Call for Papers: Contemporary Uses of Fairy Tales

Melissa Leons - hunting fairies in
contemporary culture

Doctor Melissa Lenos, an Assistant Professor of English at Donnelly College in Kansas City, Kansas, is inviting submissions for an edited collection of essays on contemporary uses of fairy tales in popular culture.

Contemporary Uses of Fairy Tales, which offers the chance for commentary on comics such as Alan Moore's Lost Girls and Bill Willingham's Fables, will focus on recent reinterpretations and reboots of classical fairy tales, ways the contemporary texts address the original tales and narratological implications of the repetitions and adjustments of these stories.

In essays that explore the functions and consequences of fairy tale reboots, remakes and updates, authors will consider the ways fairy tale generic conventions have been revised over time, representations of race, gender, class and sexual identity, the roles of archetypes, mythic tropes and patterns and the emergence of self-referential and meta-tales within these texts.

Essays may also address fan culture influence on contemporary tales, opportunities for interactivity and the roles of stars in fairy tale reboots.

Text focus could include television series, feature-length films, comic books and graphic novels, games and animation.

Possible topics include but are not limited to:

Fables (Bill Willingham/Vertigo, 2002-present)

Lost Girls (Alan Moore/Top Shelf, 2006)

The Red Shoes (Kim Yong-gyun, 2005)

Hansel and Gretel (Yim Pil-Sung, 2007)

Sydney White (Joe Nussbaum, 2007)

Bluebeard (Catherine Breillat, 2009)

The Sleeping Beauty (Catherine Breillat, 2010)

Red Riding Hood (Catherine Hardwicke, 2011)

Hanna (Joe Wright, 2011)

Beastly (Daniel Barnz, 2011)

Once Upon a Time (ABC, 2011-present)

Grimm (NBC, 2011-present)

Snow White and the Huntsman (Rupert Sanders, 2012)

Mirror, Mirror (Tarsem Singh, 2012)

Hansel and Gretel (Anthony Ferrante, 2013)

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (Tommy Wirkola, 2013)

Jack the Giant Slayer (Bryan Singer, 2013)

Submit a two-page proposals by the deadline of June 19, 2013 to Dr. Melissa Lenos at melissalenosATgmail.com; questions may be addressed to the same. Please also include a short bio. If your proposal is selected, the final essay (5000-8000 words) will be due on December 1, 2013.

Melissa teaches film studies, composition, popular culture and whatever else her tiny department requires. Her research interests include narratology in Hollywood, mythic structures and archetypes. Visit her blog at: http://cargocollective.com/flyover/index

Interview: Bringing Comics to the Classroom

Digital comics are pushing boundaries on many fronts, but one British company is pushing them into the classroom, aiming to harness the timeless appeal of comics to create a uniquely engaging learning tool. 

The first Comics in the Classroom projects utilize the art of Adam Humphries, one of the project's core team, Amy Pearson, Dave Webb and Italian Marvel Comics artist Giancarlo Carcuzzo, who is also currently working on ROK Comics upcoming audio comic, Master Merlini, and WarWorldz for STRIP Magazine.

The Directors of Comics in the Classroom are old friends, growing up in the same area of Birmingham, attended the same school etc and haven't been able to shake each other loose yet.

James Ball, 36, is currently the Head of History at the Wordsley School in Stourbridge, West Midlands. A History graduate, he trained and worked as a journalist before entering education and co-authored four highly successful text books for Oxford University Press.

Adam Humphries, 39, has spent nearly two decades in graphic design, including five years as a Senior Designer at McCann's advertising agency. He recently went freelance in order to devote more time to CitC.

With those distinct skill sets and backgrounds, the division of labour broadly falls into James taking care of “words” and Adam taking charge of “pictures” and all things visual.

Art by Giancarlo Caracuzzo

downthetubes: What is the concept behind Comics in the Classroom and how did it come about?

Comics in the Classroom: The idea behind CitC is to harness the timeless appeal of comics to create a uniquely engaging learning tool. Our titles differ from traditional comics in that, before each page of the comic is accessed, the user reads or listens to around 250 words of prose. Each word is highlighted as it is spoken in order to boost literacy and accessibly and the events that are depicted in the comic are broadly outlined.

Armed with their new knowledge, the user moves on to the comic - but a comic with blank narrator's boxes and speech bubbles. Once these bubbles are tapped, the user is confronted with three possible entries. Drawing on what they have just learned, they identify the correct entry, swipe to the next panel and eventually the next page. CitC is essentially a formative assessment, not that the user will realise this, and by correctly filling all of the bubbles and “unlocking” the comic, they are not only learning, they are demonstrating their understanding to their teacher or parent.

The idea for the App came from the classroom itself and from James Ball's attempts to engage some very challenging Year 10 boys in the study of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Furnished with a comic version of the novel from a friend, he colour-photocopied it and tippexed out all of the bubbles. He then read Shelley's novel with the class and set the youngsters the task of generating the text for the comic. It was an instant and roaring success.

Convinced that the concept had wider applications, he approached Adam about the idea of creating historical comics with blank bubbles. Adam immediately saw the potential - particularly with the new possibilities offered by the iPad - and we got to work.

Art by Dave Webb

downthetubes: Are your releases iBooks or Apps (so people know where to look) and what has been released so far?

CitC: Comics in the Classroom will be in the App Store. The App is free to download and features three free demos. Each title is priced at £1.99 and can be purchased through in App purchasing. Our three launch titles are The Archduke and the Black Hand Gang, The Dambusters and The Murder of Thomas Becket. We plan to add to our title list rapidly and regularly and, in various states of completion, we have The Attack on Pearl Harbor, Jack the Ripper, Rasputin, Billy the Kid, 1066, The Gunpowder Plot, Joan of Arc and The Battle of Trafalgar in the pipe-line.

Art by Wynn Ryder

downthetubes: The titles are currently available for iPad – are you planning to export them to other platforms, such as Android?

CitC: Absolutely. We are initially launching exclusively on the iPad and iPad Mini but plan to expand onto other platforms such as Android, Web App and Mac App as soon as possible.

downthetubes: What is your target audience? Is it teachers or student or both?

CitC: Definitely both. We intend to market directly to schools as so many are investing in tablets and we believe this App can do so much to enrich the learning that takes place in the classroom. This will also expose the legions of iPad owning youngsters to Comics in the Classroom whose parents, who have often bought their offspring tablets because of the educational benefits they offer, are bound to be interested in an App that both excites and educates their kids. And it will be the kids who decide whether we are successful or not. It doesn't matter who we target if the App doesn't captivate and inspire the youngsters to learn about history.

Working on Jack the Ripper

downthetubes: You have a range of creators involved, including Giancarlo Caracuzzo. Are you looking for more creators or do you prefer to look for artists whose style you like yourself?

CitC: We're always on the look out for new illustrators - and want to try and include as broad a range of styles as possible. It does ultimately come down to our personal preference but we want to avoid developing any kind of house style.

Art by Amy Pearson

downthetubes: How long does it take to create one of your comics projects, from plotting through to release?

CitC: It's hard to put an exact timescale on the entire creative process as there are so many variables. It starts with us discussing and selecting possible figures or events and, with so many to choose from, it's not always easy to reach a decision. Once we have settled on a subject, James gets reading and researching and starts putting the prose together.

This always provides a challenge as the entire story has to fit into 1,000 words and be snappy and dramatic enough to maintain the reader's interest between the comic pages. Once complete, we independently break it down a comic and then come together to compare results.

When we have agreed on every panel, Adam puts together a rough story board, James writes the copy for the comic and the title is assigned to an illustrator. After we sign off pencils and we get the inks (always a joyous experience), Adam gets to work creating the mastheads and textures and choosing a colour palette for the colourist. Then begins the more prosaic process of recording and mixing the audio and putting the artwork into the app itself.

As you can see, there are quite a few stages to the process and we always have several titles on the go at once. Although several elements are fairly arduous and things don't always run as smoothly as we'd like, it is always an immensely satisfying and enjoyable experience.

downthetubes: Do you have any plans to collect the strips into print form?

CitC: Not in the short term. The nature of the App, with its interactive and educational element, means that a printed version would give the game away. That said, it would be lovely to see the art work all together in a book

downthetubes: You've mentioned you have Oliver Frey, the man behind the amazing covers of the 1980s computer magazines Crash and Zzap64 , working with you on a new title. Can you tell us more about that at this point?

CitC: We were both enormous fans of Oliver's work when we were Sinclair Spectrum owning teens - it did so much to bridge the gap between the very basic 8-bit graphics and the scenarios they were meant to depict. We were certain he could do the same for historical figures and, after buying Roger Kean's book on his work, we discovered he had a love of history. We looked him up on the internet (www.oliverfreyart.com) and he immediately grasped the concept and jumped at the chance to draw Joan of Arc for us. We're very excited about this - both because of the quality of his work and because it's Oliver Frey!

downthetubes: Producing apps is time consuming in itself but what is working best for you in terms of marketing them, given the huge number of digital products aimed at children on the iTunes store (18,000 children books alone for the UK market - and counting?)

CitC: At the time of writing this, we are really only just embarking on our marketing campaign as all of our time has been taken up getting the App itself built. With so much out there it can be hard to make yourself heard, but we're confident our history and educational angle - combined with the standard of the artwork - will set us apart. If you have a look at what education Apps are in the store for History, there is hardly a wealth of choices - and certainly nothing that utilises the iPad's capabilities in the way Comics in the Classroom does.

There is currently a big shift in technology in education, with things moving away from the teacher operated interactive whiteboard to pupil operated devices - and this shift is getting plenty of column inches. We are working with a PR agency to get Comics in the Classroom in front of the myriad of App reviewers - whether they be in the education, tech or parent sector or appear in print or online. We believe we represent something genuinely new and innovative in an area where the software has failed to keep pace with the capabilities of the hardware. That's got to grab some attention!  

downthetubes: What one piece of advice above all else would you give an aspiring comic creator seeing to break into the industry?

CitC: This is a tricky one for us to answer as we're probably coming at this from a different angle to most people entering the comic industry. I suppose the best advice we can give is to back your own judgment and give it a go. The only way you can be certain it will fail is by not trying in the first place - and it's amazing what you learn along the way.

• Find out more about Comics in the Classroom at www.comicsintheclassroom.co.uk

• Download the free Comics in the Classroom app from iTunes

Call for Papers: Conflict in Children’s and Young Adult Fiction

A call for papers for a forthcoming conference on Conflict in Children’s and Young Adult Fiction at the University of Bedfordshire has just been announced - and comics and graphic novels will be on the agenda.

The Hockliffe Conference: Conflict in Children’s and Young Adult Fiction is a one-day conference on 6th September 2012 at the University of Bedfordshire, Polhill Campus, Bedford.

Writers of children’s and young adult fiction have never shied away from writing about conflict faced by children whether it’s the conflict of a world war in The Silver Sword, published in 1956, or inter-tribal conflict in East Africa in Little Soldier (1999) – both explored at last year’s exhibition, ‘Once Upon a Wartime’, at the Imperial War Museum – generational conflict such as that experienced by Mossy Trotter (1967) or intra-racial conflict faced by the eponymous Rani and Sukh in Bali Rai’s book (2004). All children face conflict at some time in their lives and this conference explores the way in which this is represented in children’s and young adult fiction.

The keynote speaker at the conference will be Bali Rai. Born in Leicester, Bali Rai writes about the harsh realities faced by children and young adults and his books have been short-listed for a number of awards including the Booktrust Teenage Prize. His third novel, Rani and Sukh, is now a GCSE set text.

Academic contributions to the conference could include the following issues:

• Inter-generational conflict
• Conflict within families
• Global conflict
• Racial conflict
• Conflict between friends
• Children coping with death and loss
• Gender conflict

Approaches might include

• The history of conflict in children’s and young adult fiction
• The representation of conflict in:
• picture books
• comics
• graphic novels
• fiction and non-fiction
• film and media adaptations
• computer games
• blogs and new media
• The benefits of using conflict narratives in the classroom

This list is not exhaustive and abstracts dealing with any form of conflict will be considered.
Abstracts of 250 words for 20 minute conference papers should be sent to the organisers as a Word attachment to (hockliffe@beds.ac.uk) together with a brief biography by 19th April 2013. Presenters will be notified by10th May 2013.

The conference is titled the Hockliffe Conference in honour of a local bookseller, Frederick Hockliffe, whose son donated his collection of early children’s books to what was then Bedford Training College in 1927. This comprises over a thousand rare books dating from the late seventeenth to the early twentieth century, mainly between 1740 and 1840. Its importance is indicated by the fact that it formed the basis of a major research project, funded by the AHRB, between 1999 and 2002. The website for the collection is currently housed at De Montfort University, in the Centre for Textual Studies, and was most recently reconfigured and updated in 2012 (http://hockliffe.dmu.ac.uk).

In 2010, the Collection was augmented when Hockliffe’s granddaughter made a further donation of books from her own collection.

The University also holds a collection of over 200 copies of versions of ‘Cinderella’ which was donated to the Library in August 2012. Most are from the twentieth century, but about half a dozen are rare nineteenth-century editions. This wonderful collection of copies of the most popular of all fairy stories (first published in English in 1729, but of much more ancient origin) further enhances the position of the Library as a leading resource for the study of children’s literature.

• Contact details: The Hockliffe Conference, c/o Dr Clare Walsh and Dr Nicola Darwood, Division of Performing Arts & English, University of Bedfordshire, Polhill Avenue, Bedford MK41 9EA Email: hockliffe@beds.ac.uk

New 'Graphic Justice' resource launched in UK

Judge Dredd by Rob Davis

Anyone interested in the crossover between justice and graphic fiction might be interested in the new Graphic Justice project, instigated by Thomas Giddens at St. Mary's University College, Twickenham.

"Comics, cartoons, graphic novels, and other visual narratives, have had a considerable impact on cinema, books, and the internet," he says. "They form a significant-and growing-element of popular culture, yet the intersection between comics and the concerns of law and justice is one that has received little critical attention."

In response, Giddens, who is a Law Lecturer, has just set up the Graphic Justice blog which he hopes will enable researchers, practitioners, and other interested parties from around the world to express and discuss issues relating to the intersection of comics with law and justice.

The blog forms part of his ongoing research, which focuses upon the use of various forms of popular culture (such as TV, film, and literary fiction) as alternative discourses on issues in the interdisciplinary field of criminal justice, and has particular interests in criminal responsibility, criminology and the medium of comics.

"The aim [of the blog] is to bring together people from across the globe and enable the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and research," he explains in his initial post.

"Themes of public protection, justice, and punishment are widespread in mainstream superhero narratives (think Justice League of America, Superman, or Spider-Man)," he notes, "but there is also a wealth of graphic literature beyond the spandex-wearing mainstream that, like other artistic media, deals with all walks of human life (the work of the Hernandez Brothers, for instance, or Ghost World, or the Pulitzer prize winning Maus). Indeed, from the mainstream western comics that inspire Hollywood films, to the diverse and multi-layered world of Japanese manga, or the rich history of French-language bandes dessinées, comics have permeated our global culture (consider the huge cultural impact, for example, of Batman or Tintin)."

"Moreover, the blending of words and images in the very form of the comics medium itself may pose important questions about the limitations and interpretation of textual language-fundamental issues for the highly text-dependent discipline of law. Add to all this the complex intellectual property issues involved in this collaborative and methodologically varied medium, and the lack of interest seems clearly to be one that is in need of a remedy.


"The remedy is this: Graphic Justice."

Gidden has now put a call to academics and other interested parties for anyone interested in the intersection of justice and graphic fiction. Whether you work in legal studies, philosophy, cultural studies, penology, law enforcement, art, criminology, sociology, imprisonment/corrections, or literary studies, if you're interested in comics and the concerns of justice, he says this call is for you.

" An international and collaborative space has been set up where interested parties can submit ideas and post articles, where contacts can be made and networks built up, understanding can be nurtured, and the intersection of comics and justice can be mined, examined, questioned, and developed.

"Depending upon levels of interest, the project may include seminars or dedicated conference streams, or even a full Graphic Justice conference," he enthuses.

"The aim is to gather together academics and practitioners, interested parties and artists, and to promote discourse and engagement on this expansive and under-researched area.

• The international and collaborative space can be found at graphicjustice.blogspot.com, and you can contact Graphic Justice via the comments sections on that website, or via email to thomas.giddensATsmuc.ac.uk.

American Illustration, Comics, and Animation Conference announced

What is the future of illustration studies? What can comics scholars learn from animation studies and vice versa? Do illustrated books or graphic novels resist the supposed obsolescence of the book?

What do pictures want (now)?

These and related questions will be explored at the Illustration, Comics, and Animation Conference at Dartmouth College in the United States, to be held 19th - 21st April 2013.

Scholars interested in the illustrated image in all of its mediated guises are invited to participate in this interdisciplinary conference. Nearly all illustrated or drawn ‘texts’ are eligible for consideration:

• Comics and graphic novels
• Cartoons and animated films
• Picture books
• Illustrated books

And given the uniquely plenary nature of the conference, which brings together scholarship on static and moving illustrations, preference will be given to proposals that seek to bridge visual media.

Possible topics may include:

• Individual titles by prominent practitioners in the field
• Identity, subjectivity, authority, ideology or culture in or more type of illustration media
• The future of particular schools of criticism (psychoanalysis, critical race theory, phenomenology, Marxism, feminism, queer theory, post-colonialism, formalism, aesthetic theories, etc.) and one or more type of illustration media

The location of the conference may also be a source of inspiration for prospective participants. Not only does Dartmouth College lie in close proximity to the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont, but it is also the historic home of Theodor Geisel, Dr. Seuss, whose illustrated books continue to awe and amuse.

Interested participants may propose individual papers or panels. Individual papers should be no longer than 20 minutes. Panels shall be 90 minutes long and should be comprised of three presenters and one (ideally separate) panel chair.

• Interested parties should send 300 word abstracts and a brief bio for each proposed paper no later than 1st December 2012 to  Michael A. Chaney (michael.chaneyATdartmouth.edu)

London's Birbeck college announces new comic courses

(With thanks to Norman Boyd): New certificate level comics courses are starting at Birkbeck, University of London from this autumn.

Comics, Comix and Graphic Novels: Introduction

This module introduces you to a range of comics in a variety of forms and invites you to consider ways of understanding and evaluating them in their historical, cultural and generic contexts. We will trace a chronological trajectory from nineteenth-century newspaper strips, through the birth of the superhero, via the subversive iconography of the sixties undergrounds, onto the rise of the graphic novel and beyond. Focusing predominantly on Anglo-American comics, we will also consider the influence of other national traditions, principally francophone bande dessinée and Japanese manga. You will be encouraged to develop an understanding of comics in various forms and to situate them in their relevant contexts.

More info: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/study/ce2012/modules/ARMC141H4.html

Comics, Comix and Graphic Novels: Approaches

This module closely examines the relevant contexts that have informed the development of comics. It is arranged thematically rather than chronologically, allowing you to focus on key areas and topics in comics, situating them historically and culturally while developing skills of formal analysis. You will explore themes including censorship and copyright, the growth of fan cultures, the importance of genres in comics history, non-fiction comics, and humour in comics. You will also consider the influence of key creators and international traditions. By adopting a thematic approach, you will be encouraged to develop an understanding and appreciation of comics and their various contexts.

More info: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/study/ce2012/modules/ARMC140H5.html


 

Comics Forum launches "scholar directory"

Today sees the launch of a new resource on the Comics Forum website. The scholar directory provides information on the biographies, research interests, conference papers and publications of scholars researching comics from around the world.

The site runners tells us the hope is this will be useful in helping scholars to make connections, see where people are studying and what they’re interested in, and increase the accessibility of comics scholarship for everyone.

Until today, the directory has been running in a limited pilot phase, with invited parties submitting their data for inclusion so Comic Forum could work out how to build the pages and structure the system. Many thanks to all those who agreed to take part in this trial run.

Now, all comics scholars are being invited to fill in our data form and submit it to comicsforumAThotmail.co.uk for inclusion in the listings.

"It would be great to build a better picture of who is where," says Ian Hague, director of the Comics Forum. "Any queries about getting listed can also be directed to the above email address."

Any comments on the directory are very welcome. If you know of anyone who would be interested in being listed in the directory, please pass on this news story to them.

• To be taken to the directory and download the data form, go to: http://comicsforum.org/scholarly-resources/scholar-directory/.

Digital Comics Week for scholars

The US-based academic collaboration In Media Res is putting Digital Comics in the spotlight this week with a contribution from highly-acclaimed comic creator Mark Waid, who is launching his own web comics this summer.

The series of presentations are sure to interest anyone interested in this constantly-evolving comics form, especially with increased digital sales and the opportunities and pitfalls it presents.

"After a 25-year career in the print comics industry, my passion for the ink and paper of my youth is waning," says Waid. "Storytelling through comics’ unique alchemy of words and pictures is still my first love, and it’s probably the thing in the world I’m best at—but as print costs continue to rise and profitability drops to unsustainable levels for smaller publishers who aren’t backed by media juggernauts like Disney and Warner Bros, I no longer see designing for print-first as viable."

Organised by Roger Whitson from Emory University, the line-up is as follows:

Monday, February 20, 2012 - Roger Whitson (Emory University) presents: What Makes a Comic Book Digital?

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - Mark Waid (Independent Scholar) presents: Truly Digital Comics

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - Mark Sample (George Mason University) presents: Meanwhile is Big but not Boundless

Thursday, February 23, 2012 - Zach Whalen (University of Mary Washington) presents: It Moves

Friday, February 24, 2012 - Laurie N. Taylor (University of Florida) presents: Re-Born, Born-Again Digital Comics

In Media Res is dedicated to experimenting with collaborative, multi-modal forms of online scholarship. Its goal is to promote an online dialogue amongst scholars and the public about contemporary approaches to studying media. In Media Res provides a forum for more immediate critical engagement with media at a pace closer to how we experience mediated texts.

Each weekday, a different scholar curates a 30-second to three-minute video clip/visual image slideshow accompanied by a 300-350-word impressionistic response.

The site uses the title "curator" because, like a curator in a museum, "you are repurposing a media object that already exists and providing context through your commentary, which frames the object in a particular way.

"The clip/comment combination are intended both to introduce the curator’s work to the larger community of scholars (as well as non-academics who frequent the site) and, hopefully, encourage feedback/discussion from that community.

Theme weeks like this week's on Digital Comics are designed to generate a networked conversation between curators. All the posts for theme weeks thematically overlap and the participating curators each agree to comment on one another’s work.

To receive links for each day’s posts and stay up to date on In Media Res latest calls for curators, please be sure “like” their newly launched Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/mediacommons.inmediares. You can also follow us on Twitter at @MC_IMR

Autism Education Trust creates 'Awesome' superheroes

A new set of comic book characters, The 100% Awesomes, has been created by Doctor Who Adventures and Blake's 7 audio adventures writer Simon Guerrier for the Autism Education Trust to promote awareness of difference and autism.

The superhero characters are the stars of new teaching materials aimed at pupils in years five to seven.

The 100% Awesomes characters have been devised in consultation with the AET Youth Council, who decided how they should look and what super powers they should have. Written by science fiction writer Simon Guerrier, who has written Doctor Who novels, short stories and comics, and illustrated by William Potter, who has created comic strips for Doctor Who Magazine.

The four superheroes are The Moth, Alley Cat, No Beard and Tricksy Richard. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses and two of them have autism. One does not speak and uses an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device to help her.

The Autism Education Trust is dedicated to coordinating, supporting and promoting effective education practice for all children and young people on the autism spectrum.

Launched in parliament in November 2007 with support and funding from the government, the AET is the only umbrella organisation working specifically on autism education across the voluntary, public and private sectors. It's funded by the Department of Education and was founded by Ambitious about Autism, The Council for Disabled Children and The National Autistic Society.

The AET helps raise awareness of the importance of appropriate educational provision for children and young people on the autism spectrum through a range of dedicated events, information sharing conferences, web based resources and ongoing research and project work.



The 100% Awesomes teaching pack includes a complete lesson plan, the comics, character cards and a teacher-guide DVD showing films of classes taking part in the lesson and interviews with teachers and pupils, as well as suggestions for follow up activities. During the lesson, students complete the comic strip adventure and solve the problems it presents. They must consider their own strengths and weaknesses and learn to celebrate differences in others.

• The 100% Awesomes lesson whole class resource pack for schools,  including DVD guide is priced at £14.99. To order your copy call the AET on: 020 7903 3650 or email

Is It Just Media launches free Robob title for schools

Surrey based independent publisher, Is It Just Media?, have announced the arrival of The Adventures of ROBOB, a new interactive magazine and trading card game aimed at primary school children which includes an element of contributed comic strip.

The magazine was launched last year and encourages readers to write their own stories based around the character set and environment for the ROBOB trading card game. The best of these stories will be published each month in the glossy, A4 magazine, while a further selection will be published on the website (http://www.theadventuresofrobob.com/).

Readers will also have the opportunity to submit their own comic strips, news stories and pictures for publication in print and on-line.

An added and innovative twist to the project is the option for children to submit their own character designs and a selection of these are made into real trading cards, distributed with the rest of the collection.

The magazine addresses key social responsibilities for children in school years 3 to 6 and is a recognised resource of the National Literacy Trust. The product range also promotes a very strong ‘anti-bullying’ message with the backing of Kidscape, the UK’s longest standing Anti Bullying charity.

Godstone based graphic designer Marcus Leitch, the creator of the project, reveals he got the idea for Robob while on hold on the phone for a long time, and started scribbling at his desk. The result of his doodles was a cute, retro robot that he promptly named ROBOB.

On returning from school, Marcus’ son, Lucas, saw the drawing and immediately fell in love with it and started designing his own characters. With a few key robots created and a fascinating background story, The Adventures of ROBOB trading cards and magazine were born.

A prototype of the cards and magazine was then presented to Kidscape, the UK’s longest standing Anti-Bullying charity, who were enticed by the strong moral messages running through the range. Kidscape kindly agreed to lend their support to the project by providing a dedicated team offering professional advice and guidance in the form of an ‘Agony Uncle’ page.

Today... The Adventures of ROBOB is a beautifully produced, cool, fun and educational monthly publication and collectable trading card game. The magazine is distributed throughout schools, libraries, clubs and retail stores for free.

Some schools have incorporated the magazine into their Literacy Clubs and Peer Mentor schemes.

Is It Just Media? Say they're already receiving thousands of drawings and stories from readers each month and continue to expand the card collection using the readers’ designs.

"We will be featuring more 'readers comic strips' in future issues," Marcus told downthetubes. "It's a section of the magazine that seems to have really captured our readers imagination."

The collectable trading cards now have a strong, loyal fan-base throughout the South East of England and The Adventures of ROBOB is on the verge of becoming a nationally recognised brand.

• More info and a pdf download of the first issue at http://www.theadventuresofrobob.com/