Uncle Bob Adventures

By Darryl Cunningham

Blank Slate Books

£14.99

To look at Uncle Bob, sitting snugly in his armchair, you'd never guess the adventures he's had.

But appearances can be deceiving, and Uncle Bob is an adventurer of epic proportions, as revealed in the breathless yarns he spins to his wide-eyed nieces who hang on his every word.

From encounters with Frankenstein's Monster, to rip-snorting encounters in the Old West, there's no place too dangerous for Uncle Bob... nor any tale too tall to tell.

This is the latest graphic novel from Keighley's Darryl Cunningham. His previous work has taken the form of graphic reportage, looking at myths of science and psychiatry (Cunningham used to work as a psychiatric nurse) and also investigating the financial crisis of a few years ago.

Uncle Bob is Cunningham going in a slightly different direction, and letting his imagination run riot while he does it. He's obviously had lots of fun writing and drawing Uncle Bob's exploits, and you'll do the same.

Uncle Bob Adventures, unlike Cunningham's other work, is completely suitable for children - they'll love his shaggy dog stories about encountering the melancholy monster on top of an icy mountain, a vampire and a Martian invasion.

Cunningham - and Uncle Bob - essentially rampage through some of the classic ideas of Victorian literature. He doesn't stint on the slight scariness - especially in the vampire story - but there's nothing to give children nightmares. Well, not too many, at any rate...

Cunningham has developed a cartoony style that on first glance looks a little rough-and-ready. But, like Uncle Bob, appearances can also be deceiving with Cunningham's artwork. It's pleasingly raw and has a warmth that you wouldn't expect from such a style. He also uses colour masterfully, choosing a limited palette for each story and using the shades available to him to great effect.

Suitable for children it might be - and a great introduction to graphic storytelling for any parents not sure where to start with the wealth of comics on the shelves - but there's also much to love in Uncle Bob's Adventures for adults, too.

After all, you're never too old for a tall tale or a ripping yard, as Uncle Bob himself ably proves.

The best news is that Blank Slate have a second volume of Uncle Bob Adventures which should be out any time soon.