Pick up a Puffin comic?

By John Freeman on November 17, 2012

Penguin Children’s Puffin Books have delighted children for decades, but now the imprint is set to make a major foray across multiple media with a new animated show for young children. Will it include comics, we wonder?

Penguin recently announced it had partnered with Ireland-based animation studio, Cartoon Saloon (producers of The Secret of Kells, Skunk Fu, the new movie Song of the Sea, and segments for Baby Cow and Moone Boy) and Northern Ireland’s producer of kid’s media, Dog Ears (creators of upcoming animated TV series Miss Rosie Red), to co-produce Puffin Rock as a multi-platform brand – including a 39 episode animated TV series as well as digital and physical format books, and apps.

You have to wonder if they’re looking at a tie-in magazine, too.

Puffin Rock revolves around a family of puffins, including a young puffling, Oona, and her little brother, Baba, as they explore the sea, land and sky around their island home. The puffins share the island with various creatures, including an elusive mermaid.

The Belfast Telegraph, which recently ran a feature on the new show and the rapidly-growing Dog Ears company, reports the characters in the seven minute episodes will not speak but will make Puffin sounds, while a narrator talks.

The co-production partnership is the latest in a line of recent acquisitions and co-production partnerships that include Topsy and Tim, Hattie B, Magical Vet, Whale Trail, Moshi Monsters and Skylanders for the Penguin Children’s Group UK.

The Belfast Telegraph also reported Dog Ears is looking for to take on 14 new staff next year. Anyone interested in applying to be an animator with the team can find details on www.cheersdogears.com

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John Freeman

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.