Out next week in the UK from Hodder Children’s Books is Global, a powerful, hopeful and timely new graphic novel about the real effects of climate change, from Eoin Colfer, Andrew Donkin and Giovanni Rigano, who brought us the award-winning Illegal back in 2017.
Global, already available in North America from SourceBooks, centres on two young people on different continents whose lives are catastrophically changed by global warming, a graphic novel for children of all ages.
The story is the work of Eoin Colfer, previously Irish Children’s Laureate, Andrew Donkin and Giovanni Rigano, the team behind Illegal, and Eoin’s bestselling Artemis Fowl graphic novels.
“This new graphic novel has been a labour of love for the three of us over the last several years,” says Andrew, “and we’re so happy to finally be able to share it with you.”
In this new graphic novel, Yuki lives in an increasingly deserted Inuit township in Nova Scotia. One day she sets out into the wilderness of the Arctic tundra planning to photograph a rare grolar bear (a terrifying grizzly-polar crossbreed created by climate change) – if she can prove it’s a grolar, she can protect it from being shot.
With only her faithful dog for company and adrift on a fragment of melting glacier, she finds herself being stalked across the changing wilderness by a starving grolar bear, with only her wits and her harpoon to keep her alive.
Sami lives in a fishing village on the Bay of Bengal. But because of the ever-rising ocean level, each day is a struggle to survive. One night, Sami sets out to return to his old, submerged family home, alone. He takes a deep breath and dives beneath the moonlit waters, hoping to find his past.
But a cyclone is coming …
Global has been the focus of a US tour by its creators over the last few weeks, launched there by publisher SourceBooks on 11th April. On Monday, it will get its New York launch at Books of Wonder at 42 West 17th Street, and if you’re in town you can book tickets for that event here on EventBrite.
Longtime readers of downthetubes will recall Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin’s first original and much-praised, award-winning graphic novel, Illegal, telling the story of Ebo and Kwame and their tortuous journey from North Africa to seek a new life in Europe.
Eoin Colfer (pronounced Owen) was born in Wexford on the South-East coast of Ireland in 1965. He first developed an interest in writing as a child when he was gripped by the Viking stories he learned about at school. His first book, Benny and Omar, was published in 1998, based on his experiences living in Tunisia; it has since been translated into many languages. In 2001, his first Artemis Fowl book was published and Eoin gave up teaching to concentrate fully on writing.
London-based Andrew Donkin has sold over eight million children’s books, graphic novels, and adult books. His work in comics includes Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight and Doctor Who (I happily admit to being the editor who gave him one of his earliest comics commissions, on Doctor Who Magazine). With Eoin Colfer, he has co-written several bestselling graphic novel adaptations of Colfer’s books.
Giovanni Rigano is an award-winning Italian comics artist who live in Comi, Italy, and creator of many graphic novels. He has adapted several of Eoin Colfer’s novels into graphic novels (The Supernaturalist is an absolutely gorgeous fantasy story, for example), as well as Disney-Pixar’s The Incredibles and two Pirates of the Caribbean novels. His creator-owned series Daffodil won several comic awards.
• Global: a graphic novel adventure about hope in the face of climate change by Eoin Colfer, Andrew Donkin, Giovanni Rigano is on sale in all good bookshops from 27th April 2023 | ISBN: 978-1444951912 | Hardcover | Buy it from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link) | Buy it from Bookshop.org (Affiliate Link)
• Eoin Colfer is online at eoincolfer.com | Find Eoin on Facebook | Follow Eoin on Twitter @eoincolfer
• Andrew Donkin is online at andrewdonkin.co.uk | Follow him on Twitter @AndrewDonkin
• Giovanni Rigano is online at riganogiovanni.blogspot.co.uk | Follow him on Twitter @rigano_giovanni
• For more information on Hodder Children’s Books visit www.hodderchildrens.co.uk
Illegal
Writers: Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin
Art: Giovanni Rigano
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books
An award-winning powerful and timely story about one boy’s epic journey across Africa to Europe, a graphic novel for all children, available from all good bookshops and from AmazonUK here (Affiliate Link)
Ebo: alone.
His sister left months ago. Now his brother has disappeared too, and Ebo knows it can only be to make the hazardous journey to Europe.
Ebo’s epic journey takes him across the Sahara Desert to the dangerous streets of Tripoli, and finally out to the merciless sea. But with every step he holds on to his hope for a new life, and a reunion with his sister.
“So far, this is not much of a new life.”
• Read Jonathan Rigby’s review of Illegal here on downthetubes
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.
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