Thomas The Tank Engine On Steroids - comics by kids at Backwell

It was Backwell's Summer School week this week, something that I've been doing for as many years as I've been doing these Comic Art Masterclasses, probably. The routine is that kids come in from feeder schools, who will be starting at Backwell next term, and do a variety of fun activities, of which I am one. This year the timetable changed, which resulted in me managing to work with six groups in just two days.

In the normal run of events, when I'm doing my up-to-100-days in schools every year with these workshops, I do two in a day. One am, one pm, with up to 30 groups in each. That means I have a minimum of two hours in which to get them to design a character and draw a comic strip page, and I have time to draw all their faces. In Backwell in the past, they've stretched my classes out so I work with one group all day. Which is a challenge of one sort, cos I really have to spin out and pad my pretty threadbare set to fill five hours. I can do it, but it can be hard work, especially with a class who might not be that interested in the subject.

This year we went to the other extreme, of squeezing three groups into each day, each one only getting 90 minutes with me. The groups were small, only 17 to 21 kids, which made it easier. And I trimmed a lot of stuff. So for two groups we completely skipped the demonstration strip "Treading On A Worm" with which I go through all the techniques they'll need to make a comic strip look good. Turns out they can do fine without that. You know, the truth might be that they could all produce comic strips without my help anyway. No, being honest, I pride myself in getting kids excited about the subject, making them laugh a lot, and whipping up their enthusiaism so they produce an amazing amount of work in a short time. And I draw all of their faces. Dammit, I am brilliant.

The celebrities they chose to appear in my demonstration strip, remembering that only 4 out of the 6 groups got to do that bit, were Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Kim Kardashian, Boris Johnson and (most original choice of the week) Genghis Khan.

I even had time to draw an all new flipchart page which (given it was my paper) I shall be using at future schools. I'm a little tight-arsed about that these days. If the school provides a flipchart and pad, they get a drawing done, which I leave with them. If I have to schlep my flipchart stand into the school and use my own paper, they get one I prepared earlier. I'm taking bookings into 2024, if you'd like my curmudgeonly presence foisted on your impressionable youngsters.

My Books and where to get them:

Findlay Macbeth - Amazon  - Etsy 
Prince Of Denmark Street - Amazon - Etsy 
Midsummer Nights Dream Team  - Amazon - Etsy 

Shakespeare Omnibus Collection (all 3 books) - Amazon

Tales From The Bible - Amazon -  Etsy 

The Book Of Esther (new pocketbook sized) - Lulu £8.50 - Amazon £9.96

Captain Clevedon - Amazon

Tales Of Nambygate - Amazon

Eurovision Colouring Vol 1 - Amazon -  Lulu  - Etsy 
Eurovision Colouring Vol 2 - Amazon  - Lulu  - Etsy 

Eurovision Colouring Best Of British - Amazon

Doctor Who Colouring - Amazon - Lulu  - Etsy 
Punk Colouring - Amazon  - Lulu  - Etsy 

60s Pop Star Colouring - Amazon  - Lulu  - Etsy 
70s Pop Star Colouring - Amazon  - Lulu  - Etsy 

80s Pop Star Colouring - Amazon

80s Superstars - Amazon

90s Pop Star Colouring - Lulu - Etsy

2020s Pop Star Colouring - Amazon

Bowie Colouring - Amazon

Scottish Pop Star Colouring - Amazon

Rom Com Colouring - Amazon

Royalty Colouring - Lulu

Christmas Movies Colouring - Amazon

NB: Etsy editions are signed and posted by me, and generally cheaper