The Phoenix, a weekly children’s comic that launched in 2012, will be celebrating its 200th issue of the series on 30 October. It will be the first independent comic to reach such a milestone in over 40 years.
The 200th issue will see the release of two new comic strips from young readers Jonny Toons, 11, from Middlesbrough and Jordan Vigay, 14, from Portsmouth. Their work will be featured alongside strips from celebrated artists, including Laura Ellen Anderson, Robin Boyden, Jess Bradley, Lorenzo Etherington and Jamie Smart.
Jordan says of the Phoenix, “I loved the art and the stories and everything about it, and was really excited every week when it arrived!”. He was inspired to create his own comic strip, The Red Crow, after meeting the Phoenix team at Leeds comic festival. He says of the process: “At the beginning I drew it by hand, scanned it into the computer and my dad printed them at work. Then later on I got a graphics tablet and sent it off to a proper printers. I love drawing digital art and thinking up new stories and characters, then getting the finished comic back!”
Editor of the Phoenix, Tom Fickling, says, “One of the most important things to us at the Phoenix is to encourage children to use their imaginations to create their own comic stories. Jordan and Jonny are both young talents who have a passion for making comics , and I’ve lost count of the amazing number of things they’ve sent in or shown me. Issue 200 is a chance for us to support them and inspire other children to get creating”.
The Phoenix is launching a competition to find the next Young Phoenix Comic Artist. The competition will be open to children in two categories: 6-9 and 10-13 year olds. The younger entrants will be asked to enter a one line strip of their work, while the 10-13 entrants must create a strip of three to five panels. The judging panel will include the Phoenix’s own Tom Fickling and Paul Gravett, as well as artists including Laura Anderson and Neil Cameron. Entries close on 27 November and the winner will be selected and notified by mid-December with their work published in the January issue of the series.
The 200th issue of the Phoenix will be available on subscription, from independent bookshops, Waitrose and WHSmith nationwide from Friday 30 October.
For more information about The Phoenix, please visit their website.
