Category: Kids – All Ages

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Silly Lilly and the Four Seasons


By Agnès Rosenstiehl (Toon Books/Raw Junior)
ISBN: 978-0-9799238-1-4 (HB)                    978-1-935179-23-8 (PB)

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Sheer Delight from First to Last… 10/10

Kids love to read and will do so for their entire lives if you start them off with the right material. Thankfully, after too many years without, the bookshelves and digital stores are stuffed with just such graphic narrative treasures. This particular award-winning cartoon treat for the very young comes from the magnificently prolific and talented Agnès Rosenstiehl, who has been one of France’s greatest kids’ authors for decades.

Rosenstiehl was born in 1941 to an artistic Parisian family, and, after attending Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse à Paris and the Sorbonne, has been enchanting European nippers with her efforts since 1968. I lost count at 159 books. There are probably more…

Her most popular and ubiquitous character is an adventurous tyke named Mimi Cracra (48 tomes thus far) who in 2008 hopped the pond and landed as Silly Lilly in a supremely engaging selection of vignettes showing the tot learning about and exulting in the ever-changing planetary cycle…

Crafted as mini-tales for very young and emerging readers, the explorations begin in playful callisthenics in Spring and ‘Silly Lilly at the Park’; moves on to Summer and ‘Silly Lilly at the Beach’; shuffles on in sensible warm clothes to Fall and ‘Silly Lilly and the Apples’, romps in Winter as ‘Silly Lilly Plays in the Snow’ before inexorably coming around to Spring again with ‘Silly Lilly and the Swing’.

Toon Books/Raw Junior was established by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly as an imprint of the groundbreaking alternative comics magazine to provide high-quality comics stories which would entice pre-schoolers and starter-readers into a lifelong love affair with strips in particular and reading in general.

Released as a child-sized (236 x 152 mm) landscape package, this magically compelling full-colour 32-page picture treat is available in both hardback and softcover: the kind of comforting illustrated exploration that opens young eyes to all the world’s wonders and will be read over and to again.
© 2008 RAW Junior, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Walt Disney: Return of the Gremlins


By Mike Richardson, Dean Yeagle, Fabio Laguna, Nelson Rhodes & various (Dark Horse Books)
ISBN: 978-1-61655-669-3

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: A Charming Offensive Celebrating all Spanners in the Works … 9/10

In 1940, fighter pilot Roald Dahl survived a plane crash and was despatched to America to recuperate and perhaps do a little spying…

During that period he began writing. His first children’s book – The Gremlins – formalised much of the myth and superstition fondly fostered by pilots and airmen in a lovely story about a pilot named Gus who survived a dreadful crash and learned the truth about the mischievous, pixie-like creatures who wrecked aircraft like his…

A fortuitous meeting with an American doctor who knew Walt Disney put Dahl in touch with the studio in an endeavour to create a morale-building feature film. It never got off the drawing boards and Leonard Maltin’s Introduction ‘The Gremlins Got ‘Em: How Walt Disney and Roald Dahl Didn’t Get to Make a Movie Together’ tells you why in captivating detail: just one of the splendid treats in this superb hardback collection from 2008 – and now available in a digital download edition.

The company facilitated publication of the illustrated book in 1943 with the Disney publicity machine doing as much preparatory work as the writers, story-boarders, layout men, animators and other studio staff, so the winningly wicked wreckers also saw daylight as strip-stars in licensed Dell comicbook Walt Disney Comics and Stories (#33-41, between June 1943 and February 1944): in usually silent gag shorts by limned Vivie Risto and the legendary Walt Kelly.

In more recent times 3-issue miniseries Return of the Gremlins revived the concept and this splendid tome gathers that new material and bundles it up with a wealth of vintage treasures into a book that will delight young and old alike.

Following Maltin’s sprightly history lesson the revival begins in a jolly tale scripted by Mike Richardson, rendered by Dean Yeagle (with backgrounds by Nelson Rhodes), coloured by Dan Jackson and lettered by Michael David Thomas, revealing how years after World War II ended Gus’ American grandson returns to a certain dilapidated house in the north of England…

He had recently inherited the old place plus its wild woodland and only came over to sell the place to the local council and their pet property developer. However what he finds in the trees and suspiciously tidy abandoned cottage soon changes his mind and alters his life forever…

Finding love with a like-minded local girl whilst battling ruthless monied interests who won’t take no for an answer (in ‘Chapter Three’, illustrated by Fabio Laguna), Gus secures a permanent homeland for the multitudinous, malarkey-making Gremlins in an uproarious kids romp that would also make a terrific family movie.

It also seemed to promise more adventures to come, but we’re still waiting for those…

Accompanying the breezy yarn is a picture-packed voyage through Yeagle and Laguna’s sketchbooks in ‘Making of Return of the Gremlins’ which also includes complete unused covers. Then the Golden Age greats come to the fore in ‘Classic Gremlins Comics’ and ‘Gremlins the Early Years’, re-presenting the cover of Walt Disney Comics and Stories #34 (volume 3, #10), a strip adaptation of Dahl’s story illustrated by an anonymous aggregation of Disney Studio artists and half a dozen slapstick vignettes by Kelly and Risto starring Gremlin Gus and the Widgets (baby Gremlins).

Also on show are a number of ‘World War II Air Force Service Patches’ created by Disney artists for branches of the service and a Gremlin-infested 1943 magazine ad pieces for Life Savers (you and me call them Polo Mints).

‘Winter Draws On: Meet the Spandules’ was a 1943 booklet created by Disney for Army Air Force pilots. Rendered in blue and black ink and reproduced here in full, it stars arctic Gremlins illustrating all the ways cold, snow and ice can wreck aircraft and is followed by a truncated version of Dahl’s original prose tale – again copiously illustrated by Disney staffers – and writing by the author under the pen-name “Pegasus”.

‘“The Gremlins’” was a planted pre-publicity feature for the prospective movie, created for the December 1942 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine and includes editorial pages, full reproduction of the book’s cover and even a painted tableau ‘Introducing the Gremlins’…

Wrapping up the treats is a fulsome section highlighting the ‘Collectible Toys’ Dark Horse commissioned to supplement the comicbook revival and their reissue of the original 1943 Dahl/Disney novel. There’s even as a peek at said tome to ice the cake.

Peppered throughout with Laguna’s Puckish marginals of playful Gremlins, this a gloriously whimsical treat to delight the fanciful and far-seeing dreamers of every age imaginable.
© Walt Disney Productions. All rights reserved throughout the world by Walt Disney Productions.

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(Mostly) Wordless


By Jed Alexander (Alternative Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-93446-033-7

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: A Perfect Package of Pictorial Participation… 9/10

Although most comics narrative is a wedding of words and pictures, at the core of all graphic communication is a desire to share what the creator sees. Some of the best sequential narrative comes when the drawing does the talking, and that’s especially true when someone as gifted as Jed Alexander is steering the story.

He was raised in small town Pennsylvania – that’s a state of mind, not a city – and studied illustration at San Jose State University, where he benefited from the sage advice of elder savants of the art form such as John Clapp (The Stone Fey, The Prince of Butterflies, On Christmas Eve) and Barron Storey (The Sandman: Endless Nights, The Marat/Sade Journals, Tales From the Edge).

Alexander paid his dues with a decade as a jobbing craftsman in editorial illustration for such periodicals as LA Weekly, The Sacramento News and Review and The Santa Cruz Metro before escaping back to his real love: kid’s books. He has blossomed out into animation with work for Nickelodeon and illustration for Cricket Magazine and other like minded venues.

Funded through a Kickstarter campaign (Mostly) Wordless is his first book: a slim sleek and subtly colourful hardcover compilation of eight delightful vignettes generally eschewing verbiage to tell simple experiential tales of kids for kids.

It begins with a wagon ride into fantasy as ‘Ella and the Pirates’ shifts playing children from here and now to the High Seas in search of treasure and adventure whilst ‘Midnight Snack’ verbally sets the scene for a nocturnal romp of surreal and ‘Rainy Day’ traces the sodden voyages of a boy – or girl – and his dog as the skies open…

‘The Dancer’ is a joyous celebration of the early days of terpsichorean self-expression and ‘Girl Meets Ball’ celebrates freedom and determination at their most expressive.

There’s witchy giggles in store following ‘Transformation’ after which a little hipster shows us how to be a ‘Beatnik’ and ‘Jack Be Nimble’ continues the athleticism with a very sporty rodent demonstrating the callisthenic logistics of the famous old rhyme…

Wrapping up with heartfelt ‘Acknowledgements’ to all concerned – from models to financial contributors – this supremely enticing book is a charming and beautiful package to draw kids into reading comics and one every family needs on the bookshelf.
© 2013 Jed Alexander. All rights reserved.

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Crisis on Multiple Earths volume 5


By Gerry Conway, Dick Dillin, George Perez, Frank McLaughlin & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-2623-7

In my most relaxed moments I am at heart a child of the Silver Age. The material I read as a kid shaped me and I cannot honestly declare myself a completely impartial critic on comics of the time. The same probably applies to the brave and bold continuances that stretched all the way to the 1980s recreation of Marvel, DC and the rest of America’s costumed champions.

That counts doubly so for the Julie Schwartz edited Justice League of America and its annual summer tradition of teaming up with its progenitor organisation, the Justice Society of America. If that sounds a tad confusing there are many places to look for clarifying details. If you’re interested in superheroes and their histories you’ll even enjoy the search. But this is not the place for that.

Ultra-Editor Schwartz ushered in the Silver Age of American Comics with his landmark Showcase successes Flash, Adam Strange and Green Lantern, directly leading to the JLA which in turn inspired the Fantastic Four and Marvel’s entire empire; changing forever the way comics were made and read…

Whereas the 1940s were about magic and macho, the Silver Age polished everything with a thick veneer of SCIENCE and a wave of implausibly rationalistic concepts which quickly filtered into the dawning mass-consciousness of a generation of baby-boomer kids.

The most intriguing and rewarding was, of course, the notion of parallel worlds…

Once DC’s Silver Age heroes began meeting their Golden Age predecessors from “Earth-2”, that aforementioned annual tradition commenced: every summer the JLA would team-up with the JSA to combat a trans-dimensional Crisis…

This volume reprints magnificent mass-gatherings encompassing Justice League of America #159 & 160 (October – November 1978), #171-172 (October – November 1979) and #183-185 (October to December 1980); a transitional period which saw comic book tastes changing as sales dwindled. It also marks the passing of a true great…

The amazing fantasy opens with a time-bending threat as five legendary warriors are plucked from history by a most malevolent malefactor for the most noble of reasons. They are then pitted against the greatest superheroes of two worlds in ‘Crisis from Yesterday’ by scripter Gerry Conway and artistic dynamic duo Dill Dillin & Frank McLaughlin.

In his zeal to conquer and plunder, the nefarious Lord of Time has accidentally created an omnipotent super-computer that is counting down to stopping the passage of time forever. Unable to halt or avoid the cosmic disaster, the temporal terrorist extracts Jon, the Viking Prince, English freebooter Black Pirate, Revolutionary War heroine Miss Liberty, western gunman Jonah Hex and WWI German fighter ace Hans von Hammer; supercharges them with eerie energies and programs them to attack the united Justice League and Society.

The Time Lord’s logic is simple: after suffering a shattering defeat, the teams – fired with determination and righteous fury – will promptly track him down, invade his Palace of Eternity and destroy for him his unstoppable computer. Or at least the survivors will…

Surprisingly that convoluted plan seems to work out in the concluding ‘Crisis from Tomorrow!’ but only after the chronally kidnapped quintet overcome their perfidious programming and revert to their true valiant selves. Even as the beleaguered superhero teams sacrifice everything to thwart the Lord of Time, the time-lost warriors prove their mettle against the errant computer.

One year later, the annual scenario hosted a savage locked-room mystery as ‘The Murderer Among Us: Crisis Above Earth One!’ sees the JLA feting the JSA in their satellite HQ and horrified to find one of their veteran guests throttled by unseen hands.

With no possible egress or exit, the greatest detectives of two Earths realise one of their heroic compliment must be the cold-blooded killer. Soon a methodical elimination of suspects leads to tense explorations and explosive repercussions in the revelatory finale ‘I Accuse…’

With the next summer’s team-up an artistic era ended as criminally underappreciated illustrator Dick Dillin passed away whilst drawing the saga. He and McLaughlin only completed Conway’s first chapter – ‘Crisis on New Genesis or, Where Have All the New Gods Gone?’ – of an epic confrontation between JLA, JSA and futuristic deities of Jack Kirby’s astounding Fourth World, leaving up-and-coming star George Pérez to fill some very big boots (and gloves and capes and…).

In the first chapter, the assembled heroes are unilaterally shanghaied out of the regular universe and transported to trans-dimensional paradise planet New Genesis. The world is utterly deserted but for a furiously deranged Orion who seems set on crushing them all. Happily he is stopped by late-arriving Mister Miracle, Big Barda, Oberon and Metron who reveal their fellow gods have been captured and sent to hell-world Apokolips by three Earth-2 villains…

The place has been in turmoil since evil overlord Darkseid was killed by Orion and in the interim the vanquished devil’s spirit has travelled to Earth 2 and recruited The Shade, Icicle and Fiddler to resurrect him…

The details of the scheme are reviewed in ‘Crisis Between Two Earths or, Apokolips Now!’ as the freshly restored Darkseid strives to make his still-tenuous existence permanent and the heroes split up to stop him by hitting key components of his technology and support teams.

Along the way they encounter a resistance movement of battle-scarred super-powered toddlers, the horrific reason the New Genesisians were initially taken and how Darkseid plans to invade the natural universe by cataclysmically transporting Apokolips the space currently occupied by Earth-2…

The diabolical denouement reveals a ‘Crisis on Apokolips or, Darkseid Rising!’ as the scattered champions reunite to stop the imminent catastrophe and set the worlds to rights in an explosive clash with no true resolution. Such is the nature of undying evil…

With full biographies of the creators and a stirring cover gallery by Rich Buckler, Dick Giordano, Dillin, McLaughlin, Jim Starlin & Bob Smith, this a sheer uncomplicated dose of nostalgic delight for those who love costumed heroes, crave carefully constructed modern mythologies and care to indulge in a grand parade of straightforward action, great causes and momentous victories.

These are instantly accessible yarns: captivating Costumed Dramas no lover of Fights ‘n’ Tights fun and frolics could possibly resist. And besides, surely everyone fancies finding their Inner Kid again?
© 1978, 1979, 1980, 2010 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Iznogoud volume 13: I Want to be Caliph Instead Of the Caliph


By Goscinny & Tabary, translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-84918-260-7

For the greater part of his far-too-short lifetime René Goscinny (1926-1977) was one of the world’s most prolific and widely-read writers of comic strips. He still is.

Amongst his most popular and enduring comic collaborations are Lucky Luke, Le Petit Nicolas, Signor Spaghetti and, of course, Asterix the Gaul, but there were so many others, such as the despicably dark deeds of a dastardly usurper whose dreams of diabolical domination perpetually proved to be ultimately no more than castles in the sand…

In the rueful aftermath of the Suez crisis, the French returned Рby way of comics, at least Рto the hotly contested Arabian deserts as Goscinny teamed with hugely gifted Swedish ̩migr̩ Jean Tabary (1930-2011) Рwho numbered Richard et Charlie, Grabadu et Gabaliouchtou, Totoche, Corinne et Jeannot and Valentin le Vagabond amongst his previous hit strips Рto deliriously detail the innocuous history of imbecilic Arabian (im)potentate Haroun el-Poussah.

However, as is so often the case, it was the strip’s villainous foil – power-hungry vizier Iznogoud – who totally stole the show… possibly the conniving little rogue’s only successful coup.

The first kernel of inspiration came as a piece of background shtick in early 1960s kids’ cartoon book Les Vacances du Petit Nicholas (which we Brits all saw as Nicholas on Holiday). A fuller formation and development came with Les Aventures du Calife Haroun el Poussah, created for Record: debuting in the January 15th issue of 1962.

A petite hit, the feature subsequently jumped ship to Pilote – a new comic created and edited by Goscinny – where it was artfully refashioned into a starring vehicle for the unpleasant little upstart who had been hogging all the laughs and limelight.

The Vile Vizier went from strength to strength. According to the brief introduction in this volume, the unwieldy catchphrase “I want to be Caliph instead of the Caliph!” quickly became part of casual French idiom and, in October 1974, the wee rascal won his own socio-political commentary column in newspaper Journal du Dimanche.

Insidious Iznogoud is Grand Vizier to Haroun Al Plassid, the affable, easy-going Caliph of Ancient Baghdad, but the sneaky little second-in-command has loftier ambitions, or as he is always declaiming “I want to be…”

The retooled rapscallion resurfaced in Pilote in 1968, quickly becoming a huge hit, resulting in 29 albums to date (17 by dream team Goscinny & Tabary), his own solo comic, a computer game, animated film, TV cartoon show and even a live-action movie.

Like all great storytelling, Iznogoud works on two levels: for youngsters it’s a comedic romp with adorably wicked baddies invariably hoisted on their own petards and coming a-cropper, whilst older, wiser heads can revel in pun-filled, witty satires and superbly surreal antics.

Following Goscinny’s death in 1977, Tabary began scripting the turbulent tales, switching to book-length complete adventures rather than the short, snappy vignettes which typified his collaborations. Upon his own passing, Tabary’s children Stéphane, Muriel and Nicolas took over the franchise.

The deliciously malicious whimsy is resplendent in its manic absurdity, cleverly contemporary cultural critiques, brilliantly delivered creative anachronisms and fourth-wall busting outrages which serve to keep the assorted escapades bizarrely fresh and hilariously inventive.

Je veux être calife à la place du calife was originally released in 1978; wracking up a baker’s dozen deliciously daft album compilations, and proffering a potently engaging quintet of trend-setting tales with our ambitious autocrat as ever scheming to seize power from his good but gullible Lord and Master.

Following a brief background-building Introduction and preface page reintroducing our constant cast and their craven motivations, the merry madness kicks off with ‘The Inspection Spectre’ as Iznogoud and long-suffering hench-oaf Wa’at Alahf learn of an abandoned palace with a resident ghost who drives to derangement any Caliph crazy enough to spend the night.

It takes Herculean effort to get indolent Haroun into the ramshackle pit but when the miracle occurs it causes a mood swing nobody saw coming…

More mundane madness is the order of the day when vile Vizier meets scurrilous palace official Leguenn-Scandales whose job is sniffing out nepotism and corruption. The old ferret believes everybody has a secret that will destroy them and offers – for eye-watering remuneration – his unique gift to uncover a ‘Scandal in Baghdad’ that will depose the Caliph and leave the position open for a clean-living successor…

It all goes perfectly too: it’s just a shame the incumbent Caliph has a unique way of dealing with public shame and disapprobation…

After opening a ‘Wax Museum’ in the centre of town, its devious magician owner offers to resurrect and reanimate his exhibit of killers past and future for Iznogoud. Sadly the malign mannequins awake with ideas of their own and the Vizier pays the price for their manic meltdown, after which Tabary scripts as well as illustrates a story of killing with kindness as the devilish deputy obtains an ultra-soft hedonistic treat to remove the infernally idle Haroun al Plassid.

Typically, his timing couldn’t be worse and deploying ‘The Voracious Cushion’ only leads to his own unforgettably uncomfortable experience…

Goscinny is back for the final usurping exploit as Iznogoud determines to bribe the entire army to stop protecting the Caliph. Luckily, a recent acquaintance knows of a gold-producing ostrich, and the epic pursuit of her results in a colossal bullion stockpile in the shape of ‘The Eggs of Ur’.

If only the Vizier hadn’t ruined a perfect plan with his usual exacting imbecility…

Such convoluted witty, fast-paced hi-jinks and exotically engaging comedy set-pieces have made this series a household name in France where “Iznogoud” has become the accepted term for a certain kind of politician: overly ambitious, unscrupulous and frequently deficient in stature.

Desiring to become “Caliph in the Caliph’s place” is a popular condemnation in French, targeting those perceived as overly-ambitious, and since 1992 the Prix Iznogoud is awarded annually to “a personality who failed to take the Caliph’s place”.

Nominees are chosen from prominent French figures who have endured spectacular defeats in any one year and been given to the likes of Édouard Balladur (1995) and Nicolas Sarkozy (1999). Politician and jury panel chief André Santini had to award himself one in 2004 after failing to become president of Île-de-France in regional elections.

When first released in Britain during the late 1970s (and latterly in 1996 as a periodical comicbook) these tales made little impression on British audiences, but at last this wonderfully beguiling strip-saga has deservedly found an appreciative audience among today’s more internationally aware, politically jaded comics-and-cartoon savvy connoisseurs…

Buy ’em now: I gotta tell ya, they’ll all be yuge…
Original edition © 2012 IMAV éditions by Goscinny & Tabary. All rights reserved. English translation © 2016 Cinebook Ltd.

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Otto’s Orange Day


By Frank Cammuso & Jay Lynch (Toon Books/Raw Junior)
ISBN: 978-0-9799238-2-1 (HC)                    978-1-935179-27-6 (PB)

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Colourful and Captivating… 10/10

If you give them a chance and the right material, kids love to read. Happily, these days there’s a grand renaissance of books for the next generation to cut their milk-teeth on, and thanks to the dedication of folk like David Fickling Books (and their wonderful comic The Phoenix) in Britain and Toon Books/Raw Junior in the USA, plenty of avenues for youngsters to grow up reading comics too…

This one comes courtesy of award-winning political cartoonist Frank Cammuso (also the creator of Max Hamm: Fairy Tale Detective) who joins here with legendary industry giant Jay Lynch (Mad, Bijou Funnies, Phoebe and the Pigeon People, Nard ‘n’ Pat, Wacky Packages, Garbage Pail Kids) to relate a boisterous and visually flamboyant  yarn of foolish enthusiasm…

Otto was a ginger cat and utterly obsessed. He always said – long and loud and often – that orange is ‘My Favorite Colour’. He proclaimed it in verse and through dance and even had a song about the best hue in the world. That’s why his Aunt Sally Lee sent him an old dusty lamp she found in a store. It was pretty dusty and banged up, but beneath the grime, it gleamed orange…

Otto gave the old a thorough dusting and was amazed to see a gigantic blue genie offering him one wish. Otto had no doubts what it should be…

Opening the door he found the entire world painted in shades of the greatest colour of all. He couldn’t wait for winter when he could make orange snowmen!

Sadly, he soon started seeing the downside and learned to ‘Be Careful What You Wish For!’ The roads were more dangerous, people were hard to recognise and even Otto couldn’t stomach orange lamb chops with orange mashed potatoes and orange spinach!

Knowing he had to turn things back, Otto tried to find the lamp but it was difficult to do when all his toys and games were orange too…

And even when he finally locates the magic artefact there’s still another problem: only one go per owner and the genie says that changing the world back counts as ‘A New Wish’ and is far from happy to start making changes now…

Aimed at the five-and-over age-range, this splendidly child-sized (152 x126 mm) tome is a gloriously evocative, sleekly exciting kid-friendly caper, produced in 32-page, full-colour landscape format and the kind of illustrated extravaganza kids of all ages will adore – and probably fight over…

Toon Books/Raw Junior was founded by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly to provide high-quality comics stories to entice pre-schoolers and beginning readers into a life-long relationship with graphic narrative and traditional reading.

With a select pantheon of creators they have produced many brilliant books sub-divided into First Comic for brand new readers (Level 1), (Easy-to-Read for Emerging Readers Level 2) and Chapter Books for Advanced Beginners (Level 3).

The company supports publications with on-line tools at TOON-BOOKS.com, offering interactive audio-versions read by the authors – in a multitude of languages – and a “cartoon maker” facility which allows readers to become writers of their own adventures.
© 2008 RAW Junior, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Scary Godmother


By Jill Thompson (Dark Horse Books)
ISBN: 978-1-59582-589-6

The Eisner-Award winning Scary Godmother started life in 1997 as a full-colour, strip-format children’s book before evolving into a comicbook series, hit stage show and brace of Cartoon Network animated specials.

The original fully-painted picture book spawned three equally captivating annual sequels from Indie publisher Sirius Entertainment and all four of those astoundingly enthralling, wickedly hilarious books were resurrected in 2010 by Dark Horse as a stunning all-ages trade paperback collection just in time for Halloween.

And now it’s that time again…

Created by the terrifyingly multi-talented Jill Thompson (The Sandman, The Invisibles, Swamp Thing, Wonder Woman, The Little Endless Storybook) these stories offer comfortably spooky chills frosted with cracking comedy whilst proudly defending the inalienable right to be different…

Debut volume ‘The Scary Godmother’ introduced little Hannah Marie who is frantic to start her first ever Trick or Treat night, and only the teensiest bit disappointed that she has to go with her older, rather mean cousin Jimmy and his friends.

Naturally the big kids aren’t that keen on taking a baby along as they desperately try to score vast amounts of candy and cake, so as the evening progresses they try all they can think of to ditch the wide-eyed waif. It’s Jimmy who has the idea to scare Hannah by taking her to the old Spook House…

As they all nervously enter the ramshackle, abandoned old mansion, Jimmy tells Hannah Marie that the new kid has to give the monsters in the house some candy or they will eat all the children in the world, but he has severely underestimated his cousin’s grit. Although scared, she enters the dilapidated pile and the gang have no choice but to follow her inside…

As she looks for the horrible creatures Hannah Marie starts to cry and her sobs cause a strange thing to happen: someone joins in with sobs even louder than hers. And that’s how she meets the twisted fairy called Scary Godmother and befriends all the actual magic monsters who live in the weird midnight realm known as the Fright Side…

Scary Godmother is the Ambassador of Spooky and pretty much runs Halloween. After being introduced to the bats and beasts and boggles, Hannah Marie is no longer afraid and her new friend even has some ideas on how to teach Jimmy and his pals how to be less mean…

One year later ‘The Revenge of Jimmy’ finds the nasty boy deeply traumatised by his most memorable encounter with actual monsters last year. Now settled on the notion that if he sabotages Halloween, the horrors, haunts and horrible things won’t be able to come back to the real world for a second chance at him, Jimmy sets out on a mission of sabotage…

Across the dark divide the inhabitants are all gearing up for their night of fun in the real world and perplexed that something is gumming the works. The magic bridge that forms to carry them over is only half-formed, strange webs bar their path and other peculiar events temporarily hamper their preparations for the special night.

It’s all Jimmy’s fault but every time one of his cunning schemes looks like scuttling the town’s forthcoming festivities, some busybody or other finds a way to turn his sneaky dirty work into an exercise in ingenuity. With nothing apparently stopping Halloween coming and the Fright Siders crossing over, Jimmy steps up his campaign, unaware that all that meanness and loose magic is causing a rather strange transformation in Jimmy…

Nevertheless his most appalling act of sabotage almost succeeds until little Hannah Marie sees an upside to his horrible acts.

Halloween is saved but Jimmy almost isn’t… until one bold monster steps up to set things right…

Another year rolls by and Hannah Marie is preparing for a Halloween block party. As Mum and the other parents toil to make all the seasonal treats, the little girl is writing invitations to all the monsters in Fright Side. Hannah Marie has learned how to cross over to the nether realm, but when she gets there Scary Godmother is also busy, ensuring the night will be suitably spooky and wonderful.

As Hannah Marie distributes the invitations, a strange thing occurs: Scary Godmother gets a different invitation. It’s unsigned but from a Secret Admirer begging her attendance on ‘The Mystery Date’…

Captivated by the notion, Hannah Marie and little vampire Orson start canvassing all the likely candidates on the Fright Side – causing no end of trouble and embarrassment for Halloween’s startled and bemused Ambassador – before they all shamefully cross over to the real world where a real romantic surprise awaits the Scary Godmother…

The final book of the quartet was ‘The Boo Flu’ wherein our magical mystery madame succumbs to the worst of all eldritch aliments at the least favourable time, compelling Hannah Marie to step up, put on the big magic hat and ride the broomstick to marshal the monsters and take charge of all the necessary preparations if All Hallows Eve is to happen at all this year…

That’s a big ask for a little human girl, but help soon comes from all sorts of unexpected directions…

Almost as soon as the first book was released, Scary Godmother started popping up in comics too. Most of those tales are collected in a companion volume to this gleeful grimoire but there’s room here for one cheeky treat as ‘Tea for Orson’ (from Trilogy Tour Book) focuses on the vampire boy’s attempts to crash a girls-only soiree at Scary Godmother’s house. Harry the Werewolf also wants in – but more for the food than the company – and the banned boys’ combined, increasingly outrageous, efforts to gatecrash make for a captivating lesson in being careful what you wish for…

Wrapping up the tricks and treats is a liberal dose of ‘More Art’ in a huge and comprehensive ‘Scary Mother Sketch Book’ section; comprising roughs, designs, character development drawings, working paintings, promotional art and comic ads, design, background and model sheets and, for the animated specials, original book covers and rejected pages and scenes.

Still readily available – and now as a digital download too – Scary Godmother is a magical treat for youngsters of any vintage and would make a perfect alternative treat to candy and cakes…
Text and illustrations of Scary Godmother © 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2010 Jill Thompson. All rights reserved.

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Good Dog, Bad Dog: Double Identity


By Dave Shelton (David Fickling Books)
ISBN: 978-1-910989-00-5

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: A Boney Fido Mystery Thriller for fans of every stripe… 10/10

Way back in 2012, David Fickling Books launched a weekly comic for girls and boys that rapturously revived the grand old days of British picture-story entertainment intent whilst embracing the full force of modernity in style and content.

Still going strong, each issue offers humour, adventure, quizzes, puzzles and educational material: a joyous parade of cartoon fun and fantasy. Since its premiere, The Phoenix has gone from strength to strength, winning praise from the Great and the Good, child literacy experts and the only people who really count – the totally engaged kids and parents who read it…

As is the way of modern comics publishing, their greatest serial hits were soon gathered into a line of fabulously engaging album compilations. This splendidly constructed pastiche of detective thrillers is the latest: a winningly authentic murder mystery with anthropomorphic police pooches doggedly sloping through noir nostalgia (for those of us old enough to recognise it) on the seedily sordid streets of Muttropolis in search of killers – and worse – in the canine counterpart to Hollywood…

It’s not the first outing for curious cur Kirk Bergman (who thinks he’s a four-footed Sam Spade) and his beefy, astute and gently gigantic partner Duncan McBoo. They were previously seen in The Phoenix‘s predecessor The DFC – by way of The Guardian, no less – and have lost none of their appeal in this further adventure, crafted as ever by Dave Shelton (A Boy and a Bear in a Boat) with sublime skill, seductive illustration, engaging word-play and a keen appreciation of the value of truly appalling puns …

Film freak McBoo is over the moon when their latest case takes them to Wiener Brothers Studios to investigate death threats against movie mogul Sam Weiner but soon sees that there’s nothing but trouble ahead in Tinseltown.

Twin brother Jack Wiener thinks it’s all a lot of hooey, but since Sam is off sick there’s little the police dogs can do except head back to the precinct. That all changes on the way out when a bomb seemingly intended for aging silver screen idol Dunstan Bassett apparently obliterates his stunt double Bump Henderson instead…

And so begins a cleverly constructed yet deadly game of bluff and deception, crammed to the rafters with hot dames, plucky assistants, raucous bar-fights, thrilling car chases, sinisterly suspicious strangers and quirky walk-on characters in a plot which cunningly twists and curves without ever losing itself in unnecessary complexity.

Bergman and McBoo each plays to his own strengths as they hunt a killer only to find that the victim isn’t dead but not all the suspects are necessarily alive…

Moody, suspenseful and outrageous, this yarn remains deliciously funny whilst honouring a deep dept and displaying a definite soft spot for the crime classics of yore, and is a perfect kid’s book every adult in the house will find impossible to put down.

Text and illustrations © Dave Shelton 2016. All rights reserved.

Good Dog, Bad Dog: Double Identity will be released on November 3rd 2016 and is available for pre-order now.

Why not check out the Phoenix experience at https://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/?

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Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade


By Landry Q. Walker, Eric Jones & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-2506-3

As a rule, superhero comics don’t generally do whimsically thrilling anymore. They especially don’t do short or self-contained. The modern narrative drive concentrates on extended spectacle, major devastation and relentless terror and trauma. It also helps if you’ve come back from the dead once or twice and wear combat thongs and thigh boots…

Although there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that – other than the inappropriateness of striving to fix wedgies during life-or-death struggles – sometimes the palate just craves a different flavour.

Once such continued cosmic cataclysm was the exception, not the rule, and this enchanting collection first seen in 2009 harks back to simpler days of complex plots, solid characterisation and suspenseful fun by way of an alternative take on Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El, late of Argo City and Earth’s newest alien invader…

After a few intriguing test-runs Supergirl began as a future star of the expanding Superman pocket universe in Action Comics #252 (May 1959). Superman’s cousin Kara had been born on a city-sized fragment of Krypton, hurled intact into space when the planet exploded. Eventually Argo City turned to Kryptonite like the rest of the detonated world’s debris, and her dying parents, observing Earth through their scopes, sent their daughter to safety even as they perished.

Landing on Earth, she met Superman, who created the cover-identity of Linda Lee and hid her in an orphanage in bucolic small town Midvale whilst she learned of her new world and powers in secrecy and safety.

In 2009 much of that treasured back-history was euphorically reinstated for a superb miniseries for younger readers with Saturday morning animation sensibilities. Kara Zor-El was recast as a plucky 12-year-old whose world was suddenly turned upside down, forcing a decidedly ordinary kid to adapt to and cope with impossible changes at the craziest time of her life…

It all begins as Superman and Lex Luthor again indulge in another life-and-death duel. The battle ends suddenly as the evil genius’ war machine is wrecked by a gleaming rocket, from which emerges a dazed girl in a knock-off Man of Steel outfit. Panicked by the press pack that converges on her, the waif jumps back and suddenly catapults into the air…

Soon however Superman has caught and calmed the careering child and explanations ensue. She’s his cousin Kara from Argo City, which escaped the destruction of Krypton by a fantastic fluke: being hurled by the blast unharmed and entire into another dimension…

The Argoans thrived in their pocket reality and watched baby Kal-El become a mighty hero. In fact, it was a message-probe aimed at him that Kara sneaked onto before being accidentally sent to Earth. It is a horrific shock to learn Superman has no idea how to get her back to them…

Marooned on a weird, primitive planet with powers she doesn’t understand and cannot control is bad enough, but discovering her cousin has no time or space to look after her is the worst. Soon, wearing a pair of awful glasses, orphan “Linda Lee” begins a new life at Stanhope Boarding School…

The lessons are dull or baffling; nobody likes her; Principal Pycklemyer is a snide, snarky ass and worst of all, Kara’s superpowers keep turning off and on without any rhyme or reason. The first week is sheer hell, but ends on an up note as, after another fruitless attempt to get home, Linda heads back to the girls’ dormitory and finds a present waiting: a super-phone which can reach her mum and dad…

The Pre-Teen Powerhouse is still screwing up in class and her troubles multiply in detention when an odd green mineral interacts with a light projector in the science lab and creates an evil doppelganger.

Smug, arrogant Superiorgirl calls herself Belinda Zee and is instantly more popular. She also sets out to make Linda’s life an unending succession of petty aggravations and annoyances…

However, Belinda’s greatest scheme to humiliate Linda is foiled by a new transfer student. High-maintenance misfit Lena Thorul is a scary genius who takes an instant liking to fellow outcast Linda and saves the day with a mind-control helmet she whipped up…

Soon the weird pair are dorm-mates, even though Lena is a bit clingy and rather aggressive. She might even be preventing other students befriending Linda…

Life is never quiet and when Supergirl intercepts a glowing red meteor in space the fallout scatters scarlet debris all over Stanhope. The effect is amazing, as almost everybody develops superpowers…

Naturally Linda can’t reveal her own hidden abilities so she and a few pitiful others are quickly relegated to a remedial class for the “super-heroically challenged”. When the powers all suddenly fade, Supergirl is kept busy saving the students from their own youthful follies and is astonished to later discover the power drain was caused by Lena…

And that’s when things get truly complicated, as her solution to the on-going problem gives Supergirl the ability to time-travel and the notion that she can warn her earlier self to respond differently to the crisis…

Another day, and another disaster dawns as Linda’s experiments with Green Kryptonite – in hopes of finding a cure – instead give an alley cat incredible super-powers. As Streaky stalks the halls of Stanhope, Lena reveals her true nature and Superiorgirl is forced to choose sides…

The adventure concludes on ‘Graduation Day’ as chaos reigns and the real reason for all the incredible events Linda has endured are finally exposed. Luthor escapes jail, Streaky returns, Belinda becomes queen of Bizarro Zombies, Fifth Dimensional Sprites attack and Supergirl meets Supragirl before ending with a new trusty companion – Comet the Superhorse. Sadly he won’t be enough to aid the Maid of Might as she strives to prevent the destruction all there is…

With Reality unravelling Supergirl needs a little help and it comes from the last person she expected…

Joyous, thrilling, warm-hearted and supremely entertaining, this festival of Fights ‘n’ Tights fun is a delightful romp for youngsters and a fabulous tribute to DC’s Silver Age, and fans can also enjoy bonus features including sketch sections on ‘Redesigning Supergirl’, lovely pencil roughs and a full cover gallery.

Some characters are clearly capable of surviving seemingly infinite reinvention and the Girl of Steel is certainly one of those. Here in this charming, engaging, inspiring yarn for older kids and young adults you can enjoy a pure and primal romp: simultaneously action-packed and funny as it perfectly demonstrates how determination, smarts and courage trump superpowers and cosmic omnipotence every time
© 2009, 2015 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Mo and Jo Fighting Together Forever


By Jay Lynch & Dean Haspiel (Toon Books/Raw Junior)
ISBN: 978-0-9799238-5-2

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Superheroes at their Very Best and Most Fitting… 10/10

If you give them a chance and great material, kids love to read. Happily, these days there’s a grand renaissance of books for the young to cut their milk-teeth on, and thanks to the dedication of folk like David Fickling Books (and their wonderful comic The Phoenix) in Britain and Toon Books/Raw Junior in the USA, plenty of avenues for youngsters to grow up reading comics too…

This one even acts as a superb introduction to the weirdly compelling world of classic costumed crusading, courtesy of veteran cartoonist Jay Lynch (Bijou Funnies, Phoebe and the Pigeon People, Nard ‘n’ Pat, Mad, Wacky Packages, Garbage Pail Kids) and multi-talented illustrator Dean Haspiel (American Splendor, The Quitter, Billy Dogma, Justice League Adventures) who have concocted a rousing all-ages tale in the manner of classic Jack Cole Plastic Man and animated movie The Incredibles…

The riotous romp begins in ‘Fighting…’ as Mona and Joey stop their seemingly incessant squabbling just long enough to realise mailman Mr. Mojoski is watching them. The kids are arguing over world’s greatest hero Mighty Mojo and are utterly flabbergasted when the aging public servant reveals he is that valiant champion and that he is retiring forthwith…

He gives the kids his power-bestowing costume so that one of them can take over his role one day, but they immediately start tussling again and tear it in two…

All their dreams seem over, but Mom might have a solution…

Next morning the kids get a surprise: two costumes, but they each have only half the power of Mighty Mojo…

‘Fighting Forever…’ finds Mona and Joey still scrapping – but this time with strange and awesome abilities – until a sudden crisis blots out the sun. An emergency has arisen and evil crocodilian overlord Saw-Jaw is behind it…

Individually, neither of them is able to defeat the reptile raider and they are forced to consider the inevitable: ‘Fighting Together Forever…’

Aimed at the five-and-over age-range, this splendidly child-sized (236 x1 62 mm) tome is a gloriously evocative, sleekly exciting kid-friendly caper, produced in 32-page, full-colour landscape format and the kind of illustrated extravaganza kids of all ages will adore – and probably fight over…
© 2008 RAW Junior, LLC. All rights reserved.