Comic story is a page-turner

FIVE third class primary pupils in Clontarf have become a publishing sensation after launching a comic which has sold out in local stores.

The friends – nine-year-olds Paddy McNelis, Alex Deasy, Michael O’Donovan and Cillian Shields, and James Molloy (10) – have created 10 Jamp comics so far.

And after the boys made full business presentations to the local store managers and owners, Jamp is being stocked in Spar and SuperValu in the Clontarf and Killester area.

It is pitched at €2.50 per copy – a euro cheaper than the Beano, according to Paddy and James – and the initial run sold out in two days.

Jamp features characters such as Jeg, Mr Melon, Banana Head Bob, Bad Gerald, Lipstick Lady, Ed, Yeti, Pippa The Prankster and Pencil Man who star in their own stories but also pop up to help in each other’s adventures.

“We are writing comics for ourselves because we are the audience, and the audience knows what they want,” the duo told Northside People.

 Illustrator James got the ball rolling when he created a comic about a character called Yeti and left it on his old teacher’s desk.

“He read it and liked it, and that gave us all the inspiration to come up with new characters which we publish under the title of Jamp comic,” said James.

In what is a team effort, the group meets during their 20-minute free time in school and then further develop characters and comics at home.

“We start with the basic characters and then come up with a story line for them,” said Paddy, who gets his inspiration from his favourite books, such as ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ and the David Walliams series.

 “I just start thinking for about 20 minutes and something pops into my mind. For example, I made Jeg after watching a superhero movie.”

The group approached both Spar and SuperValu requesting a meeting about the comic, and dressed up to meet local Spar owner Gus O’Hara and SuperValu manager Robert Ward.

“We felt very excited, and a tiny bit nervous, when we presented our business plan to Gus O’Hara in Spar at our first meeting,” said Paddy.

“It was an amazing feeling when he said the comics were quite good, and he would be happy to stock them – for no cost to us.”

And it is not just their friends buying the comic, according to James.

“We only told five of our friends, but we sold 15 copies on the first day in Vernon Avenue and Stiles Road,” he said.

“We are aiming to donate some of the proceeds from the sales to our school because many people take their schools for granted, but we just do it for fun.”