A writer from Frome has become one of the brains behind the revival of some of Britain’s most beloved comic book characters.
You may have fond memories of comic book specials given to you on holidays, filled with fun gags and bizarre characters – and writer Lizzie Boyle, 46, is reliving her youth as one of the writers on the Cor!! & Buster Humour Special, which is out this week.
A former prizewinner in the Bristol Short Story Prize and Frome Short Story Competition, Lizzie has given a 21st Century facelift to Gums, the not-so-deadly shark whose dentures are always being stolen by cheeky surfer Bluey – a well-loved character from Buster, which ran from 1976 to 1984.
“You never imagine you’ll get a chance to write the comic’s characters that you loved when you were little,” she said. “It’s great to be able to have so much fun with such iconic characters and to bring them to life for a new generation of readers.”
The 48-page Cor!! & Buster Humour Special is a one-shot comic with new takes on some of the greatest characters from Britain’s golden age of humour comics. Ideal for keeping the kids occupied over the Easter holidays, a whole new generation of readers are about to experience comics’ humour at its very finest.
Lizzie, who’s lived in Frome for 12 years, has been writing comics for seven years and has previously had success with the horror-themed Scream & Misty Special in 2018 and Secret Gardens, a ‘choose your own adventure’ comic in partnership with Lowther Castle in the Lake District. She also publishes her own comics as part of Disconnected Press, one of the UK’s best-known independent comics publishers.
She recently travelled to Chicago in the United States for the C2E2 comic book convention, where her husband, comic artist Conor Boyle, launched a new book with Heavy Metal comics and the band Megadeth.
The Cor!! & Buster Humour Special is on sale from 17th April price £4.99 and is available in all good newsagents and through comic shops.