12/09/2024
An interesting conversation is happening on Jamie Smart's Facebook, where a primary school Mum has banned a kid bringing Bunny Vs Monkey in. It's nostalgic for those of us remembering when comics were so popular this sort of thing used to happen. (eg Professor Wertham's Seduction Of The Innocent, IPC's Action comic getting mentioned in the House, Eagle comic being created in response to US horror comics etc)
To put the comics in context, Bunny Vs Monkey is the single most popular British comic amongst kids that I have experienced in all the time I've been doing Comic Art Masterclasses (which will soon be twenty years, gulp). In the past year, when I do my flipchart drawing at the start of the day, I've found Bunny Vs Monkey (rivalled only by Dogman) to be the most recognised character by primary school kids, and the most enthusiastically greeted too.
It's got to the stage now that, when I'm getting them to guess which Marvel superhero I worked on (before their parents were born, it was Dr Strange) most of them can't even name a Marvel Superhero. Those have slipped from their zone of interest in the same way as Doctor Who did about a decade ago. It's a sad thing to see, but inevitable I guess.
So viva Jamie & Bunny vs Monkey, and long may they be so big that parents notice them enough to want to ban them. Examples of BvM on my flipcharts pictured.
