June 2015 Debut of the Month The Hamburgers of Doom is exactly the kind of nutty adventure that fans of sci-fi comics will love. Jonny Jakes is undercover editor of a scurrilous school newspaper, regularly dishing the dirt on teachers. It’s too much for his headmaster, who steps down, but there’s something really odd about his replacement. Jonny misses out on the scoop – New Head is Alien – but organises resistance when he works out what – or rather who – is on the menu for the school’s celebration lunch. Jonny has a great line in deadpan humour, the situation comedy is satisfyingly wacky, and the author (a teacher) pokes fun at staff and pupils alike! ~ Andrea Reece
A Piece of Passion from Penny West, Curious Fox editor I’ve got something I’ve been keeping secret. It’s a killer scoop that needs to be brought to the attention of the public. And you can read all about it on June 4th.
Jonny Jakes is an 11-year-old with a distain for authority and a nose for truth. When I first read his story on the slush pile, I was immediately caught up in his voice. I showed the manuscript to the team and we knew we had something special.
Jonny runs an underground school newspaper, which exposes hypocritical teachers and moldy baked beans in the school canteen. But he must constantly avoid being unmasked himself.
There’s something so fun about a secret identity (Jonny Jakes is not his real name – will we ever discover what it is?) and the fact that Jonny is both top reporter and editor-in-chief (and, author Malcolm tells me, photographer, sports writer and playground correspondent), meaning there’s a delicious tension as Jonny darts and weaves to stay hidden in the shadows.
It could be a lonely job, but Jonny quickly discovers an ally in Norris Morris, who’s the brawn to Jonny’s brains. Together they set about investigating some strange goings on at Woodford School, putting their mettle to the ultimate test when they must enter the girls’ toilets (duh-duh-duuuuuuuh)!
I adore his nemesis relationship with his headmaster, Mr Hardy, who can’t surreptitiously start wearing a toupee or even eat a cream cake after banning treats without Jonny’s withering editorial telling all.
One important part of Jonny’s investigative journal is his photographic evidence, complete with doodles to tell the full story. When we were looking for an illustrator to capture Jonny’s style, Alan Brown hit the nail on the head first time with his drawing of our junior journalist – camera at the ready, determined expression.
Jonny sketches himself and Norris doing the Leap of the Double-Backed Tiger as part of his plan to fight against the forces of evil, but he’s not sure he’s captured Norris’s ‘best side’. Alan’s interpretation of this is priceless. We had fun adding exclusive interviews with both the author and illustrator in the back of the book.
For an editor, there’s a magical stage where you send the edited manuscript to the designer and it comes back looking like a real book, with all the newspaper clippings, Post-its and survival guide pages come to life. Though sometimes, you do get a little too involved and I did have a lengthy discussion with the designer about the exact shade of neon yellow to use on the front cover.
The Curious Fox team and I are so excited for this world exclusive to hit the headlines in June. Just watch out for the alien snot on page 77.
Longlisted for the Times/Chicken House writing competition. The judges commented: "the story really gallops along from one situation to the next at a rollicking pace....sparky writing".
Stop press...
Further information from the Cheltenham Festival.
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