Ninjas, Cheesestrings & Germs - heaps of comics by kids

I've just enjoyed the pleasure of going into the same school for a whole week, so we have the pupils of Thackley Primary School in Bradford to thank for the eight front covers that you see above.

Working with years 3 to 6 over four days, and with each of the 8 classes being joined by up to a dozen parents and grandparents for a special week where they got to observe things, I was working with rooms of up to 36 at a time, which means I've drawn a good 250 caricatures and they've produced twice as many pages of comic strips and character designs between them.

A wide range of comic titles ended up being chosen, with a couple of teachers getting their names on the covers, and a handful of inexplicable titles (Adentootic was, we think, supposed to be a reference to Adventure Time, but so elaborately mis-spelled the class liked it as it was written; a similar brain-to-pencil confusion also gave us But Simson Resi Dasey Uck Ever A Invincible Ha Ha Ha (I amended the spelling of invincible); and no-one knows what the Sape in Save Me From A Sape is).

The celebrities they chose for my demonstration strip (in the selection process for which Simon Cowell was suggested at leat half the time) were Keith Lemon (three times), Katy Perry, Joey Essex, Elvis Presley, Ariana Grande and Bob Marley.

And, yes, I left them some fine flipchart drawings...

NB: Doctor Who was more popular with year 3 and 4 than year 5 and 6, and when I offer to draw the Doctor, kids now universally ask for Peter Capaldi.



Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing Pansy Potter, Bananaman, Biffo The Bear et al in The Beano, runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries and art centres - email for details, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter. He's been writing and drawing comics for 25 years, he must know something.