Behind me the ink is drying on the very last page of the new Monkey, Bug, Rabbit and Goose! adventure Treasure of Numbskull Island. It will start appearing monthly in Countdown and Blast-Off from The School Magazine right about … now!
Three panels in and there's buried treasure! Good grief, what's going to happen by page 3 ?!
Perhaps you've never heard of them, but MBRG have been around for awhile. Originating as the cast of bedtime stories made up for two not-quite-sleepy-enough boys, their adventures were first documented in two issues of "Snort Stories". These brilliant, ground-breaking books of unheralded genius failed to make an impact in the jaded world of publishing, but helped pave the way for another all ages comic by the name of Captain Congo.
Once that big gorilla and his penguin pal had finished their run at The School Mag, I found myself bumping up close to the deadline for submissions for the 2017 comic serials. With a tight turnaround required it was very handy to have these four characters ready to grab off the shelf and use one of their many adventures already rolling around in my head. Was absolutely delighted when told Treasure of Numbskull Island had been selected as one of the serials to run this year.
And it has been absolutely delightful to draw! Been awhile since I have drawn and written an extended story and forgotten how much fun it can be – and fast! No offense meant to any of the fine writers I've been privileged to work with, but I tend not to write myself lines like "They disembark onto the crowded train platform as the circus parade arrives and the helicopters fly overhead". Some might say that I'm lazy and don't like drawing complicated backgrounds with buildings. I just say that like our new hero Captain Brian, I'm drawn to the romance of the open sea.
Well said, Captain Brian