Monday 28 November 2016

Step Aside Pops by Kate Beaton (Walker Books)

Kate Beaton's second fiendish collection of hilarious comics mashes together superheroes, feminists, STEM notaries and historical figures into a superpsychedelic mix of laugh-out-loud snorts and sniggers that's definitely not for kids...
"Step Aside, Pops" - the followup collection to "Hark! A Vagrant" probably shouldn't really be on this blog but send the kids out of the room for a moment and read about this brilliant comic strip collection ripped kicking and screaming from Kate Beaton's own genius webcomic (which you can find here!)

Kate was also the genius behind a previous book-of-the-week winner "The Princess and The Pony" and she also has an awesome new book out - "King Baby" - both of which successfully turn the whole children's picture book genre on its head, quite rightly making a megastar out of a certain boss-eyed farting pony and a grumpy opinionated tot.

Back to the book at hand and in this second collection Kate's razor sharp wit once again turns on beloved characters from literary history, and of course there's also her take on Wonder Woman, Lois Lane (I nearly hurt myself laughing at the Lois / Superman strips in this - they're pretty much spot on!) and other pop culture characters.

It's when Kate delivers strips on feminism that she gets into high gear. If there was ever a champion for the feminist cause that cuts through the bullcrap and exposes the sort of rubbish women have to put up with on a daily basis, it's Kate.

The only low point is - once again - it's not really something I can let Charlotte anywhere near but as a cool teen I'm hoping she'll dig these out and hero worship Kate.

Step aside Pops, this talented lady is making the rest of us look like chumps!

"Step Aside, Pops!" is out now, published by Walker Books.