We've been clamouring for a number of years for the good folk at The Phoenix Comic / David Fickling Books to put out some sort of an "Annual" (there might actually be some good news on that front later in the year so stay tuned).
In the meantime though we have "The Phoenix Colossal Comics Collection Volume 1" that gathers together a gigantic selection of some of the best strips in the comic, bound together in a 200 page whopper that is absolutely perfect for those of you (particularly you lovely folk over in the US - yes you'll be getting this soon too) who have always wanted a decent 'jump in' point to start reading The Phoenix Comic yourselves.
Even for seasoned diehard Phoenix fans, this is still a brilliant collection featuring (amongst others) Troy Trailblazer, Evil Emperor Penguin, Bunny vs Monkey, Looshkin (C's current role model - worryingly!), Doug Slugman PI, a healthy dose of Squid Bits and much much more.
This weighty tome comes in at just under a tenner too, ridiculously fantastic value for a really good chunk of each of the story arcs (it's particularly awesome for us to be able to go back to the original Troy Trailblazer stories and see how they compare to recent runs. Robert Deas is a very talented chap indeed!)
With the likes of Jamie Smart, Jess Bradley, Laura Ellen Anderson, Joe List and Dan Boultwood all contributing to strips here, it's like a cavalcade of comic talent all showing off some of their finest work.
"The Phoenix Colossal Comics Collection" is out now, published by David Fickling Books (kindly supplied for review).