SECRETS of the BAGEL BATTALION
When a Dumb Joke Gets Spectacularly Out Of Hand. But, Like, In A GOOD Way
As Donuts VS Bagels mania spirals out of control and takes over my little corner of the world, I thought I would share a little behind the scenes peek at how it all began! As regular readers of DONUT SQUAD may know, one recurring thread in that strip is the Donuts’s ongoing attempts to take over the world, partly by recruiting the comic’s readers into the Donut Squad LEGION OF ENTHUSIASM: a fun organisation that is definitely not a cult. Anyway, I thought a funny thing for one week would be to give some MISSIONS to members of the legion, that kids could join in with at home. You know, like this…
…and then the third mission, in my original roughs, was this:
Now at some point my beloved and wonderful editor at the Phoenix, Joe Brady, suggested to me that there was some feeling in the office that this last panel maybe pushed a bit too far into seeming like we were… I dunno, I can’t remember the exact note and I wouldn’t wish to put words into Joe’s mouth, but… radicalising kids into a weird sinister terror cell, kind of thing? Which, you know, I would argue is exactly the joke, but by this point I generally trust the Phoenix guys’ judgement when it comes to questions of Tone and Appropriateness and What Might Make Lots Of Angry Parents Shout At Me. So I came up with the following as an alternate punchline:
And then Joe - did I mention how great Joe is? Just one of the best and funniest humans, and an inveterate Enabler - wanted to know what the bagels WERE, in fact planning. And so somehow we talked each other into starting a whole spin-off strip, to run on the back pages of the comic, picking up directly from where that one left off…
…and SO THE BAGEL BATTALION BEGAN.
Anyway that, in a nutshell, is why I love the Phoenix so much. I get into a dumb game of ‘Yes, And’ one-upmanship on the phone with my pal Joe, and a couple of months later you can literally buy children tattoos of this nonsense. WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE.
STUFF THAT IS HAPPENING
Don’t forget, you can join us for Donuts VS Bagels LIVE, this Saturday 23 September, at 10am, on THE INTERNET. Details & tickets here!
Then NEXT week you can join me and Comics Superstar Jamie Smart live and in person at our ULTIMATE COMICS BATTLE at Conway Hall, London. Details & tickets here!
PLEASE NOTE that as I’m off in London with Jamie that day, I won’t be running my regular Comics Club groups at the Story Museum. BUT, don’t worry, they have arranged the most excellent substitute teacher imaginable, and the brilliant Zak Simmonds-Hurn (Dragon Guard, Legacy) will be teaching you… I don’t know exactly, presumably how to *actually draw well*, and make amazing comics, stuff like that? Those are kind of his thing.
ALSO
I wrote a piece for Books For Keeps magazine about Why Comics Are Very Silly And Frivolous, and You Shouldn’t Let Children Read Them. Okay, spoiler warning, but that is not actually what it’s about. Anyway I think it turned out quite well and you can read it here.
ALSO ALSO
The second instalment of Logan and me’s new strip THE VILLINOOS is in this week’s Phoenix, make sure you check it out! And read more about it in last week’s newletter, if you missed it!
ALSO ALSO ALSO
Your first of possibly many reminders that the Neill Cameron shop is currently open for all your signed-and-sketched-in books by Neill Cameron needs! Please buy things, and help me claw back some space in my living room! Okay thanks bye.