Australian comic creators Tom Taylor and artist Jon Sommariva have been presented with the Prize des Collegiens de la Somme for their graphic novel, Neverlanders.
Published by Éditions Dupuis in France, students from 20 French schools voted in the Awards, presented at the French comics festival, Rendez-Vous de la Bande Dessinée d’Amiens, organised by On a Marché sur la Bulle. The Festival runs over three weekends this month, closing 21st – 22nd June.
In Neverlanders, a gritty graphic novel set in the world of Peter Pan, Tom and Jon take readers back to the world of Peter Pan, but this explosive reimagining is not your parents’ Neverland. It’s a war zone – and now it’s up to a new group of lost teens to set things right.
Bee and her fellow runaways are their own found family. So when a stranger named Paco saves her life, Bee invites him to join their crew, thinking he’s another lost teen. Someone else the world has overlooked. It transpires Paco’s not just a lost teen, he’s a Lost Boy from Neverland… and he needs Bee and the others to come back with him.
When the group is then spirited away by a foul-mouthed Tinker Bell, they discover that Neverland is not some fun-filled hideaway. It’s a war zone under siege by a horde of pirates with a merciless new leader who will stop at nothing to steal the land’s magic. Tink leads a fairy army that barely holds them at bay. Peter Pan is gone. And rest of the Lost Boys have been killed.
Paco is all that remains . . . but he hopes that this group of teens will become the new Lost Ones. These young runaways may be Neverland’s only hope – but they’re about to learn that it’ll take a lot more than happy thoughts to win a war.
Congratulations to Tom and Jon on their win, who, delighted with their award, commented “Wonderful to see so many kids reading.” Indeed so!
Tom Taylor is a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author, BAFTA-nominated screenwriter, and GLAAD Award nominee. His credits include Dark Knights of Steel, DCeased, Spider-Man, Suicide Squad, Superman: Son of Kal-El, X-Men, and more. His comics have sold over eight million copies in the US, and over ten million globally. He is also the co-creator, executive producer, and lead writer of the animated series The Deep, which is based on his graphic novels and can be seen in over 140 countries.
Jon Sommariva (also known as Red J) has been the artist for such bestselling comics as Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Marvel Action: Avengers, Star Wars, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and he’s sold well over a million copies of his comics.
• Neverlanders by Tom Taylor & Jon Sommariva, first published by US publisher Razorbill in 2022, is available from all good bookshops | ISBN: 978-0593351758 | AmazonUK Affiliate Link
• Retour à Neverland – Tome 1 – Les Enfants perdus by Tom Taylor & Jon Sommariva, published by Éditions Dupuis | ISBN: 979-1034768905 | AmazonUK Affiliate Link
- About the Author
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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: Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events
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