cookery competition on board to save the entire world from turning into a lemon souffle.

clear?

'Alright, the world is doomed unless we can win this cookery competition and all we have is a soggy, burned, fish-covered mess that Irwin has been sick on... But let's not panic- perhaps we still have time to make an omelette or something...'

(and who's not been THERE eh?)

Gloriously, gloriously, snortingly silly stuff. AND extremely cleverly written too (just in case anyone is misguided enough to be snobbish about a comic)(or thinks it is just about 'Asterix' and 'Tintin')(I KNOW all my readers are far too hip and discerning to fall into that category though)
It's been sitting on Bill's shelf for a while. I'm glad he's discovered it; I've been waiting to have a good chat with him about it. When he's caught up on his sleep of course.

'Super Animal Adventure Squad' by James Turner, pub. David Fickling Books, isbn 978-0 857 56027 8

The Wolf's Whistle

If you live in the UK, you may have seen this advert for The Guardian newspaper on TV  recently which sheds light in a playful way, on the 'real' issues behind the story of the three little pigs. I enjoyed this follow up article yesterday by a primary school teacher who has been using it (or perhaps the less gritty print version) to inspire debate and writing in her classroom. Today's choice;  'The Wolf's Whistle' by Bjorn Rune Lie from the ever-inspiring and beautiful Nobrow press would have slotted neatly into her lesson plan; although possibly a little dark and subtle for her six year old class.

This is the first in a promised series of fairy tale back stories; 'Behind the Tails' and I'm looking forward to the rest (we're promised the transformation of 'Hazel' from master patissier to child-eating witch and how a troll developed a taste for goat ragu).
 Albert is a wimpy comic-loving wolf from the wrong side of the docks who is bullied as the scholarship boy at his snobbish school by the three trottered 'Honeyroast' brothers. With his other misfit geek friends; Chauncey mouse, Libby stork and Vincente weasel he escapes the bullies in healthy outdoor pursuits, that will prime him for his waiting destiny:
'Every abandoned railway, forbidden rapid and disused warehouse was their playground. And the best part was: it was all free!'
Albert also dreams of becoming a professional comic artist, developing his own series 'The Wolf's Whistle', where the Lone Wolf battles his arch nemesis the evil Dr. Chorizo. Albert even has his own Superhero cloak ready and waiting under his bed.

Years pass and we catch up with Albert on his 30th birthday,working only as an anonymous dogsbody for his favourite comic publishers. Meanwhile the Honeyroast brothers with their mobster dad 'Al Prosciutto' are running the town in best corrupt gangster fashion:
They 'liked nothing better than to lounge around their pork chop-shaped pool drinking apple cider and stuffing their faces with white truffles'.
When the Honeyroast brothers arrange the destruction of a listed building to further their property empire, Albert's pals perish in the blaze. A despairing Albert sobs on a park bench, then a mysterious hobo hands him a bottle marked 'The Great Hurricane 1938':
'It's mighty powerful stuff. It will give you all the strength you'll ever need...'
It is time for the real Lone Wolf to emerge and avenge.

The subtleties of the references to prohibition America and the Great Depression were obviously lost on Bill, but he understands a Superhero creation myth when he sees one. He spent enough of his early years dressed exclusively as one. As with 'Hilda and the Midnight Giant' this is not strictly speaking a children's book but it has plenty to chew over and appreciate for all ages. Without wanting to sound horribly dry I think this would make a great purchase for a school librarian looking for a low reading level, high interest content book for older kids.
And what a beautiful and inspiring one too which could be spiralled out from in many different directions. All Nobrow books are lovely quality tactile covetable things and the printwork in this is exceptional. Not cheap but definitely worth the investment.

'The Wolf's Whistle' by Bjorn Rune Lie, pub. Nobrow isbn 978-1-907704-03-1

(for those interested in outcomes of Tuesday's caterpillar hunt here are Joseph, Harry, Georgina and Rose , who will eventually become the dull, and nastily named brown beet armyworm moth I think. They are a temporary but much loved addition to the family)

Hilda and the Midnight Giant

'Hilda and the Midnight Giant' by Luke Pearson is a comic book and not really designed specially for children but something that will definitely appeal to all fans of Tove Jansson's Moomins. Bill certainly pounced on it and its smaller but also perfectly formed prequel 'Hildafolk' and lapped both up.

Published by Nobrow Press; a treasure trove of graphic delights for grown ups (don't miss their multiple takes on creation in 'Graphic Cosmogeny'), the 'Hilda' books introduce us to the world of Hilda, her architect mother and unspecified dog/reindeer/fox friend living in (apparently) splendid isolation in a lodge in the mountains. In the first book (which is a slim, fairly short little comic- A5 size) Hilda starts to discover more about the different varieties of trolls, elves and spirits inhabiting the valleys around them. The true magic of the landscape is revealed to her and to us, as well as some important information on how to manage Trolls without offence.

In 'Hilda and the Midnight Giant' (much longer,a lovely A4 hardback) this idea is extended further, when Hilda discovers that far from living in isolation, their lodge is actually positioned bang in the middle of an elven town and she and her mother have been treading all over their houses every time they step outside.
A state of war has been declared and an active campaign to forcibly evict them results in nightly raids on their lodge. Hilda must mount a charm offensive with the tiny Mayor if she is to prevent her and her mother's relocation to the city.
There is also a subplot about the loneliness of the last remaining mountain guardian giant who Hilda must help find his lost love.
Throw in some rideable, migrating cloud 'Woffs', a chair made of ear wax, a mysterious neighbour who is made of wood and the problems that occur when snow blocks your ears over a millennium and you have whole lotta charm and magic without anything corruptingly sickly or too much whimsy.

Oh, and Luke Pearson draws just lovely too (much better pictures if you go to the Nobrow site).

'Hilda and the Midnight Giant' by Luke Pearson, pub. Nobrow Press, isbn 978-1-907704-25-3

The Phoenix

I was going to get all coherent and organised in my posts this week and get some kind of chronological thing going where I start the week with a review for the littlies and work my way up as the week progresses. It may still happen, but I've been stymied today at least by the arrival into our house on Friday of The Phoenix (look I've learnt to do links an' everything) and the hopping from foot to foot, bouncing up and down general happiness and excitement it has generated in this household over the weekend.

This is a brand new story comic which The Grandparents put us on to and were kind enough to purchase a trial subscription for. It started at the beginning of January and thus we have started with Issue 3.


Now Bill had recently become an occasional eater of 'The Beano' comic and I've enjoyed it too- taking me back to rainy Saturday afternoons of my childhood in the Cambridge Children's Library working my way through their box of back issues. There's no doubt however that the format and storylines of 'The Beano' are pretty unvaried, much of the artwork is uninspiring and there's a lot of freebie plastic tat promotions attached which you have to fight through to get inside it. Not to start on their new Olympic 'Wenlock and Mandeville' strip which Truly Sucks. It all feels a bit lazy.

'The Phoenix' is as a rich and nourishing ham and vegetable soup to 'The Beano's' cuppasoup. It's put together by people who Really Love to Draw. They've obviously all been doing it obsessively on their kitchen tables since they were grasshopper size and have now seamlessly moved into sheds. They also tell Really Cool Stories. Bill's particular favourite in this issue was a strip called 'The Princess and the Peanut Butter Sandwiches' by Adam Murphy concerning the perils of making a wish for an infinite number of peanut butter sandwiches when you meet a magic unicorn. I liked the classy serial strip 'The Pirates of Pangaea' by Daniel Hartwell and Neill Cameron which features a Victorian ship full of dinosaur riding pirates. Many of the strips are in serial form and it's lovely to have the excitement of tuning in next week for the next installment. There's a huge variety of drawing styles and formats demonstrated and in the middle a long text 'proper' story too. This week it was an extract from a new book by Dave Shelton called 'A Boy and a Bear in a Boat' (link!) which was so good I immediately had to go and order it. sigh. Terrible habits I'm developing in the excuse of blogging.

The team responsible for 'The Phoenix' were also responsible for a now defunct comic called 'DFC' which passed me by alas, but has led me to the discovery of their back issue comic books of the most popular strips, many by the same artists as 'The Phoenix'. More ordering may have occurred (blush) and more may be reviewed here at a later date. Given that this was also the weekend that Bill properly got stuck into 'Asterix' I can see a comic book/graphic novel strand emerging. That'll help me get organised then.

I should add that Bill also started his own drawing at the kitchen table this weekend inspired 'Playing By the Book' style- he created Pumpkin Face and his arch nemesis Birdie Man. It's unusual for him to choose to draw and another tribute to the power of  'The Phoenix'. I'll stick them up below for fun. Along with his Lego gun collection- off topic- but how we spent our Sunday afternoon and I'm proud of my handiwork.

'The Phoenix' is currently available by subscription but might also be found in specialist comic shops like Gosh or Forbidden Planet (although when we tried to reserve Issues 1 and 2 they'd already sold out) and in some branches of Waitrose.