In an ever exciting and expanding comic book market, David Fickling Books and The Phoenix are two pioneering teams with a huge breadth of comics and comic book experience and understanding, unrivalled in the market. The new imprint will see the two companies working together in a fresh way to provide children with the very best graphic novels, under one hugely exciting, inspiring and interactive umbrella: The Phoenix Comic Books.

The Phoenix’s decade-long experience of creating the comics that kids love and pairing it with DFB’s extraordinary record of publishing the very best children’s books is a formidable partnership. The Phoenix Comic Books imprint is going to bring the very best comic books to existing readers and a whole new audience.

DFB and The Phoenix comic already have an unparalleled track record of success in working together to bring the best, funniest, and most exciting comics to readers. Jamie Smart’s Bunny vs Monkey series has been at the forefront of the expansion of the children’s comic-book market, selling over one million copies across BookScan and being translated into 15 foreign languages, with new titles regularly hitting the number one Nielsen BookScan bestseller slot. Other existing best-selling series include Jamie Smart’s Looshkin (BookScan sales nearly 200,000 copies) and Neill Cameron’s Mega Robo Bros (BookScan sales over 40,000 copies).

The Phoenix comic is the UK’s fastest-growing comic for children, with over 24,000 weekly subscribers and more than one million copies printed a year. They host the only annual children’s comic festival, Phoenix Fest – which sold out 1,300 seats in a record-breaking 12 minutes in 2024. As home to fan-favourites such as Bunny vs Monkey and Mega Robo Bros, The Phoenix has a track record of bringing the best, the funniest, and most exciting stories straight to children. In-person and digital events, along with the weekly comic, gives The Phoenix an unparalleled connection with readers and parents.

The Phoenix Comic Books' launch programme for 2025 includes new Bunny vs Monkey and Mega Robo Bros titles, alongside major new series - including the huge fan favourites Donut Squad by Neill Cameron (publishing May 2025) and Pandora in Puzzlevale (publishing June 2025), an innovative new puzzle fiction comic series. The Phoenix comic’s close connection with and feedback from readers means that these, alongside all the books in the new imprint, already have a large and enthusiastic fan base, and that their child appeal and reader engagement are already established beyond doubt.

A key element of the launch is the announcement of The Phoenix Comic Club, a vibrant and exciting comics community for readers, where they can access drawing, writing, and comic-creation tutorials from a wide range of brilliant artists and comic creators. Each title in the imprint will come with free access to the club, with each book featuring a QR code opening a portal to a title specific draw-along video and activity. Readers can then access the full array of comic-club tutorials, downloadable worksheets, and activities from their favourite comic creators. This exclusive content will inspire the next generation of readers and creators. The Phoenix comic will be publishing new Comic Club material in the comic every week, and this will be accessible online for free, enthusing children and encouraging creativity.

The imprint launch will simultaneously be accompanied by huge Marketing and PR investment. There will be an exceptional The Phoenix Comic Books launch as part of the 2025 Waterstones Family Festival, followed by a year-long programme of events and workshops. A massive advertising campaign will accompany the release of these much-anticipated stories, along with pop-up events, resources, display material, activity packs, exclusive merchandise and lots more.

Liz Cross, Managing and Publishing Director at David Fickling Books said: "The experience DFB and The Phoenix have of working together on Bunny vs Monkey and our other wonderful comic-book series is joyous – particularly because of the delight we can see these books bringing to readers. The Phoenix team have boundless creative energy, unparalleled comics expertise, and the ability to tap into what children really love – and the opportunity to work with them to harness this comics power in book form and bring Phoenixy goodness to as many readers as possible is an exciting one indeed!"

Tom Fickling, Editor-in-chief at The Phoenix comic said: "I couldn’t be more thrilled and delighted to see The Phoenix Comic Books imprint burst into life! It takes the very best comics from The Phoenix, that we already know thousands of children love, and with DFB’s crack publishing team turns them into amazing books. At The Phoenix we know the comics that kids love, the stories that make them laugh out loud and the adventures they can’t get enough of. It’s mega exciting to be bringing those comics to a wider audience – we know what comics kids love reading, and we love making them!"

‘King of Comics’ Jamie Smart said, "Having been lucky enough to accompany The Phoenix for most of their journey, from inception to here - the announcing of The Phoenix Comic Books imprint - I feel both proud and ridiculously excited to see all of this happening. All the team at The Phoenix and DFB work so incredibly hard to create the very best comic books for children, so a dedicated imprint is a wonderful idea, and it can only help us all reach even more and more children with the dramatic, hilarious, heart-wrenching and bonkers comics we've been making!"

Bea Carvalho, Waterstones Head of Books said, "The Phoenix has fostered a love of reading in so many children, and has played a vital part in the recent growth of children’s comic books. DFB have a proven exceptional instinct for new talent in the genre: we’re hugely excited to see the Phoenix Comic Books imprint take shape, and to work closely with the team to launch more standard setting brands to excite booksellers and young readers."

If you love comics, while you wait for the The Phoenix Comic Books imprint to launch, why not check out LoveReading4Kids' Graphic Novels & Comics section?

Or read our Get Creative feature Six steps to creating an incredible six-frame comic strip Christmas card

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