5 years before "The Boy Who Lived" stunned the world with his lightning-flash scar and messy hair, and of course his exploits at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft, a young witch by the name of Melusine attended a rather less famous school of Witchcraft - as the star of Gilson and Clarke's fabulous collection of comics.
In 'Melusine - Love Potions' the young witch finds herself dealing with the ooh-la-la world of lovestruck folk (and creatures) as she fulfils her role as au-pair and general dogsbody at Hernyvanz Castle. The gorgeous flame-haired Melusine weaves magic spells in these short but sweet comic strips, helping everyone from an ugly troll-faced guy to snag the girl of his dreams, to a lovesick dragon with a rather embarrassing case of the burps.
This collection brings together a whole host of syndicated Melusine strips, and introduces us to some of the other characters that were (and still are) regulars in the comics, including Melusine's crazy old Aunt Adrazelle and her best friend (read: person she's most likely to turn into a frog) Melisande.
It's crazy knockabout stuff, not at all along the serious tones of the Harry Potter novels but belying its Belgian origins, it's a comic that you can just about squeak past the kids (without them asking too many awkward questions) but has a heck of a lot of very tongue in cheek humour that adults will enjoy a nudge and a wink from. In our constant quest for kid-friendly comics, this is has been a pleasant discovery that makes us want to hunt out the other Melusine collections that are available (there are quite a few!) If we're brutally honest, we think Melusine could run rings around Hermione!
Charlotte's best bit: Melusine's fabulous red hair (and slightly dubious success rate with spells)
Daddy's favourite bit: A fantastic fun-filled knockabout comic strip with a goodly dose of magical appeal. If your children loved Harry Potter, they'll definitely love Melusine and she was here first!