ā¦aaand weāre back! Yes, Alex and Freddy return at long last for their biggest (Iām not even kidding here) and definitely most final adventure yet, in the pages of The Phoenix Issue 634, available from a shop near you or by subscription everywhere! Itās happening. We are doing this thing. Brace yourselves, strap in, make yourself a strong cup of tea and locate whatever emotional support animals you may need. There is, if I do say so myself, quite a ride ahead, and it all starts here.
The whole team at the Phoenix have been doing an amazing job bringing readers up to speed and building anticipation for the story coming back, culminating in a frankly brilliant Future London Fake Newspaper in the centre spread of this issue. Which apart from anything else, got the biggest laugh of anything for me this week for its reference to the Mega Robo Bros official biographer Neill Cameron and his ācountless garish displays of wealthā. My thanks to Joe Brady in particular for that one, and while Iām here a huge thanks also to Laura Bentley for her incredible work turning my book-format pages into Phoenix-format pages. (If you donāt know what this means, donāt worry about it. Itās a whole thing. The point IS: Laura is great, and is doing a great job.)
One thing I just wanted to address quickly: Iāve had a couple of parents reach out to say that their kids are genuinely really stressed out that the story is ending, and that this impending air of finality means theyāre now worrying desperately that something terrible is going to happen to Alex and Freddy. And I know how much that means to some children, and how deeply they are invested in and care about these characters. So, look. Iāll maybe have more to say at some point about endings, and why endings are so important, and why itās important to me that *this* story has to end. I seem to recall talking about this stuff a bit back when I was a guest on Lucy Starbuck Braidleyās excellent Comic Boom podcast, if youāre interested. And that was ages ago, so Iāve really been knee deep in this stuff for a while. But I donāt really want to get into it all too much right now, so I will just share my response to the parent of one concerned young reader, over on Bluesky:
Itās tough, because obviously I donāt want to give any spoilers. And in all good conscience I have to tell you that there is quite the emotional rollercoaster ahead. But I would just ask that, to whatever extent Iāve earned it in the years of storytelling so far, you trust where Iām going with it ā¤ļø
Please feel free to MAKE OF THAT WHAT YOU WILL.
MEANWHILE, IN THE FUTURE
It is a big year for Alex and Freddy! Apart from aforementioned ULTIMATE ADVENTURE kicking off in The Phoenix, itās not long now until their PENULTIMATE adventure will be coming out in book form! And it looks like THIS:
MEGA ROBO BROS: NEMESIS, available in all good bookshops from May 2nd and available for pre-order RIGHT NOW from the Phoenix shop, from all the usual online places, or if you would like a SIGNED AND PERSONALISED COPY, from the brilliant people at Wonderland bookshop. Where, as it happens, I will be visiting and doing a big olā Mega Robo Window Painting on May 4th! Which brings me onto a new regular feature of this newsletterā¦
ā¦in which I share details of all the places you can find me, out and about, doing live events this year! Because, boy oh boy, I am HITTING THE ROAD this year.
First up, come find me talking about robots, being moderately amusing and encouraging the drawing of awesome comics, atā¦
9th March - Farnham Literary Festival Details and tickets here!
16th March 2024 - Oxford Literary Festival Details and tickets here!
24 March - North London Book Festival Details and tickets here!
13 April - Step Into Stories Festival, Bewdley Details and tickets here!
ā¦LOTS more coming up in the spring and summer, including some excitingly less-Sourtheast-Englandy places, but those are the ones that I think are announced and bookable as of now. So, please book them! I think at this point I feel reasonably confident guaranteeing a good time.
MEANWHILE IN DONUTS
One other quick thing! In response to an enquiry from the parent of a young Donut Squad fan, Iāve just put a few pieces of original art from the strip up for sale on my web shop!
Do go have a look! Just a random little assortment up there for starters, but if thereās any other strips in particular youāre interested in, drop me a line and Iāll see if I can dig them out.
Okay, that was fun! Letās not leave it another six months next time eh.
You're back! This makes me happy.
As well as kids (and parents) being anxious about this final story arc, how are YOU feeling about it? You must have been working on MRB for about a decade now, right?
Also, please add Norfolk to your road trip. ;)
Great news all round.
Still on the hunt for Stupid Philosophy Penguin merch for a six year old who has learnt all the catchphrases.