Bog Eyed Books have published a number of fun comic titles since lockdown finished, among them, lockdown finished, Donny Digits, by Woodrow Phoenix, and Walkies! by David Ziggy Greene. Their latest release, available now, is Sister Clawdetta – Murder at the Monastery, by Tor Freeman, a smashing and silly murder mystery.
In Sister Clawdetta, there’s trouble at the monastery: monks keep turning up not alive… Who is behind these sinister murders – and who will be next?
Father Eglantine can think of only one person to call: Sister Clawdetta, the nun detective… and of course, she’s soon on the case, making mincemeat of male mores in the murder-soaked monastery, where almost all the anthromorphic action takes place, apart from a few very funny scenes in the court of Henry VIII.
Together with new sidekick, Anuncias, Sister Clawdetta probes the mystery of the medieval monastery, discovering much more than she bargained for, as they try to identify the murderer, and find a secret treasure, too!
A previous winner of the the winner of the Observer/ Cape/ Comica Graphic Short Story Prize, Tor Freeman, one of may talented contributors to the Phoenix, shouldn’t really need much introduction to downthetubes readers.
Tor’s work is always fun to read – if you want more, then do check out her web site – and this Sister Clawdetta tale is no exception, poking gentle fun at church and state, and paternalist attitudes alike for older readers, while never losing sight of telling a fun mystery story for younger ones. Many murder mystery tropes get a delicious battering, too, for good measure!
Sister Clawdetta is a smashing addition to Tor’s many books, that also include her Digby Dog tales and Olive and the Bad Mood, so head over to Big Eyed Books and grab a copy now. Oh, and Welcome to Oddleigh while you’re at it, if you haven’t already!
John Freeman
Tor Freeman graduated from Kingston University in 1999 with a degree in Illustration, and has since written and illustrated a selection of picturebooks
which are published in several countries. These include the Olive series, Digby Dog Delivers, Showtime for Billie and Coco and The Toucan Brothers. In 2012,
Tor received the prestigious Maurice Sendak Fellowship and in November 2017
she was the winner of the Observer/Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize for her graphic story, “If You’re So Wise, How Come You’re Dead?” She works from a shared studio in London.
Bog Eyed Books is the creation of cartoonist Gary Northfield, creator of international best seller Julius Zebra. Titles include Gary’s very own Beano creation Derek the Sheep, the recently-released Walkies by David Ziggy Greene and Donny Digits, by Woodrow Phoenix, to modern classics from the pages of popular weekly comic The Phoenix, including Jim Medway’s Sgt Chip Charlton and Mister Woofles plus Alexander Matthews and Wilbur Dawbarn’s Useleus.
With thanks to Bog Eyed Books for the review copy. And no, Tor and I are not related
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, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Features, Reviews
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ohh this looks good, I didn’t know about Bog Eyed Books but I have read all three Derek the Sheep books and used to read in the beano.
The only thing as good as Derek the Sheep is Space Raoul by Jamie Smart, it used to be in the Funday Times and Dandy.