by Andi Watson

Walker Books

The fourth and final (at least for now) tale in Andi Watson’s saga of Glister Butterworth; who is, as I said back in my review of Glister: The Haunted Teapot:

“……a strange magnet. …. wherever she goes, strange things happen around her. She lives with her dad, Mr Butterworth, in a dilapidated, draughty, ramshackle old home called Chilblain Hall that really does have a mind of it’s own, complete with rooms that come and go as they please, Trolls in the wishing wells, String Quartets in the salon and Questing Elves and Dwarves renting the dungeons at 10 gold pieces an hour. (But you shouldn’t ever let it hear you calling it ramshackle – it may leave).“

With these four volumes of Glister Andi Watson’s genuinely created something rather magical; “interesting, funny and cool comics for girls“. And that’s not me saying that, that was the quote Molly came up with after finishing The Family Tree, and she’s 10 so knows all about cool stuff (yep, she wanted that included as well).

Following the quite magnificent third volume The Faerie Host where Watson successfully managed the perfect balancing act between sentimental, heartbreaking emotion and a great story wrapped up in all the quirkiness we’ve come to expect from Glister, it’s no surprise that this final volume, with a return to the more straightforward quirkiness of the character, is a slight let down.

And although it may not reach the heights of the previous volume it’s still a beautifully drawn, wonderfully strange little read, packed to the brim with quirkiness. This time around Glister has taken to wishing for relatives, after studying her family tree and imagining how wonderful it would be to be surrounded by Butterworths of all shapes and sizes.

(The Butterworth Family Tree, useful for generating an instant family, but Glister may not get the perfect family she’s wishing for. From Glister: The Family Tree by Andi Watson, published Walker Books.)

There’s good news and bad news for Glister; the good news is that the Butterworth’s have a very real, “ancient and extraordinary” family tree, right there in the orchard, and it’s said that when the Butterworth family tree blooms it brings forth the most remarkable crop of Butterworths; past, present and future.

The bad news is that the Butterworth’s may be an extraordinary family but they’re still a family, and just like normal families they row, fall out, play their music too loud, keep messing up the place with their insect collections, and insist on herding their rabbit flock through the main hall. Glister finds herself having  to deal with it all, including one ancestor determined to turn Chilblain Hall into a tourist attraction, which almost leads to calamity with not only the family but Chilblain Hall being ripped apart in the struggle.

(Just a few of those oh so troublesome Butterworths who manage to make Glister’s life a misery. From Glister: The Family Tree by Andi Watson, published Walker Books.)

Glister The Family Tree is a suitably fitting wacky and funny ending to this Glister quartet of books, an absolutely charming, beautifully drawn series featuring a wonderfully inventive, eccentric and downright cool female heroine. It’s great for children, especially young girls, but has equal appeal to any existing fan of Watson’s work, or any fan of really great comics. If there are to be no more Glister volumes it’s a terrible shame, but these four beautifully presented little works of a cartoonist absolutely at the peak of his game are something you really need to treat your bookshelf to.

(The opening page to each Glister volume riffs off the same idea, but each time there’s a new way to raise a smile. From Glister: The Family Tree by Andi Watson, published Walker Books.)

Each Glister book stands alone, all you need to thoroughly enjoy each one is found on the back cover and Watson’s ever inventive first page with a new list of why strange things happen around Glister Butterworth.

But when you read one, you’ll want all four, and then you’ll wonder what else this Andi Watson has done and discover that he doesn’t just write and draw these excellent children’s books but he’s done a series of magnificent graphic novels for grown ups as well. And before you know it, you’ll be wondering why he isn’t a damn sight more well known than he is and you’ll find yourself nodding in agreement when I repeatedly use the phrase “the best young cartoonist in Britain right now”.

by Andi Watson

Walker Books

When I reviewed Glister The Haunted Teapot back in August I described it thus:

“Glister Butterworth is a strange magnet. Like it says right there: wherever she goes, strange things happen around her. In fact Glister’s life is pretty strange without anything happening to her. She lives with her dad, Mr Butterworth, in a dilapidated, draughty, ramshackle old home called Chilblain Hall that really does have a mind of it’s own, complete with rooms that come and go as they please, Trolls in the wishing wells, String Quartets in the salon and Questing Elves and Dwarves renting the dungeons at 10 gold pieces an hour“

Essentially Andi’s produced a catch all character he can hang wacky stories from in Glister. The first book was all about a teapot haunted by an author who then proceeds to get Glister to ghost-write his final, great, unfinished masterpiece. The second book sees the Butterworth’s house up and leave after taking offence at criticism from the Bonny Village competition, leaving Glister and her father left homeless and trying to convince the house that it needs to return home.

And I concluded that in Glister there was:

“…a freshness, an innocence and a sheer joy in Watson’s work here. All the better served by a slightly more relaxed and open style to his artwork that not only touches on Manga stylings but also the very traditionally English stylings of  illustrated children’s books. Likewise Andi’s writing takes on a lightness of tone and touch very appropriate for both the subject matter and the readership. It’s perfect for it’s intended market of young girls. But it’s also something boys and girls of all ages will really enjoy. Even us old folks.”

But I’ve now read The Faerie Host and have decided that it’s so much more than this.

With the third volume of this wonderfully delightful series Watson shows how versatile and wonderful his work can be and why I’ve believed for a long time that he’s one of Britain’s premier cartoonists. It starts off as we’ve come to expect, with a fun bit of early Christmas spirit (Dad getting the decorations up at Halloween) throughout Chilblain Hall:

(Christmas comes early for Glister, but not in a good way. Page from Glister #3, art by Andi Watson)

But in the space of a few pages the cute and happy go lucky tale of Glister’s Christmas routine turns from fun whimsy to beautifully tragic and heartbreaking.

“Now there was one thing that Glister held precious above all other things. Her Hoody. It had been knitted for her by her mother. No matter how many times she washed it, it always smelt of her mum.

Whenever she put the cardigan on, it felt like being held close to her mother’s chest as a baby. The memory of warm skin against her cheek and her mother’s hair falling over her face engulfed her.”

“Glister knew why her father tried to make each Christmas more magical than the last. It was because he couldn’t give her the one present she truly wanted but would never ask for. She wanted her mum.”

And with that one line, the entire tone of the book changes, in that one heartbreaking moment, the happiness of Glister’s existence dissolves …

But salvation for Glister may be at hand; recent boundary changes means that Chilblain Hall is now bordered by the Faerie realms and that very night Glister’s mom comes back; a shadowy image in Glister’s dressing table mirror. It turns out that Glister’s mom is trapped in Faerie and needs Glister’s help to escape. So Glister embarks upon a dangerous quest across the faerie realms and battles the Faerie King for the life of her mother, but can she do it, can she really get her mom back? Or will she be left full of sadness and missing her mom more than ever? I’ll leave that to you to discover, but let’s just say that all the Butterworth’s are a resourceful lot, and Glister’s mother has a plan, although it may not all work out quite the way you imagine….

I had tears in my eyes by the end of this issue. It was just so lovely and perfectly done.

So Andi does it again, producing not just a wonderful piece of comics, but something that initially seemed lightweight and just a simple bit of fun and ends up something far more serious and thoughtful. He’s a master at this, taking a situation and wringing real human emotion out of it. And even here, in this lovingly wrought bit of lightweight fun he does it again, raising not just a smile but a tear from the reader as well. Truly, a young master of the art.

Glister: The Faerie Host is the best of the Glister series so far, taking all of the fun and quirky adventure of the first two volumes but injecting something wonderfully tragic and melancholic to truly make this volume something for everyone. It’s marketed as being for age 6 plus – I’m 39 now and it was perfect for me, just as it was perfect for Molly, aged 10. And when you finish it, when your child finishes it, I’d expect that you’ll be describing it as perfect as well.

Volume 4 in the Glister series; The Family Tree is out in March and I’m looking forward to it already.

Richard Bruton.

by Andi Watson

Walker Books

The second Glister book from Walker Books, released earlier this month along with Glister: The Haunted Teapot (review). To be honest everything I said in that review could easily fit here.

Glister is such a delightful work, full of marvellous moments and sumptuous artwork that I could almost wish Andi just spent his time making these stories from now on. I say almost since I’m acutely aware that Andi’s more adult orientated work (for example: the wonderful Breakfast Afternoon, Slow News Day or Little Star) is just as good and I’d love to see more of that sort of book from him as well. Maybe I can just hope for a few Glister books a year and then one adult work as well?

(Strange things happen around Glister Butterworth. Andi opens The House Hunt just the way he did The Haunted Teapot, with a lovely little introduction to Glister and her world. From Glister: The House Hunt, (c) Andi Watson, published Walker Books.)

Anyway, Glister: The House Hunt features all of the stuff that made Glister: The Haunted Teapot so wonderfully fun; Glister is still an energetic, effervescent sparkle of quaint Englishness, a perfect heroine for the young girls Andi’s writing this for (and one of Molly’s favourite characters she’s met in comics so far). But with the Haunted House Andi opens his work up a little more. Instead of a deliberately self contained story, we get to explore a little more of Glister’s world here.

Glister’s village is taking part in the annual Village-In-Bloom contest, complete with pompous and oh so marvellously English chairman; Mr Leonard Swarkstone, the Lord  Lieutenant of Whixleyshire and head of the Gravehunger Moss Bonny village taskforce. He’s determined to have everything in the village looking “just-so” and he’s none to keen on Chilblain Hall, especially after Glister gives him the guided tour, taking in the Troll bridge (complete with real Troll), underground railways, the robing room with her dad’s minibeast collection and much more.

(Chilblain Hall. Weird and wonderful, but never going to win awards from the bonny village taskforce. From Glister: The House Hunt, (c) Andi Watson, published Walker Books.)

Chilblain Hall, you see, is no ordinary home, it’s a magical, wonderful place, constantly changing and never settling on any one layout or look. You’re equally likely to find your bedroom transformed into a cinema overnight or discover that the Masonic Lodge has taken up residence in the wine cellar. But this magical beauty holds no appeal for Mr Swarkstone, he’s a man of order and straight lines so the raggle taggle architecture and delightfully mismatched rooms of Chilblain Hall don’t appeal in the slightest. Which is when he makes his serious mistake. He tells Glister what he really thinks. And he does it within earshot of the hall:

“It’s a health and safety disaster waiting to happen, a veritable deathtrap in the heart of our rural idyll. On top of which it’s an eyesore, a Frankenstein’s monster of follies and anachronisms hastily stitched together in the style of… of…. ”
“Neo-gothic?” (suggests Glister)
“In the style of a dog’s breakfast”
“The best thing that could possibly happen is for this ramshackle lean-to to be shipped brick by brick across the Atlantic and pieced back together in some Texas rancher’s theme park.”

(Chilblain Hall, in all it’s splendour, given genuine character and life throughout The House Hunt. It isn’t just a house, it’s written brilliantly to be as real as the people in Glister’s life. And just like them, it can be hurt by the unkind words of others. From Glister: The House Hunt, (c) Andi Watson, published Walker Books.)

Chilblain Hall takes it all to heart. Glister does her best to assuage it’s wounded pride, talking up it’s handsome tower, explaining that rustic is in this season and that there’s no need to be so sad. But her words fail to cheer the poor old hall up for very long and one day it simply ups and leaves the way only marvellously magical residences can.

The rest of the book deals with Glister’s heartfelt attempts to bring her home (and her friend) back to where it rightfully belongs. Along the way we get to see Glister and her dad realise that finding temporary accomodation may be harder than it seemed; the Troll’s taken up residence in the wishing well, Long Meg the witch was in the shed for the summer and there’s a battle swine in the Goat house. Eventually the find respite in a swiftly grown tree house, but it’s not Chilblain Hall, not Glister’s friend and she’s missing it terribly:

(Watson’s art, so light and fun throughout, still manages to capture a moment of sadness perfectly. From Glister: The House Hunt, (c) Andi Watson, published Walker Books.)

Watson fills The House Hunt with fantastical and funny characters and situations around the central story of the wonderful Chilblain Hall and it’s self-imposed holiday / exile from Glister’s life. But there’s also time to darken the story a little, adding in a real sense of loss and friendship as Glister realises that she’s missing her friend. And the artwork. Wow. Andi Watson pulls off something that looks uniquely English and modern and lovely and quaint and just plain great. And I trust you can all see that from the examples here. Beautiful work full of moments of artistic brilliance.

Glister is available wherever you can get good quality children’s books. Alas, it looks unlikely that it will be found in comic shops anytime soon as Walker Books don’t really deal with them. Shame. I’d hate to think the Andi Watson fans out there (and I know that there are many of us) would miss out on this.

The next Glister book: The Faerie Host is out in January. It’s the last of the stories previously published by Image and it takes the book to new heights. Glister is a rare thing, a comic designed for children that will amaze and entertain everyone who picks it up, young or old, boy or girl. Definitely one to pick up.

Richard Bruton.

by Andi Watson

Walker Books

Glister was a comic series that came out in 2007 from Image Comics; 3 issues of the series made it out before the plug was pulled. But in many ways the book was doomed from the start; after all, Image are hardly the ideal company to market a comic book story specifically designed for a readership they have no idea even exists, a readership that rarely ventures inside comic shops anyway?

Because with Glister Andi Watson has designed a beautiful and magical comic experience for young girls. It’s a brave and possibly foolhardy thing to do. However, the fact I’m sitting here, smiling from ear to ear after reading it proves it’s not only girls who will enjoy this. And the fact that Molly (age 9) has been reading her copy for days now and she’s desperate for more means the target market seems to love it as well.

First things first, Glister’s not with Image anymore. It’s now being published by Walker Books as part of it’s fledgling graphic novel line. Walker Books knows an awful lot about children’s books regardless of gender. If they’ve decided Glister is worth publishing, if Molly’s decided it’s fantastic and if I’m telling you it’s brilliant don’t you think it’s worth a look for yourselves?

(Strange things happen around Glister Butterworth. Indeed they do. Wonderfully, brilliantly strange things. From Glister: The Haunted Teapot. Published by Walker Books. (c) Andi Watson)

Glister Butterworth is a strange magnet. Like it says right there: wherever she goes, strange things happen around her. In fact Glister’s life is pretty strange without anything happening to her. She lives with her dad, Mr Butterworth, in a dilapidated, draughty, ramshackle old home called Chilblain Hall that really does have a mind of it’s own, complete with rooms that come and go as they please, Trolls in the wishing wells, String Quartets in the salon and Questing Elves and Dwarves renting the dungeons at 10 gold pieces an hour. (But you shouldn’t ever let it hear you calling it ramshackle – it may leave – but more on that in the second volume of Glister; The House Hunt).

It’s a very English story, concerning itself as it does with teapots, stately homes, village sensibilities and ghostly victorian writers of particularly dull prose. When Glister finds a teapot on the doorstep it seems a lovely gift, since Dad does like a cuppa and the old one’s a wretched pourer:

(The mysterious teapot arrives. From Glister: The Haunted Teapot. Published by Walker Books. (c) Andi Watson)

Except this teapot’s haunted, not by a genie (that would be a lamp after all) but fittingly for this most English of things, a disgruntled old English ghost; Phillip Bulwark-Stratton who, when he lived was a determined but not very good author whose works are long out of print. He has one fervent wish, something he’s determined to see complete; one last, great masterpiece of a book; “Albert Buckle”. Which is where Glister, most unwillingly, comes in.

Trapped into transcribing the ghost’s words, whatever time of the day or night old Bulwark-Stratton feels inspiration strike. Poor Glister finds herself at the beck and call of her ghostly teapot dwelling visitor. But Glister’s no doormat and she takes it upon herself to solve this particular problem. When selling it to the second hand store backfires she finds the only way to get rid of this ghost is  to finally let him take over and get the damn book finished. And this is when glister finds out the most unusual secret behind Mr Bullwark-Stratton and in the process gains another strange resident of Chilblain Hall.

(Glister’s dad knows what’s important in life. From Glister: The Haunted Teapot. Published by Walker Books. (c) Andi Watson)

There’s a freshness, an innocence and a sheer joy in Watson’s work here. All the better served by a slightly more relaxed and open style to his artwork that not only touches on Manga stylings but also the very traditionally English stylings of  illustrated children’s books. Likewise Andi’s writing takes on a lightness of tone and touch very appropriate for both the subject matter and the readership. It’s perfect for it’s intended market of young girls. But it’s also something boys and girls of all ages will really enjoy. Even us old folks. And even the formatting of this new Walker Books edition works wonderfully well. The Image Comics edition seemed somehow throwaway, a thin black and white volume. But Walker Books have given it beautiful colour covers, with a matching pink colour shade on the internal pages. It all seems far more substantial and beautifully complete this time around.

If there’s any justice in the world, this will be a huge success. But it may be up to us to help it along. I’m going to be doing my bit and everyone with a child of a suitable age will be getting one this Christmas. Better than a crappy piece of plastic tat or the latest Hannah Montana cd; Glister will be something they’ll love for years and may kick-start a love of comics. As opposed to the Hannah Montana cd, which will probably put the little darlings off music for a long time.

Glister: The Haunted Teapot is available wherever you can get hold of Walker Books. From what I can gather this doesn’t yet apply to comic shops, but hopefully Walker Books will rectify that situation soon. I’ve said it often in the past; Andi Watson really is one of the brightest stars in the UK comics world. With Glister he’s given us something wonderfully English, a heroine who sits alongside the best in children’s literature and who should delight young and old alike.

The good news is that Glister: The Haunted  Teapot is but the first in four (so far) Glister books from Walker Books. I’ll be here for as many as Andi and Walker decide to give us. I hope you will be as well.

Find out more at Andi’s Website and the Glister blog.

Richard Bruton.

Which brings me to Andi Watson’s Haunted Teapot contest:

From Andi’s Glister blog:

“Tomorrow is officially the start of the school hols round these parts, so it’s time to get drawing!
If you have a copy of Glister: The Haunted Teapot you’ll know there’s a teapot-shaped space to design your own haunted teapot on the inside back cover. Please e-mail me your designs as a .jpg file and I’ll send out a Glister sketch to those who come up with my faves (by post or by e-mail). If you’re happy to have your pics on the blog let me know and I’ll post them here.
You don’t have to use the actual template in the book, you can start getting creative on any old piece of paper and e-mail them to: glister@andiwatson.biz
IMPORTANT: If you’re under 18 please get permission from a grown up before sending your drawings.
This is open to all-ages so get scribbling regardless of how old or young you are.”

We did ours earlier this week. A great way to fill a rainy Yorkshire holiday morning. (and cheap too!)

So, what are you waiting for – get drawing!

Andi Watson’s Glister: The Haunted Teapot and Glister: The House Hunt are available right now from Walker Books and all major bookshops.

A long time ago, I wrote a review of Andi Watson’s new series; Glister. And I had this to say about it:

“past the gorgeousness and over the slightness. Next comes the reading. And the reading is fun. Lots of fun. Watson has switched back to his early style of cartooning to present a lighter, looser and more rounded cartoony style reminiscent of his earlier work on Skeleton Key, which, coincidentally is here as a backup strip. Personally I prefer the slightly more mature look to his four great works; Little Star, Breakfast Afternoon, Slow News Day & Love Fights. But Glister suits this style. It’s written for the style. It’s a fast, cutesy romp of a comic and works, as usual with an Andi Watson comic, perfectly.

Surely Andi Watson is worthy of the title greatest cartoonists in Britain by now? Certainly best young cartoonist. I’ve yet to read anything by him that doesn’t make my life a great deal better. And his body of work keeps getting better. Each year he consistently produces great works, yet manages to mix up style and content to seem fresh and new each time. Long may he continue.”

But Glister never really worked at Image, the company was never really the best place for a series specifically designed as all-ages, specifically designed for children and specifically designed for a completely new market in these modern times – young girls. So it floundered. Which was a terrible shame because with issue 2 Andi really upped the ante and turned in a story with all the fun of the first issue but some incredible sadness as well. Something went wrong at Image and the whole thing stalled.

Well Glister is back, this time being published closer to home by Walker Books, definitely a more comfortable home for an obvious all ages book. The first two books in the series, The Haunted Teapot and The House Hunt were published earlier this month and Andi tells us that there are two more scheduled: Glister, The Faerie Host out Jan 2010 and Glister, The Family Tree out March 2010. Over to Andi:

“Hey, just wanted to give you a heads up that the first two Glister books Glister:The Haunted Teapot and Glister: The House Hunt are out now in time for the school hols. Glister: The Faerie Host and the entirely new book Glister: The Family Tree both have release dates. All info here: http://glisterbook.blogspot.com/. There’s sneak preview art, pdf previews, ordering info etc etc all there.

Glister: The Haunted Teapot has lots of extras including:
Activities: make your own Glister biscuits with the recipe and design your own haunted teapot. Plus the short strips, “A Day in the Life of Philippa Veil” and “What Mr. Wilkes did Next”. Oh, and the insides are printed in a tasteful shades of dark red.
Glister: The House Hunt has extras including:
Activities: make a Glister stand-up plus a short illustrated story “Chilblain Hall and the Sunday Painters” and “Philippa Veil’s Postcards. The insides are printed in tasteful shades of dark blue.”

Like I’ve said many times in the past, Andi Watson is one the country’s finest cartoonists. I’ve never read a book of his that I haven’t loved. Glister should be required reading, whether you’re 6 or 60. It’s good to have it back.

Andi Watson online: website, live journal, Glister blog. Walker Books – Andi’s bio, Glister page.