Out Today - Fantastic middle-grade comic anthology "The Girl Who Married a Skull" by Kel McDonald, Faith Erin Hicks, Chris Schweizer, Carla Speed McNeil and Jarrett Williams (Iron Circus Comics)

Emerging comic publishing superstars Iron Circus Comics want to completely OWN Middle Grade Comics, and with stuff like this they might just do that thing...
Innovative publishers of Middle Grade comics understand two things. Kids love reading comics, and kids aren't going to put up with any old penny-ante rubbish when it comes to storytelling or art.

So it's fortunate that "The Girl Who Married a Skull" - one of their initial releases - combines the considerable talents of a mighty cast list of authors and illustrators, penning brilliantly original tales derived from African Folk Tales and Fables.

Sounds too good to be true, but Kel McDonald, Faith Erin Hicks (a real blog fave), Chris Schweizer, Carla Speed McNeil and Jarrett Williams are just a few of the contributors to this completely awesome collection.

Bringing together a truly jaw-dropping collection of these tales instantly wins us over, as we've often cited "world stories" as being something that us westerners need to embrace far more, if we're looking for inspirational and original tales.

For example, have you ever heard the classic African folk tale of a skull that borrows body parts to marry the most beautiful girl in the village?

Possibly not!

How about the crocodiles who took a vote on whether they should eat a man who saved one of them from certain death once?

Nope, bet you haven't heard that one either.

Yipes! Crime doesn't pay, and borrowing body parts isn't such a great idea after all when their original owners demand them back!

Picked out in glorious monochrome, the anthology is a real looker so also wins in the art department. But it's the stories that shine through, great for kids who want exciting graphic novels, exposure to other cultures but without the usual dryness that accompanies story retellings of this ilk.

We were completely bowled over by this, particularly C who really loves comics and is always on the lookout for something new and different - and this certainly fits the bill for her perfectly.

Such a brilliant idea to gather stories together like this and we'll be keeping a very close eye on Iron Circus's output from now on.

"The Girl Who Married a Skull" is out today, published by Iron Circus Comics and you can grab a copy from here!

(Kindly supplied as a digital ARC).