My favourite title of the season has come from kids at a half term workshop at G Live in Guildford. Saint Buttcheek Stinklesburg was such a novel name that I was sure it must come from a game or a meme, but it would seem to have sprung fully formed from the imagination of an 11 year old, which should give us great hope for the youth of our nation.
At Red Oaks primary in Swindon, the year 6s were doing a topic on Stonehenge which they took great delight in rubbishing for their comic's title. Meanwhile the next class came up with a fine title, for which I produced one of my most disappointing covers. I can hardly use the excuse that I draw these quickly, whole the class is going on. Sometimes I churn out a corker, and sometimes I produce a real "I wish there was time to rub it out and start again", which is what you see on the right.
My annual visit to Ruskin primary in Swindon, which I have been doing for quite possibly ten years now, produced another couple of corking titles, though I can't say I'm impressed by my attempt to draw Declan Donelly. The live caricatures I do of the kids have about an 80% likeness rate, I'd say. I draw up to 60 every day, so that's not bad going. But give me five minutes with a photo of a celebrity and somehow their obvious features elude me. I googled and drew an accurate Ghostbusters firehouse though, so I wasn't slouching.
My second day at Ruskin saw the first instance I can remember of me getting the giggles. I mean really bad giggles. I got the giggles so bad, while reading out the kids' suggestions for the title of the comic, that my eyes were streaming with tears. All because one of the suggestions someone had written was "I'm Your Fammy", which I read out, accidentally in a hurry, as "I'm Your Fanny". Being year 6, only a couple spotted this or reacted with amused shock, but it was stifling the desire to refer to it, or to explain it away, that triggered the giggles. I was still chuckling at the memory of it on the way home.
On the right, I've coloured up the flipchart I did on day two, which I thought was a nifty design.
The celebrities these 7 groups chose to appear in my demonstration strip were Donald Trump (twice), Kim Kardashian, Simon Cowell, Kim Jong Un, Gordon Ramsay, and Bruce Willis.
Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing for The Beano, Marvel, Doctor Who et al, runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries and art centres - email for details, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter. View the promo video here.
