[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-all-abuzz-about-garys-garden":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"Oo, what's all that rustling and buzzing in the garden? It's a whole cast of characters from \u003Ca href=\"http://www.garynorthfield.com\">Gary Northfield\u003C/a>'s new comic book, \u003Cfont size=\"4\">\u003Ci>GARY'S GARDEN\u003C/i>\u003C/font>, published by David Fickling Books and \u003Cfont size=\"4\">\u003Cb>out today!\u003C/b>\u003C/font> \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/garygarden1_zpsfe8a4480-b345029063.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nWe at the Fleece Station studio are super-proud of Gary, who's been working so hard to make his amazing weekly comic strips for \u003Ca href=\"http://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/garys-garden/\">The Phoenix Comic\u003C/a>. And now he's packaged up a whole bunch of them into a beautiful volume. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/gary_studio_zpsfdc55bbf-3aad7ccac2.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI love \u003Ci>Gary's Garden\u003C/i> so much. The little conversations between the insects make me laugh. It's masterfully drawn with such expressive, energetic line and a welcoming colour palette that pulls you right into the garden. Oh, and extra bonus, Gary even has a few cameos in it! \\r\n\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for more under the cut!-->\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/gary_page_zpsb99443af-7a66525a10.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nOur studio mate \u003Ca href=\"http://www.elissaelwick.co.uk/\">Elissa Elwick\u003C/a> and I are wearing floral shrubbery on our heads to celebrate. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/sarahelissa_gg1_zps85d1b8bf-b3e2c5b1dc.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nCheck it out, who couldn't love all these cute animals running round having adventures? This book will be incredibly versatile, as \u003Cb>it's kid-friendly but also appeals to grownups; perfect for any library collection, from primary school to adult.\u003C/b> And it makes a \u003Cb>great all-ages gift\u003C/b> for any of your friends who love gardening, nature, or bugs. ...Say, you get your friend/partner/parent some boringly domestic thing for their birthday, such as gardening gloves or a spade. Why not stick a copy of \u003Ci>Gary's Garden\u003C/i> into the prezzie to dress it up and make it fun? \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/gary_panel_zpsdfe6879f-6c9b272b8d.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThis panel made me smile, because it reminds me of working when no one's in the studio: \u003Ci>I often think of jokes with no one to share them with.\u003C/i> That's the great thing about having Gary and Elissa around, we can try out the funny bits in our books on each other, and generally muck around. So much better than when I used to work alone at home. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/gary_strip_spiders_zps3d1db320-9317eafa9d.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nGary's stuck with me at the studio since we set it up \u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/224205.html\">five years ago\u003C/a> and he's the best-ever person to work alongside. He works incredibly hard on his books and his strips for \u003Ci>The Phoenix\u003C/i> and other publications, but then he'll take little breaks to have a laugh; we have a good rhythm and I've even come to love the same music.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/gary_phoenix_zpsf24d0c49-1f8ad9086c.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nYou can see on the contents page how the book's broken down into little bite-size stories. Perfect for the reluctant reader, who might find a couple pages a real achievement. And hey look, it's dedicated to \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/bentoboxford\">Ben Sharpe\u003C/a>, our lovely editor from DFC and early Phoenix Comic days. (We once made him a \u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/529899.html\">whole personalised version\u003C/a> of The Phoenix.) \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/gary_contents_zps35963101-6c1ecdd8a4.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd special surprise... you haven't missed the \u003Ci>Gary's Garden\u003C/i> launch party! The book comes out today, but Gary's celebrating on \u003Cb>Thurs, 4 September\u003C/b> at the lovely \u003Ca href=\"http://booksellercrow.co.uk/\">Bookseller Crow\u003C/a> bookshop in Crystal Palace, south London. We had his \u003Ci>Teenytinysaurs\u003C/i> book launch there and it was ace. Do come along! If you want a reminder or to ask questions, you can sign up to the \u003Ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/events/621630041268478/\">event Facebook page here\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/garysgardeninvite_zps58c89aa2-dd3b077787.jpg\"> \\r\n\\r\nAnd don't just take my word for it that \u003Ci>Gary's Garden\u003C/i> is amazing, check out this review by \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/richardbruton\">Richard Bruton\u003C/a> \u003Ca href=\"http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2014/review-theres-something-very-funny-down-in-garys-garden/\">on the Forbidden Planet International blog\u003C/a>! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Ca href=\"http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2014/review-theres-something-very-funny-down-in-garys-garden/\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/garygarden_fpreview_zps9c70681f-cd7045179b.jpg\">\u003C/a>\\r\n\\r\nAnd you can buy \u003Ci>Gary's Garden\u003C/i> right here, \u003Ca href=\"http://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/product/garys-garden-book-one/\">from the Phoenix Comic shop\u003C/a>.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/gary_bkcoer_zps62b935b2-05d478a1d6.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThe other exciting books out today are \u003Ca href=\"http://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/product/how-to-make-awesome-comics/\">\u003Ci>How to Make Awesome Comics\u003C/i>\u003C/a> by \u003Ca href=\"http://www.neillcameron.com\">Neill Cameron\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"http://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/product/long-gone-don-book-one/\">\u003Ci>Long Gone Don\u003C/a>\u003C/i> by the \u003Ca href=\"http://theetheringtonbrothers.blogspot.co.uk/\">Etherington Brothers\u003C/a>! But I haven't yet seen copies of them, so stay posted...","2014-08-07T06:20:00.000Z","all-abuzz-about-garys-garden",[],"all abuzz about gary's garden!",1776628726688]