{"id":23510,"date":"2021-01-04T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2021-01-04T08:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=23510"},"modified":"2021-01-03T16:37:12","modified_gmt":"2021-01-03T16:37:12","slug":"freddy-vs-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2021\/01\/04\/freddy-vs-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Freddy Vs School"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Neill Cameron<\/strong> (David Fickling Books)
\nISBN: 978-1-78845-143-7 (PB)<\/p>\n

Great characters are hard to pin down in the modern-multi-media world – even if they’re relatively new. Here’s a delightful and extremely entertaining sideways move for a favourite comics character – oddly, from ultra-modern full-colour cartoon pages to the hoary hallowed traditions and trappings of illustrated prose\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Neill Cameron (Tamsin of the Deep<\/strong>, How to Make Awesome Comics<\/strong>, Pirates of Pangea<\/strong>) has charmed and enthralled kids of all ages with another serial originating in the picture-perfect pages of wonderful weekly The Phoenix<\/strong>. This one is the Mega-Robo Brothers<\/strong>, set in a charmingly inclusive and diverse futuristic London (at least 3 months from now\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6) and featuring a pair of marvellous metal-&-plastic paladins who are not like other kids – no matter how much they try\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Now he’s a stalwart of proper literature, let’s dip into this superb romp in the grand manner of Just William<\/strong> or Billy Bunter<\/strong> thanks to the smaller of those rather unique lads\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Welcome to the Future!<\/p>\n

In a London much cooler than ours Alex Sharma<\/em> and his younger brother Freddy<\/em> are (mostly) typical kids: boisterous, fractious, always arguing, but devoted to each other and not too bothered that they’re adopted. It’s no big deal for them that they were constructed by mysterious Dr. Roboticus<\/em> (before he vanished from all human knowledge) and are considered by those in the know as the most powerful robots on Earth.<\/p>\n

That includes Mum<\/em> and Dad<\/em>, but though Mr Sharma may be just your average working guy, it’s clear Mum is a bit extraordinary herself. As renowned boffin Dr. Nita Sharma<\/em>, she harbours some surprising secrets of her own, and occasionally allows her boys to be super-secret agents for R.A.I.D.<\/em> (Robotics Analysis Intelligence and Defence).<\/p>\n

It’s enough for the digital duo that Mum<\/em> and Dad<\/em> love them, even though the boys are a bit more of a handful than most kids. They live as normal a life as possible; going to school, making friends, putting up with bullies and hating homework: it’s all part of the Mega Robo Routine combining boring lessons, fun with friends, playing games, watching TV and training in the covert combat caverns under R.A.I.D. HQ\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

When occasion demands, the lads undertake missions, but mostly it’s just home, games, homework and School. At least that’s how it seems to Freddy: a typical, excitable 10-year-old (well, except for the built-in super-strength, flight rockets and lasers). Alex may be at the age when self-doubt and anxiety begin to manifest, but Freddy is insufferably exuberant and over-confident. And that’s where the trouble starts today\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Some kids just find themselves at the centre of unfortunate events, even without a suite of onboard tactical weaponry, and it all begins with another fraught parent-teacher conference between Deputy Head Mr. Javid<\/em> and Freddy’s Mum. As usual it involves an unfortunate use of the metal boy’s unique gifts, subsequent destruction of property and trauma for the staff, but this time the repercussions are severe. Cash-strapped and at the end of his tether, Mr Javid imposes a draconian Code of Conduct forbidding students from using Super-strength, Booster Rockets or Lasers on school property. Obviously, it’s not a sanction that affects every pupil, and Mum is offended but, in the end, really wants her sons to grow up in a social environment and not be excluded or home-schooled\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Sadly, Freddy is wilful and easily led, especially by his best friend Fernando<\/em>. He also hates boring learning and loves excitement. Dr. Sharma calls him an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153instigator\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, and hopes the influence of sporty Anisha<\/em> or quietly studious new boy Riyad<\/em> will have a calming effect on her son. She has no idea of the trouble lurking, hulking bully Henrik<\/em> is planning, or the devasting consequences that will result from Freddy’s inability to do what he’s told\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Stuffed with monochrome cartoons and bouncy graphics, this is unmissable entertainment for kids of all ages and vintage: a splendidly traditional school days comedy romp, amped up on sci fi and superhero riffs and carrying a powerful message that no one is beyond saving. Freddy vs School<\/strong> is wonderful adventure for younger readers and one you’ll adore too.
\nText and illustrations \u00c2\u00a9 Neill Cameron 2021. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

Freddy vs School<\/strong> will be published on 7th<\/sup> January 2021 and is available for pre-order now<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Neill Cameron (David Fickling Books) ISBN: 978-1-78845-143-7 (PB) Great characters are hard to pin down in the modern-multi-media world – even if they’re relatively new. Here’s a delightful and extremely entertaining sideways move for a favourite comics character – oddly, from ultra-modern full-colour cartoon pages to the hoary hallowed traditions and trappings of illustrated … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Freddy Vs School”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,125,97,160,107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-humour","category-kids-all-ages","category-pocket-paperback-collections","category-science-fiction"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-67c","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23510\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}