Comic creator David Baillie chats with British comic strip creator Andy Fanton, both artist and writer, creator of The Carrotty Kid, Lord Likely and The Turquoise Tiger.
Andy is best known for his work in The Dandy and BEANO, his work first appearing in the first issue of the 2010 relaunched Dandy with his strip, “George Vs Dragon”.
I was in Soho watching comedy a few nights ago, and got chatting to someone who mentioned they were Portsmouth-bound this weekend. I said they should check out the amazing Comic Con while there. Turns out that’s why they’re going to Portsmouth – to meet the legendary Andy Fanton!
So my first question is: what’s it like being a legend, Andy Fanton?
Andy: It’s still wild to me that anyone would be traveling to see me! I don’t feel particularly legendary on a day-to-day business, unless we’re talking about legends being old and ancient, in which case bang on! (Throws back out while laughing)
I’ve just seen the first promo poster for your new graphic novel Hamsters with Hammers. I couldn’t be more excited: I love hamsters, I’m nervous around hammers and ‘with’ is my favourite preposition! Can you tell us a bit about the book?
Andy: Thank you! Big fan of ‘with’ as well, where would we be without it? Not writing that sentence, that’s where. Anyway, Hamsters with Hammers is a kids’ graphic novel that asks the age-old question: what would an epic fantasy be like if it centred around a bunch of hamsters? It’s a comedy fantasy following a trio of hamsters (armed with hammers) as they get embroiled in a big old adventure to prevent a villainous vulture, Viscount Vulgaris, from acquiring a powerful relic. It’s silly, funny and hopefully a bit heartwarming, as this trio of little adventurers try to make a big difference.
That sounds amazing! What was the seed of the idea? Where and when did inspiration strike – and is Viscount Vulgaris based on anyone we know?
Andy: Part of it comes from my start in comics, where I wrote and drew a comedy fantasy series for The Dandy called “George vs Dragon”, a kind of slapstick retelling of the famous legend. I’ve always wanted to do more in that setting as I love fantasy, especially comic fantasy – I’m a huge Terry Pratchett fan, for example. I love the idea of creating your own wacky world with its own logic and lore and then playing about in your own playground.
The other part of it – the hamster part – comes from a lifelong love of hamsters. We had one called Hagar when I was growing up, and my son has had a couple over the years too. They just always seem to be in my life at some point, and so I thought why not thrust them into the spotlight somehow? These two notions melded together to make Hamsters with Hammers.
As for Vulgaris, he’s an arrogant fool bent on world domination – if that reminds you of anyone, I couldn’t possibly comment!
Tell us about your heroic trio: Nora, Pouches, and Bob. Who are they, and how do they get roped into facing off against the fiendish Viscount Vulgaris? Does Pouches have a hammer? Can the other two understand Bob’s squeaks? And can you hint at the sort of obstacles they’ll face in their first adventure?
Andy: Our three heroes live underground in a little Hamlet called Hammersmyth (There’ll be a lot of words beginning with ‘ham’ in this I think!). It’s a peaceful community of hamsters who love to eat, sleep and build, building tunnels and rooms and whatnot. Nora is the daughter of the hamlet’s blacksmith, and is very hands-on and practical, and loves to build. But she has lived underground for most of her life, and finds herself quite literally out of her depth when she embarks on the quest. She’s naive to an extent, but faces each challenge with determination and a lot of attitude. Pouches is our wizard character, a slightly aloof, sarcastic and nervy fellow who’s main spell is to create magical balls of energy around things, like hamster balls. His staff is shaped to resemble a hammer – a stroke of genius idea from my son, Arthur. (I cannot recommend having children enough, they make for excellent editors!) Bob, meanwhile, fills the role of the group’s barbarian – big and strong but also very sweet and caring, and can only communicate through squeaks. The others do understand him, luckily!
The adventure begins when Nora, whilst digging out a tunnel, finds a mysterious artifact buried in the dirt. She doesn’t really think much of it beyond that it looks old, so stuffs it in her cheek pouch for safekeeping. However, it turns out that this relic is a powerful artifact, sought after by our villain, the vulture Viscount Vulgaris, an arrogant, evil, deluded old bird who seeks the artifact to help him take over the world. When he gets wind that the artifact is in Hammersmyth he launches an attack, causing our trio to flee and seek to destroy the artifact forever lest it falls into his hands. Or wings.
How did you hook up with Gordon Tait at Scunnered Ink? Their first (I think?) book, based on the Scottish TV comedy Still Game, was a massive success last year – and it’s great to see them branching out with new projects so quickly…
Andy: Gordon had worked at DC Thomson beforehand, and did select some of my “George vs Dragon” strips for inclusion in one of the annual Dandy & Beano gift books, books that reprint a lot of classic strips from the comics. When he later set up Scunnered Ink he got in touch about another project he was already working on with another artist, asking me to help with the writing of it. He expressed interest in seeing other ideas I might have knocking about too, so I pitched him Hamsters with Hammers which he loved, and before long we were off to the races and putting a book together, hopefully for release later this year. He’s been great to work with, very receptive of ideas and super supportive. I can’t wait until we have the book out there!
And what’s next for the legend that is Andy Fanton?
Andy: Firstly, cracking my back into place and then lots of work on Hamsters with Hammers! Alongside that, I’m also still writing Minnie the Minx, the Bash Street Kids and Roger the Dodger for Beano every week.
And of course, I’ll be at Artists Alley at Portsmouth Comic Con this weekend!
Andy Fanton and David Baillie will both at Portsmouth Comic Con, 3 and 4 May 2025 portsmouthcomiccon.com
• Andy Fanton is online at fanton.co.uk
David Baillie is a comics writer, co-creating Red Thorn with Meghan Hetrick for Vertigo, as well as other strips for 2000AD, Heavy Metal, Valiant and others – and according to this wiki page he died of old age a few years ago
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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 - Graphic Novels, Comic Creator Interviews, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Features
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