Markosia has just released a collection of Stu Perrins anthropomorphic comic for young readers, Chrono-Cat, drawn by Armando Zanker, a fun comic character who seems to be gaining quite a following.
Chrono-Cat began life as Charlie, the personal pet and lab mascot of the brilliant Dr Jarvis Fairbeard, who, as the world’s foremost expert of quantum physics, was working on an experimental time machine. One day, a test of the Time Machine goes dreadfully wrong, causing the molecules in Charlie to advance millions of years – making him a powerful and highly intelligent superbeing.
Unfortunately, it also fused the cells of lab assistant Luther and pet goldfish Mr Tiddles, together making them a grotesque if vastly intelligent, evil, powerful creature…
Christened ‘Chrono-Cat’, Charlie must travel time and space to save the world, his friends – and himself!
The resulting story spans time, space, is tremendous fun, with a rich cast of daft characters and a whole universe of silliness I sincerely hope Stu will return to. Mexican artist Armando Zanker (Battle Smash Vs the Saucer-men from Venus, Middle-Men) has done a terrific job on this title, aided by colourist and letterer Ron Gravelle. We can see this one becoming a runaway hit, perhaps even an animated show.
Stu Perrins, who’s also creator of Megatomic Battle Rabbit, who makes a brief cameo in Chrono-Cat, seems to be carving a bit of a name for himself as “the talking animals author”, even if he has written more adult material, such as Clockwork Inc and Whatever Happened to the Archetype?
“It’s not like I ever sat down and thought ‘Oh I know, talking animals, that’s where it’s at,’” he told ComicScene recently, “but I did and have made an effort to try and create fun and exciting stories.
“The world is neck deep in a pandemic and unemployment and all the rest of it that I think that those that do create have a ‘duty’ , if you like, to steer the world away from the darkness for a few minutes and remind us that it isn’t always doom and gloom, there is good in the world. There’s enough grim and gritty in the real world at the moment, I really don’t want it in my comics. Art wise, it really pops, especially the main character.”
It certainly does – and it’s an enjoyable read too, offering travels in space and time with the world’s first feline science superhero. We can only echo Stu’s pitch, “What’s not to love?”
• Chrono-Cat is available now from all good bookshops |ISBN 978-1914926648 | Reading age : 6 – 12 years | Buy it from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
• Check out the official Chrono-Cat Facebook Page
• Follow Stu Perrins on Twitter
• Check out more of Armando Zanker’s work on Behance
• Follow Ron Gravelle on Twitter
- About the Author
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Collections, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Features, Reviews
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