Created by two of the finest storytellers working in British comics today, Tamsin and the Deep is a tour de force, from one half of the team that created Pirates of Pangaea and the artist behind the dazzling and underappreciated Fish + Chocolate. Put simply, if you have children that read comics, or have even a passing interest in English folklore, you really need to read this book.
Reinterpreting classic Cornish myths for modern audiences, Tamsin and the Deep is the story of a young girl who is haunted by the presence of a dark figure beneath the waves. Combining lovable family pets, talking birds and surfing, this comic hits all the right beats for children young and old. The plot and interactions of the characters are dense and believable enough to have captured our interest, but this writer’s four-year-old daughter was equally captivated. The first time we finished reading this as a bedtime story she demanded that we start at the beginning again immediately!
As always with Kate Brown’s work, the colours are particularly gorgeous, and it looks like she was born to draw the sea. Neill Cameron’s Mo-Bot High is one of this writer’s son’s favourite stories of all time and his writing has consistently been underrated, so it’s great to see him getting the opportunity to stretch himself in the pages of The Phoenix.
Tamsin and the Deep so brilliantly reinvents stories of the Cornish coast for new readers, and what’s more the action is led by a capable, brilliant female lead, which is exactly what’s missing from nine out ten of the stories young girls read.
TAMSIN AND THE DEEP / CREATED BY: NEILL CAMERON, KATE BROWN / PUBLISHER: DAVID FICKLING BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
