By Gary Northfield
Publisher: David Fickling Books
ISBN: 9781910200094
The British comics industry has needed a shot in the arm for some time now and that came a few years ago with the introduction of The Phoenix, a weekly comic that caters for something other than the lowest common denominator and somehow manages to survive without being a PR rag for other people’s products and without having the need to stick plastic rubbish to the cover. Yes, it’s rather good.
Part of its success is the brilliant breadth of its stories, and an absolute stand out example of this is Gary’s Garden.
The concept is gargantuan in its scope and may take some explaining. It’s about the wildlife in creator Gary Northfield’s garden. Did you follow that?
Sounds like it should be something of nothing, but Gary scales the action down to the point of view and the perspective of the creatures that live there so that in their own little habitats and interactions a whole host of possibilities can arise. But what really makes it special is the somewhat surreal and at times utterly bonkers personalities of the creatures, fuelling the the stories and situations with the unexpected, the daft and the funny.
Where else would you get a fox training a hedgehog in the arts of night-time stealth and survival? There’s the sinister spider who having now trapped the bugs upon his web treats them to fate worse than death – a captive audience. There’s the Camouflage Club and the Animal Mimicry Club, there’s raids on Gary’s kitchen, and there are misinterpretations of bird song.
Possibly the greatest creation are the ladybirds. We have a Tarzan analogue, a John Carter Of Mars analogue and even the mother ladybird is called Mrs Burroughs. Genius.
A genuinely original strip that makes an excellent collection, and it’s humour is one that will appeal to both children and adults. It should be on your book shelf.
And if you liked that: There are plenty more collections from the Phoenix available at the moment, and don’t forget that you can subscribe to The Phoenix at www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk
What’s more, if you buy any books or back issues from The Phoenix’s online shop and quote the code FIRST15OFF you’ll get a massive 15% off! What are you waiting for…
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